Clinical Psychology

The institution of new paradigms and the fragmentation of traditional values constitute marks of contemporaneity. The clinic reflects the transformations of the culture and is called upon to deal with subjective configurations that may occur in the form of conditions so-called borderline, circumscribed by the presence of traumatic elements and expressive gaps within the scope of the representational capacity of the subjects. Considering the importance for the psychoanalytical
praxis and the scarcity of works devoted to conjugality in narcissistic-identitary pathologies and their treatment, the objective of this work is to carry out a theoretical reflection about a metapsychology of borderline cases and the specificities of its clinical management in the context
of the care of couples.

Art therapy, as a means of self-expression and healing, is used in a variety of clinical and rehabilitation settings. Here, it is tested with a population judged to be involved in terrorism-related activities. This paper presents an extensive review of the art therapy program at Mohammed Bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The objective of this study is to showcase the use of art therapy in the care and rehabilitation of ex-jihadists, with suggestions for best practices. This paper is the first description in the literature of the efforts of the Saudi government to explore the use of art therapy in counterterrorism. Art therapy outcomes on a population incarcerated for terrorist activities are presented alongside treatment and reconstruction of extreme ideology through art production. We conclude that a successful art therapy program is required within the overall approach to counterterrorism. Further, a strong understanding of the cultural backgrounds of the subjects, along with recommendations for relying upon specific artistic components of the therapeutic process are clearly indicated. According to government sources, together with the other programs offered to ex-jihadists, the art therapy program discussed here, which has been in operation since 2007, has achieved an 86.17% success rate, with (as of January 2015) a 13.83% recidivism rate. This is a strong indication that art therapy is an efficacious approach in counterterrorism.

Exercise has the potential to decrease negative side effects, lower societal medical costs, and increase quality of life. Exposure to physical exercise increased participation and led the way for a variety of pilot testing movement-based interventions with a diverse, rural, clinical mental health patient population in treatment for numerous clinical diagnoses. The original research (Reuille-Dupont, 2015) is briefly outlined before a discussion of theory used to determine and perform movement-based interventions for psychological and physical health goal treatments. Throughout the paper, psychological and exercise science theory and research are overlaid to explain the physical implications and psychological shifts of movement-based treatment. It is important to understand common terminology to engage clients and other health care practitioners in movement-based treatment for psychological and physical health. In addition, as specialists in understanding the body’s role in experience, it is the somatic psychologist’s responsibility to promote and advocate for “exercise as medicine” when possible. Included are visuals to help outline and overlap the disciplines for better understanding, increased awareness, and expanding the language somatic psychologists need to engage in multidisciplinary healthcare teams.

Keywords: physical movement treatment, movement for mental health, exercise science, somatic psychology

Eating disorders in males are understudied, underrecognised and misunderstood. Despite evidence that males constitute 25-33% of diagnoses of anorexia and bulimia nervosa, and up to 50% of diagnoses of binge eating disorder, limited research has focused on the “male experience” of eating and body image concerns. In addition, researchers and clinicians have only recently begun to focus on the role that muscularity plays in males with eating and body image psychopathology. We present evidence that disordered eating behaviours are increasing more rapidly in men than in women, particularly with regard to binge eating. We further present a clinical comparison of men with anorexia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia (“reverse anorexia”) and review community-held attitudes and beliefs about people with these conditions. We conclude with a discussion of clinical treatment guidelines for males with eating disorders. This workshop will (1) present an overview of the evidence base pertinent to males with eating disorders, (2) evaluate evidence for the prevalence of disordered eating amongst males, compare the phenomenology of muscle dysmorphia and anorexia nervosa, and review the stigmatization of males with anorexia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia. Finally, this workshop 3) details treatment guidelines for clinicians working with males.

