bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measurement of Risk-Taking in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Steketee Gail , Frost Randy O.
Published: June 2009

A measure of everyday risk-taking, the Everyday Risk Inventory (ERI), was developed to assess avoidance of potentially harmful ordinary activities, and some of its psychometric properties were studied. The hypothesis that outpatients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) would score lower than non-patients on this and other measures of risk-taking was tested. The ERI showed good internal consistency and excellent test-retest reliability. It successfully differentiated OCD patients from non-clinical subjects. Consistent with research on sensation seeking, both age and gender were related to ERI scores, with older subjects and females showing greater risk avoidance. The ERI correlated moderately strongly with other measures of risk-taking and showed, as expected, a less strong negative association with measures of responsibility and value orthodoxy. Preliminary findings indicate that the ERI is a useful instrument for assessing non-pleasurable ordinary risk-taking. Findings are discussed in relation to possible dimensions of risk-taking in existing research on decision-making and the need for research on other patient populations.
Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment of Culturally Bound Obsessional Ruminations: A Case Report
Authors: Simos Gregoris , Dimitriou Evangelos
Published: June 2009

Therapeutic management of obsessional ideas without compulsions is considered to be a rather difficult clinical problem. This report discusses the case of a 24-year old lady with a nine year history of recurrent Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder which most recently presented with a year-long obsessional rumination concerning her superstitious personal responsibility for the accidental death of her cousin. Repeated audio-taped listening to the cognitively restructured content of her obsession resulted both in a rapid elimination of her ruminations and the alleviation of her depressive and general psychopathology.
The Pathway to Publication in Hell
Authors: Salkovskis Paul M. , Durac J. , Thorpe Susan , Atkinson Jacqueline M. , Coia Denise A.
Published: June 2009

Thank you for submitting this interesting paper to Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. I enclose two reviewers' comments. I have a third reviewer's comments, but intend to withhold this from you for reasons which I cannot specify. All referees are extremely eminent in their field, and you should therefore consider their comments very carefully, obeying without question. Bearing in mind that I also am eminent in this field, I have some additional comments for your consideration.
Stresspac: A Controlled Trial of a Self-Help Package for the Anxiety Disorders
Authors: White Jim
Published: June 2009

In order to test the efficacy of a self-help anxiety management package, sixty-two individuals meeting DSM-III-R criteria for an anxiety disorder were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: Stresspac patients were given a self-help/information package. Advice only patients were offered verbal advice on ways of coping with anxiety. Patients in both conditions were seen on one occasion shortly after referral for assessment and management advice. They were then placed back on the waiting list for a three month period. Patients in the No intervention condition also completed measures during this time. They were not seen until the end of this period when formal assessment took place. All patients were then followed through individual therapy and to 12 month follow-up. Results clearly support the superiority of the Stresspac condition after the waiting period, at post therapy and at follow-up on a range of measures. Possible explanations for the results are discussed.
Effectiveness of a Multicomponent Group Treatment for Insomnia
Authors: Schramm Elisabeth , Hohagen Fritz , Backhaus Jutta , Lis Stefanie , Berger Mathias
Published: June 2009

The present study evaluates a multifaceted cognitive-behavioral group treatment in a routine clinical setting. The program consists of directly sleep related strategies such as sleep education, sleep restriction, stimulus control, relaxation, and cognitive restructuring. Also included are techniques that target illness maintaining factors such as stress-management, problem solving skills, and increase of activities. Twenty-eight physician-referred outpatients with chronic primary insomnia according to DSM-III-R criteria attended 11 weekly therapy-sessions. Results were obtained on a subjective and objective level using a sleep diary, questionnaires, and polysomnography, respectively. Pre- and post-treatment comparisons indicated significant changes on all main sleep diary variables, i.e. total sleep time, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings, sleep onset latency and wake after sleep onset, as well as for the global subjective sleep quality. Maximum improvement was reached after the more directly sleep-related part of the program. In addition, the intervention helped patients to reduce the amount and frequency of sleeping aids over time and improved their daytime-functioning. Subjective therapeutic gains were maintained at 3- and 12-month follow-ups. No significant treatment effects could be obtained on polysomnographic measures, taking into account that the baseline values were already in the normative range. After the intervention the patients were able to give a more realistic evaluation of their sleep. These results suggest that a multicomponent psychological treatment is beneficial for the improvement of sleep quality on a subjective level.
Processing of Obsessive, Responsibility, Neutral Words and Pseudo-Words in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Study with Lexical Decision Test
Authors: Sauteraud Alain , Cottraux Jean , Michel François , Henaff Marie Anne , Bouvard Martine
Published: June 2009

