The cost of caring–the impact of secondary trauma on assumptions,values and beliefs

The aim of this paper is to look at the impact of working with distressed and traumatized clients. The paper describes a survey involving 430 care workers who regularly work with distressed or traumatized clients. The survey involved the participants completing a 21-item beliefs inventory describing their supervision or support and recording whether they had any spiritual or religious beliefs. A factor analysis of the results of the inventory found four factors, three of which involved the negative impact of the work on beliefs while the fourth gave an indication of the positive beliefs or post trauma growth that comes from working in this area. The results showed that while doing a good job and experiencing fulfilment were higher in carers who experienced lower levels of distressing experiences and beliefs, an increase in competence and improved learning opportunities were associated with higher levels of challenge. A review of the information provided on supervision and support showed that there was a wide variation in the sources of support for the different professions. While around 46% of the carers had spiritual beliefs only 29% were members of a religious group. The discussion looked at the implication of the results of the survey including the possible benefit of using the carer belief inventory to identify carers who may be vulnerable to secondary trauma or compassion fatigue. The need to provide support to all professions undertaking caring work with distressed or traumatized clients was highlighted.     

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor and the Psychobiology of Early-Life Stress

ABSTRACT— Trauma and neglect during childhood are increasingly appreciated as factors in the etiology of adult mood and anxiety disorders. Much has been learned about the role of stress biology in the persisting effects of early adverse experience on adult psychopathology. Here we present an overview of developmental trauma in the psychobiology of depression and anxiety. We emphasize the role of corticotropin-releasing factor in the pathophysiology of these disorders, focusing on the transduction of early life trauma into adult psychopathology.     

自由基与重度颅脑外伤并发SIRS的原因及治疗研究探讨

就重型颅脑外伤由于过氧化反应后自由基产生的原因、自由基对神经细胞的继发损伤、自由基在重型颅脑外伤状态下诱发或并发全身炎性反应综合征以及两种因素所引起的神经细胞凋亡进行综述。同时就目前学者们在手术抢救、监测血液粘度、持续腰大池置管脑脊液外引流术、亚低温治疗、药物治疗、高压氧与活性氧液治疗、恒定磁场治疗等方面治疗自由基和全身炎性反应综合征对神经细胞的继发损伤进行了讨论。重型颅脑外伤后应重视自由基和全身炎性反应综合征的治疗。     

Trauma,causality and time: Some reflections: EPISTEMOLOGY STUDY GROUP,PORTO ALEGRE PSYCHOANALYTICAL SOCIETY1

Based on the studies and discussions of the Epistemology Study Group of the Porto Alegre Psychoanalytical Society, the authors aim to connect the notions of psychical determinism with the concept of trauma and temporality, from a perspective of the mind as a complex system. Following consideration of the concept of psychical determinism, they attempt to expand the discussion on causality. They propose that trauma be situated in the body of contemporary psychoanalysis, where emotional experience is favoured over factual events, leading to the need to rethink the concept of trauma and its usefulness. In the same way, in the light of recent developments, the authors revisit the Freudian etiologic equation, with a proposal that an i, for imaginary factor, be included, corresponding to an element of complexity. The question of temporality, connected with trauma and the therapeutic action of psychoanalysis, is approached within a vision of irreversible time, characteristic of complex systems, far‐from‐equilibrium‐which is how the authors understand psychical functioning.     

Talking about interest: exploring the role of social interaction for regulating motivation and the interest experience

The Self-Regulation of Motivation Model suggests that the experience of interest is an important source of human motivation and that people often strategically regulate the experience of interest. Previous work based on this model suggests that the social context may influence this process at multiple points. The present research focuses on whether talking to others about an activity experience is one means by which individuals evaluate how interesting that activity is. In Study 1 college students completed questionnaires that asked about real life experiences where working on an activity was more interesting because they worked with others. They described experiences that occurred first in any domain, and then that occurred specifically in the school domain. Results suggested that the more students talked with others about the activity after it happened the more they reported greater interest in the activity after the conversations. In the school domain, this was especially true for Latinos and for individuals who scored higher on the Relational Self-Construal scale. Study 2 employed a lab paradigm to control for the task that individuals talked to others about and to examine whether the nature of listeners’ reactions influenced the speaker’s interest even after the study was ostensibly over. First, replicating Pasupathi and Rich (2005, ‘Inattentive listening undermines self-verification in personal storytelling’, Journal of Personality 73, pp. 1051–1086) college students who talked to a distracted friend about a computer game during the lab session reported a significant drop in interest relative to those who talked to attentive friends, regardless of whether the attentive listeners agreed or disagreed with participants. Importantly, interest ratings at a 4–6 week follow-up were affected by the perceived responsiveness of listeners during spontaneous conversational retellings outside the lab, controlling for interest levels at the end of the lab session. Taken together, results suggest that social interaction plays an important role in regulating activity interest even beyond the immediate activity experience.     

人际心理治疗的发展

人际心理治疗是一种有时间限制、基于操作手册和生活事件、诊断指向的实证性心理治疗方法。它最初主要被用于重型抑郁成年患者的门诊治疗,现已被用于治疗多种心理障碍。人际心理治疗过程变化包括：是否还赋予患者“病人”角色、人际关系问题领域的变化、如何处理结束和安排时间等。不过,有关治疗过程的研究还很少。为了更好地满足大众的需要,它与其他心理治疗成分进行了整合及其自身的简化。文章最后讨论了人际心理治疗发展的特点和问题     

中国青少年心理健康素质·人际素质的研究

采用《青少年心理健康素质调查表·人际素质分量表》对全国23个省、市、自治区的44063名青少年人际心理健康素质发展状况进行调查。结果表明：（1）我国青少年人际素质处于较好的发展水平;（2）青少年在整体人际素质及人际交往、人际调控、人际知觉等各维度上的年级变化呈现一定差异,整体人际素质与人际交往、人际调控维度得分随年级增长呈现下降趋势,人际知觉维度得分随年级的增长呈逐渐上升趋势。     

Triggering Rage: Unresolved Trauma in Women’s Lives

In this qualitative study we sought to explore the triggers involved in women’s rage that are expressed towards their intimate partners. In-depth interviews were conducted with 37 incarcerated women who reported experiencing rage towards their partner. Unresolved trauma from childhood closely linked to current levels of adult rage; specific types of trauma that were reported included experiencing physical and sexual abuse, feeling unprotected by caretakers, and having observed domestic violence within their homes. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder were described within the stories of rage as women recounted their experiences of intimate partner violence. Common triggers for igniting rage included women perceiving a threat to themselves, a threat to their loved ones, and emotional abuse.     

Suppressing Unwanted Memories

ABSTRACT— When reminded of something we would prefer not to think about, we often try to exclude the unwanted memory from awareness. Recent research indicates that people control unwanted memories by stopping memory retrieval, using mechanisms similar to those used to stop reflexive motor responses. Controlling unwanted memories is implemented by the lateral prefrontal cortex, which acts to reduce activity in the hippocampus, thereby impairing retention of those memories. Individual differences in the efficacy of these systems may underlie variation in how well people control intrusive memories and adapt in the aftermath of trauma. This research supports the existence of an active forgetting process and establishes a neurocognitive model for inquiry into motivated forgetting.