Despite the established evidence for threat-related attention bias in anxiety, the mechanisms underlying this bias remain unclear. One important unresolved question is whether disorder-congruent threats capture attention to a greater extent than do more general or disorder-incongruent threat stimuli. Evidence for attention bias specificity in anxiety would implicate involvement of previous learning and memory processes in threat-related attention bias, whereas lack of content specificity would point to perturbations in more generic attention processes. Enhanced clarity of mechanism could have clinical implications for the stimuli types used in Attention Bias Modification Treatments (ABMT). Content specificity of threat-related attention bias in anxiety and potential moderators of this effect were investigated. A systematic search identified 37 samples from 29 articles (N=866). Relevant data were extracted based on specific coding rules, and Cohen's d effect size was used to esti...

"The role that the involvement of parents may play in the treatment outcome of their
children with anxiety disorders is still under debate. Some studies dealing with other
disorders have examined the role that the expressed emotion (EE) construct (parental
overinvolvement, criticism and hostility) may play in treatment outcome and relapse.
Given that some of these aspects have been associated with social anxiety for a long time,
it was hypothesized that EE may be associated with lower treatment outcome. The sample
was composed of 16 adolescents who benefited from a school-based, cognitive-behavioural
intervention aimed at overcoming social anxiety. Then, parents were classified with
high or low EE. The results revealed that the adolescents whose parents had low EE
showed a statistically significant reduction of their social anxiety scores at posttest, as
opposed to adolescents of parents with high expressed emotion. These findings suggest
that parental psychopathology (parents with high EE) should be taken into consideration
to prevent poor adolescent treatment outcome."

In the theaters of ancient Greece, and of Italy, the actors always wore a mask on the scene called Persona (πρóσωπον, [prósôpon]), in which the facial features were exaggerated in order to be better perceived by the spectators, and the mouth, was made so as to strengthen the sound of the voice to be heard louder, each Person was characterized by his own mask and...

This short paper,  shows how executive coaching draws on psychotherapy, and offers insights into using psychodynamic and systems theory in coaching practice. 
To cite this paper:  Western, S. (2006) Look Who’s Talking, Coaching at Work. London: People Management, Vol. 1:2 pp. 31-34.

A hermeneutic narrative inquiry method developed by Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, and Zilber (1998) was utilized to study the life stories of shamanic practitioners from North America. These practitioners were not from indigenous cultures but utilized indigenous and contemporary shamanistic healing methods within industrialized Western societies.
The study explored the lives of these individuals to better understand Western interest in shamanism following the publication of Eliade’s (1951/1964) seminal work, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. The history and development of contemporary forms of shamanism, including neoshamanism and core shamanism were surveyed.

Six participants, three (3) men and three (3) women, were interviewed utilizing the life story interview protocol. The participants were shamanic practitioners who were at varying levels of training and experience with some participants just starting their training and others having worked as full-time shamans for many years. The data was analyzed using the holistic-content analysis strategy focused on identifying individual as well as group themes for the participants. The researcher, of South Korean ancestry, grew up in a traditional shamanic culture, which served as motivation for the study yet was bracketed to minimize bias.

Three collective themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) Early Experience of Not Belonging/Feelings of Difference, (b) Finding Belonging through Shamanic Identity, and (c) Individualized Path to Shamanism. The themes touched on the identity of contemporary, neoshamanic practitioners whose paths were unique in terms of how they achieved their identities. They described experiences of being different due to their spiritual gifts and created their own ways of becoming shamans without having the guidance from an existing cultural tradition. The themes informed narratives of belonging and the factors that allowed for a sense of belonging in the lives of modern-day Western shamanic practitioners who bring with them a history of not belonging in their early lives.

The findings of this study were discussed in the context of improving mental health services for those living in today’s complex world and the incorporation of alternative healing practices. Implications for future research include expanded knowledge related to indigenous and shamanistic healing, particularly pertaining to benefits and/or limitations in Western treatment modalities.

