Preliminary relationships between adherence and outcome in dynamic deconstructive psychotherapy.

This study examined adherence to specific psychotherapeutic techniques as a predictor of outcome in dynamic deconstructive psychotherapy (DDP), a new psychodynamic therapy for treatment-resistant clients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Ten clients dually diagnosed with BPD and alcohol use disorders underwent 12 months of DDP. Outcome indexes included measures of borderline symptoms, depression, dissociation, social support, alcohol misuse, parasuicide, and institutional care. Independent raters coded videorecorded sessions on adherence to DDP techniques, using a scale developed for this study, as well as therapeutic alliance and standard cognitive–behavioral and psychodynamic techniques. The adherence instrument demonstrated excellent interrater and test–retest reliability. Adherence to DDP techniques was positively related to improvement in BPD symptoms (ρ = .64) and most secondary outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hope-focused practices during early psychotherapy sessions: Part I: Implicit approaches.

Hope is recognized as one of four key factors contributing to psychotherapeutic change across a variety theoretical approaches (Hubble, Duncan, & Miller, 1999), especially early in the psychotherapeutic sequence. To date little research has looked at how hope is translated into specific practices by psychotherapists during psychotherapy sessions. This case study employed basic interpretive inquiry (Merriam, 1998) to explore the hope-focused practices of five hope-educated psychotherapists with 11 clients early in the therapy sequence. Two categories characterize the overall findings, that is, implicit and explicit hope-focused practices. This first paper in a two-part research report focuses on implicit hope-focused interventions. Implicit hope-focused interventions were those practices identified by therapists as addressing client hope without employing the word hope explicitly. Implicit hope practices addressed two key aspects of therapy, (a) attending to therapeutic relationship, and (b) fostering client perspective change. The second paper in this series examines findings regarding explicit hope-focused interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

海藻膳食纤维改善炎症性肠病(IBD)的作用机制研究进展

基于海藻膳食纤维的炎症性肠病(IBD)试验模型,概述了其在保护肠道黏膜屏障和宿主免疫系统方面的作用,并强调了其抑制免疫细胞浸润、调节氧化应激水平、保护抗氧化防御系统、调控肠道紧密连接蛋白及平衡炎症因子水平直接作用机制,重点探讨了肠道菌群介导的短链脂肪酸靶向保护IBD的间接作用机制,提出了海藻膳食纤维在IBD等肠道疾病改...     

Regulation of Metastatic Tumor Dormancy and Emerging Opportunities for Therapeutic Intervention

Cancer recurrence and metastasis, following successful treatment, constitutes a critical threat in clinical oncology and are the leading causes of death amongst cancer patients. This phenomenon is largely attributed to metastatic tumor dormancy, a rate-limiting stage during cancer progression, in which disseminated cancer cells remain in a viable, yet not proliferating state for a prolonged period. Dormant cancer cells are characterized by their entry into cell cycle arrest and survival in a quiescence state to adapt to their new microenvironment through the acquisition of mutations and epigenetic modifications, rendering them resistant to anti-cancer treatment and immune surveillance. Under favorable conditions, disseminated dormant tumor cells ‘re-awake’, resume their proliferation and thus colonize distant sites. Due to their rarity, detection of dormant cells using current diagnostic tools is challenging and, thus, therapeutic targets are hard to be identified. Therefore, unraveling the underlying mechanisms required for keeping disseminating tumor cells dormant, along with signals that stimulate their “re-awakening” are crucial for the discovery of novel pharmacological treatments. In this review, we shed light into the main mechanisms that control dormancy induction and escape as well as emerging therapeutic strategies for the eradication of metastatic dormant cells, including dormancy maintenance, direct targeting of dormant cells and re-awakening dormant cells. Studies on the ability of the metastatic cancer cells to cease proliferation and survive in a quiescent state before re-initiating proliferation and colonization years after successful treatment, will pave the way toward developing innovative therapeutic strategies against dormancy-mediated metastatic outgrowth.     