Twenty-four DSM-III-R non-depressed obsessive-compulsive (OCD) patients were compared to 21 normal subjects in three lexical decision experiments, to distinguish neutral, obsessive and responsibility words from pseudo-words. Error frequencies were comparable across groups. A significant taboo effect was found in both groups for obsessive and responsibility words. OCD patients did not differ from control subjects in their processing of neutral words and responsibility words. However, OCD patients were significantly slower than controls when processing obsessive words. Furthermore, OCD patients processed pseudo-words slower than controls if these were presented in the same experiment as obsessive words. When mixed with neutral or responsibility words, the performance of OCD patients with pseudo-words was similar to that of control subjects. The level of sub-clinical depression (as appreciated on the HAM-D scale) and psychotropic drugs (such as serotonin reuptake inhibitor) did not modify these results. Lexical decision performances were interpreted in terms of a cognitive disturbance triggered by obsessive stimuli that spreads to a neutral task. These results are compatible with the cognitive model of OCD (Salkovskis, 1985).
An Experimental Study to Operationally Define and Measure Spatial Orientation in Panic Agoraphobic Subjects, Generalized Anxiety and Healthy Control Groups
Authors: Kállai János , Kóczán György , Szabó István , Molnár Péter , Varga József
Published: June 2009

In an experimental study with panic agoraphobic patients, generalized anxiety patients and normals we operationally defined and measured spatial orientation of the three research groups. The observation, that patients suffering from agoraphobia have a very narrow exploratory activity range, is as important from the point of view of therapy as theory. Our study observed panic agoraphobic patients through their exploratory abilities. We examine panic agoraphobic, generalized anxiety and normal subjects, as they utilized their exploration skills in a complicated maze. We determined that the cognitive maps drawn by the panic agoraphobic patients are inaccurate. They got lost more often and utilized far fewer navigation points during their walk in the maze, compared to the generalized anxiety or normal subjects. The frame of the conceptualization was based on personal attentional strategies, spatial orientation deficit, and exploratory activity abnormalities.
Walk Free: A Service for Panic and Phobia Sufferers
Authors: Hughes Ian , Russell Ken , Rollnick Steve
Published: June 2009

Panic, social phobia and agoraphobia are common problems, for which cognitive-behavioural interventions are particularly suitable. Walk Free is a comprehensive service for such sufferers, incorporating assessment by psychologists, home visiting, self-help activities, and support groups. It has expanded rapidly within Cardiff, where there are now four Walk Free centres, and it has seen over 300 sufferers over a three-year period.
Brief Behavioural Couples Therapy: A Preliminary Evaluation
Authors: Halford W. Kim , Osgarby Sue , Kelly Adrian
Published: June 2009

The marital satisfaction of sixteen maritally distressed couples who received three sessions of Brief Behavioural Couples Therapy (BBCT), and 24 couples who received 12 to 15 sessions of Traditional Behavioural Couples Therapy (TBCT), were compared before and after treatment in a quasi-experimental design. A 2 way ANOVA of treatment (BBCT versus TBCT) by time (pre- and post-treatment) showed both conditions produced significant increases in marital satisfaction, but there were no significant differences between the effects of the two treatments. The results need replication within a true experimental evaluation, but suggest that brief behavioural couples therapy may be a viable treatment option for some distressed couples.
Phantom Pain—Psychological Conceptualization and Treatment: A Case Report
Authors: Jonsson Marteinn Steinar , Fisher Keren
Published: June 2009

This paper describes a case concentrating on the psychological conceptualization and treatment of phantom pain. A single session of cognitive work, teaching an “attention diversion’ strategy, was effectively utilized for the treatment of below knee phantom pain in an elderly lady. A follow-up, approximately one year later, revealed that the treatment gains had been maintained. Although a review of the literature (Sherman, Sherman and Gall, 1980) presents a rather murky picture as regards treatment prospects, the results nevertheless illustrate how a very simple cognitive strategy was successfully employed to alleviate a long standing debilitating phantom pain.
Sacrificing a Limb for Life: Psychological Interventions in Osteosarcoma
Authors: Fung Amy S. M. , Lee Peter W. H.
Published: June 2009

Psychological management is a crucial part of the overall treatment plan involving therapeutic amputations in children. Therapeutic work aims to facilitate the implementation of a coordinated treatment plan taking into account the patient's physical and psychological needs. Psychological contact at the early stage is advocated to minimize the patient's distress and to forestall potentially handicapping emotional disturbances. The paper highlights important issues at different phases of the patient's treatment, including coming to terms with the initial diagnosis, acceptance of the amputation plan, and the final process of rehabilitation and normal life adjustment. Psychological interventions with one adolescent girl treated with therapeutic amputation for osteosarcoma are used to illustrate the therapeutic process.
ECT, Infants, Children and Adolescents: Shocking Abuse of Power, or Valuable Treatment Medium?
Authors: Jones Yvonne , Baldwin Steve
Published: June 2009