In order to better cope with the pressures and stresses of the current day, modern psychology is anxiously seeking to find new therapies to address the increasing disorders within the human psyche. In the process new fields of research, such as humanistic and transpersonal psychology, curiously appear to borrow more and more from the wisdom of the ages. This volume, containing eighteen articles by noteworthy expositors of the perennial philosophy such as Huston Smith, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Frithjof Schuon, presents the spiritual psychology of the wisdom traditions as a much-needed antidote to the current impasse in modern psychology.

Some Endorsements for Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy:

“[Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy] is more than an anthology. It is a wisely crafted collection of classic and contemporary scholarship noting that what many are seeking is what has always been, a perennial philosophy, that remains foundational. As one of the authors, Tage Lindbom, properly notes, ‘Secularization is a fish in troubled waters.’ This book claims the waters and is essential reading for all those who may have forgotten or are simply ignorant of the rich foundation provided by the perennial philosophy.”
—Ralph W. Hood, Professor of Psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, past president of the Psychology of Religion division of the American Psychological Association, co-founder of The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion and co-author of The Psychology of Religion

“A necessary and bracing critique of the assumptions and limitations of contemporary Western psychology, this generous volume is also a passionate call and learned guide towards a truer perspective that embraces man's spiritual nature.”
—Gabor Maté, M.D., and author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

“Knowing the nature of the mind is perhaps the most difficult undertaking, especially in today’s world. To comprehend the nature of mind one needs to turn to the domain of religion and spirituality. Yet the truth of the mind and its complexity cannot explicitly be defined in words. Inner or transcendent wisdom sees the mind’s own nature without the duality of the seer. Suchness (tathatā) of mind is only experiential and not expressible. The words used to describe thought are themselves a product of thought, which is conditioned and limited. Thus, differences and contradictions are unavoidable. Therefore, a comparative study of different viewpoints and commentaries is immensely important to awaken the inner intelligence to see the mind as it is. Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy: Studies in Comparative Religion edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is an outstanding effort in this direction.”
—Samdhong Rinpoche, former Prime Minister (Kalon Tripa) of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, author of Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World: Tibetan Buddhism and Today’s World

“The rise of psychology has impacted the study and practice of spirituality, the experiences and attitudes relevant to ultimate human values that transcend ordinary behavior. Each chapter of this remarkable book demonstrates this interaction in a unique and provocative way. But rather than using psychology to reduce and ‘psychologize’ spiritual topics, its authors demonstrate how directives from the spiritual traditions can enhance and even illuminate the enduring importance of psychology in the 21st century.”
—Stanley Krippner, Saybrook University, co-author of Spiritual Dimensions of Healing

“The work at hand is a thinking and debating man’s delight. If you have any interest at all in attempting to include an educated and enlightened view of man’s higher functions in your purview of the world, you will learn from and enjoy this collection of essays. If you already have some knowledge in this area, brace yourself: you may see some of your favorites sharply criticized. A thought-provoking work.”
—Bruce W. Scotton, University of California, San Francisco, co-editor of Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology

“This book, superbly edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos, is a masterful critique of the field of psychology and its loss of the sacred ground in which it once was rooted. It offers depth psychologists an opportunity to contemplate timeless truths echoed through the centuries by perennial philosophers who have always claimed psyche is subordinate to Spirit. Although ignored in depth psychology’s early years due to prejudice and lack of understanding, this is a message today’s psychotherapists must take seriously. Human beings need a deeper and wider transpersonal vision of who and what we are, which the saints and sages of the world’s spiritual traditions have always pointed to. In psychotherapy with a therapist committed to such a vision, patients penetrate into their unconscious depths and not infrequently awaken to the Ground of all Being. Their suffering itself occurred because they had turned away from Spirit. Above all, this volume passionately calls upon depth psychology to remember its origin in the perennial wisdom at the core of the great religions. There is something of a polemic in these pages. It deserves to be considered by depth psychologists of all persuasions.”
—Bryan Wittine, Transpersonal psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst

