Sexual Arousal and Mental Health in Bisexual Men

There is variation in the extent to which bisexual men get sexually aroused to both sexes. A different line of research suggests that they also vary in how vulnerable they are to mental health problems, compared to gay and straight men. The present study sought to investigate whether variation in bisexual men’s mental health related to their physiological sexual arousal patterns. Based on the literature one of our hypotheses was that bisexual men with bisexual arousal patterns report more mental health problems than other bisexual men, straight men, and gay men. However, an alternative hypothesis was that bisexual men who resemble gay or straight men in physiological arousal would report more mental health problems than those bisexual men who show bisexual arousal, straight men, and gay men. As part of an ongoing project, 125 men watched sexually explicit videos of women and men while their genital arousal and pupil dilation were recorded. 56 of these men also completed a survey of their mental health problems. Bisexual genital arousal was most common in men who identified as bisexual-leaning-straight. Mental health problems did not systematically vary across reported sexual orientations. Moreover, prevalence of mental health problems did not relate to differences in genital arousal patterns in bisexual men. The majority of these patterns were confirmed with pupil dilation as the measure of sexual arousal, although findings with pupil dilation were more complex than those with genital arousal

Reformulation Letters in Cognitive Analytic Therapy: The practitioner’s experience

Aims: This thesis aims to increase our understanding of therapeutic letters and how these are experienced by clients, but also therapists as part of their training. It contains a systematic review of the evidence base for the impact of therapeutic letters presented to clients at the end of therapy which is followed by an empirical exploration of Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) therapists experience of receiving reformulation letters as part of their training. Design: This thesis is structured as a portfolio comprised of a narrative systematic review of research on ending letters, a bridging chapter, a qualitative empirical paper on clinicians’ experience of reformulation letters, an extended bridging chapter to introduce concepts used in the empirical paper, an extended methodology for the empirical paper, and an overall discussion of the thesis portfolio. Findings: The systematic review provides a narrative synthesis of findings in the literature about goodbye letters. The synthesised findings suggests that goodbye letters may impact on how clients deal with endings and how they remember various aspects of the therapy after termination. The empirical paper identified four overarching themes in clinicians’ experiences of receiving reformulation letters as part of their training: The power of the reformulation letter; Inhabiting the client’s role; absorbing thinking as a CAT practitioner; and evolving the therapist’s technique. Value of this work: Despite the increasing use of therapist-written therapeutic letters in services, there is a lack of empirical research to support their use. This thesis contributes towards the evidence base for therapeutic letters by synthesising existing research on those used around the ending of therapies and exploring the use of reformulation letters with a group (clinicians) where this has not been explored previously

Puslespill eller svarteper. Er psykologisk trygghet en viktig spillebrikke i tverrfaglig samarbeid

Denne studien er en case-studie av Familiens hus i en kommune. Som kommunalt ansatte i oppvekstfeltet opplever vi at det er vanskelig å få til et godt tverrfaglig samarbeid i komplekse saker med mange hjelpere. Når tverrfaglig samarbeid ikke virker kan det få alvorlige konsekvenser for barn, unge og familier. Gjennom flere tilsyn og rapporter er det avdekket svikt på dette området (NOU 2017: 12). Nye reformer som oppvekstreformen (Prop. 73 L (2016-2017)), og kompetanseløftet (Meld. St. 6 (2019–2020)) stiller krav til kommunen om å bedre slikt samarbeid. Som ledere kjenner vi på et stort ansvar for å lykkes med å gi et godt tjenestetilbud til barn, unge og familier. Vårt mål med studien var å se på hvilken betydning psykologisk trygghet (Edmondson, 2019) kan ha for tverrfaglig samarbeid. Vår problemstilling har derfor vært: å undersøke hvilke faktorer som bidrar til psykologisk trygghet i tverrfaglig samarbeid Vi har gjennomført en kvalitativ studie og vår empiri er innhentet gjennom gruppeintervju fra tre enheter i Familiens hus. Vi har brukt tematisk analyse for å kategorisere funnen og vår drøfting har også tatt utgangspunkt i disse kategoriene. Vårt hovedfunn er at de faktorene som fremmer tverrfaglig samarbeid er samme faktorer som fremmer psykologisk trygghet i relasjon til andre på gruppenivå. I det teoretiske fundamentet om tverrfaglig samarbeid blir tillit og trygghet mellom fagpersoner beskrevet som en hovedfaktor, uten at dette blir definert til å gjelde på gruppenivå. Vår studie finner at i tverrfaglig samarbeid er tillit og trygghet på gruppenivå essensielt for å fremme kreative og nytenkende løsninger på vanskene som barn, unge og familier har. Ledelse, organisering, opplæring, kunnskap og kompetanse er organisatoriske viktige stikkord for å fremme et psykologisk trygt samarbeidsklima. I vår studie beskriver informantene også en tydelig sammenheng mellom faglig trygghet og opplevelsen av psykologisk trygghet i tverrfaglig samarbeid. Til slutt vil vi bemerke at møteledelse av tverrfaglige samarbeidsgrupper er krevende, og kunnskap om tverrfaglig samarbeid og psykologisk trygghet på gruppenivå ser ut til å være en viktig faktor for å lykkes med å gi barn, unge og familier rett hjelpe til rett tid

