Experiences of Becoming Emotionally Dysregulated. A Qualitative Study of Staff in Youth Residential Care

Trauma informed care (TIC) emphasizes the importance of professionals maintaining an emotionally regulated state. We interviewed eight staff members in a residential care unit for children and adolescents where TIC had been implemented, about situations wherein they experienced difficulty regulating their own emotions. We identified three major narratives in informants’ descriptions: (1) “Are we doing the right things?”, (2) “My childhood issues surfaced”, and (3) “Missing togetherness with trusted others.” The narratives illustrate the emotional strain that can be evoked when working in residential child welfare settings, and within TIC frameworks, and point to potential challenges to resolve when implementing TIC in similar organizations.publishedVersio

Does a single exposure to social defeat render rats more vulnerable to chemically induced colitis than brief inescapable foot-shocks?

All mammals are to different degrees exposed to stressors being physical or social, which may affect health and well-being. Stressful and traumatic situations have direct effects on immune responses that may alter susceptibility to developing somatic illnesses. In animal research, different types of stressors have been investigated in studying the effect on bowel disorders, some stressors being more or less of environmental origin. We aimed, therefore, to explore whether a more natural stressor would differ from a stressor of more unnatural characteristics on dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) induced colitis in adult rats. Specifically, whether social stress within a single social defeat (SD) paradigm would be a more potent stressor than brief inescapable foot-shocks (IFS) in causing elevated faecal granulocyte marker protein (GMP), and crypt- and inflammation scores in colonic tissue. Three groups of male Wistar rats were used; socially defeated rats; inescapable foot-shock rats; and comparison rats. Main findings showed no difference between the groups on GMP levels. However, there was a significant difference on inflammation and crypt scores for the distal part of colon, detected through histology, where socially defeated rats were more susceptible. A single SD seems to be more adverse than inescapable foot-shock on DSS induced colitis, but further studies are recommended to validate a broader range of different outcomes comparing two such different rodent stress models.publishedVersio

Walking Children Through a Minefield: How Professionals Experience Exploring Adverse Childhood Experiences

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Inhibitory control as possible risk and/or resilience factor for the development of trauma related symptoms–a study of the Utøya terror attack survivors

PTSD symptomatology is known to be associated with executive dysfunction. Inhibitory control is a core component of executive functioning, and inhibitory skills are essential both for adequate functioning in everyday life and important in situations following trauma. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between trauma exposure, inhibitory control and PTSD symptomatology in adolescent survivors of the terror attack at Utøya, Norway on the 22nd of July, 2011. In this cross-sectional case-control study, 20 trauma exposed adolescents and 20 healthy controls matched in age and gender were compared on a neuropsychological test of cognitive inhibition (Color-Word Interference Test) and a self-report measure of inhibition ability (BRIEF-A). Our analyses revealed that the trauma exposed group differed significantly on the self-reported measure of inhibitory control compared to the control group, but there were no differences between groups on the objective measures of cognitive inhibition. Follow-up analyses with subgroups in the trauma exposed group based on PTSD symptomatology (PTSD + and PTSD-) and the control group revealed that the PTSD- group showed significantly better results than both the PTSD + and the control group on the measures of inhibitory control. Moreover, the follow-up analyses showed that the PTSD + group showed significantly poorer results from the other two groups on the measures of inhibitory control and self-reported inhibition. We conclude that impaired inhibitory control, measured both objectively and by self-reported questionnaire, is related to PTSD symptomatology. Findings suggest that inhibitory dysfunctions may be a vulnerability factor for the development of PTSD symptomatology in trauma exposed adolescents, and thus it seems that the ability to exhibit inhibitory control could be a possible resilience factor to prevent the development of PTSD symptoms.publishedVersio

Intestinal permeability and faecal Granulocyte Marker Protein in Dextran Sulphate Sodium - induced colitis in rats

The aims of this preliminary study were to foster the development of an animal model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We hereby studied the effects of dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) in drinking water on (a) intestinal permeability and (b) faecal levels of granulocyte marker protein (GMP) in rats. Methods were adopted to keep stress at a minimum. The animals had free access to DSS for 36 or 96 hrs. Controls received only water. Oral administration of 51Cr-labelled ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (51CrEDTA) is used for clinical evaluation of intestinal permeability in IBD. 51CrEDTA was administered by training the animals to drink a given quantity of fluid within 5 minutes in a specific environment. On the test day, they voluntarily consumed 1 ml water containing 2 μCi 51CrEDTA. Urine samples were taken from filter paper in their home-cages for 6 hrs and radioactivity measured in a gamma counter. Faecal samples were collected after 36 and 96 hrs on DSS or water for GMP analysis. RESULTS: GMP was elevated in the DSSinduced animals after both 36 hrs (p<.05) and 96 hrs (p<.01), the elevation being greater after 96 hrs. Consumption of DSS increased the urinary excretion of 51CrEDTA after 36 hrs, but not after 96 hrs. Only DSS consumption for 96 hrs resulted in visible colonic erosions in either the proximal, mid or distal part of the colon. CONCLUSION: DSS has an acute effect upon urinary excretion of 51CrEDTA, and 96 hrs of access to DSS is sufficient to induce elevated GMP levels and colonic erosions in adult rats

Evaluering av nettbasert læringsportal ved Det Psykologiske Fakultet –Profesjonsstudiet, 3. semester.