“This anthology from Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is a must reference for anyone who is interested in psychology and its relationship to spirituality, and in developing an inclusive dialogue between disciplines that favor an integral outlook on the person and his or her potential. Selections in this anthology will inspire us to reexamine the metaphysical underpinnings of psychology, and remind us how important it is to rise above science’s attempt to reduce the human being to an epistemic object.”
—Sangeetha Menon, National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bangalore, India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Beyond Experience: Consciousness in Bhagavad Gita

“This anthology has some of the most discerning essays and reviews on spirituality and psychology, which provide much-needed care and caution to all those engaged in bringing them together or who wish to do so in future. Therefore, it is a must-read for all those who teach, research, consult, or study in such frontier areas as transpersonal psychology, states of consciousness, mind-body relation, holistic health, Indian psychology, and so on. It will be an invaluable textbook for courses in these and other related areas. I congratulate the editor of the book.”
—Kiran Kumar K. Salagame, University of Mysore (India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Psychology of Meditation: A Contextual Approach

“One of the finest collections of essays on the Perennial Philosophy—a must-read for all psychologists who are engaged with spirituality and transpersonal psychology. The essays which critique modern psychology (including transpersonal psychology, and the framework of Carl Jung), in the light of the Perennial Philosophy are a revelation and make compelling reading. The book serves as a corrective to the excesses of modern psychology, and to this end Sotillos has done a commendable job. I for one will include the book in some of the graduate courses that I teach.”
—Suneet Varma, University of Delhi, co-editor of Foundations of Indian Psychology

“To its credit modern science by-and-large is becoming more cognizant of the essential connection between spirituality and psychological health and well-being and most of all its positive implications within the field of psychology. While there is ample data to document this in a plethora of academic journals and books, this new book Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy adds a novel contribution to the dialogue between psychology and spirituality, which captures many nuances that for the most part go unnoticed within these discussions, and last but not least, it provides a keen eye of discernment to understand this intricate relationship on a deeper level that is crucially needed. This work will be a valuable asset to students and long term mental health practitioners and professors alike who seek to better understand the relationship between psychology and spirituality.”
—Harold G. Koenig, Duke University, Director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, co-author of The Handbook of Religion and Health

The narcissistic ego continuously urges us to become addicted to various kinds of false cravings, often for unhealthy, unwholesome, toxic, substances, attitudes, and habits, as a way of escaping from a deeper, but unreal, sense of basic deficiency, inner emptiness, and fearful insecurity, which the ego tries to cover over by superimposing a distracting false façade of artificial pleasurable sensations and self-definitions, which can become rather grandiose and unrealistic, sometimes accompanied by destructively demonic energies and rather insane urges in the most extreme forms of selfish egoism. These various forms of ego-gratification are basically designed to provide quasi substitutes for the natural, genuine euphoria, excitement, vitality, security, wellbeing, and divine grandeur, that are intrinsic to our real being, and only imitated by the various intense, often addictive, compulsive, unhealthy, unwholesome, conditionally acquired, readily lost, sensations, substances, habits, and attitudes that the narcissistic ego or separate sense of self-awareness urges us to pursue.

As hundreds of so-called "psychotherapies" have been foisted onto the public, all claiming to treat "mental illness," newer understandings of how the human brain actually works and the processes which drive the formations of mentation that we refer to as "the mind," demand a reassessment of what exactly we are referring to by the term "mental illness" and what kinds of intervention would be feasible in both the prevention of and recovery from cognitive and behavioral disorder. A fundamental process in the formation of an individual's mentation is the associations of experience. These associations not only account for constructive behavior, but can also lead to deleterious or negative behavior, suggesting that some associations are negative and therefore the negative behavior can be remolded through contrasting positive associations; however, to understand what this really means and how it works, we must start at the beginning and define what exactly is this negative behavior that we refer to by the term "mental illness." One of the most important axioms of life so simply but profoundly phrased by Oscar Wilde, is that "the truth is rarely pure and NEVER simple" (emphasis mine). Nothing can ever be explained by simple sound bites – oversimplification is just another word for misrepresentation – so to understand, we must truly engage the subject, and to engage the subject, we must first and foremost clearly define what it is that we are seeking to understand. In this case, it demands that we understand what exactly is mental illness.

