Alcoholism as a way of dealing with emotions and transformation in relational family therapy

Alcoholism, which is a major public health and social problem, can be viewed from several perspectives, as its occurrence is a multifaceted phenomenon in terms of its development (causes), effects, and maintenance. The Relational Family Therapy paradigm looks at alcoholism and its dynamics in relation to dysfunctional affect regulation. Dysfunctional affect regulation and the general inability to manage emotions are often mentioned in relation to the development and maintenance of alcohol addiction. The mechanism of affect regulation generally refers to internal processes that allow an individual to maintain their emotions to a degree that feels still bearable for them. According to these assumptions, alcoholics drink in order to cope with difficult emotions, either because they have more negative emotional states than others do, or because they lack the internal resources to cope with these negative emotions. For them, consuming alcohol is a series of repeated attempts to regulate heavy emotions, which often stem from painful past experiences. The process of Relational Family Therapy, therefore, as treatment of addiction, focuses on identifying and transforming the dysfunctional regulation of affect, which is behind addictive behavior. By means of action research methodology, this paper presents the approach of Relational Family Therapy in working with an alcoholic client, with an emphasis on the aspects of affect regulation. We show how the client’s alcohol use appeared as a dynamic of inappropriate regulation of a painful core affect. In the process of Relational Family Therapy, a more functional regulation of the core affect was established, thereby reducing symptomatic behavior (alcoholism) in the client.Alcoholism, which is a major public health and social problem, can be viewed from several perspectives, as its occurrence is a multifaceted phenomenon in terms of its development (causes), effects, and maintenance. The Relational Family Therapy paradigm looks at alcoholism and its dynamics in relation to dysfunctional affect regulation. Dysfunctional affect regulation and the general inability to manage emotions are often mentioned in relation to the development and maintenance of alcohol addiction. The mechanism of affect regulation generally refers to internal processes that allow an individual to maintain their emotions to a degree that feels still bearable for them. According to these assumptions, alcoholics drink in order to cope with difficult emotions, either because they have more negative emotional states than others do, or because they lack the internal resources to cope with these negative emotions. For them, consuming alcohol is a series of repeated attempts to regulate heavy emotions, which often stem from painful past experiences. The process of Relational Family Therapy, therefore, as treatment of addiction, focuses on identifying and transforming the dysfunctional regulation of affect, which is behind addictive behavior. By means of action research methodology, this paper presents the approach of Relational Family Therapy in working with an alcoholic client, with an emphasis on the aspects of affect regulation. We show how the client’s alcohol use appeared as a dynamic of inappropriate regulation of a painful core affect. In the process of Relational Family Therapy, a more functional regulation of the core affect was established, thereby reducing symptomatic behavior (alcoholism) in the client

Establishing a Relationship with God and Mary from the Perspective of Attachment Theory