ECT has been administered to infants, children and teenagers between the ages of two and eighteen, in Europe, North America and Australasia. There are several alternate forms of effective behavioural and cognitive interventions for the range of problems experienced by minors. In this paper, some of the reasons for the contemporary popularity of ECT administration with children and teenagers are explored, via a critical evaluation of the published literature.
ECT and Minors: When More is Less
Authors: Baldwin Steve , Jones Yvonne
Published: June 2009

In a diverse therapeutic context, multiple interventions are available for use with disordered or dysfunctional minors. With this population, electroshock administration is always inappropriate.
In-Patient Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Authors: Chalder Trudie , Butler Sue , Wessely Simon
Published: June 2009

A cognitive behavioural model for the development of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is outlined. Six patients with CFS are described who were treated as in-patients using cognitive behaviour therapy. Treatment consisted of graded consistent exposure to activity and cognitive restructuring. Substantial improvements were made in all but one patient up to three months after discharge.
The Wonder-Rabbi of Kuzmir as a Behaviour Therapist
Authors: Johnson Ronald C.
Published: June 2009

The wonder-rabbi of Kuzmir provided a troubled person with advice that was consonant with the Judaic tradition and also with behavioural therapy that led this person to overcoming his problems.
The Effectiveness of Stimulus Modification Procedures in Teaching Response Topography to Individuals with Severe Developmental Disability
Authors: Riley Gerard A.
Published: June 2009

Stimulus modification procedures involve changes to the task materials that are intended to facilitate the response. Their application in teaching stimulus discriminations has been extensively investigated. Less attention has been given to their use in teaching response topography, and there is little evidence relating to their effectiveness in this context. Previous studies have failed specifically to target the response topography and/or to include an appropriate control condition. The present study compared the effectiveness of a physical guidance procedure with a combination of this procedure and stimulus modifications in teaching response topographies to three individuals with severe developmental disability. The combination proved more effective, suggesting that stimulus modification procedures can, indeed, facilitate the acquisition of response topography. They may be particularly useful when teaching those with a more severe developmental disability.
Low Self-Esteem: A Cognitive Perspective
Authors: Fennell Melanie J. V.
Published: June 2009

Although low self-esteem is common in clinical populations, a cognitive conceptualization of the problem and an integrated treatment programme deriving from that conceptualization are as yet lacking. The paper proposes a cognitive model for low self-esteem, deriving from Beck's model of emotional disorder. It outlines a treatment programme which integrates ideas and methods from cognitive therapy for depression, anxiety and more recent work on schemas or core beliefs. The model and treatment are illustrated with an extended case example.
Causes of Agoraphobia: The Patient's Perspective
Authors: Wardle Jane , Hayward Peter , Higgitt Anna , Brewin Chris R. , Gray Jeffrey
Published: June 2009

Patients' beliefs about the causes of anxiety problems have received comparatively little attention. In the present study, agoraphobic patients rated the contribution of eight factors in causing their condition. They also selected the major cause of their agoraphobia and evaluated that in relation to the elements of attributional style. The most commonly selected major cause was stress, which also attracted the highest average ratings. This was followed in frequency by disposition (being a naturally nervous person), circumstances (staying home too much) and childhood experiences. Depression was associated with stronger beliefs in the contribution of several of the causal factors and with rating the major cause as more stable and global. Anxiety was associated with a stronger belief in medical illness as a cause, and with a lower sense of controllability of the major causes. These results suggest that agoraphobic patients' views of the causes of their condition vary, and could usefully be evaluated in relation to the provision of treatment in order to modify the way treatment options are presented to the patients.
Coping and Personality as Predictors of Post-Traumatic Intrusions, Numbing, Avoidance and General Distress: A Study of Victims of the Perth Flood
Authors: Morgan Irene A. , Matthews Gerald , Winton Maurice
Published: June 2009

Trauma symptoms, coping and personality were assessed in 44 victims of the Perth flood. The sample was characterized by high levels of intrusions, numbness, arousal and general emotional distress. General levels of symptomatology were predicted by two coping strategies: emotion-focused coping and thought suppression. Overall trauma symptoms and emotion-focused coping were associated with the personality trait of neuroticism. These data are consistent with the Wells and Matthews (1994a) model of affective disorders and stress. The model proposes that certain types of emotion-focused coping tend to lead to greater access to negative self-beliefs, and that thought suppression tends to prime subsequent intruding thoughts. A second personality trait, private self-consciousness, was associated with relatively greater levels of numbing symptoms, and relatively lower levels of arousal symptoms. This patterning of symptoms may result from use of ruminative coping strategies. Hence, intrusions of trauma-related material are not simply a function of automatic activation of a fear network, but are also influenced by the person's voluntary efforts to deal with the aftermath of the event.
Intrusive Thoughts and Auditory Hallucinations: A Cognitive Approach
Authors: Morrison Anthony P. , Haddock Gillian , Tarrier Nicholas
Published: June 2009

