The strings on David’s Harp: religious ritual as a container for spirituality

ABSTRACT

Religion and spirituality have often been defined over against each other. The spontaneous, emotional and experiential nature of the spirit has been seen as preferential to the structured, fixed, and predictable nature of religious ritual. Religion education for children has moved away from the performance of ritual behaviour toward creating an environment to nurture the innate spiritual nature of children. This paper questions whether the pendulum has swung too far, neglecting rituals that have sustained religious and communal life for generations, and considers ways of reimagining traditional ritual as a way to encounter the spirit and build community.     

Working with Bangladeshi young women

The author describes once-weekly psychoanalytically informed work in a child mental health setting with young Bangladeshi women making the transition to adulthood. She argues that the prevalent notion of 'culture conflict' used to account for patterns of emotional disturbance and self-harm in these young women is reductionist and represents a denial of severe family dysfunction and individual psychic pain. She shows how, despite cultural differences, psychoanalytically informed thinking can provide a basis for understanding these young women's experience and facilitate their emotional growth. However, faced with complex unconscious processes, the worker has to remain alert to her countertransference in order not to be drawn into an unhelpful collusion or denial of reality. Organizational defences may also operate to protect staff and their institutions from awareness of such high levels of emotional distress, which therefore remain hidden. The author is grateful to the two young women who consented to publication in the hope that it might help others. Details have been changed to protect their anonymity.     

Typical-Atypical Interactions: One Patient’s Experience of Weight Bias in an Inpatient Eating Disorder Treatment Setting

Abstract

This article examines one patient’s experiences with weigh bias in an inpatient eating disorder treatment setting with a focus on interactions between the patient and her primary therapist. These therapeutic interactions had multiple unintended consequences, including bolstering feelings of denial, modeling of disordered behaviors, and disrupting the therapeutic alliance. Additional instances of weight bias with other treatment professionals, including an inpatient nutritionist and psychiatrist, are briefly discussed. The article ends with several brief recommendations for how clinicians can more skillfully approach issues of weight and size in the therapeutic alliance in order to resist size-related oppressions rather than reinforce them.     

A daily diary study of internalised weight bias and its psychological,eating and exercise correlates

Objective: The current investigation extends ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and daily diary weight stigma research in internalised weight bias (IWB). This investigation used daily diaries to examine the relationship between IWB, mood, coping, body appreciation, exercise behaviours and eating behaviours. Design: The study sample consisted of individuals who were overweight or obese (85% female) with M_BMI?=?36.0, SD_BMI?=?6.2. Participants completed a daily diary each evening and wore a Fitbit for 30 days. Main Outcome Measures: Participants reported on IWB, mood, coping, body appreciation, exercise behaviours and eating behaviours.

Results: Both within- and between-subjects IWB were significantly related to positive affect, negative affect, several coping responses, body appreciation, eating behaviours and the urge to avoid exercise. Exploratory analyses indicated that positive and negative affect mediated many of the associations between IWB and coping responses, body appreciation, and eating and exercise behaviours.

Conclusion: This investigation provides evidence that IWB experiences have daily impacts on psychological well-being, body appreciation, coping, eating and exercise behaviours. Also, this study raises awareness about IWB and its potential impact on psychological well-being and health behaviours.