Above all, do no harm: Towards more ethical ways of being and acting in psychological formulation

Recent evidence seems to suggest mental health service users can be at risk of persistent harm as a result of psychological interventions. This article analyses ways of addressing harm by using the ‘lenses’ of four ethical theories to view psychological formulation

Spiritual development, meaning making, resilience and potential for post-traumatic growth among asylum-seekers and refugees: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract: Introduction: This paper uses interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the lived experiences of asylum-seekers and refugees responding to severe stress and trauma. Specifically, spiritual development, meaning-making, resilience and post-traumatic responses are investigated. Given the paucity of research in this area, a fine-grained understanding of human adaptive capabilities in extreme circumstances may present opportunities for evidence-based interventions that could increase resilience and decrease the impact of significant adversity. Leeds Beckett University is supported in this research by a Yorkshire-based specialist psychotherapy organization working with refugees/asylum-seekers. Methods: 15 refugees/asylum-seekers who have been in the UK for not less than a 2-year period made up a relatively large sample for IPA. IPA enabled insight into how individuals made sense of unique and everyday experiences within the realms of spirituality, psychological resilience, and holistic health. Generic experiential themes paired with interpretations from two independent researchers were aligned to each transcript to reach a satisfactory level of agreement. This follows established principles and practices for conducting IPA on transcript data. Findings: Outcomes emanating from the study focus upon the processes and outcomes of asylum-seekers and refugees’ spiritually, meaning-making, resilience and post-traumatic growth. A detailed analysis of personal accounts helps to inform locally and nationally based stakeholders (e.g. health and care providers, governmental and non-governmental organisations) to address the psycho-social and spiritual needs of this target group. The challenges and benefits of using IPA as a popular framework in qualitative health psychology are also considered when conducting research with this target group

Effectiveness of counselling and psychotherapeutic interventions for people with dementia and their families: a systematic review

As there is currently no cure for dementia, providing psycho-social support is imperative. Counselling and psychotherapeutic interventions offer a way to provide individualised support for people with dementia and their families. However, to date, there has not been a systematic review examining the research evidence for these interventions. This review aimed to examine the following research questions: (1) Are counselling/psychotherapeutic interventions effective for people with dementia?, (2) Are counselling/psychotherapeutic interventions effective for care-givers of people with dementia? and (3) Which modes of delivery are most effective for people with dementia and care-givers of people with dementia? A systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE (via PubMed), PsycINFO and CINAHL in March 2019. Keyword searches were employed with the terms ‘dement*’, ‘counsel*’, ‘psychotherapy’, ‘therap*’, ‘care’ and ‘outcome’, for the years 2000–2019. Thirty-one papers were included in the review, from seven countries. Twenty studies were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or adopted a quasi-experimental design. The remaining studies were qualitative or single-group repeated-measures design. The review identified variation in the counselling/psychotherapeutic approaches and mode of delivery. Most interventions adopted either a problem-solving or cognitive behavioural therapy approach. Mixed effectiveness was found on various outcomes. The importance of customised modifications for people with dementia was highlighted consistently. Understanding the dyadic relationships between people with dementia and their care-givers is essential to offering effective interventions and guidance for practitioners is needed. Information about the cognitive impairment experienced by participants with dementia was poorly reported and is essential in the development of this research area. Future studies should consider the impact of cognitive impairment in developing guidance for counselling/psychotherapeutic intervention delivery for people with dementia

"It's made me reassess what I think and believe." An Exploratory Study of Therapists' Experiences with Their Clients' Deathbed Visions, Deathbed Coincidences, and After-Death Communication

Research literature has highlighted the occurrence of deathbed vision (DBV), deathbed coincidence (DBC), and after-death communication (ADC) phenomena. To better inform the mental health profession about how psychotherapists respond to and are affected by working with these client experiences, we interviewed four therapists in private practice in the United Kingdom who reported having worked with clients who disclosed one or more of the phenomena. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), we identified three main themes from their accounts: (a) making sense of inexplicable transpersonal experiences on a professional and personal level, (b) experiencing personal transformation, and (c) perceiving clients’ therapeutic benefits from addressing DBV, DBC, and ADC experiences. We discuss these findings in the context of the existing literature along with implications for clinical practice and possible future research directions

The Asylum-Seeker and Refugee Experience - An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Interview Data Elicited Through the Use of Artefacts