Trauma-focused cognitive–behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), a well-established, evidence-based treatment for children who have experienced trauma, has been increasingly utilized in a group format. Group therapy formats are appealing because they can be highly effective and have the potential to reach larger numbers of clients. Moreover, TF-CBT group delivery may be particularly valuable in reducing the feelings of shame, isolation, and stigma experienced by youth and their caregivers in the aftermath of traumatic experiences. This article reviews the group TF-CBT research, discusses the therapeutic benefits of TF-CBT therapy groups, and provides clinical and logistical guidance for implementing TF-CBT in group format, including a session-by-session protocol. Future directions for research and clinical work in this area are also discussed.

Just as a child’s neurodevelopment becomes more sophisticated with life experience, somatic psychotherapy and dance/movement therapy, now in their eighth decade, are approaching a more intricate stage of growth. As each discipline grows in complexity, conflicts have risen regarding the concept of identity. The recent debate of whether dance/movement therapy is one of the somatic psychotherapies or its own discipline is a necessary and exciting “growing pain” in the evolution of embodied psychotherapy practices. This paper provides a historic overview and uses a systems theory framework to compare the disciplines with data derived from original and recent literature. Practices, education, and governance of each discipline are presented as they exist in the United States. Findings illustrate the comparison and offer clarity on the current trend toward integration. Suggestions are made for further critical thinking to develop awareness toward an evolved perspective of embodied psychotherapy practices.

Amazon Purchasing Link:

https://www.amazon.com/theory-practice-psychotherapy-specific-disorders/dp/0398025398

DOI Link:
https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.123.3.363-a

Book Description:

This book is unique in several basic ways.  It presents a theoretical discussion of the essence of the psychotherapeutic process, which goes beyond just the remediation of pathological symptoms, and also acquaints the reader with the essence of the growth process, which enables one to continue one's personal growth beyond the removal of pathological symptoms to personal maturity, fulfillment, and self-realization.

This book is also unique in that its format approaches the understanding of the therapeutic process through the understanding of the treatment of patients with specific psychopathologies discussed by consistently successful professional psychotherapists.

This book is unique as well in that in addition to the various major neurotic and psychotic disorders, it also covers areas rarely, if ever, found discussed in other psychotherapy books, such as psychodynamics and psychotherapy of suicidal patients, psychotherapy of patients with psychosomatic disorders, psychotherapy of patients with acting-out disorders, psychotherapy of patients with sexual disorders, psychotherapy with the aged, and an entire chapter devoted to establishig some basic criteria for an effective psychotherapy process.

Essentially, this book is designed to serve as a source book or reference book for professional psychotherapists, and students studying to be psychotherapists in such fields as psychology, psychiatry and social work, and it could also be useful as a textbook for advanced courses in psychotherapy, as well as a supplemental text for basic introductory courses in psychotherapy.  Each of the contributors has deliberately taken the pains to try to communicate in a way that will be intelligible to the student, as well as offer material that will be new, informative, and challenging to the more sophisticated clinician. This book goes beyond being what may be called a how-to-do-it type primer. It is not meant to be a structured "cookbook" or set of formulas blueprinting the course of psychotherapy.

Each contributor to this book is a renowned authority  in the area of the treatment of the specific disorder  about which he is writing, and he shares with the reader his understanding of the basic nature of the disorder, along with the therapeutic  considerations and insights that he has found to be most valuable in dealing effectively and successfully with persons with this particular kind of pathology. Case illustrations are appropriately supplied in order to help clarify  for the reader how this contributing therapist deals with the particular kinds of patients under discussion.  However, the suggestions made by each contributor should in no way be interpreted as the only way such problems can be approached and resolved. Rather, it only represents the way that one outstanding clinician tends to deal with the special problems involved in the treatment of persons with the particular disorder under discussion, and it is meant to serve only as a helpful guide for the reader.

