ObjectivesAs the largest cohort of healthcare workers and nurses can practice as psychotherapists to integrate the psychotherapeutic interventions as part of routine care. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of supportive psychotherapy on patients who had been scheduled to undergo a fiberoptic bronchoscopy procedure.MethodsThis study retrospectively analyzed 92 patients who underwent FOB, which was divided into the SPT group and usual-care group based on whether patients were given SPT interventions or not. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and (...) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used to determine the severity of depression and anxiety, as well as the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey questionnaire to evaluate the health-related quality of life. Moreover, the patients' satisfaction was assessed based on the Likert 5-Point Scale.ResultsThe baseline status of anxiety, depression, and HRQoL in patients was similar in the SPT group and the usual-care group with no significant difference. Both PHQ-9 score and HADS-D score in the SPT group after intervention were lower than that in the usual-care group, accompanied by the deceased HADS-A subscale. Moreover, the improved HRQoL was found in the patients undergoing FOB after SPT interventions as compared to those receiving conventional nursing care using the SF-36 score. Additionally, the patient satisfaction in the SPT group was higher than in the usual-care group.ConclusionsThe study demonstrated that anxiety and depression, as negative emotions, can be reduced by supportive psychotherapy in patients receiving FOB with improved mental health and satisfaction with nursing care. (shrink)

EBM, and the hierarchy of evidence it prescribes, is a controversial model when it comes to research into the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatments. This is due in part to the so-called ‘Dodo Bird verdict’, which claims that all psychotherapies are equally effective, and that their effectiveness is largely due to the placebo effect. In response to this controversy, I argue that EBM can nevertheless be made to fit research into the effectiveness of psychotherapy, once a piecemeal (...) approach to conducting RCTs is taken. Such an approach involves studying the contributions made by individual treatment components. (shrink)

_The Practice of Psychotherapy_ brings together Jung's essays on general questions of analytic therapy and dream analysis. It also contains his profoundly interesting parallel between the transference phenomena and alchemical processes. The transference is illustrated and interpreted by means of a set of symbolic pictures, and the bond between psychotherapist and patient is shown to be a function of the kinship libido. Far from being pathological in its effects, kinship libido has an essential role to play in the work of (...) individuation and in establishing an organic society based on the psychic connection of its members with one another and with their own roots. (shrink)

While psychotherapy is helpful to individual clients, the slim cadre of therapists and the vast number of disturbed people precludes any hope that more than a relative few will receive help. Nowhere is the futility of psycotherapy as obvious as among the poor and powerless whose suffering, crowding, and dispair will yield only to social and political solutions. In the United States the expansion of the number of psychiatric diagnoses and the demographic changes in populations will only make larger (...) the gap in numbers between therapists and clients. Psychotherapy is an expensive oddity to the poor, but their taxes will help the affluent obtain prepaid care. Psychotherapy does reveal some of the social and economic factors, like bad parenting, homelessness and unemployment, that cause emotional disturbances. But one-to-one treatment, medical or psychological, does not, and cannot, affect incidence. The rightward movement of American psychiatry, supported by political conservatives and by activist parent-groups, espouses an organic explanatory model for all mental disorders and for a wide range of human problems. Only effective primary prevention leading to social change will reduce future incidence. (shrink)

ObjectivePost-traumatic stress disorder may affect individuals exposed to adversity. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an evidence-based trauma-focused psychotherapy for PTSD. There is still some debate whether the eye movements are an effective component of EMDR. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization treatment in reducing PTSD symptoms compared to a retrieval-only active control condition. We also investigated whether PTSD symptom reduction was associated with reductions in depression and anxiety, and (...) improvements in quality of life.MethodologyAdult PTSD patients were recruited at public psychological services in Jakarta, Bandung and Cimahi, Indonesia. PTSD was diagnosed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 disorders. Participants were randomized into: EMD or retrieval-only. EMD consisted of clinical history and treatment planning, preparation, assessment, EMs, closure, whereas retrieval-only consisted of the same elements except EMs. Data were collected at baseline, 1-week post-treatment, 1-month follow-up, and 3-months follow-up. Outcome measures included the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life–BREF. Data were analyzed with linear mixed model analysis in R Statistics.ResultsAlthough there were main effects of time indicating reductions for both EMD and retrieval-only in PCL-5 and HSCL-25 scores, and improvements in WHOQoL-BREF scores at T1, T2, and T3, no significant differences in PCL-5, HSCL-25, and WHOQoL-BREF total scores between the EMD and retrieval-only groups at T1, T2, and T3 were found.ConclusionWithin a clinical sample of PTSD patients in Indonesia, both EMD and retrieval-only was associated with reductions in symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression, and improvements in quality of life, although EMs did not add to the efficacy of the treatments. Further research to examine the underlying mechanisms of EMDR’s effective treatment elements in clinical samples is needed.Clinical Trial Registration[www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [ISRCTN55239132]. (shrink)