U prošlosti su mnogi različiti psihodinamički pristupi pokušavali objasniti odnos prema Bogu u razdoblju odraslosti s obzirom na odnos prema ocu i majci. Ti pristupi tumačenju u većini su bili samo teoretskoga karaktera, nisu imali značajne empirijske potpore i zbog toga su doživjeli neke opravdane znanstvene kritike. U posljednje vrijeme u tim tumačenjima prevladava teorija privrženosti koja svoje razumijevanje pokušava i odgovarajuće metodološko-empirijski potkrijepiti. Dosadašnji empirijski rezultati glede povezanosti odnosa prema roditeljima i vjernosti u razdoblju odraslosti do sada nisu sasvim jasni. Ovo istraživanje koje u empirijskom dijelu unaprjeđuje naše ranije pilotsko istraživanje doprinos je dosadašnjim istraživanjima o odnosu između vrste rane privrženosti ocu i majci te vrste privrženosti Bogu i Mariji u kasnijim životnim razdobljima. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 120 sudionika - pripadnika različitih katoličkih skupina. Slično kao što je pokazalo i naše pilotsko istraživanje, koje je imalo manji broj sudionika i manje reprezentativnih za opću populaciju katolika, prema rezultatima, najviše ih ostvaruje prema Bogu i Mariji sigurnu privrženost. Privrženost ocu ili majci u djetinjstvu može djelomično objasniti privrženost Bogu i Mariji u razdoblju odraslosti, osobito kod nesigurnih značajki privrženosti (sklonost izbjegavanju, ambivalentnost) kod kojih, kako izgleda, postoji i više značajnih povezanosti, kao što smo zaključili u našem pilotskom istraživanju. Ipak, treba istaknuti kako rezultati također pokazuju da je potrebno razlikovati sigurne od nesigurnih privrženosti i da privrženosti Bogu i Mariji u značajnoj mjeri ne ovise o ranim odnosima s roditeljima već o drugim čimbenicima.There have been many psychodynamic approaches that tried to explain the connection between early relationship with the mother and father and later religious experience. Many of the »traditional« psychodynamic approaches to religion were subject to criticism, since they have many theoretical, empirical and methodological problems. Attachment theory presents an alternative to them, as it fulfils some important scientific requirements. Attachment theory and its studies suggest, that the quality of early relationships with primary caregivers (usually the mother and father), especially emotional security, seems to have an important impact on the characteristics of interpersonal relationships in later stages of life. We can also consider the relationship with God and Mary from the perspective of early relationships, especially from the perspective of attachment theory, which is one of the leading theories in the field of child and human development. These relationships meet the criteria (maintaining proximity, secure base, haven of safety, separation anxiety) of an attachment relationship. Attachment theory generally uses two basic categories when assessing the quality of attachment, security (that has the most positive impact on later healthy relationships) and insecurity, which has more subcategories. Recently, some researchers have spoken in favour of a more dimensional model of attachment characteristics rather than a categorical one. The purpose of this study, which is empirically an improvement of our previous pilot study, was to contribute to existing research work about the relationship between early attachment to father and mother and the attachment to God and Mary in later stages of life. In literature and in some studies, this relationship is not quite clear, two hypotheses exist: the correspondence hypothesis (the relationship with God is similar or corresponds to the attachment to early caregivers) and the compensation hypothesis (the lack of quality in an early relationship is substituted with a quality relationship with God). Appropriate research about other religious beings (like Mary) is also lacking. In our study, 120 participants from different groups with a Catholic background were included. Similar to as our previous pilot study, that had smaller sample and participants that were less representative of the general catholic population in our cultural environment, this study suggest that according to the results, the majority of participants established a secure attachment with God and Mary. In the part where participants classified themselves in one attachment category we did not find any important correlation between the attachment to the father and mother on the one hand and the attachment to God and Mary on the other. Where participants assessed how much each attachment style (characteristic) holds for them, the results suggest that the attachment to one\u27s father and mother in childhood can partly explain the attachment to God and Mary in adulthood. This is the case in some insecure (avoidant, ambivalent/anxious) characteristics of attachment. In these attachments there seems to be even more important connections, as we concluded from our pilot study. The results suggest that there is a trend that participants form a similar attachment relationship with God and Mary as the kind of attachment they had in their childhood. Generally there are little higher correlations with the relationship with one\u27s mother than with one\u27s father. The highest correlations are between avoidant characteristics of attachment to the mother and all insecure characteristics of attachment to God and Mary, ranging from 0.191 to 0.358 (all six statistically significant). The correlations between avoidant characteristics of attachment to one\u27s father and all insecure characteristics of an attachment to God and Mary range from 0.040 to 0.336 (three of them statistically significant). The results also suggest that attachment bonds to God and Mary are importantly independent from early relationships with parents and dependent also on other factors. According to the results, the characteristics of an attachment to God and the characteristics of an attachment to Mary are partly independent. The results further suggest that the answer to the question of correspondence or compensatory function of relations with God and Mary, is more complex and it is necessary to distinguish different types of attachments

IMPORTANCE OF PARENTING IN THE PROCESS OF RELIGIOUS SOCIALITY (perceived security theory of childhood attachment and taking religious values​​)