Modelling and predicting the effect of social distancing and travel restrictions on COVID-19 spreading

To date, the only effective means to respond to the spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic are non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), which entail policies to reduce social activity and mobility restrictions. Quantifying their effect is difficult, but it is key to reducing their social and economic consequences. Here, we introduce a meta-population model based on temporal networks, calibrated on the COVID-19 outbreak data in Italy and applied to evaluate the outcomes of these two types of NPIs. Our approach combines the advantages of granular spatial modelling of meta-population models with the ability to realistically describe social contacts via activity-driven networks. We focus on disentangling the impact of these two different types of NPIs: those aiming at reducing individuals’ social activity, for instance through lockdowns, and those that enforce mobility restrictions. We provide a valuable framework to assess the effectiveness of different NPIs, varying with respect to their timing and severity. Results suggest that the effects of mobility restrictions largely depend on the possibility of implementing timely NPIs in the early phases of the outbreak, whereas activity reduction policies should be prioritized afterwards.     

Human migration networks and policy interventions: bringing population distributions in line with system optimization

In this paper, we demonstrate that, through policy interventions, in the form of subsidies, a system‐optimum for a multiclass human migration network can be achieved, despite the migrants, who can be refugees, behaving in a user‐optimized manner. The formulation and analysis are conducted using variational inequality theory. The policy intervention allows governmental decision‐makers to moderate the flow of migrants while enhancing societal welfare. An algorithm is proposed and applied to compute the solutions to a series of numerical examples, with changes in initial populations and utility functions, inspired by a pandemic, followed by a natural disaster.     

Predictors of Psychotherapeutic Benefit of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients: The Effects of Sexual Orientation Matching and Other Factors.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 41(1) of Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training (see record 2007-16875-001). On page 293, Table 3 is incorrectly identified as Table 2, and on pages 294-295, Table 2 is incorrectly identified as Table 3.] Predictors of the level of benefit derived from nearly 2,000 psychotherapy episodes reported by a nationwide, nonprobability sample of 600 lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients were analyzed using ordinary least squares regression, corrected by generalized-estimating-equation (GEE) procedures for lack of independence in the data. Among the positive predictors of benefit are the following: the year the episode began; the number of sessions in the episode; the client's identifying him- or herself as gay, lesbian, or bisexual at the beginning of the episode and being unconflicted about it; and having a therapist who is female, gay, or lesbian or who trained as a social worker or a psychologist. Negative predictors include having a therapist who is an analyst, who uses reparative therapy, or who violates sexual boundaries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Counseling and Therapy Skills.

Reviews the book, Counseling and Therapy Skills by David G. Martin (1983). The stated goal of this book is "to communicate more than an academic understanding of the principles of therapy: to give the reader skills that can actually be applied in the counseling setting" (p. vii). The first six chapters focus on the concept of empathy, listening skills, facilitative responding, confrontation, giving control to the client, and relationship issues. The second part book consists primarily of illustrations of therapy by five therapists (including the author). This material is followed by four chapters on the special topics of behavioural interventions, assessment, ethical issues, and how to conduct initial and final interviews. The author concludes with a theoretical section of four chapters in which he briefly discusses contributions by some of the "schools" of therapy, and then addresses the relationship between anxiety and distress, some theoretical principles underlying therapy, and the research evidence on the effectiveness of empathic responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Editorial.

With the current issue, Psychotherapy is again providing book reviews as a service to readers of the Journal. The books to be considered for review will deal with some aspect of the psychotherapeutic process, including theoretical approaches, research/evaluation, educational issues, and all aspects of service delivery. Our aim is to provide fair and objective reviews which will assist the readership in their educational, research, and therapeutic efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special series.

Provides an introduction to the special series on research in utilizing competency-based criteria for training psychotherapeutic skills. The introduction of manuals for practicing psychotherapy reactivates an old debate about the value of competency-based education for the mental health disciplines. In a general way, this special series approaches and explores this debate. The articles included are of two types: (a) those that address general issues of criteria-based training and (b) those that explore standards for training in specific approaches. Altogether, the articles cover a variety of therapeutic approaches, including most of those that are applied by contemporary mental health practitioners. Moreover, the articles address the problems of negative effects, common versus specific variables, and the roles of cognitive and experiential learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)