Metalmusikk, ungdom og emosjoner. Musikkterapeutiske perspektiver. En kvalitativ intervjustudie med fire unge metalfans og to musikkterapeuter

Norges musikkhøgskole. Masteroppgave. MusikkterapiABSTRACT. - This thesis is based on literature review and interviews with four young metal fans and two music therapists. The focus lies on metal music, adolescence, emotions and music therapy practice. The issues to be answered is: 1. Can metal music influence emotions in adolescents? If so, in which ways? 2. What can the informants stories contribute in music therapy practice? The research is qualitative and has a phenomenological and hermeneutical approach. The method of data collection is semi-structured interviews. These can be seen further in the context of research and theory from including music therapy, music psychology, neuropsychology and musicological literature. The text indicates that metal music can meet and influence emotions in adolescents in different ways. It concludes that metal music can affect the emotions on the basis of social, mental and psychological abilities and not at least what taste in music the individual listener has. The data is viewed in the context of music therapy literature and practice, and especially music therapeutic perspectives and reflection on the use of metal music with adolescents in music therapy. Keywords: Metal, heavy metal, emotions, feelings, adolescence, youth, music therapy, resource orientedSAMMENDRAG. - Denne masteroppgaven er gjort på grunnlag av litteraturstudie og intervjuer med fire unge metalfans og to musikkterapeuter. Fokuset er på metalmusikk, ungdom, emosjoner og musikkterapeutisk praksis. Problemstillingene som besvares er: 1. Kan metalmusikk påvirke emosjoner hos ungdom? I så fall på hvilke måter? 2. Hva kan informantenes historier bidra med i musikkterapeutisk praksis? Forskningen er kvalitativ og har en fenomenologisk og hermeneutisk tilnærming. Metoden for datainnsamling er semistrukturerte intervjuer. Disse sees videre i sammenheng med forskning og teori fra blant annet musikkterapeutisk, musikkpsykologisk, nevropsykologisk og musikkvitenskapelig litteratur. Teksten viser til at metalmusikk kan møte og påvirke emosjoner hos ungdommer på forskjellige måter. Det konkluderes med at metalmusikk kan påvirke emosjoner på bakgrunn av sosiale, mentale og psykiske forutsetninger, og ikke minst hvilken musikksmak den enkelte lytteren har. Intervjudataene blir sett i sammenheng med musikkterapeutisk litteratur og praksis, og særlig opp imot musikkterapeutiske perspektiver og refleksjon om bruk av metalmusikk med ungdommer i musikkterapi. - Emneord: Metal, heavy metal, emosjoner, følelser, ungdom, musikkterapi, ressursorienter

Sex Differences in Sexual Arousal and Finger Length Ratio

Most men show sexual arousal to one, preferred sex, whereas most women respond to both sexes, regardless of their sexual orientation. A different research program indicates that men have lower second-to-fourth finger length ratios (2D:4D) than women, possibly because men are exposed to higher levels of androgens during prenatal development. We hypothesized that sex differences in sexual arousal patterns are influenced by prenatal androgen exposure and would thus be explained by sex differences in 2D:4D. We measured the sexual response patterns of 139 men and 179 women via genital arousal and pupil dilation to erotic videos, in addition to their 2D:4D. Compared to women, men showed stronger responses to one sex over the other, although this pattern was clearer in genital arousal than pupil dilation. Men also had lower 2D:4D than women. However, there was no evidence that sex differences in sexual arousal related to sex differences in 2D:4D. Thus, whichever factor explains sex differences in sexual arousal patterns may not be reflected in 2D:4D

Patterns of Genital Sexual Arousal in Transgender Men

Most men show genital sexual arousal to one preferred gender. Most women show genital arousal to both genders, regardless of their sexual preferences. There is limited knowledge of whether this difference is driven by biological sex or gender identity. Transgender individuals, whose birth sex and gender identity are incongruent, provide a unique opportunity to address this question. We tested whether the genital responses of 25 (female-to-male) transgender men followed their female birth sex or male gender identity. Depending on their surgical status, arousal was assessed with penile gauges or vaginal plethysmographs. Transgender men’s sexual arousal showed both male-typical and female-typical patterns. Across measures, they responded more strongly to their preferred gender than to the other gender, similar to (but not entirely like) 145 cisgender (nontransgender) men. However, they still responded to both genders, similar to 178 cisgender women. In birth-assigned women, both gender identity and biological sex may influence sexual-arousal patterns