BackgroundThe effects of psychological interventions on symptoms and psychology of functional dyspepsia remain unclear. We aimed to comprehensively evaluate the effects of psychological interventions on symptoms and psychology of FD.MethodsWe searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase electronic databases for randomized controlled trials evaluating the role of psychological interventions in FD patients published before July 2021. Standardized mean differences, risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by a random effects model. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were also performed.ResultsFourteen RCTs (...) with a total of 1,434 FD patients were included. Compared with the control group, psychological interventions were significantly more likely to symptom improvement [RR = 1.74, 95% CI, p = 0.01], relieve gastrointestinal symptoms scores at follow up [SMD = −1.06, 95% CI, p < 0.0001], relieve gastrointestinal symptoms scores at end of treatment [SMD = −0.98, 95% CI, p < 0.001], decrease anxiety [SMD = −0.8, 95% CI, p = 0.006] and depression levels [SMD = −1.11, 95% CI, p < 0.001]. The results of the subgroup analysis showed that psychotherapy was more likely to symptom improvement, relieve gastrointestinal symptoms scores and decreased depression levels compared to the control.ConclusionsPsychological interventions may be effective in alleviating the symptoms and psychology of FD, but the effect appears to be limited to psychotherapy with fewer trials for other psychological interventions. More data from high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm their use in the treatment of FD. (shrink)

The major argument of this article is that failing to measure what is taking place in treatment and control conditions can lead to scientifically invalid conclusions. It is argued that researchers are ethically responsible for being aware that variables related to the therapist, client, and the therapeutic relationship might play a confounding role when treatment and control conditions are compared. As a consequence, they should either measure these variables or be tentative in their interpretation of their findings.

Hundreds of evaluative studies of psychotherapy still leave the issue of its effectiveness unsettled. The author argues that such studies have ignored the major determinant of therapeutic effectiveness, the role of a patient’s belief in the successful outcome in therapy. Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, one of the foremost critics of psychiatry, wrote of this paper: "It is one of the best, if not the best, that I have read on this subject.” It makes little sense to claim that (...) a certain therapy is effective or ineffective in itself; rather, there is a relation of mutual interaction among three terms: a patient’s ability to learn in a psychological context, a therapist’s ability to teach, and the capacity of an approach to therapy to engender in the patient the necessary belief in its effectiveness. -/- The paper is followed by a 4-page 2014 Afterword. (shrink)

Smith, Glass, and Miller have reported a meta-analysis of over 500 studies comparing some form of psychological therapy with a control condition. They report that when averaged over all dependent measures of outcome, psychological therapy is. 85 standard deviations better than the control treatment. We examined the subset of studies included in the Smith et al. metaanalysis that contained a psychotherapy and a placebo treatment. The median of the mean effect sizes for these 32 studies was. 15. There was (...) a nonsignificant inverse relationship between mean outcome and the following: sample size, duration of therapy, use of measures of outcome other than undisguised self-report, measurement of outcome at follow-up, and use of real patients rather than subjects solicited for the purposes of participation in a research study. A qualitative analysis of the studies in terms of the type of patient involved indicates that those using psychiatric outpatients had essentially zero effect sizes and that none using psychiatric inpaticnts provide convincing evidence for psychotherapeutic effectiveness. The onty studies clearly demonstrating significant effects of psychotherapy were the ones that did not use real patients. For the most part, these studies involved small samples of subjects and brief treatments, occasionally described in quasibeliavioristic language. It was concluded that for real patients there is no evidence that the benefits of psychotherapy are greater than those of placebo treatment. (shrink)