Theme 3: Protection of the ‘most vulnerable’ - children, young people growing up in ‘austerity’ older people, migrants Background: There is a pressing need to understand the experiences of those who undertake forced migration. The UNHCR (2016) has reported that “one in every 113 people globally is now either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refugee” - this is at its highest level since the Second World War. Aims: This study sought to explore the lived experiences of asylum-seekers and refugees based in the United Kingdom in an effort to understand the psycho-social challenges and support systems in place for them. Methods: This was a qualitative study. 11 participants were interviewed on two separate occasions. In the first interview, each participant was asked to bring an artefact of something that was personal to them and best represented their life experiences. The second interview allowed for further exploration of issues that arose from the first interview and also enabled rapport to be developed in an effort to elicit a deeper level understanding of the lived experience of being an asylum-seeker or refugee from conversations in the second interview. Findings: Findings to be reported in this presentation will show themes related to: meaning-making, offering and receiving collective support, and the potential for growth via connections with spiritual communities. Conclusions: A detailed analysis of these personal accounts from this sample of asylum-seekers and refugees could help inform an understanding and appropriate intervention planning on a local, national, and global level when aiming to address the psycho-social and spiritual needs of this target group. Mainstreaming community psychology interventions: reflections on workin

In planta expression of human polyQ-expanded huntingtin fragment reveals mechanisms to prevent disease-related protein aggregation

In humans, aggregation of polyglutamine repeat (polyQ) proteins causes disorders such as Huntington’s disease. Although plants express hundreds of polyQ-containing proteins, no pathologies arising from polyQ aggregation have been reported. To investigate this phenomenon, we expressed an aggregation-prone fragment of human huntingtin (HTT) with an expanded polyQ stretch (Q69) in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. In contrast to animal models, we find that Arabidopsis sp. suppresses Q69 aggregation through chloroplast proteostasis. Inhibition of chloroplast proteostasis diminishes the capacity of plants to prevent cytosolic Q69 aggregation. Moreover, endogenous polyQ-containing proteins also aggregate on chloroplast dysfunction. We find tha

Ethnic Speech and Ethnic Action as Ethnic Behavior: Part 1. Construction of the Brunel Ethnic Behavior Inventory

© 2016 Taylor & Francis.This article reports the construction of a new survey—specifically, the Brunel Ethnic Behavior Inventory (BEBI)—designed to measure ethnic speech and ethnic action as separate, yet related, aspects of individuals’ ethnic behavior. Using Tajfel’s social identity theory as a conceptual frame of reference, this study sought an answer to the research question of how many factors actually are measured by the BEBI, and tested the hypothesis that a two-factor model (i.e., Ethnic Speech and Ethnic Action as two correlated factors) would provide significantly better goodness of fit to the correlational data than would a one-factor model (i.e., Ethnic Behavior as one undifferentiated factor). Across one pilot sample (n = 101) and two main samples (n = 120 for Sample 1, n = 148 for Sample 2), the study found that not only did the BEBI measure two factors at most (i.e., Ethnic Speech and Ethnic Action) but, consistent with the hypothesis, the two-factor model yielded better goodness of fit than did the one-factor model. Implications for the conceptualization and measurement of Verkuyten’s “ways of ethnicity” are discussed

“Where is the love?” A radical integrated approach to contemporary working in Community

This paper offers an interdisciplinary perspective to those interested in humanistic psychology perspectives to love when working in communities. This includes for example community psychologists, psychotherapists, humanistic psychologists, youth workers, community development practitioners and allied health professionals. It offers the opportunity to reflect on how love manifests as an element of practice. Emphasising the place of love within practice and how ‘professional love’ enhances relational working. Through engaging in psychological, sociological and philosophical debate, we offer a framework, within which transferable skills, knowledge and approaches can be utilised to further radicalise contemporary work within communities. Furthermore, this paper clarifies the potentiality for therapeutic and sociological disciplines to contribute critique, with the golden thread throughout of professional love and ethics as a foundation of practice. Radical love seeks to encourage the practitioner to have courage to work through their own prejudice and privilege. This enables them to work with relational depth and embrace the underlying philosophical assumptions of humanistic psychology. In conclusion, recommendations are given which inform the reader of the possibility of social change, empowerment of communities and demonstrate how love in professional practice offers a shift in relational power, thus highlighting a radical, integrated approach to contemporary community work