In this paper, an account of auditory hallucinations is outlined, incorporating the phenomena of intrusive thoughts; this is done with reference to the prevailing cognitive models of auditory hallucinations. The account proposes that metacognitive beliefs inconsistent with intrusive thoughts lead to their external attribution as auditory hallucinations, and that such a misattribution is maintained by reducing cognitive dissonance. It is also suggested that the appraisal of the resulting hallucinatory experience elicits behavioural, emotional and physiological responses that may be involved in the maintenance process. The possibility of extending such an account to certain other positive symptoms is discussed, and the theoretical and clinical implications of such an account are considered, and illustrated with a case example. Finally, a number of testable predictions are made.
The Relationship Between Obsessional Problems and Intrusive Thoughts
Authors: Salkovskis Paul M. , Richards H. Candida , Forrester Elizabeth
Published: June 2009

According to the cognitive theory, obsessional problems occur when the occurrence and/or content of intrusive thoughts are interpreted as a sign of increased personal responsibility for some harmful outcome to oneself or others. The link between normal intrusive thoughts and obsessional thoughts is outlined. Current definitions of “neutralizing” and “responsibility” within the cognitive framework are examined and clarified. Responsibility-driven attempts to control cognitive activity explain obsessional and compulsive phenomena better than generalized deficit models. Recent descriptions of “meta-cognitive” factors in obsessions echo the existing cognitive model and have similar implications. An extension of the cognitive-behavioural model suggests a link between thought suppression and the perception of responsibility and to concerns about failure to act (omissions).
Meta-Cognition and Worry: A Cognitive Model of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Authors: Wells Adrian
Published: June 2009

A meta-cognitive classification and analysis of factors contributing to the development of problematic worry is presented. Dimensions of meta-beliefs, meta-worry, cognitive consciousness, and strategies can be distinguished. A cognitive model of Generalized Anxiety Disorder is advanced based on this framework in which GAD results from an interaction between the motivated use of worry as a coping strategy, negative appraisal of worry, and worry control attempts. These factors result from combinations of dysfunctional meta-beliefs and contribute to subjectively diminished cognitive control. The model presents new implications for a cognitive therapy of GAD, and these are illustrated with a single case treatment study.
What is Motivational Interviewing?
Authors: Rollnick Stephen , Miller William R.
Published: June 2009

Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centred counselling style for eliciting behaviour change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. It is most centrally defined not by technique but by its spirit as a facilitative style for interpersonal relationship. This article seeks to define motivational interviewing and to characterize its essential nature, differentiating it from other approaches with which it may be confused. A brief update is also provided regarding (1) evidence for its efficacy and (2) new problem areas and populations to which it is being applied.
Memory for Actions in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Ecker Willi , Engelkamp Johannes
Published: June 2009

Frequent checkers with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; n=24), high checking controls (n=24) and low checking controls (n=48) were instructed to learn action phrases such as “to open the book” by performing the action themselves with imaginary objects (motor encoding), by imagining how one performs the action oneself (motor-imaginal encoding), by imagining seeing somebody else performing the action (visual-imaginal encoding) and by subvocal rehearsal. Compared to low checking controls, OCD checkers showed poorer free recall of motorically encoded actions and poorer reality monitoring, i.e. they confused motor and motor-imaginal encoding more frequently. The results are consistent with a specific motor memory deficit in OCD checkers. Moreover, memory performance of OCD checkers differed from that of high checking controls.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms: A Pilot Study
Authors: Speckens Anne E. M. , Spinhoven Philip , Hawton Keith E. , Bolk Jan H. , van Hemert Albert M.
Published: June 2009

The aim of the study was to develop a cognitive behavioural treatment model for medically unexplained physical symptoms and assess its feasibility and effect in a small sample of patients. This study was the first step in the realization of a randomized controlled trial. The study population consisted of consecutive patients presenting at a general medical outpatient clinic, whose symptoms could not be explained by objective abnormal findings. The treatment was based on a general model of the disorder, consisting of the physical symptoms, the patient's attribution and perceived control and the cognitive, behavioural, physical and social consequences. It incorporated record keeping concerning physical symptoms and emotions, identification of cognitions about the symptoms, challenging dysfunctional thoughts and behavioural experiments. At 6–months follow-up, four of the five treated patients were improved with regard to frequency and intensity of the symptoms, psychological distress and functional impairment. The improvement was sustained at 1–year follow-up.
Suppression of Negative and Neutral Thoughts
Authors: McNally Richard J. , Ricciardi Joseph N.
Published: June 2009