The aims of this study were to examine the effectiveness of a range of smartphone apps for managing symptoms of anxiety and depression and to assess the utility of a single-case research design for enhancing the evidence base for this mode of treatment delivery. The study was serendipitously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed for effectiveness to be additionally observed in the context of significant community distress. A pilot study was initially conducted using theSuperBetter app to evaluate (...) the proposed methodology, which proved successful with the four finishing participants. In the main study, 39 participants commenced, with 29 finishing the intervention phase and completing post-intervention measures. At 6-month follow-up, a further three participants could not be contacted. This study used a digitally enhanced, multiple baseline across-individuals single-case research design. Participants were randomly assigned to the following apps:SuperBetter,Smiling Mind,MoodMission,MindShift, andDestressify. Symptomatology and life functioning were measured at five different time points: pre-baseline/screening, baseline, intervention, 3-week post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up. Detailed individual perceptions and subjective ratings of the apps were also obtained from participants following the study’s completion. Data were analyzed using visual inspection, time-series analysis, and methods of statistical and clinical significance. Positive results were observed for all apps. Overall, more favorable outcomes were achieved by younger participants, those concurrently undertaking psychotherapy and/or psychotropic medication, those with anxiety and mixed anxiety and depression rather than stand-alone depression, and those with a shorter history of mental illness. Outcomes were generally maintained at 6-month follow-up. It was concluded that a diverse range of evidence-based therapies offered via apps can be effective in managing mental health and improving life functioning even during times of significant global unrest and, like all psychotherapies, are influenced by client features. Additionally, this single-case research design is a low-cost/high value means of assessing the effectiveness of mental health apps.Clinical Trial Registration: The study is registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, which is a primary registry in the World Health Organization Registry Network, registration number ACTRN12619001302145p. (shrink)

Two inimical interpretations of psychotherapy look to many of the same features of empirical research. One camp infers that placebo effects are impossible in principle in psychotherapy; the other camp infers from the same research that psychotherapy is essentially placebo. I examine the crucial discussions and conclude that these opposing evaluations ensue because each group presumes a different baseline from which the significance of the research is gauged. I show how different baselines set different standards of significance (...) and invite different comparisons between therapeutic and non-therapeutic practices. Attention to this point about the baseline of significance puts the placebo debate in sharper relief and frames more clearly the merits and demerits of each position. It also leads to the conclusion that neither group really lays hold of in-principle claims, since both interpretations rest on context-dependent features of the empirical situation. Along the way, I discuss salient features of outcomes research, meta-analysis, and the role of symbols in therapeutic transactions. I close with some remarks that link the proliferation of therapies with cultural splintering generally and suggest how this might bear on the placebo issue. (shrink)

This dissertation is focused on the validity of “the data” that are collected in psychotherapy research for the purpose of evidencing treatment efficacy. In the ‘Evidence Based Treatment’ paradigm, researchers rely on the so-called ‘gold standard methodology’ to gather sound and trustworthy evidence, which increasingly influences the organization of mental health care worldwide. In the gold standard, data are collected by quantified self-report measures, to assess the presence and severity of symptoms before and after treatment. When the pre-post difference (...) is larger for a group of people that received the treatment of interest and a group of people who received no or an alternative treatment, the treatment of interest is called effective. In this methodological procedure, researchers tend to assume that when this gold standard methodology is conducted properly, “the data” will speak for themselves. However, when evidence is based on data, that evidence is principally limited by that data. In other words: output depends on input. That implies that when input is flawed, output will be flawed, even when the very best methods of analysis would be used. So what if “the data” yield validity issues despite being collected by validated measures? When “the data” do not straightforwardly evidence treatment effects, will the subsequent steps in the analysis of these data be enough to secure that the evidence in the end does evidence treatment efficacy? In this dissertation, the focus is turned to validity of “the data” that are concretely provided by patient-participants by scoring their own experienced symptoms in self-report questionnaires, in function of evidencing treatment efficacy. A series of empirical case studies were conducted to scrutinize how patient-participants in a randomized controlled psychotherapy study experienced the process of data collection, and how these experiences affected the data that they provided. Each of the studied patient-participants experienced a substantial effect of the questionnaire administration on their complaints. This impacted the level of complaints, but also changed the way in which the complaints were understood at all, and how patient-participants perceived themselves. Thus, rather than neutrally measuring symptoms, questionnaire administration changed the experienced complaints ‘performatively’, which turned measurement into a clinical intervention of its own. Consequently, what is measured cannot straightforwardly be called ‘treatment efficacy’, as it may be entangled with, enabled by or even obstructed by effects of measurement and research. Therefore, the act of measurement itself can pose a vital threat to the validity of “the data”. This way, the empirical case studies exhibited that data can yield validity problems despite the use of validated measures. Consequently, the validity of a measure as such is no guarantee for the validity of data. Nonetheless, in gold standard research, the data are straightforwardly taken as input for analyses of general treatment efficacy. The question is what happens with those validity issues on the level of individual data, when they pursue their journey towards becoming evidence. In this dissertation, it was argued that the validity issues are not sufficiently solved in the methodological steps after data collection, so when data are invalid in the beginning, these validity issues will simply become part of the data set that forms the input for analysis of the final evidence. This urges that validity issues should be solved on the level of individually provided data, as the validity issues will otherwise become inherent to “the data”. Put formally: valid data is a precondition for evidence in EBT. In conclusion, it is crucial for a sound evidence-base to scrutinize the validity of data in function of the overall goal and utility of the research. For this, it is important not to take “the data” as speaking for themselves, but to regard them as clinical narratives, which are framed in a specific format to be communicated between researcher and respondent in a research context. This emphasizes that the choice for a certain format determines what can be evidenced, so it is vital that these choices indeed allow for obtaining evidence that is useful and valid to serve the clinical goal of EBT. (shrink)

