Dialogical self strategies of self-organization: psychotherapy and restructuring of internal management

A identidade tem sido um conceito central na literatura em psicologia e na forma como as diferentes abordagens terapêuticas têm concebido os processos de mudança. Entre as inúmeras perspectivas desenvolvidas sobre essa dimensão do ser humano, destacamos o paradigma dialógico que tem vindo a influenciar de forma crescente a teoria e prática em psicoterapia. Segundo esta perspectiva, a funcionalidade psicológica está relacionada com o modo como os indivíduos conseguem articular e colocar em diálogo produtivo as suas várias vozes ou posições de identidade. Neste artigo apresentamos uma revisão da literatura sobre as estratégias que subjazem a essa capacidade auto-organizadora do sistema identitário e sobre as diretrizes que poderão orientar uma intervenção terapêutica dialógica quando essa capacidade se torna disfuncional.Self-concept has been playing a crucial role in psychological literature and in the way the different therapeutic approaches conceive the processes of change. From the diverse perspectives developed about this human dimension, we emphasise the dialogical paradigm that has been increasingly influential in the psychotherapeutic theory and practice. According to the dialogical perspective the psychological well-being is dependent on the way individuals articulate and maintain productive dialogues between the different voices of the self or “I-Positions”. In this paper we present a review of the literature on the strategies that underlie this self-regulatory ability of the self-system and the guidelines of the dialogical therapeutic intervention that could be used when these self-regulatory strategies become dysfunctional.(undefined

Assessing cognitive insight in nonpsychiatric individuals and outpatients with schizophrenia in Taiwan: an investigation using the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) was designed for the assessment of the cognitive processes involved in self-reflection and the ability to modify erroneous beliefs and misinterpretations. Studies investigating the factor structure of the BCIS have indicated a two-factor model in the psychotic population. The factor structure of the BCIS, however, has not received much consideration in the nonpsychiatric population. The present study examined the factor structure and validity of the BCIS and compared its scores between nonpsychiatric individuals and outpatients with psychosis.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>The Taiwanese version of the BCIS was administered to 507 nonpsychiatric individuals and 118 outpatients with schizophrenia. The psychometric properties of the BCIS were examined through the following analyses: exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, reliability, correlation analyses, and discriminative validity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The BCIS showed adequate internal consistency and stability over time. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on the 15-item measure indicated a two-factor solution that supported the two dimensions of the Taiwanese BCIS, which was also observed with the original BCIS. Following the construct validation, we obtained a composite index (self-reflectiveness minus self-certainty) of the Taiwanese BCIS that reflected cognitive insight. Consistent with previous studies, our results indicated that psychosis is associated with low self-reflectiveness and high self-certainty, which possibly reflect lower cognitive insight. Our results also showed that better cognitive insight is related to worse depression in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, but not in nonpsychiatric individuals. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.731. A composite index of 3 was a good limit, with a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 51%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The BCIS proved to be useful for measuring cognitive insight in Taiwanese nonpsychiatric and psychotic populations.</p

Dialogical relationships in impoverished narratives: From theory to clinical practice

Item does not contain fulltextIndividuals are guided in their actions in the world by a set of narratives portraying them in their relations with others. The narratives contain representations of self, of the world, of the various characters with which individuals interact and of the forms of relationship that they foresee establishing. Within the narratives the various characters, each from the position of an independent author, negotiate the meaning of events. A narrative can be altered either as regards its contents or its form. In this article, we describe impoverished narratives. These are lacking in various elements—descriptions of a narrator's inner state, of others' points of view, of the action scenario and of what goes on between the characters—and concentrate repetitively on only one or a few themes. With such features, individuals are hampered in their actions in the world. A therapist listening to a patient relating impoverished narratives finds it difficult to grasp what the problems are and what steps need to be taken. As a result, it takes longer or is not possible for each to become attuned with the other and to put together an agreed treatment programme. We illustrate this narrative deficit with a psychotherapy case study and hypothesize about the way a therapist ought to operate in order to tackle the deficit.16 p

Habitat della laguna di Karavasta e delle zone contermini: conservazione e restauro

Edizioni dal Su

Metacognitive mastery dysfunctions in personality disorder psychotherapy

Individuals with Personality Disorders (PDs) have difficulties to modulate mental states and cope with interpersonal problems according to a mentalistic formulation of the problem

The development of the Metacognition Assessment Interview: Instrument description, factor structure and reliability in a non-clinical sample

Background: Metacognition is a multi-facet psychological construct; deficits in metacognitive abilities are associated to low social functioning, low quality of life, psychopathology, and symptoms. The aim of this study was to describe and develop a valid and reliable interview for assessing metacognition. Methods: The semi-structured interview, based on the author's theory model of the metacognition construct, is described. The Metacognition Assessment Interview (MAI) is an adaptation of the Metacognition Assessment Scale (MAS) and evaluates how the subject is interviewed used metacognition during his own real life experiences elicited by the interviewer. A user manual was developed to assist the interview and scoring procedure. Results: Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis revealed preliminary evidence of a two factor-hierarchical structure, with two lower-order scales, representing the two main theoretical domains of the metacognitive function, "the Self" and "the Other", and one single higher-order scale that we labelled metacognition. Contrary to the authors' prediction the existence of the four distinct dimensions under the two domains was not confirmed. The MAI and its two domains demonstrated acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability and internal consistency. Conclusions: The MAI appears to be a promising instrument for assessing metacognition. Future psychometric validation steps and clinical directions are discussed