Testing a variant of Wegner's (1989) “thought suppression” paradigm, we had subjects identify a personally-relevant negative thought that had been troubling them recently. Subjects were then randomly assigned either to a negative target thought group or to a neutral target thought (“white bear”) group, and randomly assigned either to an initial suppression condition (followed by a free expression period) or an initial free expression condition (followed by a suppression period). The results revealed that subjects in the neutral thought group experienced a decline in thoughts about white bears throughout the course of the experiment, whereas subjects asked first to suppress a personally relevant negative thought experienced nearly a three-fold increase in its frequency of occurrence when later given permission to express it. These findings suggest that negatively valent thoughts may respond differently than neutral thoughts following attempts to suppress them.
Predictors of Clinical Improvement in Children with Recurrent Abdominal Pain
Authors: Sanders Matthew R. , Cleghorn Geoffrey , Shepherd Ross W. , Patrick Mark
Published: June 2009

Forty-three children with recurrent abdominal pain who had received treatment from a paediatric gastroenterology clinic were reassessed 6 and 12 months after initial presentation. Measures of children's pain included a pain diary (PD) which measured pain intensity, a parent observation record (POR) which assessed pain behaviour and a structured interview to assess the degree to which pain interferes with the child's activities. Pretreatment measures of the child's history of pain, coping strategies in dealing with pain, and their mother's caregiving strategies were examined as predictors of two indices of clinical improvement: the extent of change in pain on the child's pain diary from pre-test to 6 months follow-up, and the degree of interference to the child's activities. All children had shown significant improvement in the level of pain at follow up, with 74.4% being pain free at 12 month follow-up on the PD and 83.7% being pain free on the POR. The amount of change they showed varied, with some showing residual impairment even though they were significantly improved. Regression analyses showed that children with greatest reductions on the child's pain diary at the 6 month follow-up were those with a stress-related mode of onset, whose mothers used more adaptive caregiving strategies, and who received cognitive behavioural family intervention. There was also a non significant trend for younger children to fare better. These data suggest the importance of early diagnosis and routinely assessing parental caregiving behaviour and beliefs about the origins of pain in planning treatment for children with RAP.
Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy Under Conditions of Routine Treatment in the General Health Care System
Authors: Linden Michael
Published: June 2009

The range of areas where cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) is applied has been considerably extended over the previous decade. This paper describes the application of CBT in the German health care system as typified by a random sample of 1,344 cases. Content analysis was used, and indicates a generally appropriate pattern of treatment strategy. Cognitive components were more prominent than behavioural ones in the description of treatments used.
Comparative Effectiveness of Three Therapeutic Modalities in the Psychological Treatment of Pathological Gambling: Long-Term Outcome
Authors: Echeburúa Enrique , Báez Concepción , Fernández-Montalvo Javier
Published: June 2009

The aim of this paper was to test the comparative effectiveness of three therapeutic modalities: a) individual stimulus control and exposure with response prevention; b) group cognitive restructuring; and c) a+b in the treatment of pathological gambling with slot machines. An additional waiting-list group was used to evaluate the spontaneous evolution of the non-treated gamblers. The sample consisted of 64 patients selected according to DSM-III-R criteria. A multigroup experimental design with repeated measures (pretreatment, posttreatment and 1, 3, 6 and 12-month follow-up) was used. Most treated patients gave up gambling as well as improved, albeit more slowly, in family/social and psychological functioning. The success rate was higher in the individual treatment compared both to group and combined treatment. There was also an improvement in gambling in the control group between the pretreatment and the 6–month follow-up and there was no difference between the combined treatment and control group. Individual stimulus control and exposure with response prevention appears to be a cost-effective therapy for pathological gambling. Implications of this study for clinical practice and future research in this field are discussed.
A Biofeedback Approach to Encopresis in Hirschsprung's Disease
Authors: Scott Veronica
Published: June 2009

An eight year old boy who had prolonged faecal incontinence associated with surgery in infancy for Hirschsprung's disease was assessed and given biofeedback training for the purpose of achieving anal sphincter control. A computer-based apparatus was constructed to give feedback in the form of a graph and column of light. The child learned to produce tracings on the graph by contracting a small saline-filled balloon positioned at the anal sphincter. The child achieved voluntary defaecation, and eliminated soiling during follow-up periods of twelve and twenty four months.
Correlates of Overgeneral Memories in Normal Subjects
Authors: Merckelbach Harald , Muris Peter , Horselenberg Robert
Published: June 2009

This study examined the correlates of overgeneral memories (i.e., non-specific memories) in normal subjects. Subjects were instructed to generate five personal memories in response to positive cue-words and five memories in response to negative cue-words. As predicted, no evidence was found for a positive association between overgeneral memories and level of depression. Neither was there an association between low memory specificity on the one hand and neuroticism and trait anxiety on the other hand. A significant though small correlation was found between hemisphere thinking style and specificity of personal memories. Surprisingly, the direction of this correlation was such that the more subjects relied on a left hemisphere mode of thinking (i.e., analytic and verbal processing), the more overgeneral their memories were. Taken together, the results indicate that in normal samples, depression symptoms, neuroticism or trait anxiety do not represent important correlates of overgeneral memories consistent with their status as trait markers uninfluenced by state factors.
Suppression of Dentist-Related Thoughts
Authors: de Jongh Ad , Muris Peter , Merckelbach Harald , Schoenmakers Nelleke
Published: June 2009