In this double case study of child psychotherapy, we demonstrate the positive effect of children’s involvement in play activities on their verbal expression of inner emotions and cognitions. Discourse analysis of therapy sessions complemented with the therapist’s reflections show that children who have difficulty in verbalizing hard feelings and cognitions gain control of the communicative situation by getting involved in playful activities. Therapists’ verbal entrance into play can be used to negotiate the therapist–child relationship in terms of power and (...) solidarity. (shrink)

The standard approach to ethics in psychotherapy is to focus on the therapist. Although normative “boundary” ethics revolves around what the therapist ought, or ought not, to do, virtue ethics can revolve around the kind of person the therapist ought to be. One can thus apply virtue ethical theory to clinical practice and argue for therapist virtues that are relevant to meeting professional standards and to working effectively through the problems that arise in psychotherapy. Considerably less attention has (...) been paid to how virtue ethics relates to the patient. The ethics of psychotherapy can also revolve around the sort of person the patient should be. I argue that there are nascent virtues which the patient can bring to psychotherapy that, when cultivated with the therapist, can facilitate a beneficial outcome and virtues that can be seen as psychotherapeutic goals toward which the patient ought to strive. (shrink)

In this paper, I respond to some criticisms of Greenwood (1996) advanced by Grunbaum (1996) and Erwin (1996). I argue that Grunbaum's problematic account of "placebo effects" and placebo control treatments does not really address, far less resolve, the problems with experimental evaluations of psychotherapy documented in my original paper.

The case of Xiang as described by Jane Carroll is indeed disconcerting well beyond the immediately apparent factors contained within the article. While Xiang’s direct medical expenses are excessive and his inability to pay for those expenses and further support his noncustodial family seem to be the main issues up for debate, Xiang, however, is likely going to need much more psychosocial support if he is to regain his previous independent functionality or retain any aspect of a quality of life (...) whilst continuing his indefinitely isolated treatment. In this response, I briefly outline the probable effects of Xiang’s current situation on his social identity and mental health as well as a potential way that we can minimize these adverse effects. (shrink)

This paper explores the differences between bringing about self-change by way of antidepressants versus psychotherapy from an ethical point of view, taking its starting point in the concept of authenticity. Given that the new antidepressants (SSRIs) are able not only to cure psychiatric disorders but also to bring about changes in the basic temperament structure of the person—changes in self-feeling—does it matter if one brings about such changes of the self by way of antidepressants or by way of (...) class='Hi'>psychotherapy? Are antidepressants a less good alternative than psychotherapy because antidepressants are in some way less authentic than psychotherapy? And, if so, what does this mean exactly? In this paper I try to show that the self-change brought about by way of antidepressants challenges basic assumptions of authentic self-change that are deeply ingrained in our Western culture: that changes in self should be brought about by laborious ‘self-work’ in which one explores the deep layers of the self (the unconscious) and comes to realise who one really is and should become. To become oneself has been held to presuppose such a journey. While the assumed importance of self-work appears to be badly founded on closer inspection, the notions of exploring and knowing oneself appear to be more promising in fleshing out an ethical distinction between psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic practice with the help of the concept of authenticity. Psychotherapy, to a much greater extent than psychopharmacological interventions, involves the whole profile of the self in its attempts to effect a change, not only in the temperament but also in the character of the person in question, and this is important from an ethical point of view. In the article, the concepts of self-change, authenticity, temperament and character are presented and used in order to understand and flesh out the relevant ethical differences between the practice of psychotherapy and the use of antidepressants. Looping, collective effects of psychopharmacological self-change in a cultural context are also considered in this context. (shrink)

Addressing the needs of both professionals and laypersons and drawn from the author's varied experiences in psychiatry, this study attempts to locate and describe the elusive therapeutic environment within which psychological healing most effectively takes place.