Oblikovanje vjerskoga stava, shvaćanja i vjerskih vrijednosti cjeloživotni je proces. Ipak, sve više istraživanja ukazuje na činjenicu da se osnova na kojoj će se oblikovati vjernost u razdoblju odraslosti uglavnom uspostavlja već u ranom razdoblju čovjekova života. U tome značajnu ulogu imaju odnosi dijete - roditelji. Kakvoća kontakta u ovim odnosima značajan je čimbenik koji utječe na činjenicu hoće li djeca preuzeti (vjerske) vrijednosti i shvaćanja roditelja ili će se od njih udaljiti ili ih čak odbijati. U našem istraživanju, u kojem je sudjelovalo 120 sudionika iz različnih vjerskih skupina, pokazalo se da je kod sudionika sa sigurnom privrženošću svojim roditeljima u djetinjstvu značajno više sukladnosti između ocjene dubine vlastite vjere te vjere roditelja. Ujedno smo otkrili značajnu povezanost između sigurnosti privrženosti sudionika roditeljima u djetinjstvu i sukladnosti preuzetih religioznih standarda, odnosno vrijednosti. Činjenicu da je kakvoća odnosa (posebice njihov emocionalni vid) djece prema svojim roditeljima značajan mehanizam moramo uzeti u obzir kada govorimo o prenošenju religioznih vrijednosti unutar obitelji.Abstract Fonnation of religious attitudes, beliefs and values is a lifelong process. However, more and more research points to the fact that the foundation on which the adult faith is to be formed is laid in the early years of life. The most important part here is played by parent-child relationships. The quality of these relationships determines whether children will adopt parental (religious) values and beliefs or reject them and distance themselves from parents. In our study in which 120 participants from various religious Catholic groups reported on the congruity between their faith and faith of their parents and their perceived attachment style to each parent the positive link between security of attachment and religious congruity was established. Furthermore, a significant relation between secure attachment and socialization-based religiosity was found. This is an indicator that quality of relationships (especially their emotional aspect) between children and their parents is an important mechanism in the context of transmission of religious values inside the family

Spirituality and psycho-organic regulation

Traumatic experiences are very important for the psycho-organic regulation of an individual. These experiences can very profoundly mark an individual, especially if they happened in childhood. They can be very disruptive and they scream for healing. In this process of healing spirituality plays a crucial role. Religiousness and sacramental life can be an essential regulatory system in the establishment of a functional psycho–organic response and spiritual life.Traumatic experiences are very important for the psycho-organic regulation of an individual. These experiences can very profoundly mark an individual, especially if they happened in childhood. They can be very disruptive and they scream for healing. In this process of healing spirituality plays a crucial role. Religiousness and sacramental life can be an essential regulatory system in the establishment of a functional psycho–organic response and spiritual life

The Impact of Early Aggression on Late Development

Children who are victims of an early violent atmosphere or early relational trauma will often, even in adulthood, tend to behave violently towards others, or become victims of violence, or freeze and later develop the tendency towards self-injury, in particular in later adolescence. In adulthood, they can be accident-prone, engage in constant violent physical abuse, threaten with or actually commit suicide. In this article we will focus on the impact of violence that children experience from the earliest age, on how it affects their development, and is transmitted to adulthood as well as to younger generations, since violence is imprinted in the deepest organic fibres of every individual.Children who are victims of an early violent atmosphere or early relational trauma will often, even in adulthood, tend to behave violently towards others, or become victims of violence, or freeze and later develop the tendency towards self-injury, in particular in later adolescence. In adulthood, they can be accident-prone, engage in constant violent physical abuse, threaten with or actually commit suicide. In this article we will focus on the impact of violence that children experience from the earliest age, on how it affects their development, and is transmitted to adulthood as well as to younger generations, since violence is imprinted in the deepest organic fibres of every individual

Vulnerability in Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Light of Relational Trauma

Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed different ways individuals react to frustrations they have experienced. Many times we have witnessed an increased level of aggression in interpersonal relationships and in the general social context. We find that there are some differences in coping and responding according to gender, with men showing a higher level of vulnerability and risk of inappropriate regulation and expression of anger when frustrated. To a certain extent, the answer to why this happens is provided by neuroscientific research, which shows that already at an early age, boys’ brains develop differently from girls’, as it takes more time to develop their stress-regulating mechanism; consequently, due to slower development, boys are more vulnerable to early stressful situations and have more problems with self-regulation of affective states at this early age. Together with the possibility of relational trauma in the family, to which many children are exposed from the earliest period of their lives and which plays an important role in providing a context for the development of affect regulation, that means that boys and men are even more vulnerable and sensitive to stress, aggression and trauma later in life. It makes sense to take these neuroscience findings into account when building an understanding of responses to stressful challenges, such as coping with a pandemic, as well as when planning appropriate models to help individuals cope with different types of stress

Treatment of dysfunctionally stored experiences with the method Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing – EMDR

In this paper a new therapeutic method called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is described. The method was formed mainly for treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, but there are also some reports about success with other mental disorders. The theoretical base of EMDR and especially the accelerated information processing model, the concept of memory networks and the explanations of effects of eye movements are presented. The process of EMDR is also described

Trends and problems in marital and family therapy research: Possible use of action research

Although research in marital and family therapy (MFT) is becoming increasingly important, it continues to encounter several major problems. Studies have shown that research has very little influence on the practice of the majority of MFT practitioners. Practitioners see research as unrelated to their concerns. The practice of the majority of MFT practitioners is very individualized, as are the clinical problems and circumstances. Some have therefore started to emphasize the transferability of results instead of generalizability, and studying the practitioner's own practice instead of general concepts. Action research in the field of psychotherapy, as well as in the field of MFT, has been mainly overlooked as a potential method for solving these problems in MFT research. The paper addresses one of many possible ways to use the repeating cycles of the four basic steps in action research (observing and gathering information, reflecting, planning, and acting). The use of these four steps in action research enables therapists to study and improve their own practice in a more systematic, structured, and valid manner. This kind of research connects research and therapy. It is very individualized and oriented towards actions that create therapeutic changes

Alcoholism as a way of dealing with emotions and transformation in relational family therapy

Alcoholism, which is a major public health and social problem, can be viewed from several perspectives, as its occurrence is a multifaceted phenomenon in terms of its development (causes), effects, and maintenance. The Relational Family Therapy paradigm looks at alcoholism and its dynamics in relation to dysfunctional affect regulation. Dysfunctional affect regulation and the general inability to manage emotions are often mentioned in relation to the development and maintenance of alcohol addiction. The mechanism of affect regulation generally refers to internal processes that allow an individual to maintain their emotions to a degree that feels still bearable for them. According to these assumptions, alcoholics drink in order to cope with difficult emotions, either because they have more negative emotional states than others do, or because they lack the internal resources to cope with these negative emotions. For them, consuming alcohol is a series of repeated attempts to regulate heavy emotions, which often stem from painful past experiences. The process of Relational Family Therapy, therefore, as treatment of addiction, focuses on identifying and transforming the dysfunctional regulation of affect, which is behind addictive behavior. By means of action research methodology, this paper presents the approach of Relational Family Therapy in working with an alcoholic client, with an emphasis on the aspects of affect regulation. We show how the client’s alcohol use appeared as a dynamic of inappropriate regulation of a painful core affect. In the process of Relational Family Therapy, a more functional regulation of the core affect was established, thereby reducing symptomatic behavior (alcoholism) in the client

Spirituality and psycho-organic regulation

Traumatic experiences are very important for the psycho-organic regulation of an individual. These experiences can very profoundly mark an individual, especially if they happened in childhood. They can be very disruptive and they scream for healing. In this process of healing spirituality plays a crucial role. Religiousness and sacramental life can be an essential regulatory system in the establishment of a functional psycho–organic response and spiritual life