The present study explored factors associated with the successful suppression of dentist-related thoughts. Fifty-eight subjects first completed questionnaires on dental anxiety, trait anxiety, cognitive self-efficacy, and negative cognitions related to dental treatment. After imagining a scene in which they were undergoing dental treatment, subjects were asked to identify the negative thoughts they had just experienced. Next, subjects were instructed to suppress these thoughts during a one minute period. After this suppression period, subjects rated the extent to which they had succeeded in suppressing their dentist-related thoughts (i.e., thought control) and the extent to which they had spent on thinking about these thoughts (i.e., intrusiveness). The results showed that dental anxiety was negatively correlated with successful thought suppression, while trait anxiety was negatively associated with intrusions during the suppression period. It is suggested that anxiety undermines adequate cognitive control.
Motivational Interviewing with a Sex Offender Who Believed He Was Innocent
Authors: Mann Ruth E. , Rollnick Stephen
Published: June 2009

Motivational Interviewing (Miller, 1983; Miller and Rollnick, 1991) is an approach originally developed for problem drinkers but assumed to have wider applications. This paper describes one such application through the case of Mr D, an imprisoned sex offender who was identified under the procedures of the Prison Service Sex Offender Treatment Programme. Mr D was convicted of rape but did not believe that he had committed an offence, although he admitted having had sexual intercourse with the complainant. A full assessment of his offending suggested that he had made cognitive and behavioural errors prior to the act of intercourse and so motivational interviewing was employed to help him decide whether or not to participate in the treatment programme. As a result he decided that he would attend a treatment group. The case study concludes with a brief description of his progress whilst in the group and summarizes the results of the follow-up assessment. The application of motivational interviewing to this particular client group is discussed.
Behavioural Psychotherapy by Trainee Psychiatrists: Does It work and is it Cost Effective?
Authors: Stokes Philip , Blore David , Meats Philip
Published: June 2009

This study compared the outcome of patients treated with behavioural psychotherapy by a nurse behavioural psychotherapist against the outcome of those treated by trainee psychiatrists under his supervision. The trainees were shown to produce improvement, but significantly less than the supervisor. It was shown that supervision of trainees was a cost effective use of the supervisor's time.
Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment of Space Phobia: A Case Report
Authors: Steels Mark , Gilboy Carol
Published: June 2009

Space phobia is a well defined rare syndrome, similar but distinct from agoraphobia. Its key distinguishing feature is fear of absent visuospatial support (open spaces) and of falling. In the past, this condition has generally been considered resistant to treatment by exposure in vivo. We report a case of a woman suffering from severe space phobia who received a cognitive-behavioural based treatment package. The gains that she made are described, but overall her condition remained relatively resistant to therapy. We suggest that a degree of caution regarding outcome goals at the start of any similar treatment of this rare disorder is wise.
Seeking Social Support: An Observational Instrumental and Illustrative Analysis
Authors: Milne Derek , Netherwood Penny
Published: June 2009

l“Social support” refers to the informal provision of emotional, informational and practical help to those in distress. Its importance as a buffer against stressors is gaining in acceptance, but most measures of social support are based on self-report. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to develop an observational tool with which to record objectively the duration, subject matter and form of client utterances, relating these to corresponding helper responses. This yields their respective speech profiles, together with an analysis of the contingencies. The potential value of this approach is illustrated in terms of clients attending hairdressing salons in a psychiatric hospital (N = 20) and in the local town (N = 19). Clear and predicted differences in the support elicitation skills of these two groups provided evidence of the instrument's validity, and good inter-rater reliability was also demonstrated. Applications for the instrument are outlined.
Non-Manometric Biofeedback for Idiopathic Faecal Retention in Childhood: A Case Study
Authors: Griffiths Peter , Livingstone Harriet
Published: June 2009

Biofeedback by means of an anorectal probe or balloon linked to a manometric apparatus can be an effective treatment for childhood faecal retention associated with inappropriate external anal sphincter coordination (obstipation). We report an alternative biofeedback approach in a child with long-standing obstipation. Sphincter tone was detected by digitization instead of manometrically and information on the state of the muscle relayed orally, the child's mother acting as trainer and working at home. Five years of dependency on purgatives for bowel evacuation was reversed in three weeks of this regime. Carer-mediated biofeedback by digitization may prove a low-technology alternative to manometric methods where suitable equipment is unavailable.
Behavioural Analysis: Does It Matter?
Authors: Schulte Dietmar
Published: June 2009