Background: The pregnancy and psychological status of infertile couples has always been a concern, but there is no clear evidence for the efficacy of psychotherapy for infertile couples. This study aimed to summarize the current evidence of the effects of psychotherapy on psychological and pregnancy outcomes for infertile couples. Method: We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMbase, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for articles published from 1946 to June 26, 2020. The pregnancy outcomes, psychological outcomes, and acceptability (...) were involved in the study. Results: Overall, 29 studies with a combined total of 3,522 adult participants were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with a placebo, psychotherapy was associated with the pregnancy rate [risk ratio = 1.43, 95% CI [1.07, 1.93]], total psychological scales associated with infertility [standardized mean difference = −0.33 95% CI [−0.63, −0.02]], subsymptoms of psychological scores using the 28-item version of GHQ, and the integrative body–mind–spirit ; total psychological scales associated with infertility using other treatments and more than a month; and anxiety using BMS had significant statistical significance. The funnel plots of all outcomes were approximately symmetrical, and no significant publication bias was found. Conclusions: The study showed that psychotherapy can lead to improvements in the pregnancy rate for infertile patients, especially for patients receiving assisted fertility. In addition, it may help improve total psychological scales associated with infertility and depression. CBT and BMS play an important role in improving rate of pregnancy, and BMS is associated with reducing anxiety. Although psychological interventions had limited effects on the pregnancy outcomes of infertility, our study still recommended that psychotherapies, in particular CBT and BMS, were applied to the therapeutic regimen for infertility, especially for patients receiving assisted fertility. (shrink)

Psychotherapy is effective. Since the 1970’s, meta-analyses, and meta-analyses of meta-analyses, have consistently shown a significant effect size for psychotherapeutic interventions when compared to no treatment or placebo treatments. This effectiveness is normally taken as a sign of the scientific legitimization of clinical psychotherapy. A significant problem, however, is that most psychotherapies appear to be equally effective. This poses a problem for specific psychotherapies: they may work, but likely not for the reasons that ground their theoretical explanations (...) for their effectiveness. A prominent explanation for the findings of common efficacy in psychotherapy is to postulate that all successful therapies work by altering maladaptive meanings and providing patients with new, more adaptive meanings. This paper argues that the ‘meaning view’ of psychological change is likely mistaken; psychological problems are not normally problems of meaning nor are they directly ameliorated by changes in meaning. This paper then outlines a skill-based explanation for the findings of the common efficacy of psychotherapy. (shrink)

Effective psychotherapy is often held to involve the expression of feelings. Within the person-centred approach, this view has been especially emphasised by Carl Rogers and Eugene Gendlin. I am concerned with the question of why the expression of feelings can be therapeutically effective. Many psychotherapists picture feelings as “inner experiences” for which the client tries to find appropriate words, but the difficulties with this picture, which were highlighted by Wittgenstein, seem to call for a very different approach. Here, I (...) develop a Wittgensteinian account of the expression of feelings that avoids the difficulties to which Wittgenstein draws attention. (shrink)

In our times of social eruptions not only the hierarchies of life but also those of coralled knowledge have become floating and therefore, papers presenting ideas of a certain generality must become accustomed to forsaking the habit of defining at the start the basic concepts. Renouncing a definition of the Webster type we will start with a very provisional definition of psychotherapy, hopeful that once more it might prove true that lifting one's eyes to the general will be more (...) fruitful, if it is preceded by a stage of intimate knowledge of the particulars. Moreover, it is hoped that from such at the same time intimate and “philosophical” knowledge of one particular field a wholesome criticism, nay enriching effect might arise. It is the problems of detail that in our times have definitely turned to philosophy and it is these same problems which philosophy should delve into in its own interest. (shrink)

