The Nature of Working Memory for Braille

Blind individuals have been shown on multiple occasions to compensate for their loss of sight by developing exceptional abilities in their remaining senses. While most research has been focused on perceptual abilities per se in the auditory and tactile modalities, recent work has also investigated higher-order processes involving memory and language functions. Here we examined tactile working memory for Braille in two groups of visually challenged individuals (completely blind subjects, CBS; blind with residual vision, BRV). In a first experimental procedure both groups were given a Braille tactile memory span task with and without articulatory suppression, while the BRV and a sighted group performed a visual version of the task. It was shown that the Braille tactile working memory (BrWM) of CBS individuals under articulatory suppression is as efficient as that of sighted individuals' visual working memory in the same condition. Moreover, the results suggest that BrWM may be more robust in the CBS than in the BRV subjects, thus pointing to the potential role of visual experience in shaping tactile working memory. A second experiment designed to assess the nature (spatial vs. verbal) of this working memory was then carried out with two new CBS and BRV groups having to perform the Braille task concurrently with a mental arithmetic task or a mental displacement of blocks task. We show that the disruption of memory was greatest when concurrently carrying out the mental displacement of blocks, indicating that the Braille tactile subsystem of working memory is likely spatial in nature in CBS. The results also point to the multimodal nature of working memory and show how experience can shape the development of its subcomponents

Health-related quality of life change in patients treated at a multidisciplinary pain clinic

Background Multidisciplinary pain management (MPM) is a generally accepted method for treating chronic pain, but heterogeneous outcome measures provide only limited conclusions concerning its effectiveness. Therefore, further studies on the effectiveness of MPM are needed to identify subgroups of patients who benefit, or do not benefit, from these interventions. Our aim was to analyse health-related quality of life (HRQoL) changes after MPM and to identify factors associated with treatment outcomes. Methods We carried out a real world observational follow-up study of chronic pain patients referred to a tertiary multidisciplinary outpatient pain clinic to describe, using the validated HRQoL instrument 15D, the HRQoL change after MPM and to identify factors associated with this change. 1,043 patients responded to the 15D HRQoL questionnaire at baseline and 12 months after the start of treatment. Background data were collected from the pre-admission questionnaire of the pain clinic. Results Fifty-three percent of the patients reported a clinically important improvement and, of these, 81% had a major improvement. Thirty-five percent reported a clinically important deterioration, and 12% had no change in HRQoL. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that major improvement was positively associated with shorter duration of pain (Peer reviewe

Humanistic psychotherapy research 1990-2015 : from methodological innovation to evidence-supported treatment outcomes and beyond

Over the past twenty five years, humanistic psychotherapy (HP) researchers have actively contributed to the development and implementation of innovative practice-informed research measures and coding systems. Qualitative and quantitative research findings, including meta-analyses, support the identification of HP approaches as evidence-based treatments for a variety of psychological conditions. Implications for future psychotherapy research, training and practice are discussed in terms of addressing the persistent disjunction between significant HP research productivity and relatively low support for HP approaches in university-based clinical training programs, funding agencies and government-supported clinical guidelines. Finally, specific recommendations are provided to further enhance and expand the impact of humanistic psychotherapy research for clinical training programs and the development of treatment guidelines

Effects of school-based interventions on mental health stigmatization: a systematic review

Stigmatizing, or discriminatory, perspectives and behaviour, which target individuals on the basis of their mental health, are observed in even the youngest school children. We conducted a systematic review of the published and unpublished, scientific literature concerning the benefits and harms of school-based interventions, which were directed at students 18 years of age or younger to prevent or eliminate such stigmatization. Forty relevant studies were identified, yet only a qualitative synthesis was deemed appropriate. Five limitations within the evidence base constituted barriers to drawing conclusive inferences about the effectiveness and harms of school-based interventions: poor reporting quality, a dearth of randomized controlled trial evidence, poor methods quality for all research designs, considerable clinical heterogeneity, and inconsistent or null results. Nevertheless, certain suggestive evidence derived both from within and beyond our evidence base has allowed us to recommend the development, implementation and evaluation of a curriculum, which fosters the development of empathy and, in turn, an orientation toward social inclusion and inclusiveness. These effects may be achieved largely by bringing especially but not exclusively the youngest children into direct, structured contact with an infant, and likely only the oldest children and youth into direct contact with individuals experiencing mental health difficulties. The possible value of using educational activities, materials and contents to enhance hypothesized benefits accruing to direct contact also requires investigation. Overall, the curriculum might serve as primary prevention for some students and as secondary prevention for others

An Atmospheric Scientist—The Contributions of Dr. Yitzhak Mahrer

Dr. Yitzhak Mahrer, an Israeli atmospheric scientist, was one of the earliest contributors to the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), a leading model with abilities on a wide range of atmospheric scales. He was involved in many complex-terrain and coastal atmospheric dynamic studies, and was among the pioneers of air-pollution modeling, especially over the Eastern Mediterranean. Dr. Mahrer deceased on September 2017, and RAMS community has lost one of its founders, with his shy smile, funny remarks, and bright mind. While he also led multiple fields observational campaigns and graduated many students as a Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, we hereby present only a brief overview of his scientific contribution to the atmospheric modeling community

Existential sex therapy

This paper considers what existential psychotherapy has to offer the ever-expanding field of sex therapy. First it considers the critical stance that existential psychotherapy takes towards diagnosis and categorisation, explaining why it is important for sex therapists to engage critically with notions of ‘sexual dysfunction’, and suggesting ways in which we might work with clients around the losses and gains of various labels. Following this, existential therapy is briefly outlined and applied to sexual issues, drawing particularly on the work of Peggy Kleinplatz and Irving Yalom, as well as the author’s own client work. Three aspects of existential therapy are explored in depth: The focus on client’s lived experience, the multiple meanings they may have around sex, and the importance of considering the various dimensions of existence. Throughout this latter half of the paper examples will be given where sex therapists worked with existential themes (including how to live a meaningful life, how to relate to others, mortality and the freedom to choose)

Towards the development of Helpful Aspects of Morenian Psychodrama Content Analysis System (HAMPCAS)

The main goal of this study is to develop a system of categorizing what clients find helpful and hindering in psychodrama sessions using a patient-generated process measure, the Helpful Aspects of Therapy (HAT; Elliott, Helpful Aspects of Therapy Form. http://www.experiential-researchers.org/instruments/elliott/hat.html, 1993). An existing system, the Helpful Aspects of Experiential Therapy Content Analysis System (HAETCAS; Elliott, Helpful aspects of experiential therapy content analysis system (HAETCAS): Rating manual. Unpublished manuscript. Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, 1988), was adapted to psychodrama, by exploring to what extent its categories were applicable or not to this therapeutic approach. HAETCAS is meant to categorize each client identified therapeutic event from three aspects: action (to which the event refers to), impact (that the event had on the individual) and content (that the event is about). This study showed that the majority of impact and context categories of HAETCAS are potentially applicable to psychodrama. In relation to action, the results demonstrate the need for psychodrama specific categories, which would reveal theoretical aspects of this therapeutic model. An extended version of HAETCAS, which includes the categories of action specific to psychodrama was identified as HAMPCAS (Helpful Aspects of Morenian Psychodrama Content Analysis System). The implications of using it to analyze HAT data, for both therapists and clients will be addressed; highlighting the possibilities and drawbacks of routinely taking clients’ perspectives on board. This study is part of the IPHA Group (Sales et al., Counselling and Psychotherapy Research 14(3):181–191, 2014), an international practice-based research network dedicated to personalized assessment