As the reader may have already gathered,  the emphasis in this book is primarily focused on the professional and practical aspects rather than on the academic aspects of psychotherapy.  It is meant to fill a void and be consistent with a growing trend today in which professional clinicians and students studying to be psychotherapists want material to study that will provide them with the necessary skills most relevant to exactly what they will be doing in their professional career, rather than the strongly academic emphasis to which they have been exposed at most educational institutions.

This book recognizes that effective psychotherapy is not something that can be learned by being exposed only to theories, techniques, or research findings. Psychotherapy is not just a doing, or a predetermined set of techniques, as such, and, therefore, there is no formula, or systematic defined procedure, that has to be mastered. Rather, it involves an empathically sensitive, genuinely caring, engaged, being-with or intimate experiential communion, and the understanding of patients that naturally arises from that, from which then flows the therapist's appropriate responses. One has to truly, and deeply, here before one can act appropriately and meaningfully. Thus, the best way for one to really come to learn anything significant about effective psychotherapy is to have those clinicians who are truly masters of the art and science of psychotherapy share with others their sensitive and profound understanding of the nature of psychotherapy with patients with particular pathological symptoms.

This research seeks to investigate Clients’ Experiences of Family Constellations
(FC) in Psychological Healing. The qualitative research model of heuristic inquiry is used. The phases of the research model that were utilized are initial engagement, immersion, incubation, illumination, explication, and creative synthesis. The collection of data was done via an interview process to allow for exploration of the meanings and essences of client’s experiences of Family Constellations in psychological healing, an increase in the knowledge and possibilities of the approach, and to best serve and support clients and those around them. Co-researchers’ experiences are explicated through the following themes in hopes to better understand their lived healing experiences using FC, and increase their awareness of self and relationships with others and the world: (1) experiences of healing; (2) somatic experiences; (3) experiences of emotion; (4) experiences of connection; (5) changes in perception and understanding; and (6) impact on relationships and self. It is anticipated that this study will give a voice to this approach to psychological healing. Clinically, the expectation is that the findings of this study could be used to further understand the essence of the challenges of psychological suffering, its impact on the family system and the individual, the clients who are challenged by it, and to inform future psychological treatments. This study may give the mental health, and maybe other professions, another instrument to use with clients. Since there is also a shortage of research on this topic, it is hoped that this study helps bridge the gaps between studies and experiences, and may further explore the efficacy of Family Constellations in working with individuals.

Relatar um caso clínico, penso eu, é sempre um tarefa árdua tendo em vista, à complexidade e a riqueza de uma vivência tão profunda, que é a de um processo de psicoterapia em Gestalt Terapia (GT). Cabe ressaltar que os relatos de casos clínicos são de grande relevância como maneira ilustrativa e pedagógica de
apreensão do desenvolvimento de uma relação em setting terapêutico dentro de uma perspectiva dialógica com base em Gadamer. O objetivo primeiro deste artigo é evidenciar aspectos específicos de um caso, que possam enriquecer o debate e o desenvolvimento da GT em sua prática clínica. Usa-se aqui no relato o nome fictício de Tácita (Deusa romana do silêncio e da virtude), para a cliente atendida. Pode-se
perceber, com base no processo psicoterapêutico de Tácita, o diálogo é a via pela qual a palavra ganha sentido na relação psicoterápica, por conseguinte para os participantes (GADAMER, 2004; PERLS, 1980).

