Effects of dance movement therapy on Chinese cancer patients: A pilot study in Hong Kong

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Testing gender invariance of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale using the classical approach and Bayesian approach

Purpose Measurement invariance is an important attribute for the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Most of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) studies on the HADS adopt the classical maximum likelihood approach. The restrictive assumptions of exact zero cross-loadings and residual correlations in the classical approach can lead to inadequate model fit and biased parameter estimates. The present study adopted both the classical approach and the alternative Bayesian approach to examine the measurement and structural invariance of the HADS across gender. Methods A Chinese sample of 326 males and 427 females was used to examine the two-factor model of the HADS across gender. Configural and scalar invariance of the HADS were evaluated using the classical approach with the robust weighted least square estimator and the Bayesian approach with zero-mean, small variance informative priors for cross-loadings and residual correlations. Results Acceptable and excellent model fits were found for the two-factor model under the classical and Bayesian approaches, respectively. The two-factor model displayed scalar invariance across gender using both approaches. In terms of structural invariance, females showed a significantly higher mean in the anxiety factor than males under both approaches. Conclusion The HADS demonstrated measurement invariance across gender and appears to be a well-developed instrument for assessment of anxiety and depression. The Bayesian approach is an alternative and flexible tool that could be used in future invariance studies.postprin

Factor analyses of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale: a Bayesian structural equation modeling approach

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Re-examining the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale in a sample of 364 Chinese cancer patients

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Affect Regulation and Treatment for Depression and Anxiety through Art: Theoretical Ground and Clinical Issues

Advances in neuroscience research have shown that depression and anxiety are closely related to affect regulation, the emotional processes that work within the brain system. This paper reviews two major areas of affect regulation. The first area accounts for the relationships between affect regulation and the functions of the left/right hemispheric brain, as well as the effect of these emotional processes on the autonomic nervous system. The interpersonalneurobiological basis of affect regulation is also elaborated. The discussion implies that depressed and anxious individuals with seriously disturbed emotional or cognitive processes could probably benefit from the enhancement of right hemispheric brain processes via nonverbal form of communication. With capabilities of strengthening emotional and nonverbal processes that occur in the right hemispheric brain, nonverbal forms of psychotherapy, including art therapy, could have benefits in the treatment of depression and anxiety. On the theoretical basis of affect regulation, the second area of discussion focuses on how the assessment and healing functions of various art media adopted in art therapy treatment correlate with left/right hemispheric brain processes. The discussion sheds light on the therapeutic use of art media to allow individuals with mood problems to experience, express, and communicate emotions effectively via nonverbal forms of treatment. The mind-body approach and the various processes of art therapy treatment can attune psychophysiological processes and help to integrate brain processes holistically to improve affect regulation and enhance well-being.published_or_final_versio

Basic communicating and counselling skills for family physicians

Family physicians often encounter psychological problems in patients under their care. Treating these problems is integral to a holistic conception of primary healthcare. This article describes the nature, basic principles, and therapeutic process of counselling; dispels myths, biased perceptions, and misconceptions about it; and illustrates how counselling techniques may be applied by family physicians in their practice. The authors make a proposal to confront limitations and contradictions of treating psychological problems in primary healthcare: setting up synergistic partnerships between family physicians and health counsellors.published_or_final_versio

Cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients: Factor mixture models with continuous non-normal distributions

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Impact of a brief holistic workshop on students’ psychosocial well-beings and work empowerment

Congress Theme: Ying and Yang of Mental Health in Asia - Balancing PrioritiesCategory B – Anxiety and Related Disorders: no. B04OBJECTIVES: Research on holistic education has been focused on philosophical treaties or case studies, yet quantitative research evaluating the effects of holistic education is lacking. This study examined the impact of a brief holistic workshop on students’ biopsychosocial well-being and ...postprin

Conceptualizing international art therapy education standards

Art therapy programs developing around the world need an educational framework to ensure that graduates have a knowledge base and set of skills consistent with peers in other countries. Currently there are many independent education standards offered by art therapy associations in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as two international associations. Synthesizing these requirements reveals 12 content areas that may constitute the core of art therapy education. Even within these standards, programs developing around the world need to consider local values related to health, art, therapy and education in order to establish globally relevant and locally meaningful art therapy training programs-Hong Kong and India are offered as examples of how to adapt education standards to cultural expectations. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.postprin

Coping with Illness Experiences in Patients with Schizophrenia: The Role of Peacefulness

Background: The relationship between spirituality and schizophrenia is a largely unexplored, yet important area of research in psychiatry given its role in recovery from mental illness and in long-term care. Peacefulness, as one of the primary consequences of spirituality, was found to be most prominently associated with the emotional well-beings. This analysis aims to explore the concept of peacefulness among schizophrenic patients and its effect on their illness experiences. Methods: Eighteen early-stage schizophrenic patients were recruited from the outpatient clinic of a hospital in Hong Kong for an in-depth individual interview. Data were analyzed with grounded theory techniques. Results: Peacefulness has an emotional component and a cognitive component. The participants described peacefulness as a carefree state of mind that consisted of an inner sense of tranquility (the emotional component) and perceived freedom (the cognitive component). Their illness experiences were a vicious circle that was formed and maintained by distress (negative emotions) and preoccupation (distorted cognition). They believed that an inner sense of tranquility (the emotional component) facilitated the regulation of their distress, leaving them more cognitive resources to stabilize their chaotic minds, whereas perceived freedom (cognitive component) created an intra psychic moment and space with no stress to free the patients from their preoccupation. Conclusion: Peacefulness is able to break the vicious circle of patient’s illness experiences by moderating distress and preoccupation. In addition, it may help promote patients’ personal resilience and self-efficacy, which are important for coping with residual symptoms, maintaining the patients’ mental health and preventing relapse.published_or_final_versio