With the advent of COVID-19, a sudden, unexpected, and forced shift has been produced in the field of psychotherapy. Worldwide, many therapists closed their offices and started to deliver psychotherapy online through a screen. Although different media started to be incorporated, videoconferencing is undoubtedly the most common way in which therapists are doing therapy these days. This is catalyzing a rapid change in the practice of psychotherapy with probable lasting effects and deserves to be carefully reflected upon. (...) Therefore, in this paper our aim is to outline the main challenges for a medium that may have arrived to stay. In that sense, we review the literature to describe the state-of-the-art regarding the main aspects of videoconferencing psychotherapy as well as to suggest possible avenues for future research and practice. (shrink)

Market-based social governance schemes that establish standards of conduct for producers and traders in international supply chains aim to reduce the negative socioenvironmental effects of globalization. While studies have examined how characteristics of social governance schemes promote socially responsible producer behavior, it has not yet been examined how these same characteristics affect consumer behavior. This is a crucial omission, because without consumer demand for socially produced products, the reach of the social benefits is likely to be limited. We develop a (...) comprehensive model that links twocharacteristics of market-based social governance schemes—(1) stringency and enforcement of requirements, and (2) promotion—to two conditions required for governance schemes to generate significant social benefits: (1) socially responsible behavior of participating firms; and (2) consumer demand for socially produced products which, in turn, expands products produced according to social governance schemes, and thus, the quantity of social benefits. We discuss market-based social governance schemes in the context of fair trade coffee. (shrink)

David Gordon; Rules and the Effectiveness of the Hidden Curriculum, Journal of Philosophy of Education, Volume 17, Issue 2, 30 May 2006, Pages 207–218, https://.

Growing demand for broadly accessible mental health care, together with the rapid development of new technologies, trigger discussions about the feasibility of psychotherapeutic interventions based on interactions with Conversational Artificial Intelligence (CAI). Many authors argue that while currently available CAI can be a useful supplement for human-delivered psychotherapy, it is not yet capable of delivering fully fledged psychotherapy on its own. The goal of this paper is to investigate what are the most important obstacles on our way to (...) developing CAI systems capable of delivering psychotherapy in the future. To this end, we formulate and discuss three challenges central to this quest. Firstly, we might not be able to develop effective AI-based psychotherapy unless we deepen our understanding of what makes human-delivered psychotherapy effective. Secondly, assuming that it requires building a therapeutic relationship, it is not clear whether psychotherapy can be delivered by non-human agents. Thirdly, conducting psychotherapy might be a problem too complicated for narrow AI, i.e., AI proficient in dealing with only relatively simple and well-delineated tasks. If this is the case, we should not expect CAI to be capable of delivering fully-fledged psychotherapy until the so-called “general” or “human-like” AI is developed. While we believe that all these challenges can ultimately be overcome, we think that being mindful of them is crucial to ensure well-balanced and steady progress on our path to AI-based psychotherapy. (shrink)

Organizations are faced with the question, not only whether to adopt an ethics program, but also which components to adopt when. This study shows that unethical behavior occurs less frequently in organizations that have an ethics program than in organizations that do not have an ethics program. Nine components of ethics programs were identified and examined. The results show that there is a direct relationship between the number of components adopted and the frequency of observed unethical behavior. No relationship was (...) found between pre-employment screening and unethical behavior, while the strongest relationship was discerned between accountability policies and unethical behavior. The study further reveals that the best sequence for adopting components of an ethics program is a code of ethics, ethics training and communication, accountability policies, monitoring and auditing, and investigation and correction policies—all of which are directly related to less unethical behavior—followed by an ethics office, ethics report line, and incentive policies—all of which are indirectly related to less unethical behavior. With the exception of pre-employment screening, this sequence corresponds closely to the pattern of adoption of organizations in the U.S. (shrink)

Carl R. Rogers, the founder of client-centered therapy, contributed to the development of self-reliant learning in education. He applied such concepts of client-centered therapy as realness, prizing, acceptance, trust, and empathy to educational area, and called attention the importance of the authentic relationship between teacher and student with such books as Freedom to Learn, Becoming A Person, and A Way of Being. Besides, he also focused on teachers‟ attitudes in classrooms in his works. His views still continue to influence the (...) practices in both contemporary psychotherapy and education. The current study aims to introduce Rogers‟ views on teachers‟ attitudes facilitating students‟ learning, to discuss the views in the light of existentialist approaches and thus to make contributions to the development of educational environments. (shrink)

