Transcending the angel beast: Viktor Frankl and humanistic psychology.

In this article the author describes the relationship of Viktor Frankl, the famous Holocaust survivor and founder of logotherapy, with the Big 3 (Rollo May, Carl Rogers, and Abraham Maslow) of the American humanistic psychology movement. From the perspective of his quasi-religious meaning-centered logotherapy, Frankl criticized the humanistic psychology movement for overlooking the transcendent nature of human experience. The author argues that the source of these criticisms stems from Frankl's traumatic Holocaust experience that made him unable to accept an immanent meaning to human existence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life.

Six studies examined the role of positive affect (PA) in the experience of meaning in life (MIL). Study 1 showed strong relations between measures of mood, goal appraisals, and MIL. In multivariate analyses, PA was a stronger predictor of MIL than goal appraisals. In Study 2, the most consistent predictor of the experience of meaning in a day was the PA experienced that day. Later, global MIL was predicted by average daily PA, rather than average daily MIL. Study 3 demonstrated no prospective relations between measures of MIL and PA over 2 years. In Study 4, priming positive mood concepts enhanced MIL. In Study 5, manipulated positive mood enhanced ratings of MIL for those who were not given an attributional cue for their moods. In Study 6, PA was associated with a high level of distinction between meaningful and meaningless activities. Results indicate that positive moods may predispose individuals to feel that life is meaningful. In addition, positive moods may increase sensitivity to the meaning-relevance of a situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Purpose in life as a mediator of adjustment after spinal cord injury.

Objective: Determine how purpose in life influences adjustment after spinal cord injury (SCI). Study Design: Cross-sectional survey with mediation analysis. Subjects: 1,391 adults with traumatic SCI 1 or more years prior. Main Outcome Measure: Ladder of Adjustment (N. M. Crewe & J. S. Krause, 1990). The Purpose in Life scale (PIL: .J. C. Crumbaugh, 1968), the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (M. Zuckerman, D. M. Kuhlman, J. Joireman, P. Teta, & M. Kraft, 1993), and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale (K. A. Wallston, B. S. Wallston, & R. DeVellis, 1978) were assessed. Results: PIL mediated between most measures and adjustment. Conclusions: Logotherapy is effective in strengthening purpose in life. Its use with persons with SCI may improve their adjustment and quality of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Low life purpose and high hostility are related to an attenuated decline in nocturnal blood pressure.

Objective: An attenuation of the nighttime decline in blood pressure (BP) predicts cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular-related mortality, beyond daytime BP levels. We investigated whether positive and negative psychological attributes were associated with sleep–wake BP ratios and examined sleep parameters as potential mediators of these relationships. Design: Two hundred twenty-four participants (50% men; 43% Black; mean age = 60 years) underwent ambulatory BP monitoring for 2 days and nights. Self-reports of positive and negative psychological attributes were collected. In-home polysomnography was conducted for 2 nights, and a wrist actigraph was worn for 9 nights. Main Outcome Measures: Sleep–wake mean arterial pressure (MAP) ratios. Results: After adjustment for demographics, body mass index, and hypertensive status, low life purpose and high hostility were associated with high sleep–wake MAP ratios. Depression, anxiety, and optimism were not related to MAP ratios. Sleep latency, fragmentation, architecture, and the apnea–hypopnea index were examined as potential mediators between psychological attributes and MAP ratios; only long sleep latency mediated the relationship between hostility and MAP ratios. Conclusion: Low life purpose and high hostility are associated with high sleep–wake BP ratios in Black and White adults, and these relationships are largely independent of sleep. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Purpose in life as a system that creates and sustains health and well-being: An integrative, testable theory.

Purpose—a cognitive process that defines life goals and provides personal meaning—may help explain disparate empirical social science findings. Devoting effort and making progress toward life goals provides a significant, renewable source of engagement and meaning. Purpose offers a testable, causal system that synthesizes outcomes including life expectancy, satisfaction, and mental and physical health. These outcomes may be explained best by considering the motivation of the individual—a motivation that comes from having a purpose. We provide a detailed definition with specific hypotheses derived from a synthesis of relevant findings from social, behavioral, biological, and cognitive literatures. To illustrate the uniqueness of the purpose model, we compared purpose with competing contemporary models that offer similar predictions. Addressing the structural features unique to purpose opens opportunities to build upon existing causal models of “how and why” health and well-being develop and change over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gold Medal Award for life achievement in the practice of psychology.

The 2001 Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology was awarded to Herman Feifel. He is considered the father of the modern death movement. His efforts broke the entrenched taboo that had previously discouraged scientific study of death and dying and have earned him international acclaim. His work had influenced how psychologists think about death, treatment of the dying and bereaved, and how they view their own lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Procedure for Nonacademic Failure of Graduate Students in Psychology.