Reformulation letters in cognitive analytic therapy: The practitioner's experience

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore (1) cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) practitioners' experiences of receiving their own reformulation letter as part of their training and (2) CAT practitioners' perceptions about how receiving their own reformulation letter altered their clinical practice. Design: Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit participants' (N= 9) experiences of having received their personal CAT, with a particular focus on the reformulation letter, and their perceptions of its impact on them as clinicians and their clinical practice. Methods: Inductive “bottom up” thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview transcripts and extract overarching themes and subthemes across all participants. Results: Four overarching themes emerged from the data: the power of the reformulation letter; inhabiting the client's role; absorbing thinking as a CAT practitioner; and evolving the therapist's technique. Conclusions: Cognitive analytic therapy practitioners report experiences of the reformulation letter that indicate a positive impact on their self-awareness, learning about CAT and consciousness about how their own clients experience therapy. This was also the case when the reformulation letter did not resonate with them to the desired extent as learning from their therapist's limitations was experienced as having an impact on their learning and subsequent practice

Sexual Orientation, Sexual Arousal, and Finger Length Ratios in Women

In general, women show physiological sexual arousal to both sexes. However, compared with heterosexual women, homosexual women are more aroused to their preferred sex, a pattern typically found in men. We hypothesized that homosexual women’s male-typical arousal is due to their sex-atypical masculinization during prenatal development. We measured the sexual responses of 199 women (including 67 homosexual women) via their genital arousal and pupil dilation to female and male sexual stimuli. Our main marker of masculinization was the ratio of the index to ring finger, which we expected to be lower (a masculine pattern) in homosexual women due to increased levels of prenatal androgens. We further measured observer- and self-ratings of psychological masculinity–femininity as possible proxies of prenatal androgenization. Homosexual women responded more strongly to female stimuli than male stimuli and therefore had more male-typical sexual responses than heterosexual women. However, they did not have more male-typical digit ratios, even though this difference became stronger if analyses were restricted to white participants. Still, variation in women's digit ratios did not account for the link between their sexual orientation and their male-typical sexual responses. Furthermore, homosexual women reported and displayed more masculinity than heterosexual women, but their masculinity was not associated with their male-typical sexual arousal. Thus, women’s sexual and behavioral traits, and potential anatomical traits, are possibly masculinized at different stages of gestation

Robust evidence for bisexual orientation among men

The question whether some men have a bisexual orientation—that is, whether they are substantially sexually aroused and attracted to both sexes—has remained controversial among both scientists and laypersons. Skeptics believe that male sexual orientation can only be homosexual or heterosexual, and that bisexual identification reflects nonsexual concerns, such as a desire to deemphasize homosexuality. Although most bisexual-identified men report that they are attracted to both men and women, self-report data cannot refute these claims. Patterns of physiological (genital) arousal to male and female erotic stimuli can provide compelling evidence for male sexual orientation. (In contrast, most women provide similar physiological responses to male and female stimuli.) We investigated whether men who self-report bisexual feelings tend to produce bisexual arousal patterns. Prior studies of this issue have been small, used potentially invalid statistical tests, and produced inconsistent findings. We combined nearly all previously published data (from eight previous studies in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada), yielding a sample of 474 to 588 men (depending on analysis). All participants were cisgender males. Highly robust results showed that bisexual-identified men’s genital and subjective arousal patterns were more bisexual than were those who identified as exclusively heterosexual or homosexual. These findings support the view that male sexual orientation contains a range, from heterosexuality, to bisexuality, to homosexuality

Bisexual Men with Bisexual and Monosexual Genital Arousal Patterns

Some research suggests that bisexual-identified men show bisexual genital arousal, whereas other research indicates monosexual arousal: they are aroused to one sex only. These seemingly contradictory findings may be due to the type of men identifying as bisexual and the performed analyses. We examined whether both bisexual and monosexual arousal patterns could co-occur within the same sample. 114 men of different sexual orientations viewed erotic videos of males or females while their penile circumference was measured. On average, bisexual-identified men were more aroused to males than females, and especially if they identified as “bisexual leaning gay.” However, also on average, bisexual men showed bisexual arousal, and especially if they were “bisexual leaning straight”. Furthermore, there was more variability in the arousal patterns of bisexual-identified men, compared with other men. Based on their physiological sexual arousal, bisexual men appear to be a more diverse group than men who identified as heterosexual or homosexual