Behavioural or, in more general terms, problem analysis is usually regarded as the prerequisite of behaviour therapy. In behaviour therapy research, however, problem analysis does not play a key role. Patients are usually assigned to treatment methods on the basis of clinical diagnosis. It could be assumed that the lack of attention to the patient's individual characteristics should lead to poorer therapy outcome results. However, empirical data of a project reviewed in this paper in fact showed that assigning patients to standard treatment merely on the basis of clinical diagnoses provides results equal to or even better than those of optimized individual therapy strategies. Two premises of problem analysis were therefore tested. It could be shown that therapists would diagnose different problem conditions not only for patients with different types of phobia, but also, as expected, for patients with identical diagnoses. However, this did not—as would be expected according to the second premise of problem analysis—result in choosing different individual therapy strategies. One reason for these findings could be that behaviour therapy research has been able to provide treatment programs that have been differentiated and gradually optimized for specific diagnostic groups. To decide on the application of these treatment programs, clinical diagnoses are necessary. It is suggested that clinical diagnosis and problem analysis should be complementary. An integrative model is suggested.
Mind Maps: An Aid to Effective Formulation
Authors: Williams Chris , Williams Steve , Appleton Kevin
Published: June 2009

The production of a cognitive formulation is an essential skill for both novice and expert cognitive behaviour therapists. It provides the focus for therapy, and helps prevent important parts of the case being over-looked. One problem faced by therapists is that the production of such a written formulation may be time consuming and difficult to amend as new information comes to light. The use of Mind Maps allows a flexible summary of the case to be created. This may be of use to both the therapist and their supervisor in providing a clear, structured and easily updated statement of the essential features of the case.
Intrusive Traumatic Childhood Memories in Depression: A Comparison Between Depressed, Recovered and Never Depressed Women
Authors: Spenceley Anna , Jerrom Bill
Published: June 2009

The extent of intrusive traumatic memories of upsetting childhood experiences was investigated in independent samples of female subjects: out-patients with a primary diagnosis of unipolar major depression, women recovered from clinical depression, and healthy controls who had never experienced major depression. Subjects completed self-report questionnaires to measure levels of depression, and intrusive memories of traumatic childhood events. There were no differences between the groups in whether or not they experienced intrusive memories, but severity of intrusions varied significantly. The depressed sample reported significantly more intrusion and avoidance than the recovered or control groups, and the recovered sample reported normal levels of intrusion but higher levels of avoidance of traumatic memories than controls. Severely depressed subjects reported significantly higher levels of intrusion and avoidance than moderately depressed subjects. Implications for psychological models and for the treatment of depression are discussed.
Unfinished Processing in the Emotional Disorders: The Zeigarnik Effect
Authors: James Ian A. , Kendell Katherine
Published: June 2009

Intrusions and perseverations, although often associated with psychiatric disorders, have a functional role within the information processing system (Eberly, Harkness, & Engdhal, 1991). Research suggests that these phenomena act as conscious aide memoires (Kvavilashvili, 1987) informing the cognitive system that there are prospective tasks to be done (i.e. tasks started, or intentions made, but not finished). In the case of psychiatric problems, the intrusions and perseverations may reflect the presence of unresolved issues that require further processing. The current paper outlines this hypothesis and presents the Zeigarnik effect (Zeigarnik, 1927) as one potential factor amongst others helping to maintain the incidence of intrusions. The paper also describes the possible modus operandi of this effect in terms of post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder and general-anxiety disorder. A number of treatment strategies are discussed which may decrease the incidence of Zeigarnik intrusions.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Unexplained Non-Cardiac Chest Pain: A Pilot Study
Authors: Van Peski-Oosterbaan Anke S. , Spinhoven Philip , van Rood Yanda , Van der Does A. J. Willem , Bruschke Albert J. V.
Published: June 2009

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a cognitive behavioural treatment for unexplained chest pain (UCP), based on the cognitive model of UCP. Ten patients were treated. The diagnosis had been made by a cardiologist two years before the start of treatment. The treatment incorporated breathing and relaxation training, identifying and challenging beliefs about the cause of UCP, behavioural experiments and problem solving for social problems. Patients improved significantly with regard to intensity and duration of chest pain, anxiety and functional limitations. Moreover, the reduction of scores for fear of bodily sensations and of credibility ratings of idiosyncratic disease related negative automatic thoughts was significant. The changes in scores for the inclination to interpret bodily sensations catastrophically almost reached the level of significance. These results suggests that therapy results may be cognitively mediated.
Coping Strategies in PTSD
Authors: Biro Mikloš , Novović Zdenka , Gavrilov Vesna
Published: June 2009

The aim of this study is to analyse the type of coping strategies used by patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For that purpose, two groups of war veterans (40 subjects in each group) were compared. The first group was made up of patients with PTSD, and the second (control) group comprised veterans who suffered combat trauma, but did not show any PTSD symptoms. Coping strategies were assessed using the Questionnaire of Coping Responses (McCrae, 1984).