LMS er en forkortelse for ”learning management system” og blir anvendt om systemer som administrerer nettbaserte undervisningstjenester for studenter, lærere og administratorer. Det Psykologiske Fakultet ved Universitetet i Bergen har satset på et kommersielt nettbasert læringssystem som har vært i bruk i 2 år. En grundig evaluering av bruk og nytteverdi gjenstår. Denne artikkelen omfatter en preliminær undersøkelse av studenters bruk og vurdering av læringssystemets nytteverdi og potensiale. Resultatene er utarbeidet ved hjelp av et skjema som dekker kvantitative og kvalitative data og som ble designet til dette formålet. Populasjonen bestod av profesjonsstudenter på 3. semester ved Det Psykologiske Fakultet. Av 23 studenter som var tilstede under utdeling av skjemaet kom det inn 23 svar. En kvantitativ analyse av materialet er utført ved hjelp av SPSS statistisk analyse. Kvalitativ undersøkelse er basert på en evaluering av studentenes skriftlige besvarelser. Konklusjon: Et flertall av studentene synes bruk av nettbasert læringsportal er et nyttig supplement til undervisningen. Bruk av diskusjonsforum må være basert på frivillig innsats og dekke relevante psykologiske tema

The Effect of Acute Stress on the Maturing Brain, 2017

This project aims to increase the understanding of how the brain is affected and works after major psychological stresses. The study investigates whether a trauma like 22 July has affected important cognitive functions and underlying neurophysiological mechanisms among the survivors from Utøya compared to a control-group (similar age, gender, sociodemographic data and political interest). Data includes MR data, neuropsychiatric interviews, registration of circadian rhythms, survey and saliva tests. How psychologically stressful incidents such as July 22nd affect brain areas, like attention and memory, have not been previously been investigated in adolescents. This knowledge is important in order to offer better treatment and adaptation to both survivors after Utøya and future youths exposed to traumatic events. This project is a collaboration between the University of Bergen, the fMRI group in Bergen, the Research Group on Experimental and Clinical Stress and Sleep (RECSS), Helse Bergen and RVTS Vest. The University of Bergen is responsible for the study. The project also collaborates with the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo who have been conducting a similar study

Gatekeeper-modellen i skolen - erfaringer fra et pilotprosjekt om selvmordsforebygging

Suicidal atferd og selvskading utgjør et alvorlig folkehelseproblemog omfatter de fleste aldersgrupper fra skolebarn til eldre.Det er sjeldent at barn under 14 år tar sitt eget liv, men detfinnes evidens hos unge voksne for at tanker om å ta sitt egetliv har debutert allerede i tidlig skolealder. Selvskading er langthyppigere og har størst forekomst i tenårene og tidlig 20-årene.Skolen er den arenaen som møter flest barn og unge. Økt fokuspå psykisk helse i skolen stiller krav til tiltak samt kompetanseblant skolepersonell. Risiko for selvmord eller selvskading blantelever er til stede ved alle skoler i landet. Opplevelse av tap,som når familiemedlemmer tar sitt eget liv, gir en status sometterlatt, og det er en økt selvmordsrisiko blant ungdommeretter foreldres selvmord. Dette krever ekstra ivaretagelse ogoppfølging i skolehverdagen. Skolepersonell kan gjennomkompetanseheving iverksette forebyggende tiltak. Denneartikkelen tar for seg erfaringer med gatekeeper eller portvaktmodellen i grunnskolen og dens nytteverdi. Et gjennomførtpilotprosjekt ved 16 skoler har ført til opprettelse av et nettverkmed skolepersonell som ressurspersoner. 14 skoleansatte somhar gjennomført kurs og opplæring i selvmordsforebygginghar blitt kartlagt for kunnskap om og ferdigheter i selvmordsforebygging samt holdninger til selvmord gjennom fokusgruppeintervju. Resultatene viser nytteverdi av implementeringav portvaktmodellen i skolen i form av økt kunnskap om, ogopplevelse av bedre ferdigheter i, å håndtere selvmordsatferd.Kompetansehevingsprogram i selvmordsforebygging børutvides på et regionalt og nasjonalt nivå

Experiences of Becoming Emotionally Dysregulated. A Qualitative Study of Staff in Youth Residential Care

Trauma informed care (TIC) emphasizes the importance of professionals maintaining an emotionally regulated state. We interviewed eight staff members in a residential care unit for children and adolescents where TIC had been implemented, about situations wherein they experienced difficulty regulating their own emotions. We identified three major narratives in informants’ descriptions: (1) “Are we doing the right things?”, (2) “My childhood issues surfaced”, and (3) “Missing togetherness with trusted others.” The narratives illustrate the emotional strain that can be evoked when working in residential child welfare settings, and within TIC frameworks, and point to potential challenges to resolve when implementing TIC in similar organizations