Can mindfulness modify your thoughts? A study in the context of social phobia

IntroductionSocial phobia is said to be the commonest anxiety disorder (Furmark, 2002). Cognitive Behavior Therapy appears to be the most recommended form of psychological treatment for this condition (Federoff & Taylor, 2001; Willutzki et al., 2012). Dismantling studies have raised doubts regarding the utility of cognitive restructuring in bringing about decrease in symptoms (Barrera et al., 2016; Pompoli et al., 2018). Mindfulness, a ‘third-wave’ concept, seems to contradict the philosophy of ‘restructuring’ with its apparent stress on non-judgmental observation (Hayes, 2004). This approach postulates that acceptance of cognitions and emotions as therapeutic in contrast to traditional cognitive behavior therapy approach, which advocates restructuring and modifications of cognitions.ObjectiveThe current study attempted to study the ‘restructuring’ effects of mindfulness in persons with social phobia.MethodThirty-nine clients with a primary diagnosis of social phobia (ICD – 10) participated in the Mindfulness Integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MICBT) program, which consisted of eight sessions. MINI International Neuropsychiatry Interview Plus, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation, Meta Cognitions Questionnaire and Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire were administered pre and post of the therapeutic program.ResultsThe results demonstrated that MICBT had a significant effect on reducing the scores on fear of negative evaluation and bringing about changes in metacognitions.ConclusionMindfulness could be sufficient as a therapeutic strategy to bring about changes in the cognitions of clients with social phobia without using cognitive restructuring.     

How is Philosophy Possible? Blanchot on Secrecy,Ambiguity and the Care for Death

Abstract

I examine the contribution that the first part of Maurice Blancot’s recit Death Sentence makes to his understanding of the relationship between philosophy and literature. I use a reading of the Kantian, transcendental account of literature in “How is Literature Possible” as the starting point for an analysis of the way in which Blanchot uses secrets in describing J.’s death in Death Sentence, linking secrecy up with the imaginary, ambiguity and dissimulation. The purpose for this refinement is to challenge the philosophical tradition’s self‐understanding, particularly as exhibited in Hegel. This challenge is seen by reading the account of grief in the first part of Death Sentence as a parody of Hegel’s interpretation of Antigone.     

Coping and anxiety in college students after the September 11th terrorist attacks

This study investigated the presence of a stress response after the September 11^th terrorist attacks in a sample of indirectly affected college students living in Boston, Massachusetts. Anxiety was examined at two time intervals, approximately 2 and 4 months after the attacks. Methods of coping with the stress of the attacks (assessed using the COPE Inventory) and their impact on initial and longer-term anxiety were also examined. Results demonstrated that the majority of college students in the study were severely psychologically impacted initially by the terrorist attacks. However, this initial impact appears to decay over time for most people. Several potentially maladaptive coping strategies were found to be predictive of initial anxiety, including denial, behavioral disengagement, mental disengagement, and focus on and venting of emotions. However, only focus on and venting of emotions was found to be uniquely predictive of longer-term anxiety.     

Disponibilité à la psychothérapie et à l’engagement dans les soins chez les patientes boulimiques : contribution du Rorschach

The instability of involvement in the care process and psychotherapy is frequent among bulimic women. The preliminary evaluation of the capacity of involvement helps to make the decision to begin specific care with these patients. We thus make the assumption that involvement in the care process can express itself in indexes of Rorschach when this test is part of a prior examination of orientation at the beginning of the care. These indexes concern the relationship dependence and the capacity of development of subjective expression. They appear in several analysis registers of the Rorschach protocol, which are: the scale of oral dependence (ROD); the index of expressive capacity (EX); the recurring object (ORec); contents in connection with the representation of dependence among bulimic women. A group of 34 bulimic women involved in multifocal care process, especially including a psychoanalytical-inspired psychotherapy (ES) is compared with a group of 34 bulimic women who precociously stopped this care or didn’t get involved in it (NES). The subjects of the ES group received care during at least 1 year. The comparison between the two groups shows significant differences in the pretherapeutic indexes (ROD, ORec). The interest and the limits of this type of analysis are debated.     

A test of the distraction explanation of disfluency modification in stuttering

The distraction explanation of changes in stuttering rate was examined in the present experiment. Twelve stutterers were compared with 12 nonstutterers who were matched for age, sex, and level of education. Subjects were tested for disfluency production under conditions designed to reflect the dimension of distraction. These conditions were: (a) over attention to speech (counting speaking errors). (b) “normal” conditions (no additional task), and (c) distraction (pursuit tracking of an irregular target). The results showed no effect on stuttering rate that could be attributed to the distraction conditions. However, stutterers rated the difficulty of these conditions in concordance with the distraction theory. It was suggested that, while stutterers' perceptions may account for the popularity of the distraction explanation, evidence supporting the theory is lacking.     

Patterns of vocal fold movement during stuttering

By means of an electroglottography, 114 tokens of stuttering produced by 12 adult stutterers were analyzed for patterns of vocal fold vibration as observed in eight types of stuttering episodes. Results suggest that stuttering events share certain phonational attributes. Issues concerning the nature of the disorder and approach to treatment are discussed.     

On the inconclusiveness of “crucial” cognitive tests of dissonance versus self-perception theories

Several recent experiments are claimed to have tested conflicting predictions of cognitive dissonance and self-perception theories. It is argued that these claims fail to take into account the capacity of each formulation to account adequately for results “predicted” by the other. This argument is then continued, at a metatheoretical level, to reach the conclusion that the two theories are not capable of producing unequivocally contradictory predictions of cognitive consequences of experimental procedures.