Reflection and Recovery from Psychosis during the Time of COVID-19: Adaptation in Psychotherapy in the United States

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic several adaptations have allowed us to continue to provide one form of recovery-oriented psychotherapy to persons with psychosis: Metacognitive Insight and Reflection Therapy (MERIT). These successful adaptations have included the incorporation of patients’ experience of the pandemic and the exploration of challenges from temporary changes in therapy platforms to deepen reflections about patients’ self-experience, their experience of intersubjectivity and their own agentic responses to psychosocial challenges

Metacognitive deficits and social functioning in schizophrenia across symptom profiles: A latent class analysis

Functional deficits are a hallmark of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, but much debate still exists over why and how they originate. One model suggests that disturbances in social functioning are a result of metacognitive deficits or a failure to integrate information to form more complex ideas of themselves and others. It is unclear if this social dysfunction is present across different symptom presentations. We examined the relationship of metacognition, symptoms, and social functioning among a sample of adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (N ¼ 334). A latent class analysis produced a four-class model. Groups were classified as follows: diffuse symptoms/moderately impaired social functioning (Class 1), positive and hostility symptoms/mildly impaired social functioning (Class 2), minimal symptoms/good social functioning (Class 3), and negative and cognitive symptoms/severely impaired social functioning (Class 4). Class 3 demonstrated better overall metacognitive capacity than both Classes 1 and 4 but did not differ significantly from Class 2. Classes 2 and 3 both demonstrated better interpersonal functioning than Classes 1 and 4. Together, these findings provide support for models of poor functioning that stem from fragmentation of an individual’s experience, leading to diminished abilities to form meaningful connections with others. Additional interpretations, limitations, and research implications are discussed

The Intimate Partner Violence Experience of Arab Immigrant Women in the U.S.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant problem for immigrant women in the U.S. There are a number of unique risk factors and help-seeking barriers (e.g., patriarchal beliefs, lack of social support, immigration status, language as a barrier, limited knowledge about and access to resources) that contribute to the likelihood of immigrant women being in and remaining in violent relationships. As a result, immigrant women often feel isolated, alone, and silenced in their attempt to address their IPV. However, we know less about the IPV experience of Arab immigrant women in the U.S. as these women hold multiple marginalized identities (e.g., racial/ethnic, gender, immigration status) and their IPV experiences may be potentially more complicated. Therefore, it is critical for researchers and practitioners to understand better about the intersectionality of these identities and their IPV experience. While many theories use a one-dimensional approach to understand the cause of IPV (e.g., individual-based, feminist), Heise’s (1998) ecological model suggests the cause of IPV is at the integration of individual, microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem factors. Using this ecological model as a theoretical framework, I examined the IPV experience of Arab immigrant women in the U.S. using a qualitative framework. The focus of this study is to examine how the individual, microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem factors impact the lived experience of Arab immigrant women who are survivors of IPV

The Intimate Partner Violence Experience of Arab Immigrant Women in the U.S.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant problem for immigrant women in the U.S. There are a number of unique risk factors and help-seeking barriers (e.g., patriarchal beliefs, lack of social support, immigration status, language as a barrier, limited knowledge about and access to resources) that contribute to the likelihood of immigrant women being in and remaining in violent relationships. As a result, immigrant women often feel isolated, alone, and silenced in their attempt to address their IPV. However, we know less about the IPV experience of Arab immigrant women in the U.S. as these women hold multiple marginalized identities (e.g., racial/ethnic, gender, immigration status) and their IPV experiences may be potentially more complicated. Therefore, it is critical for researchers and practitioners to understand better about the intersectionality of these identities and their IPV experience. While many theories use a one-dimensional approach to understand the cause of IPV (e.g., individual-based, feminist), Heise’s (1998) ecological model suggests the cause of IPV is at the integration of individual, microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem factors. Using this ecological model as a theoretical framework, I examined the IPV experience of Arab immigrant women in the U.S. using a qualitative framework. The focus of this study is to examine how the individual, microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem factors impact the lived experience of Arab immigrant women who are survivors of IPV

Metacognitive deficits and social functioning in schizophrenia across symptom profiles: A latent class analysis

Functional deficits are a hallmark of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, but much debate still exists over why and how they originate. One model suggests that disturbances in social functioning are a result of metacognitive deficits or a failure to integrate information to form more complex ideas of themselves and others. It is unclear if this social dysfunction is present across different symptom presentations. We examined the relationship of metacognition, symptoms, and social functioning among a sample of adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (N ¼ 334). A latent class analysis produced a four-class model. Groups were classified as follows: diffuse symptoms/moderately impaired social functioning (Class 1), positive and hostility symptoms/mildly impaired social functioning (Class 2), minimal symptoms/good social functioning (Class 3), and negative and cognitive symptoms/severely impaired social functioning (Class 4). Class 3 demonstrated better overall metacognitive capacity than both Classes 1 and 4 but did not differ significantly from Class 2. Classes 2 and 3 both demonstrated better interpersonal functioning than Classes 1 and 4. Together, these findings provide support for models of poor functioning that stem from fragmentation of an individual’s experience, leading to diminished abilities to form meaningful connections with others. Additional interpretations, limitations, and research implications are discussed