When a Small Group Turned Large: An Existential Encounter on 11/9 as an Enactment of 9/11

This paper was drafted in late November and mid-December 2001, two to three months after 9/11/01, in the weeks following the Opening Plenary of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society's Annual Conference held on 11/9/01. It was written from the position of observer-discussant-participant and impromptu large group facilitator, with the aim of reviewing and drawing meaning from what transpired during the Conference's opening plenary, which focused on existential issues in group psychotherapy. The plenary was chaired by Dr. Bernard Frankel and was comprised of a short talk, demonstration group, discussants' responses, and audience reaction. The emphasis in this review is on the process, content, and synchronous impingement of a real-life event on a remarkable demonstration group. Being in the group demonstration on 11/9 so closely paralleled being in the world of 9/11 that a small group turned into a large group.     

Religious Naturalism Today

Three questions are addressed. First, concerning the definition of naturalism, I accept the characterization by Rem Edwards (1972) but insist on a materialist or physicalist interpretation of these features. Second, the distinctive characteristic of my religious naturalism is an argument that although a theological position based on a physicalist ontology is constrained by physicalism, the ontology itself does not dictate theological content. Theological content can break free of ontology if this content is valuational rather than ontological. Such a valuational theism becomes possible when Rudolf Bultmann's and Fritz Buri's method of existentialist interpretation is wedded to Henry Nelson Wieman's naturalist conception of God. The knowledge of God in events of grace, therefore, is rooted in moments of creative transformation that are themselves always transformative. This approach makes possible a better approach to the problem of objectivity than Bultmann could achieve. Third, concerning the chief issues facing religious naturalism today, I argue that religious naturalists should more forthrightly confront the issue of ontological materialism and that the most pressing issue concerns thinking out more fully the religious or theological content to be ascribed to such a position after the nature of naturalism is resolved.     

Existential Trauma Therapy with Men After a Heart Attack

An existential trauma therapy treatment approach with men who are recovering from a heart attack is described as well as the treatment elements within the approach. Single-subject design case material is provided to evaluate and illustrate the described treatment approach.     

On the existential core of professionalism in mental health care

ABSTRACT

Existential issues are at the heart of professional role fulfilment. To defend this thesis, it will first be shown that professional competence not only consists of knowledge and skills, but also includes a second-order capacity which enables the clinician to dose and guide his activities. Secondly, in the way the professional performs his or her role, there is also always something communicated about how the professional relates to his or her role performance. This “indirect” communication is not an undesirable by-product of the communication with the patient, it is intrinsic to the professional role. Thirdly, the shaping of this “self-relatedness” can be conceptualised as the result of an interaction between basic (existential) motives in the professional and the normative appeal of the therapeutic setting. A conceptual model of the professional - patient relationship will be presented that clarifies the different dimensions and relations which are addressed in the three successive steps.     

Compositionality,Relevance, and Peirce’s Logic of Existential Graphs

Charles S. Peirce’s pragmatist theory of logic teaches us to take the context of utterances as an indispensable logical notion without which there is no meaning. This is not a spat against compositionality per se , since it is possible to posit extra arguments to the meaning function that composes complex meaning. However, that method would be inappropriate for a realistic notion of the meaning of assertions. To accomplish a realistic notion of meaning (as opposed e.g. to algebraic meaning), Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory (RT) may be applied in the spirit of Peirce’s Pragmatic Maxim (PM): the weighing of information depends on (i) the practical consequences of accommodating the chosen piece of information introduced in communication, and (ii) what will ensue in actually using that piece in further cycles of discourse. Peirce’s unpublished papers suggest a relevance-like approach to meaning. Contextual features influenced his logic of Existential Graphs (EG). Arguments are presented pro and con the view in which EGs endorse non-compositionality of meaning.     

犯罪心理学研究中运用量化方法引起的理论思考

量化与统计分析,是一项重要的研究方法。这一方法在犯罪心理学研究中得到了广泛运用,同时也存在着使用的局限性。犯罪人有很强的心理掩饰性,对包括犯罪人在内的人的心理的测量实际上是一种间接测量,测得的数据是心理学家标定的数据,兼有客观性与主观性。量化研究如果不与科学思维相结合,有可能得出浅薄平庸甚至错误的结论。心理学研究应当以"人性"为基点,多种方法综合运用,实现量化方法与非量化方法的有机结合。     

Exploring two approaches to an existential function of religiosity in mental health

Recent research demonstrates beneficial associations between religiosity and measures of mental health. In this study, we examined whether religiosity benefits mental health (a) by limiting the negative impact of existential concerns, and (b) by enhancing purpose in life. Three hundred fifty-three undergraduates completed the following measures: Scale for Existential Thinking, Purpose in Life Test, Religiousness Measure, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale – Revised, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and the Drug, Alcohol, and Nicotine Scale. We hypothesised that religiosity scores moderate the relationship between existential thinking and mental health, and purpose in life scores mediate the relationship between religiosity and mental health. Religiosity did not moderate the relationships between existential thinking and these outcomes, however, purpose in life scores mediated the relationships of religiosity with depression and anxiety, but not with substance use. Our findings confirm the significance of existential concerns and purpose in life in the religiosity-mental health connection.     

Truth and Generalized Quantification*

Kripke [1975] gives a formal theory of truth based on Kleene's strong evaluation scheme. It is probably the most important and influential that has yet been given—at least since Tarski. However, it has been argued that this theory has a problem with generalized quantifiers such as All(?, ψ)—that is, All ?s are ψ—or Most(?, ψ). Specifically, it has been argued that such quantifiers preclude the existence of just the sort of language that Kripke aims to deliver—one that contains its own truth predicate. In this paper I solve the problem by showing how Kleene's strong scheme, and Kripke's theory based on it, can in a natural way be extended to accommodate the full range of generalized quantifiers.     

Violence as Secular Evil: Forensic Evaluation and Treatment of Violent Offenders from the Viewpoint of Existential Depth Psychology

Violence is the preeminent evil of our day. Though the causes of destructive violence in our society are complex, the troublesome human emotions of anger and rage play a central role in the genesis of violent behavior and psychopathology in general. In this paper, the author discusses forensic evaluation and psychotherapeutic treatment via existential depth psychology—a synthesis of Freudian, Jungian, and existential theory—focusing on the overlooked links between repressed anger or rage, pathological narcissism, antisocial personality, and violent behavior.