logo

dr-james-hawkins

  • icon-cloud
  • icon-facebook
  • icon-feed
  • icon-feed
  • icon-feed

Recent research: five papers on feeling good & improved functioning, on meaning & wellbeing, and on happy memories,

Originally added on 12th February 2009
Last updated on 3rd March 2009

I seem to be making a habit this month of focusing on a specific journal when posting the weekly report on interesting recent research.  Last week it was the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology  .  This week it's the Journal of Positive Psychology .  To quote the Journal's website: "Positive psychology is about scientifically informed perspectives on what makes life worth living. It focuses on aspects of the human condition that lead to happiness, fulfillment, and flourishing."  First published in 2006, the journal initially came out quarterly.  Now, in 2009, it's increasing its publication frequency to six issues a year - a pleasing sign of the increasing interest in this field.

Handouts & questionnaires for healthy sexuality, sexual dysfunctions, and for abuse

Originally added on 9th February 2009
Last updated on 12th February 2009

Here are a series of handouts,questionnaires and book suggestions for healthy sexuality, for sexual dysfunctions, and for abuse screening. 

Touch, sex & caring - this two page Word handout is rather dated now, but still makes a series of very valid points.

Time to change: let’s challenge mental health discrimination

Originally added on 7th February 2009
Last updated on 16th February 2009

On 26th January the BMJ reported on the new £18 million Time to Change campaign  " ... to tackle the discrimination and stigma that surrounds mental health ... The Time to Change initiative is funded by Comic Relief and the National Lottery. Its aim is to tell the public that it is no longer acceptable to discriminate against people with a mental illness ... The campaign's website gives details of what can be done to help people with a mental illness and how to run a local campaign to support national initiatives ... The campaign says that mental illness is one of the last taboos and that shame and stigma can stop people seeking help. It highlights the fact that mental illness is far more common than people realise with one in four people experiencing a mental health problem at some time in their life. And it promotes the message that it is possible to help people with a mental heath problem by being there for them and not cutting them out of your life ... The campaign is based on similar national initiatives in New Zealand and Scotland.

Recent research: four papers from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Originally added on 5th February 2009
Last updated on 21st July 2016

I routinely scan quite a few journals every month.  Sometimes it's disappointing and there's nothing in the issue of a particular journal that interests me much.  Sometimes a particular journal contains a bunch of stimulating articles.  January's edition of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology was a good find.  Below are four papers from it.  The DeWall et al study is on how social exclusion leads to hostility and aggression.  It adds to the large body of research on the very powerful effects of being socially rejected.  Putting "rejection (psychology)" into the top search bar of PubMed today and clicking on "Go" pulls out 2,741 paper

NICE guidelines: January guidance including antisocial personality disorder

Originally added on 29th January 2009
Last updated on 31st January 2009

Yesterday NICE - the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in England & Wales - published guidance on a diverse range of fifteen clinical, technology, interventional and public health subjects.  Their clinical guidance on Medicines Adherence  interested me, as too did their public health guidance on Promoting Physical Activity for Children and Young People.  The subject of this post is the clinical guidance on Antisocial Personality Disorder and in my next post, I'll talk about their guidance on Borderline Personality Disorder.  As Dr Tim Kendall, Joint Director, National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, states: "Approximately 2 million people in the UK have personality disorders, with antisocial and borderline disorders being the most common.

Handouts & questionnaires for emotions, schema & personality

Originally added on 26th January 2009
Last updated on 26th January 2009

Here are a set of diverse handouts and questionnaires on emotions, schema and personality.  The "triangle of emotions" is a model I put together to help guide work on the longer term dysfunctional personality patterns that we probably all experience to some extent.  The "big five" is a very widely used way of assessing personality, and this "ten aspects" version I find particularly interesting.  There are then a series of handouts from Arnoud Arntz's fine work on understanding and treatment of borderline personality disorder.  I have found that Arntz's ideas seem more broadly helpful than just with borderline (which anyway is a poor descriptor for this emotional regulation disorder).  There are also some sheets derived from Young's associated work on schema. 

Ways of coping: theory & personal experience

Originally added on 25th January 2009
Last updated on 25th January 2009

In blog postings earlier this month, I've talked about supporting my Mum after her recent couple of strokes.  She's been shipped through three different hospitals and now is more peaceful in a nursing home.  It's sad - very sad at times - and it's great that she seems more comfortable, better looked after, and more content.  I definitely feel easier too.  Less weight on my shoulders, less emotional aching.

Recent research: half a dozen papers relevant to psychotherapy

Originally added on 22nd January 2009
Last updated on 24th January 2009

Here are half a dozen papers relevant to psychotherapy.   The first two throw some light on the question of whether it matters which form of established psychotherapy one uses to treat a particular depression sufferer - bearing in mind Cuijpers et al's recent meta-analysis suggesting that " ...