This article examines how therapists and patients start building and managing relationships and pursue institutional goals at the same time. Based on a corpus of 6 audio-recorded therapies (client-centered therapy and psychodynamic therapy), I investigate first encounters between therapists and patients as the starting points of any therapeutical process and the place where a relationship between the interactants is established for the first time. Following a microlinguistic qualitative approach and applying methods from conversation analysis and discourse analysis, I show how (...) therapists, on the one hand, try to align with patients to build a positive working alliance and, on the other hand, work to fulfill specific interactive tasks of therapeutic discourse which demand disaligning with the patients’ communicative activity and their interactive expectations. Specific interactive “jobs” that need to be fulfilled in psychotherapy are identified, namely the performance of institutional roles by the interactants, the establishment of an interaction structure and the pursuit of helpful change in the patient. I show at which places in the interaction therapists (dis-)align with the patients’ projected communicative activity and how aligning and disaligning are related to the interactive process and the establishment and performance of these interactive jobs. The analysis shows that, at the beginning of therapy, alignment and disalignment are both important processes for the following reasons: Aligning with the patient contributes to a positive relationship, which has been shown to be vital for successful psychotherapy, while disaligning introduces the patient to the specific discursive mechanisms that characterize therapeutic discourse and constitute the basis for its effectiveness. Overall, the paper argues that reducing therapy to a dichotomy between relationship and “technique” seems overly simplistic, as both aspects need to be handled and managed at the same time. (shrink)

This study investigates the effectiveness of a preparatory programme on the acceptance of students with physical disabilities by their peers in inclusive schools in Tehran. The classrooms which had students with physical disabilities were included in this study. Two hundred and twenty?one third? to fifth?grade students (116 girls and 105 boys) were selected randomly and were placed in experimental and control groups. The Acceptance Scale (Form B) established by Voeltz was used to measure peer acceptance. Data were collected from (...) two groups before and after applying the preparatory programme. The data were analysed by t?test for independent groups and two?way ANOVA. The results showed increase of acceptance in experimental group. Also in comparing the level of acceptance in girls and boys, the results indicated that the acceptance in girls were more than boys. (shrink)

This chapter examines the control capacities of individuals with certain mental disorders and how, specifically, their reasons-responsiveness improves with treatment. Successful talk therapy, in particular, can bring individuals with disorders of agency closer to full-blown agency. The discussion focuses, first, on Agoraphobia and Exposure Therapy and, second, on Borderline Personality Disorder and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. We can see effective techniques of talk therapy, such as gradual exposure or radical acceptance exercises, as operating on the ability of patients to respond appropriately (...) to reasons. In this way, reasons-responsiveness is a lens through which both to better appreciate the flourishing of patients, via improved control in both moral and nonmoral contexts. The chapter bridges philosophical concepts of reasons-responsiveness with key psychiatric constructs, such as distress tolerance and experiential avoidance. (shrink)

The propagation of errors in physics research is studied, with particular attention being paid to the effectiveness of the erratum in avoiding error propagation. We study the citation history of 17 physics papers which have significant errata associated with them. It would appear that the existence of an erratum does not significantly decrease the frequency with which a paper is cited and in most cases the erratum isnot cited along with the original paper. The authors comment on implications for (...) the responsibilities of authors. (shrink)

Teachers of science-based education in Malaysian secondary schools, especially those in the field of physics, often find their students facing huge difficulties in dealing with conceptual ideas in physics, resulting thus in a lack of interest towards the subject. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Brain-Based Teaching Approach (henceforth BBTA) in dealing with the issues of the conceptual understanding of Newtonian physics of Form Four students in secondary science schools in the state of (...) Kedah, situated in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia, and also their learning motivation towards the subject of physics. The BBTA is based on the Brain-Based Learning Principles, where detailed attention is given to seven main steps: (1) activation; (2) clarify the outcome and paint big picture of the lesson; (3) making connection; (4) doing the learning activity; (5) demonstrate student understanding; (6) review for student recall and retention/closure; and (7) preview the new topic. The effectiveness of the BBTA within the targeted context was then assessed in a quasi-experimental research approach involving 100 Form Four students from two secondary science schools. Data collected using the Test of Conceptual Understanding of Newtonian Physics and the Questionnaire of Physics Learning Motivation were then analysed descriptively and inferentially. The results obtained revealed that the BBTA was in fact exceedingly effective in dealing with the problems aforementioned. It was found that students who received physics education taught using the BBTA possessed a better conceptual understanding of Newtonian physics and also a higher learning motivation in the subject of physics, compared to students who received physics education taught using conventional teaching methods. (shrink)

