A modern psychoanalytic approach to caregiver support groups

Caregiver support groups traditionally focus on education, reduction of social isolation, and supportive sharing. However, the support group literature has increasingly reflected an interest in the emotional effects of caregiving. While some authors promote the therapeutic value of supporting defenses against painful feelings, others have documented the value of encouraging their expression in groups. This paper is based on the author’s experience in co-leading an Alzheimer’s family support group, using a modern psychoanalytic approach which encourages the full expression of the caregivers’ emotional experience. Using emotional communication to explore resistances to intimacy and aggression in groups, the author demonstrates how the interplay of co-leadership and Modern Psychoanalytic theory and techniques promotes group cohesion and encourages maturational growth in group members. This model is also prescribed as an antidote to leader “burnout,” a not uncommon phenomenon for leaders of such emotionally charged groups. Private Practice, New York, New York.     

Researching mind wandering from a first‐person perspective

Mind wandering is an inherently inner (or first‐person) phenomenon that leaves few direct traces for third‐person enquiry. Nonetheless, psychologists often study mind wandering using third‐person (e.g., behavioral or neuronal) research methods. And although research–participants may well be asked to introspect on their mind wandering experiences (e.g., via experience‐sampling or think‐aloud techniques), such introspective self‐observations typically lack methodological rigor and are hence of only preliminary value. Here, we argue that it is a missed opportunity to not train researchers to introspect on their own mind‐wandering experiences to better understand the associated mental processes. We propose a novel approach to cultivating an educated form of introspection in the study of attentional focusing and mind wandering. Our research adds to the current theoretical understanding by explicating conditions that facilitate mind wandering (e.g., the shifting and broadening of concepts) and help find the way back to the primary task (e.g., commitment; deliberate shifts between focusing and defocusing).