bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Just how challenging can older people be? Part 1: Selecting the appropriate tool for measuring aggression within services
Authors: Johnson Chrissie , Knight Caroline , Stewart Inga 
Published: January 2023

Background:Over the last 15 years, a growing focus on psychosocial and behavioural outcomes of dementia has resulted in the development of a wide range of tools for recording challenging behaviours. The link between aggression and dementia is well documented, and the prevalence of this behaviour, in combination with the potential severity of its consequences, has led to the development of a number of specific tools to record levels of aggression amongst older adults. These are imperative for clinicians and researchers to accurately explore identified behaviour in more depth, to drive treatment approaches and for evaluation. However, professionals are now faced with a confusing and often disparate array of tools for measuring aggressive behaviour in older adults. As such, instruments may be selected on the basis of familiarity, rather than matching the exact needs of the investigator.Objective:This paper aims to provide professionals with a consolidated review of the tools that exist for measuring aggression in older adult services, and to assist in the selection of an appropriate tool to meet their service needs.Conclusion:A framework of issues and considerations pertinent to choosing a recording tool is provided and a comparison between tools offered based on these criteria.
Training about incorporating psychosocial issues into routine care following a stroke – developing a six-piece-jigsaw: What do staff think and is it being used?
Authors: Attfield Rachel , Wallace David 
Published: January 2023

The ‘Six-Piece-Jigsaw’ is a clinical tool designed to help staff think about the holistic presentation of clients. Here, we present an evaluation of how the six-piece jigsaw was received by 10 members of staff working in hospital with people who had survived a stroke. This project was conducted as part of the first author’s clinical psychology doctorate. Participants were interviewed about their perception of the training introducing the six-piece-jigsaw. Using thematic analysis, three superordinate themes that emerged were:Elements of the training found to be useful (for the service, team, patient and participant);Barriers to implementing the six-piece-jigsaw;Ideas for the future.The medical notes of 17 patients of the staff participants were also referred to and used to find any objective evidence of use of the six-piece-jigsaw. Whilst participants considered psycho-social issues to be important for over half of the patients whose medical notes were scanned, these were not documented in all cases. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.
Making the case for specialist services for older people: Evidence for the prevention and management of aggression
Authors: Stewart Inga , Knight Caroline 
Published: January 2023

St Andrew’s Healthcare – Townsend, has come to specialise in meeting the needs of people primarily over the age of 55 who present with challenging mental health problems. These older people have extremely complex needs due to a mixture of forensic, psychiatric, cognitive and physical problems, and many have challenging behaviour including frequent and severe aggression. St Andrew’s Healthcare – Townsend works to reduce risk and maximise the function and quality of life of patients, whilst ensuring the best possible support for autonomy and dignity.The Overt Aggression Scale – Modified for Neurorehabilitation (OAS-MNR) offers continuous direct observation and assessment of antecedents, contexts and interventions, as well as a record of the type and severity of aggression from clearly defined categories. This tool has been effectively utilised with older people in routine audit, whilst providing valuable feedback to patients, staff, relatives and commissioners.Three years previously the OAS-MNR had provided data to audit the aggressive behaviour exhibited at St Andrew’s Healthcare – Townsend. The audit captured a substantial amount of aggression, the severity of which was comparable with younger brain injury populations. In doing so, it facilitated in validating the clear need for specialist services for older people and ensuring that the resources necessary to sustain these services were considered. It also offered a means for addressing risk management.Following on from this audit a ‘Prevention and Management of Aggression’ working group (PMAG) was formed to produce an action plan to further review how to reduce or manage the level of identified aggression. The outcome of this group is discussed in order to share our ideas, deliberations and challenges, and to promote best practice. The questions of ‘Prevention’, ‘Management and Treatment’ and ‘Support for Staff’ are examined. These are evaluated in the context of a re-audit of the aggressive behaviour exhibited by the patient group and captured on the OAS-MNR. Opportunities for service development and further research are also discussed.
Evaluating the effectiveness of training using operationalised scoring criteria for the Mini Mental State Examination
Authors: Moss Susanna , Barker Helen 
Published: January 2023