When corporations are accused of unethical behaviour by external actors, executives from those organizations are usually compelled to offer communicative responses to defend their corporate image. To demonstrate the effect that corporate executives'' communicative responses have on third parties'' perception of corporate image, we present the Corporate Communicative Response Model in this paper. Of the five potential communicative responses contained in this model (no response, denial, excuse, justification, and concession), results from our empirical test demonstrate that a concession is the (...) most effective and robust communicative option. (shrink)

278 non-freshman university students taking a l2-week critical thinking course in a large single-section class, with computer-assisted guided practice as a replacement for small-group discussion, and all testing in machine-scored multiple-choice format, improved their critical thinking skills, as measured by the California Critical Thinking Skills Test, by half a standard deviation, a moderate improvement. The improvement was more than that reported with a traditional format without computer-assisted instruction, but less than that reported with a format using both computer-assisted instruction and (...) essay-type assignments. Further studies are needed to test hypotheses suggested by these results. (shrink)

Given the rise of genetic etiological beliefs regarding psychiatric disorders, a growing body of research has focused on trying to elucidate the effects that such explanatory frameworks might be having on how mental disorders are perceived by patients, clinicians, and the general public. Genetic and other biomedical explanations of mental disorders have long been seen as a potential tool in the efforts to destigmatize mental disorders, given the harshness of the widespread negative attitudes about them and the important negative clinical (...) and social impacts of this stigma. The conventional wisdom has appeared to be that because the effects of genes are seen as falling outside individual control, conceiving of mental disorders as caused by genes casts patients as blameless, thereby reducing stigmatization. Indeed, the results of experimental and correlational research have now robustly linked genetic and other biomedical explanations for mental disorders with reductions in the extent to which people are blamed for their psychiatric symptoms. However, research examining the impact of genetic and other biomedical explanations of mental disorders has also suggested that they can have significant downsides. The most consistently observed negative effect of these kinds of explanations is that they can apparently lead to the assumption that mental disorders are unlikely to improve or abate. Genetic and other biomedical explanations of mental disorders can also increase people’s confidence in the effectiveness of biomedical treatments (such as pharmacotherapy) but decrease their confidence in the effectiveness of “nonbiomedical” treatments (such as psychotherapy). (shrink)

Studies of the prevalence and contents of codes of conduct in the private sector show that their use to define an ethical environment or culture, and their effective implementation, must be as part of a learning process that requires inculcation, reinforcement and measurement. Consequently, the public sector must realise it cannot look solely to formal codes to revive and sustain public sector values. Alan Doig is Professor of Public Services Management, and John Wilson is Principal Lecturer and Head of the (...) Centre for Public Services Management, at Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University. (shrink)

Scientific editors’ policies, including peer review, are based mainly on tradition and belief. Do they actually achieve their desired effects, the selection of the best manuscripts and improvement of those published? Editorial decisions have important consequences—to investigators, the scientific community, and all who might benefit from correct information or be harmed by misleading research results. These decisions should be judged not just by intentions of reviewers and editors but also by the actual consequences of their actions. A small but growing (...) number of studies has put editorial policies to a strong scientific test. In a randomized, controlled trial. blinding reviewers to author and institution was usually successful and improved the quality of reviews. Two studies have shown that, contrary to conventional wisdom, reviewers early in their careers give better reviews than senior reviewers. Many studies have shown low agreement between reviewers but there is disagreement about whether this represents a failing of peer review or the expected and valuable effect of choosing reviewers with complementary expertise. In a study of whether manuscripts are improved by peer review and editing, articles published in Annals of Internal Medicine were improved in 33 of 34 dimensions of reporting quality, but published articles still had room for improvement. Because of the central place of peer review in the scientific community and the resources it requires, more studies are needed to define what it does and does not accomplish. (shrink)

The Psychology of Meditation: Research and Practice explores the practice of meditation and mindfulness and presents accounts of the cognitive and emotional processes elicited during meditation practice. Written by researchers and practitioners with considerable experience in meditation practice and from different religious or philosophical perspectives, he book examines the evidence for the effects of meditation on emotional and physical well-being in therapeutic contexts and in applied settings. The areas covered include addictions, pain management, psychotherapy, physical health, neuroscience and the (...) application of meditation in school and workplace settings. Uniquely, the contributors also present accounts of their own personal experience of meditation practice including their history of practice, phenomenology, and the impact it has had on their lives. (shrink)