Recently, the application of the legal concept of "due process" has been broadening. Bernard (1975) has suggested that clinical students in psychology are due a clear procedure for being judged unsuitable and dropped from their programs. At the University of Alabama, we are persuaded that these processes should also include experimental students. Certainly, there are characteristics that render people unsuitable to the profession of psychology, whether clinical or experimental. We have, therefore, adopted a procedure designed to apply at those times when faculty members feel students may be unsuitable to practice psychology: in the classroom, the laboratory, the clinic, or any other setting. This procedure is sent to students who apply to the graduate program and are under consideration for acceptance--before they commit themselves to our department. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social recovery of monkeys isolated for the first year of life: I. Rehabilitation and therapy.

Previous research demonstrated that 12 mo of total social isolation initiated at birth produced severe and seemingly permanent social deficits in rhesus monkeys. Such monkeys exhibited self-clasping, self-mouthing, and other stereotypic, self-directed responses. Recent research has indicated that 6-mo-isolated monkeys could develop social behaviors if exposed to younger, socially unsophisticated "therapist" monkeys. In the present experiment, 4 12-mo isolate-reared monkeys developed appropriate species-typical behavior through the use of adaptation, self-pacing of visual input, and exposure to 4 younger "therapist" monkeys. Adaptation enabled the isolate Ss to become familiar with their postisolation environment, while self-pacing facilitated their watching the therapist Ss' social interactions. The isolates showed a marked decrease in self-directed behaviors following extensive intimate contact with the therapists. Species-typical behaviors significantly increased during this period, so that the isolate behavioral repertoire did not differ substantially from the therapist behavioral repertoire by the end of the therapy period. Results clearly fail to support a critical period for socialization in the rhesus monkey, and an alternative environment-specific learning hypothesis is proposed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategies used in coping with a cancer diagnosis predict meaning in life for survivors.

The search for meaning in life is part of the human experience. A negative life event may threaten perceptions about meaning in life, such as the benevolence of the world and one's sense of harmony and peace. The authors examined the longitudinal relationship between women's coping with a diagnosis of breast cancer and their self-reported meaning in life 2 years later. Multiple regression analyses revealed that positive strategies for coping predicted significant variance in the sense of meaning in life--feelings of inner peace, satisfaction with one's current life and the future, and spirituality and faith--and the absence of such strategies predicted reports of loss of meaning and confusion (ps     

Introduction to the final Special Section in the Special Series on the utility of the Rorschach for clinical assessment.

A Special Series was organized to clarify the merits of the Rorschach for clinical assessment. Except for a neutral meta-analytic review, articles were solicited from scholars known to have opposing views on the Rorschach. The authors participated in a structured, sequential, evidence-based dialogue that focused on strengths and limitations when using the Rorschach for applied purposes, The debate has taken place over 4 iterations, with later articles building on and reacting to those generated earlier. The first 5 articles in the Special Series were published earlier (G. J. Meyer, 1999), and the final 6 articles are published in this issue of Psychological Assessment. This article provides a brief overview of the full Special Series and an introduction to the 6 articles contained in this Special Section. The Special Series provides clinicians, researchers, educators, and students with a thorough review of the evidence and logic that are critical for understanding the Rorschach's strengths and limitations in clinical assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparing psychologists for evidence-based school practice: Lessons learned and challenges ahead.

The evidence-based practice (EBP) movement has the potential to significantly advance the quality of psychological and educational services provided by psychologists working in schools. Training psychologists in EBP has challenged the profession and caused faculty in graduate programs to reevaluate and retool professional training curricula and instructional practices. Four domains of challenges in graduate training are identified: (a) integrating the EBP knowledge base into the curriculum, (b) expanding models of research training, (c) expanding training in prevention science, and (d) expanding training in problem-solving consultation and school contextual issues. For each of these, the author discusses the range and scope of the challenge and possible solutions for advancing graduate training in psychology relevant to school practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating positive emotions into theory, research, and practice: A new challenge for psychotherapy.

This article elaborates on the themes and directions that emerged from a dialogue on the potential usefulness of positive emotions in psychotherapy. In defining a positive emotion, the authors propose that there are two intersecting axes of interest. The axes are emotional experience--whether something feels good or bad to the client--and therapeutic value--how helpful the emotion is to the therapeutic process. Three of the four quadrants formed by the intersection of these axes potentially contain positive emotions. Special consideration is given to the quadrant of positive experience/positive value, which has been relatively neglected until now. In this quadrant, positive emotions generate change either in their facilitating role--often in the therapeutic relationship--or as central agents of the change process. The authors conclude by considering how positive and negative emotions interact and call for careful theorizing and research to clearly understand positive emotions in psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gold medal award for life achievement in the practice of psychology: Herbert J. Freudenberger.