This paper reports the findings of a piece of small-scale research undertaken by the first author during her older adult trainee placement in 2006. The research emerged following discussions between the team regarding the marked fluctuations observed within client’s MMSE scores, largely hypothesised to be dependent upon differences in staff administration and scoring style.The MMSE is a widely used cognitive screening tool. It is suggested that the lack of standardised training in utilising the MMSE has contributed to the development of idiosyncratic scoring and administration, thereby threatening the reliability of MMSE scores. The current research aimed to establish whether variance in scoring criteria exists within the current service area (Old Age Psychiatry), and whether any variance may be reduced through training in locally defined operationalised scoring criteria. Participants were asked to score a video-taped actor completing the MMSE before training and after training. Thirteen participants attended one of four training sessions. Results illustrated variance in scores before training and a significant reduction in variance following training. Post-training participants were noted to score the MMSE more conservatively. The results of this investigation concur with findings of previous published studies, and suggest that if the MMSE is still in use within services*, training using operationalised scoring criteria should be provided locally if MMSE scoring is to be consistent.
‘Where are all the older people?’ They’re not here either. Referral rates of over- and under-65s in Dumfries & Galloway
Authors: Robson Anna , Higgon John 
Published: January 2023

Here we report an audit of the number of older adult and working-age adult referrals to the Dumfries & Galloway Psychological Services and Research department (hereafter referred to as ‘Psychological Services’) over a 15-month period. Although older adults comprised 25.3 per cent of the local population we found that they accounted for just 8.9 per cent of referrals to Psychological Services. Working-age adults were between three and four times more likely to be referred to Psychological Services than older-age adults. This finding lends further support to the hypothesis that ageist practices result in under-referral of older adults relative to working age adults.The finding of relative under-referral in Glasgow, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway, together with the lack of any contrary findings, suggests the likely existence of a trend throughout Scotland toward under-referral of older adults to psychological therapies.
A hospital-based peer support group for stroke survivors and their carers
Authors: Morris Reg , Morris Paula 
Published: January 2023

Objective:The aim was to examine stroke survivors’ and carers’ experiences of peer support groups during hospital-based rehabilitation.Design:Retrospective assessment using qualitative methodology; Inductive Thematic Analysis supplemented by questionnaire ratings.Setting:A hospital stroke rehabilitation unit.Participants:Seven stroke survivors and three carers who had attended at least two open group sessions.Method:Semi-structured interviews were recorded and analysed by inductive thematic analysis to obtain ‘in-depth’ information. Participants also answered questions taken from a standardised therapeutic factors questionnaire.Results:Five main themes emerged. Three were related to group processes; practical issues (three sub-themes), staff presence, similarity-difference, comparison to other group members. The fourth, value of peers (five sub-themes), was mainly concerned with beneficial outcomes. In the main participants were positive about processes and outcomes. Only the similarity-difference theme and four sub-themes of ‘value of peers’ were related to items from the therapeutic factors questionnaire. The therapeutic factors questionnaire revealed a consensus about several statements that did not emerge as themes; feeling secure in the group, being able to express emotions, helping others and increased independence.Conclusions:Participation in the group brought a number of benefits including helpful information, advice, new connections and increased awareness of stroke. Informants identified a number of important group processes, and distinguished between helpful and unhelpful aspects in a way that permitted recommendations for change to be formulated. Responses to the therapeutic factors inventory suggested that attendance brought some therapeutic benefits, but the emergence of themes unrelated to therapeutic factors indicated that it had a broad impact.
Atypical presentations in a typical memory clinic: The possibilities for rehabilitation
Authors: Poz Rebecca 
Published: January 2023

The role of the neuropsychologist within a memory clinic is often diagnostic, and the National Dementia Strategy (DH, 2009) stresses the importance of early diagnosis. The availability of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors has added a new dimension to dementia services over the last decade. From early 2012 the UK patents for galantamine, donepezil and rivastigmine expire and with the re-appraisal of NICE guidance in March 2011 to incorporate the prescribing of memantine for the later stages of Alzheimer’s, as well as recommending donepezil, galantamine, and rivastigmine as options for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in the mild stages; the voice of those advocating for non-pharmacological approaches within memory clinics may need to be louder than normal. Pharmacological treatments have clearly improved the experience for many people with dementia, but memory clinics, and psychologists in particular, continue to play a crucial role in the early treatment of people for whom acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are either not indicated or not beneficial.This paper presents the case study of a patient referred to our memory clinic with a complex and atypical presentation and the formulation-based interventions that were provided.
Using neuropsychological assessment to predict everyday functioning in Alzheimer’s dementia
Authors: Monaci Linda , Morris Robin 
Published: January 2023