Lacan’s concept jouissance marks the both painful and joyful disturbance of a mind’s libidinal equilibrium which also gives coherence to the basic structure of reality from the point of view of the individual. Because someone can live a fulfilling life and be happy at all levels of what modern society has to offer, and yet may not resist a very specific form of jouissance – to risk all in favor of a small and obscene deviation from the ordinary: through a WhatsApp message to a minor showing oneself half naked, through cocaine use or a photo of a preteen Thai girl which is hidden in a drawer. The life of the individual becomes condensed as symbolic in confrontation with this minor and sinful deviation from the conventional (the nude photo from Thailand, the drugs, etc.) which, paradoxically, is effective only by being potentially capable of destroying the symbolic universe of the individual. The seemingly ‘slight deviation’ (Epicurus) may influence as traumatic and overly intense encounter with an other the subject’s ability to accept the full ontological weight of her or his world experience. Lacan’s notion of jouissance helps us understand this kind of transgression, which an individual mind might have to risk as a reenactment of what Lacan calls the “forced choice” of subjectivity.

This milestone text provides a comprehensive and state-of-the art overview of perfectionism theory, research, and treatment from the past 25 years, with contributions from the leading researchers in the field. The book examines new theories and perspectives including the social disconnection model of perfectionism and the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism. It also reviews empirical findings, with a special focus on stress, vulnerability, and resilience, and examines perfectionism in specific populations. Finally, it considers how perfectionism relates to physical health and psychophysiological processes and introduces new approaches to effective prevention and treatment. By increasing our understanding of perfectionism as a complex personality disposition and providing a framework for future explorations, this landmark publication aims to promote further research in this field. It will be invaluable reading for academics, students, and professionals in personality psychology, clinical and counselling psychology, applied psychology and related disciplines.

Perceived racial microaggressions by White supervisors were examined through a qualitative analysis of 10 self-identified Black doctoral supervisees in counseling and clinical psychology. Results indicated 7 microaggression themes directed toward this group: (a) invalidating racial–cultural issues, (b) making stereotypic assumptions about Black clients, (c) making stereotypic assumptions about Black supervisees, (d) reluctance to give performance feedback for fear of being

Mental health is a fundamental component of our everyday life. In general terms, this concept is defined as the ability of the individual to maintain a balance between emotional and intellectual functions and to integrate with ease in social life.
When they hear the expression mental health, most people think of emotional and psychological diseases. However, mental health is more than just the absence of illness; it is a state of being that everyone desires to achieve, whether we know what it is or not. When we think about happiness, satisfaction, joy, peace of mind, and other positive emotions, we actually refer to mental health.

It has often been observed that, in general, different psychotherapies do equally well. Some have taken this as good evidence that therapeutic action in psychotherapy rests not on the factors specific to individual therapies, but on common factors. I argue against this view in favor of a theory of therapeutic action deriving from psychodynamic psychotherapy. This identifies the therapeutic relationship (and with it, many so-called common factors) and ‘psychodynamic insight’ as therapeutic factors. I review the evidence from outcome studies and from studies into two concepts related to insight, viz. reflection function and psychological defense. I argue that the best interpretation of the evidence supports the claim that insight, in interrelation with the therapeutic relationship, contributes to therapeutic action.

This is the entire book.

"Why Are Our Pictures Puzzles?" is an attempt to understand why scholars have begun writing at such tremendous length on individual pictures. Before the 20th c., one of the longest texts on a single painting was Vasari's description of Leonardo's "Last Supper." In the last forty years it has become common for historians to write entire books on individual artworks.

Why have we started experiencing images as so complex? Why do they seem to us like puzzles, waiting to be solved? Why doesn't it concern us that previous generations did not think of writing at such length?

This book also has a couple of chapters on what I consider to be psychotic behavior about images: compulsive sighting of supposedly hidden images, and a crazy art historical book about a painting written by Dalí. So I have tagged the book with psychoanalytic terms.

The book itself is still in print and in copyright, but I found a full pdf of this on the internet (for example on scribd), so I decided to post it on here on academia.edu, where at least it can have the correct context and links.