Early Maladaptive Schemas and negative life events in the prediction of depression and anxiety

This study tested the relationships between Young\u27s (1990, 2003) model of Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs), negative life events occurring over the past 4 months, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms. We also replicated a design testing the ability of EMSs, negative life events, and their interaction to predict depressive and anxious symptoms and extended the design to include specific categories of negative life events (interpersonal and achievement). Results of this study showed that EMSs are predictive of depressive and anxious symptoms, but that negative life events account for a greater prediction. The EMS model was just as highly associated with and predictive of anxious symptoms as it was with depressive symptoms. The study was the first to examine specific types of negative life events and their relationships with EMSs. EMSs may be more highly associated with negative achievement than with negative interpersonal events but the EMSs appear to be vulnerable to global life stress in general

The development of a psychological check-up: assessing character and well-being via the unified approach

This dissertation presents a model of assessing and addressing the growing college student mental health crisis (CSMHC), which pertains to the rise of student pathology over time and difficulty meeting the needs of that growing population. A theory driven conceptual paradigm was developed, based on Henriques’ (2011; Henriques & Stout, 2012) Unified Approach to psychology and psychotherapy and, specifically, the Nested Model of Well-being (Henriques, Kleinman, & Asselin, 2014) and Character Adaptation Systems Theory (CAST). Based on those conceptual models and an understanding of college student mental health concerns, the Psychological Check-Up was designed. The Psychological Check-Up consists of a comprehensive assessment battery, wherein students complete brief measures online, schedule in-vivo interviews with clinical researchers and return for therapeutic feedback and a written report of their well-being, character functioning, and recommendations for greater adaptive living. The current project constituted the pilot phase and, as such, contained two distinct studies. In Study 1, the clinical researchers collected normative data from a large sample of college students who completed the Psychological Check-Up assessment battery online. In Study 2, a second sample of college students (n=19) completed the entire Psychological Check-Up protocol. Results of this pilot phase indicated that the Psychological Check-Up was judged to be highly feasible, clinically useful, and meaningful for participants. Thus, it is the clinical researchers’ belief that the Psychological Check-Up is an effective method of assessing and addressing the CSMHC as the proposed protocol represents a method of identifying and treating at-risk individuals in a way that is efficient, systematic and also theoretically grounded

A Case of Persistent Median Artery Splitting the Median Nerve

Introduction: Development of vascular abnormalities throughout the body are not uncommon. Little insight can be found regarding the clinical manifestations and development of these irregularities in the current data, indicating that further research needs to be done in order to gain full understanding of their implications. In the current case presentation, a persistent median artery (PMA) was identified in the left forearm of a cadaver. Normal vasculature of the forearm proceeds as follows; the brachial artery splits into the radial and ulnar arteries. The common interosseous artery branches off of the ulnar artery and then splits into an anterior and posterior portion. The anterior interosseous artery pierces the interosseous membrane and anastomoses with the posterior interosseous artery on the dorsum of the hand to form the dorsal carpal arch. On the ventral aspect of the hand the radial and ulnar arteries form the superficial and deep palmar arches along the metacarpals. Little is known on the developmental regulation of the branching of these arteries. Methods: The forearm of an 84-year-old female was dissected as part of a gross anatomy course at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Results: A PMA followed the course of the median nerve in the cadaver’s left forearm, splitting the nerve immediately distal to the elbow. The median nerve then rejoins and both the nerve and artery follow the nerve’s standard path through the carpal tunnel. This anomaly was found in only the left arm. The radial and ulnar artery were unremarkable, following their conventional pathways with no additional abnormal branching. Discussion: Clinical applications for the abnormality concern both carpal tunnel syndrome and neuropathy. A PMA has been noted as a cause for carpal tunnel because of its ability to compress the median nerve. With the unusual splitting of the median nerve, the implications are unknown, but neuropathy seem possible if not likely