The use of neuropsychological assessment beyond diagnosis is related partly to the extent to which it can indicate everyday function. This study investigates whether the associations between neuropsychological functioning, activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) change over an 18- to 24-month follow-up, exploring whether these change with dementia progression.Thirty-four patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease were assessed at baseline and again after between 18 and 24 months. Neuropsychological function was assessed using the revised Cambridge Cognitive Examination, which includes within it the Mini Mental State Examination and an executive function scale. ADL and IADL were also measured, together with background neuropsychiatric features by using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory.Pearson correlations between the measures of daily functioning and cognitive abilities and neuropsychiatric symptoms showed that initially neuropsychological test results tended to correlate with IADL rather than ADL measures. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were not correlated whether IADL or ADL. At follow-up, none of the neuropsychological function measures correlated with IADL or ADL, but neuropsychiatric symptoms were correlated with IADL.At baseline, neuropsychological function is associated with IADL but not ADL. At follow-up, the association between neuropsychological function and IADL diminishes, and associations between neuropsychiatric disturbances and IADL emerge.
Dementia and the impact on carers
Authors: Duprey Jennie 
Published: January 2023

‘You’re as sick as they are but you’re not getting the support they are.’Exploring the views of relatives and carers in relation to the design of a carer support group offered by an older-adult inpatient ward.This mixed-methods service-based study aimed to explore the views of relatives and carers in relation to the design of a support group offered by an organic mental health older adult inpatient ward.
Dreamcatching: Using an integrative approach to manage chronic PTSD in an older adult
Authors: Appleton Claire , Martin Claire 
Published: January 2023

The Dream Keeper‘Bring me all of your dreamsYou dreamerBring me all yourHeart melodiesThat I may wrap themIn a blue cloud-clothAway from the too-rough fingersOf the world.’Langston Hughes (1932)In this article we discuss working with an older client whom we both worked with at different points over a three-year period. Our client displayed a complex range of symptoms consistent with PTSD, unresolved loss and depression and, somewhat staggeringly, had suffered a recurrent distressing dream for over 60 years. We demonstrate how an evolving integrative formulation guided our interventions with this client and argue that the pivotal piece of work involved a re-scripting of the recurrent dream. We propose that this intervention, comprising an overarching life review framework, cognitive restructuring, behavioural experimentation and containment within a strong therapeutic relationship, was ultimately associated with a reduction in distress. We hope to illustrate how such an approach can be helpful and that meaningful change is possible in the oldest-old who suffer from chronic PTSD.
A psychologically informed model for supporting meaningful involvement of people living with dementia facilitated by undergraduate psychology students
Authors: Slade Lewis , Bone Alex , Razzel Sophie 
Published: January 2023

The East Kent Forget Me Nots is a service user involvement group, which is run by and for people living with dementia, with the support of the local Trust: Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT). The group began as an extension of the Trust’s Dementia Service User Envoy position, held by Keith Oliver. As involvement opportunities began to exceed the capacity of a single person, this necessitated the formation of a small group of people living with dementia, among whom the workload could be shared (Asquith, Guss & Oliver, 2013). By the time the Forget Me Nots reached their second anniversary in November 2014, the group comprised more than 20 people living with dementia, and had made a significant impact in the field of dementia care and social policy.The group has advised on alterations to the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (DEEP, 2013), on clinical guidance papers (Guss et al., 2014a) and service user oriented materials (Guss et al., 2014b). This has ensured that the voices of people living with dementia have not gone unheeded, both locally within the Trust and the community, and nationally. Members of the group regularly speak at conferences about the subjective experience of dementia, and advocate for the needs of those living with the condition. Other projects, such asWelcome to Our World: A collection of life writing by people living with dementia(Forget Me Nots, 2014), have also been completed by the group, challenging pre-existing ideas about dementia in the community and providing new and enjoyable experiences for group members.This article will describe in detail the aims and modus operandi of the group, and how the working of the group is facilitated by undergraduate psychology students from the University of Kent. This article comes from the perspective of those students.
South Thames FPOP CPD Event: Reflections on the day
Authors: Caryer Felicity , Howard Tina , Jamnadass Shruti 
Published: January 2023

