The power of relational work in existential therapy

The power of relational work in existential therapy Aim/Purpose: This paper aims to present some preliminary findings from a PhD research study focusing on how existential therapists define and convey their role as therapists, with a particular emphasis on the therapeutic relationship. According to Spinelli (2007) one of the key underlying principles of existential therapy is relatedness, such that we can only make sense of ourselves through our relationships with others and the meanings that emerge between people. This paper aims to focus on how existential therapists conceptualise and use relatedness in their work with clients. Design/Methodology: Thirty UK existential therapists with entries on professional body websites were contacted by email. One man and four women agreed to participate and were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Following transcription, the data was analysed using thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) leading to identification of some initial themes focusing on aspects of the therapeutic relationship. Results/Findings: All therapists emphasised working relationally and made insightful connections between philosophical concepts such as ‘authenticity' and ‘not knowing' and rich examples of how such concepts can influence practice. This included sharing with the client what was going on between them ‘in the room', which was regarded as one of the most powerful tools of therapy. Overall, the research concluded that the participants share a common and distinct vision in terms of working relationally, which, whilst recognised as one of the most challenging aspects of the therapeutic endeavour, may dramatically enhance the psychological growth of both client and therapist. Research Limitations: The data discussed is based on preliminary findings during the initial phase of a PhD research project. The sample is small at this stage; further data will be collected as the project continues. Conclusions/Implications: The findings suggest that existential therapists regard working relationally, in an existential sense, as a powerful tool central to their therapeutic practice. Although it is too early to identify specific implications for practice, this paper will also argue that existential relatedness could potentially enhance therapists' professional practice and development

Philosophy and Identity: The Relationship Between Choice of Existential Orientation and Therapists’ Sense of Self

This paper reports one theme – Expression of Identity – which emerged from a larger qualitative study. It suggests that existential philosophy offers an insight into the human condition which therapists incorporate into their world view and that choosing to be an existential therapist is a choice involving passion and commitment

Social Functioning in Children with Brain Insult

Social dysfunction is commonly reported by survivors of brain insult, and is often rated as the most debilitating of all sequelae, impacting on many areas of daily life, as well as overall quality of life. Within the early brain insult (EBI) literature, physical and cognitive domains have been of primary interest and social skills have received scant attention. As a result it remains unclear how common these problems are, and whether factors predictive of recovery (insult severity, lesion location, age at insult, environment) in other functional domains (motor, speech, cognition) also contribute to social outcome. This study compared social outcomes for children sustaining EBI at different times from gestation to late childhood to determine whether EBI was associated with an increased risk of problems. Children with focal brain insults were categorized according to timing of brain insult: (i) Congenital (n = 38): EBI: first–second trimester; (ii) Perinatal (n = 33); EBI: third trimester to 1-month post-natal; (iii) Infancy (n = 23): EBI: 2 months–2 years post-birth; (iv) Preschool (n = 19): EBI: 3–6 years; (v) Middle Childhood (n = 31): EBI: 7–9 years; and (vi) Late Childhood (n = 19): EBI: after age 10. Children's teachers completed questionnaires measuring social function (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Walker–McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment). Results showed that children with EBI were at increased risk for social impairment compared to normative expectations. EBI before age 2 years was associated with most significant social impairment, while children with EBI in the preschool years and in late childhood recorded scores closer to normal. Lesion location and laterality were not predictive of social outcome, and nor was social risk. In contrast, presence of disability (seizures) and family function were shown to contribute to aspects of social function

Machine learning augmented diagnostic testing to identify sources of variability in test performance

Diagnostic tests which can detect pre-clinical or sub-clinical infection, are one of the most powerful tools in our armoury of weapons to control infectious diseases. Considerable effort has been therefore paid to improving diagnostic testing for human, plant and animal diseases, including strategies for targeting the use of diagnostic tests towards individuals who are more likely to be infected. Here, we follow other recent proposals to further refine this concept, by using machine learning to assess the situational risk under which a diagnostic test is applied to augment its interpretation . We develop this to predict the occurrence of breakdowns of cattle herds due to bovine tuberculosis, exploiting the availability of exceptionally detailed testing records. We show that, without compromising test specificity, test sensitivity can be improved so that the proportion of infected herds detected by the skin test, improves by over 16 percentage points. While many risk factors are associated with increased risk of becoming infected, of note are several factors which suggest that, in some herds there is a higher risk of infection going undetected, including effects that are correlated to the veterinary practice conducting the test, and number of livestock moved off the herd

Strain-level variations of Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae in two biochemical assays

Background: The increase in reports of resistance to macrocyclic lactones in the canine heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis is alarming. While DNA based tests have been well-validated, they can be expensive. In a previous study, we showed that two biochemical tests adapted to a 96- well plate format and read in a spectrophotometer could detect differences among lab validated D. immitis isolates. The two tests- Resazurin reduction and Hoechst 33342 efflux—detect metabolism and P-glycoprotein activity respectively in microfilariae isolated from infected dog blood. Methods: Our objective was to optimize the two assays further by testing various assay parameters in D. immitis isolates not tested previously. We tested microfilarial seeding density, incubation time and the effect of in vitro treatment with ivermectin and doxycycline in five other D. immitis isolates—JYD-34, Big Head, Berkeley, Georgia III and LOL. All assays were performed in 3 technical replicates and 2–4 biological replicates. To understand the molecular basis of the assays, we also performed qPCR for selected drug metabolism and elimination associated genes of the ABC transporter and cytochrome P450 gene families. Results: Metabolism and ABC transporter activity as detected by these assays varied between strains. Anthelmintic status (resistant or susceptible) did not correlate with metabolism or P-gp efflux. Basal transcriptional variations were found between strains in ABC transporter and cytochrome P450 genes. Conclusions: These assays provide a greater understanding of the biochemical variation among isolates of D. immitis, which can be exploited in the future to develop in vitro diagnostic tests capable of differentiating susceptible and resistant isolates.This article is published as Hampton, Naomi, Vicki Smith, Matthew T. Brewer, and Jeba RJ Jesudoss Chelladurai. "Strain-level variations of Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae in two biochemical assays." PloS one 19, no. 7 (2024): e0307261. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307261. Copyright: © 2024 Hampton et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

When Does the Past Repeat Itself? The Interplay of Behavior Prediction and Personal Norms

Does asking people about their future behavior increase or decrease the likelihood that they will repeat their past behavior? In two laboratory and two field experiments, we find that behavior prediction strengthens behavior repetition, making people more likely to do what they normally do, when personal norms regarding engaging in a behavior are weak or not easily accessible. However, when personal norms are strong or made accessible at the time of the prediction request, behavior prediction weakens behavior repetition and increases the likelihood that people do what they think they should do-even if it's not what they normally would do. These findings provide new tools for influencing behavior repetition, reconcile some seemingly contradictory past findings, and contribute to the debate regarding the relative importance of habits and intentions in guiding behavior. T he repetition of unhealthy behaviors (such as overeating) and the lack of repetition of healthy behaviors (such as exercising) are leading contributors to preventable deaths in developed countrie