The American Psychological Foundation (APF) Gold Medal Awards recognize distinguished and enduring records of accomplishments in 4 areas of psychology. The 1999 recipient of the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology is Herbert J. Freudenberger. Freudenberger is cited for his exemplary professionalism as a psychologist and psychoanalyst dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering; for the sensitivity and conceptual genius that enabled him to establish the clinical construct of burnout; for his dedication to expanding our understanding of human behavior through theoretical contributions, teaching, and voluminous interdisciplinary and international publications; and for his innovative treatment of those afflicted with substance abuse problems. A citation, biography, and selected bibliography of Freudenberger's work are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gold medal award for life achievement in the practice of psychology.

The American Psychological Foundation (APF) Gold Medal Awards recognize distinguished and enduring records of accomplishment in four areas of psychology: the application of psychology, the practice of psychology, psychology in the public interest, and the science of psychology. The 2010 recipient of the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology is Judith Worell. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Therapeutic Alliance in Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Children Referred for Oppositional, Aggressive, and Antisocial Behavior.

The authors examined the therapeutic alliance in evidence-based treatment for children (N = 185, 47 girls, 138 boys; ages 3-14 years) referred clinically for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. Different alliances (child-therapist, parent-therapist) were assessed from each participant's perspective at 2 points over the course of treatment. As predicted, both child-therapist and parent-therapist alliances related to therapeutic change, family experience of barriers to participation in treatment, and treatment acceptability. Greater alliance was associated with greater therapeutic change, fewer perceived barriers, and greater treatment acceptability. The findings could not be attributed to the influence of socioeconomic disadvantage, parent psychopathology and stress, and child dysfunction or to rater effects (common rater variance in the predictors and criteria). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Epilepsy: A handbook for the mental health professional.

Reviews the book, Epilepsy: A handbook for the mental health professional edited by Harry Sands (1982). The editor has gathered 10 contributors, each with a wealth of experience in the area of psychological issues in epilepsy. The book is designed to provide necessary information about epilepsy to "the core mental health discipline: psychology, psychiatry, social work, and psychiatric nursing, and to other collaborating disciplines such as rehabilitation and counseling." It certainly achieves this goal and has the potential of becoming a major reference source as well as textbook in the field. The book could be used as a handbook and reference book for specific problems with epileptics. However, its real strength is its potential use as a unified and comprehensive textbook on a broad range of rehabilitation psychology issues with the epileptic. As a text, it would be appropriate for a senior undergraduate-level or graduate-level course within the broad area of medical psychology. Many of the psychological principles and intervention strategies are applicable to other disabilities. Thus, if educators wish, they can use these chapters as a core model to be augmented by other references to other disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Full Circle: Spiritual therapy for the elderly.

Reviews the book, Full Circle: Spiritual therapy for the elderly by Kevin Kirkland and Howard McIlveen (1999). This book describes "Full Circle", a program developed by the authors to provide spiritual therapy for seniors with dementia, including the Alzheimer type. The program is called spiritual therapy because it is "for facilitating healing, resolution, remembering, and experiencing of the sacred, the complete, the joyous, the whole" (p.x). Detailed information is provided on how to conduct "Full Circle." The format consists of having a group of seniors sitting in a circle together for singing, holding hands, sharing stories, discussion, and prayer. The main emphasis is on singing familiar hymns and/or secular songs, but "Full Circle" also provides opportunities for life review and reminiscence. The book can be a valuable resource for those working with residents in long-term facilities. However, I doubt it very much whether one can simply conduct "Full Circle" purely on the basis of this book without considerable professional experience of working with cognitively impaired seniors. In short, I find the book helpful, but not fully developed. The authors are to be commended for addressing such an important issue in a clear and readable way. For those working with seniors, this book, despite its shortcomings, will be a useful resource for spiritual care and music therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A clinical handbook/practical therapist manual for assessing and treating adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Reviews the book, A clinical handbook/practical therapist manual for assessing and treating adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by Donald Meichenbaum (see record 1995-97286-000). This text is a much needed addition in the burgeoning field that is coming to be called "psychotraumatology," including critical incident debriefing and related phenomena. Few fields of psychopathology have been fortunate enough to attract the attention of practitioners with the level of skill that Don Meichenbaum shows in this Manual, and his sobering, careful analysis of the traumatology literature in several very controversial areas deserves kudos. The reality is that this Handbook/Manual is in fact both a relatively comprehensive overview of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder literature, as well as a guidebook for treatment intervention strategies. Moreover, it is replete with appropriate cautions about variables that can interfere with treatment progress, together with strategic suggestions for overcoming that interference. The Manual is not only tremendously diverse, but is exceptional in its standards of scholarship and its careful application of those scholarly standards even to the most controversial topics. The author is also extremely credible in his treatment of potential harm from clinical techniques, and the Manual is replete with several examples of documented pitfalls, whether from comorbidity, relapse with substance-abusing populations, or the potential for harm to some individuals from simple repetitions of traumatic experiences. All in all, the reviewer strongly encourages Psychotherapy readers to avail themselves of this extremely well-written and thoughtful text. Both the book itself and the topic of PTSD deserve the excellent coverage devoted to them by this outstanding psychotherapy clinician and researcher. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)