What happens before we say 'Hello? An exploration of psychotherapists’ experiences of the emerging implicit during the assessment process

This research explored psychotherapists’ emergent implicit experiences during assessments. It was concerned with unconscious processes occurring during the assessment session and how therapists made sense of and used these experiences clinically, either implicitly or explicitly. The aims of the research were threefold: (1) to understand what and how therapists’ experience the emerging implicit during assessment, (2) to explore how therapists understand their experiences of the emerging implicit, how they use these experiences in the therapeutic work (or don’t) and (3) to explore how therapists put words and meaning to them. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were carried out with five senior psychotherapists. The interviews offered in-depth exploration of the psychotherapists’ subjective experiences of the implicit emerging in their conscious awareness during assessment sessions. Verbatim transcripts of the interviews were then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three main themes emerged: (1) A dramatic and powerful experience that stands out, (2) What’s going on? and (3) Difficulty in naming the experience. This research found that therapists experienced the emerging implicit as dramatically standing out from other experiences at assessment. The emerging implicit was experienced as a rapid process that came without warning and could not be anticipated or created at will. The therapists’ thinking and responses to the emerging implicit were complex and full of dilemmas. The therapists understood this as an intersubjective and dynamic experience. This research highlights the difficulty in studying common implicit experiences, and in trying to discuss these often profound experiences with verbal language, which is fraught with definitional and meaning issues. The hope was that this research would encourage dialogue concerning the importance of the implicit dimension in assessment sessions

THIS ISSUE IS DEDICATED TO THE LATE PROFESSOR EDWIN C. GODDARD

Edwin C. Goddard, a professor emeritus of the University of Michigan Law School, died in Ann Arbor, after a brief illness, on Friday, August 14, 1942. Those of us who were associated with him during his many years of service to the Law School feel that we have lost a wise adviser, a capable and faithful associate, and a loyal friend

Relaxation time in a non-conserving driven-diffusive system with parallel dynamics

We introduce a two-state non-conserving driven-diffusive system in one-dimension under a discrete-time updating scheme. We show that the steady-state of the system can be obtained using a matrix product approach. On the other hand, the steady-state of the system can be expressed in terms of a linear superposition Bernoulli shock measures with random walk dynamics. The dynamics of a shock position is studied in detail. The spectrum of the transfer matrix and the relaxation times to the steady-state have also been studied in the large-system-size limit.Comment: 10 page

New light curves and ephemeris for the close eclipsing binary V963 PER

We have obtained CCD photometry in 2010-11 of V963 Per (=GSC3355 0394), which is a recently identified close binary star with unequal eclipse depths. The seven new eclipse timings yield an improved ephemeris, but we caution that secondary eclipse can be affected by variation of the light curve. This variation seems to be on a monthly timescale at the few percent level.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Dyck Paths, Motzkin Paths and Traffic Jams

It has recently been observed that the normalization of a one-dimensional out-of-equilibrium model, the Asymmetric Exclusion Process (ASEP) with random sequential dynamics, is exactly equivalent to the partition function of a two-dimensional lattice path model of one-transit walks, or equivalently Dyck paths. This explains the applicability of the Lee-Yang theory of partition function zeros to the ASEP normalization. In this paper we consider the exact solution of the parallel-update ASEP, a special case of the Nagel-Schreckenberg model for traffic flow, in which the ASEP phase transitions can be intepreted as jamming transitions, and find that Lee-Yang theory still applies. We show that the parallel-update ASEP normalization can be expressed as one of several equivalent two-dimensional lattice path problems involving weighted Dyck or Motzkin paths. We introduce the notion of thermodynamic equivalence for such paths and show that the robustness of the general form of the ASEP phase diagram under various update dynamics is a consequence of this thermodynamic equivalence.Comment: Version accepted for publicatio

An introduction to phase transitions in stochastic dynamical systems

We give an introduction to phase transitions in the steady states of systems that evolve stochastically with equilibrium and nonequilibrium dynamics, the latter defined as those that do not possess a time-reversal symmetry. We try as much as possible to discuss both cases within the same conceptual framework, focussing on dynamically attractive `peaks' in state space. A quantitative characterisation of these peaks leads to expressions for the partition function and free energy that extend from equilibrium steady states to their nonequilibrium counterparts. We show that for certain classes of nonequilibrium systems that have been exactly solved, these expressions provide precise predictions of their macroscopic phase behaviour.Comment: Pedagogical talk contributed to the "Ageing and the Glass Transition" Summer School, Luxembourg, September 2005. 12 pages, 8 figures, uses the IOP 'jpconf' document clas

Flourishing ‘older-old’ (80+) adults: personal projects and their enabling places

This paper sets out a framework for exploring flourishing in older age through the lens of what older adults are doing in their lives. Applying a model from positive psychology called personal project analysis (PPA) our study captures a snapshot of older people's goals and their environmental context. Targeting older people aged 80+ we applied PPA methods in a semi-structured interview to elicit participants’ personal projects which were scored on eight wellbeing dimensions (e.g., fun, stress). Qualitative data analysis identified what types of personal projects are employed by this older demographic and the environments in which they are carried out. Results showed our participants were vitally engaged in a wide spectrum of projects exercised in a range of ‘enabling places’ which we categorised as (1) restorative niches (places that afford psychological restoration) such as nature settings (e.g. a garden, local park or riverside); (2) affinity niches (places that afford social opportunities) such as religious venues, social clubs, or cafés; and (3) flow niches (places that afford immersion in mental or physical tasks) such as the home (e.g. the kitchen) or a place associated with a previous career or amateur sport (e.g. cricket club). Our findings are discussed in relation to older people's wellbeing and the role of the built environment. Despite the increasingly negative stereotyping of the ‘older-old’ our study shows that the final decades of life can be a period of continuing growth and learning, a life stage with its own distinct character, rather than a period of decline