‘A contemporary account of CBT with older people’ by Professor Ken LaidlawBPS Offices, London, 16 December 2015.We are Assistant Psychologists in Psychological Services for Older People, all working in Memory Assessment Services, and sometimes delivering therapeutic interventions in the community and sometimes on acute psychiatric wards. The suggestion for us to review the South Thames CPD event felt like a good opportunity to discuss and reflect upon our experiences of the talk, thinking about what struck us most about the day and how we would like to make use of this within our future work. We each approached the day with a range of differing experiences and levels of knowledge of using CBT. Professor Ken Laidlaw’s talk not only motivated us to learn more about using CBT with older people, but also supported us to share and discuss our thoughts and reflections, which we hope we convey in this article.
It’s Drunk! Inanimate Agency and the Psychological Life of Things
Authors: Lovie Sandy 
Published: January 2023

At the 2001 BPS Centenary Conference in Glasgow, Steve Brown argued that only by incorporating all aspects of the world, both human and non-human, into what he termed a “concrete interactional assemblage” could we begin to make sense of the complex social relationships that routinely determine our lives (Brown, 2001). The implications of this position are considerable, from the evocation of biographical/social memories by artefacts (Radley, 1990) to the persistence of animism into adult life, contra, for instance, Piaget (1929); from the social life of exchangeable commodities (Appadurai, 1986) to the social psychology of objects and the designed environment (Miller, 1995, 1999; Miller & Kälviäinen, 2001).The present paper draws on some of this material to argue for the existence of a reciprocal agency shaping most if not all of the social exchanges of “animate” and “inanimate” actors. By reciprocal agency is meant the mutualistic elicitation of sequences of action from both “animate” and “inanimate” actors in their joint interaction, and on the basis of their (sometimes) shared expectations about the actions of the other. Although there is some recent sociological literature on “inanimate” agency (Woolgar, 1994), the notion has scarcely impacted on psychology. However, the list of topics given earlier, together with my definition of reciprocal agency, suggests that psychology could make a positive contribution to this somewhat esoteric field. Thus the study of such mutualist actions could usefully draw on certain theoretical traditions in psychology, particularly those emanating from B. F Skinner and J.J. Gibson, as well as those from related social sciences.Finally, the paper will use a limited number of objets trouvés to illustrate its various theses.
Not What They’re Made Out To Be: On Vaucanson, Babbage, and AI
Authors: Boden Margaret A. 
Published: January 2023

There are two forms of AI/A-Life: technological and psychological. It’s widely thought that Vaucanson was concerned only with the first, and Babbage with both the first and the second. In other words, it’s believed that Vaucanson was a mere toy-maker, not a scientist, and that Babbage was an early cognitive scientist. Neither of these beliefs is true.Vaucanson was doing science. He used robotic simulations to formulate a theory of the bodily movements (not the mental processes) involved in various activities, such as playing the flute.Babbage’s Analytical Engine was an early example of technological AI. He wanted his machine to achieve correct results in problems that humans tackle too. But he wasn’t modelling human thought. At most, he aimed to implement the logical principles that rational thinking must respect. He never claimed to have illuminated mathematical thinking, and explicitly regretted having nothing to say about creative insight.1
Simone Corleo: Psychophysiology Enters the Realm of Philosophy
Authors: Monads Lucia 
Published: January 2023

At the beginning of the twentieth century Simone Corleo was described by G. Gentile as a philosopher who “remained closed within his insular culture” and, in contrast, by F. Orestano and A. Aliotta as a great statesman and man of science.This paper aims to provide a picture of the Sicilian philosopher (1823-1891), who taught moral philosophy at the University of Palermo.Philosophy was for him a science concerned with the study of the constant laws of thinking so as to reach that principle of identity which regulates the stream of knowledge. He wondered how objects are perceived by the senses, which inevitably provide subjective perception, and concluded that it was thanks to the human ability to associate perceptions according to the principles of similarity, time and space, cause and effect. This led him to investigate perception as organic electricity. Disproving Franklin’s theory of imponderable fluids, he affirmed that heat, light and electro-magnetism flowed through bodies. Therefore, philosophy was necessarily connected to physiology and psychology.
The Concept of Synaesthesia in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century
Authors: Ceglie Flavio 
Published: January 2023

The current paper provides a historical reconstruction of the first studies on synaesthesia phenomena and aims to show how the concept of synaesthesia has changed in the different ages, although it has always represented the same perceptual phenomenon.In the first part of the paper attention is focused on the importance of the investigations and applications of synaesthesia in the artistic field. To this end, the relationship between sound and colour is analysed within the Gesamtkunstwerk.In the second part, the historical stages characterizing the first systematic descriptions of synaesthesia are examined in order to clarify the different explanations and definitions given by researchers in various fields.