The results show that out of 118 items (examples of coping strategies) 10 show statistically significant differences between the group with PTSD and the one without it. PTSD patients used more maladaptive strategies (avoidance, pseudo-planning, fantasizing, impulsive and depressive behaviour), while subjects from the control group were more likely to use the strategy of controlling impulses.
Biofuels, poverty, and growth: a computable general equilibrium analysis of Mozambique
Authors: ARNDT CHANNING , BENFICA RUI , TARP FINN , THURLOW JAMES , UAIENE RAFAEL
Published: June 2009

This paper assesses the implications of large-scale investments in biofuels for growth and income distribution. We find that biofuels investment enhances growth and poverty reduction despite some displacement of food crops by biofuels. Overall, the biofuel investment trajectory analyzed increases Mozambique's annual economic growth by 0.6 percentage points and reduces the incidence of poverty by about 6 percentage points over a 12-year phase-in period. Benefits depend on production technology. An outgrower approach to producing biofuels is more pro-poor, due to the greater use of unskilled labor and accrual of land rents to smallholders, compared with the more capital-intensive plantation approach. Moreover, the benefits of outgrower schemes are enhanced if they result in technology spillovers to other crops. These results should not be taken as a green light for unrestrained biofuels development. Rather, they indicate that a carefully designed and managed biofuels policy holds the potential for substantial gains.
Termination prediction for general logic programs
Authors: SHEN YI-DONG , SCHREYE DANNY DE , VOETS DEAN
Published: June 2009

We present a heuristic framework for attacking the undecidable termination problem of logic programs, as an alternative to current termination/nontermination proof approaches. We introduce an idea of termination prediction, which predicts termination of a logic program in case that neither a termination nor a non-termination proof is applicable. We establish a necessary and sufficient characterization of infinite (generalized) SLDNF-derivations with arbitrary (concrete or moded) queries, and develop an algorithm that predicts termination of general logic programs with arbitrary nonfloundering queries. We have implemented a termination prediction tool and obtained quite satisfactory experimental results. Except for five programs which break the experiment time limit, our prediction is 100% correct for all 296 benchmark programs of the Termination Competition 2007, of which 18 programs cannot be proved by any of the existing state-of-the-art analyzers like AProVE07, NTI, Polytool, and TALP.
Consumer confusion: the choice of pension fund manager in Mexico
Authors: CALDERÓN-COLÍN ROBERTO , DOMÍNGUEZ ENRIQUE E. , SCHWARTZ MOISÉS J.
Published: June 2009

The article shows that in markets with “noise”, such as the pension fund manager industry in Mexico, an ample number of competitors may not significantly reduce mark-ups. Utilizing the statistical distribution of the industry's “noise”, the theoretical framework allows for the estimation of the mark-up. The model also indicates that as the number of pension fund managers increases, the mark-up diminishes at a very slow rate. This implies that more participants in the industry will hardly affect prices. The referred hypotheses are confirmed using information of Mexico's pension fund industry. Evidence also indicates that account transfers among pension fund administrators barely respond to price or return considerations, and that switching has not served as a market disciplining tool that would result in lower fees and higher returns for the consumer.
Ethics and Behaviour Modification
Authors: Deakin H. Gordon , Lomas Howard , Mathews Andrew , Tennant Laurence
Published: June 2009

Behaviour modification or therapy is taken to refer to procedures having the explicit aim of effecting a therapeutic change in the observable behaviour of an individual or group, which is in the long-term interests of the well-being or health of that individual or group, as far as these do not conflict with the interests of society as a whole.
Applied Psychology: Will Psychologists Corner the Market ?
Authors: Hallam R. S.
Published: June 2009

About 10 years ago, experimental psychology seemed to have little to offer for the analysis and solution of mental health problems. We all remember the joke about the psychologist searching under the lamp-post where the light was strongest. It is not repeated as often nowadays - and with good reason. Concepts from experimental psychology have come to play an increasingly central role in psychiatry. The following is an analysis of the percentage of articles in the British Journal of Psychiatry which were not concerned with psychiatric diagnosis, psychoanalysis, dynamic psychotherapy, physical therapies, neurology, epidemiology, genetics, prognosis and aetiology of syndromes, in the years 1966, 1970, 1973. Psychometric and psychophysiological studies were also excluded if they related to differential diagnosis of psychiatric states. The figures were 11, 13 and 23% for the three years, suggesting a slowly accelerating utilization of concepts derived from experimental psychology. If the rate of growth continues, models derived from experimental psychology will be dominant by 1980.
Training and Reorganization for Behaviour Modification in Hospital and Community Settings
Authors: Kiernan Chris , Woodford Peter
Published: June 2009

The areas of agreement within the Workshop were greater than areas of disagreement. What follows is a general summary which tries to pick up emphases in the proceedings and discussion.