Adolescent dating violence may lead to adverse health behaviors. We examined associations between sexual teen dating violence victimization (TDVV) and sexual risk behaviors among U.S. high school students using 2013 and 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (combined n = 29,346). Sex-stratified logistic regression models were used to estimate these associations among students who had dated or gone out with someone during the past 12 months (n = 20,093). Among these students, 10.5% experienced sexual TDVV. Sexual TDVV was positively associated with sexual intercourse before age 13, four or more lifetime sexual partners, current sexual activity, alcohol or drug use before last sexual intercourse, and no pregnancy prevention during last sexual intercourse. Given significant findings among both sexes, it is valuable for dating violence prevention efforts to target both female and male students.

The authors define peer tutoring and describe the types of peer tutoring reported in the literature. An organizational typography of peer tutoring in school classrooms is presented, and the variables that influence patterns, nature and effectiveness of peer interaction are explored. Cognitive models of peer tutoring approaches that follow either Piagetian theories of cognitive conflict or Vygotskian theories of co-construction are compared and the similarities and differences of each model interrogated. The influences each model may have on cognitive and affective development, as well as metacognition, are illustrated. The authors discuss knowledge transfer issues to facilitate the development of effective models of peer tutoring in the classroom practice of teachers in schools. Finally, areas for future research and development are highlighted.

We compared how 61 seventh graders, with low or high prior knowledge in mathematics, capitalized on two self-regulated learning approaches—generic versus context specific—to (a) enhance self-regulated learning, (b) foster procedural knowledge of routine algebraic tasks, and (c) transfer knowledge to novel mathematical problem solving. The generic approach was based on “IMPROVE” question prompts for comprehension, connection, strategy, and reflection modeled in a free context. The context-specific approach was based on what, when, why, and how (WWWH) question prompts directed explicitly to specific examples in a particular mathematical content area. Findings indicated no difference between the two approaches regarding short-term effects on algebraic procedural tasks; however, differential effects emerged between the two approaches on the self-regulation measure and on long-term transfer to novel tasks (near and far) among students with low or high prior knowledge. The practical and scientific significance of this study are discussed.

Justification: Recent studies showed that neurocognitive insight difficulties occur in subjects with schizophrenia. However, little is known about the different profiles of neurocognitive insight, their relations with neurocognitive functioning, and their specific links with mood factors and outcomes. Aim: The study explored profiles of relationships between objective and subjective cognition in persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and associations with quality of life (QoL), stigmatization, and mood factors. Method: Participants were 69 outpatients with an SSD. Cluster analysis (Ward method) was performed to explore profiles of interactions between subjective complaints and objective cognitive performances. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were then conducted to compare groups on anxiety and depression levels, stigmatization, and QoL. Results: Cluster analysis produced 3 groups: high cognitive impairment/moderate cognitive complaints (N = 26), good cognitive functioning/moderate cognitive complaints (N = 22), and moderate cognitive impairment/high cognitive complaints (N = 21). The second group has higher objective QoL, and the third group has higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stigmatization. Our results show that (a) not all patients with SSD have neurocognitive insight difficulties, (b) relation between objective and subjective cognition is not linear, and (c) differences between profiles may have theoretical and clinical implications.

The main theoretical and practical applications of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Cognitive Therapy (CT) are examined and found to be similar to each other in most respects, but REBT bases its concepts of improved treatment of neurotic disorders and of severe personality dysfunctioning largely on philosophical, existential, and humanistic bases, while CT tends to align them with empirical results of outcome studies. Both REBT and CT, however, use philosophic and empirical outcome studies to construct and validate their theories.

This article describes the development and refinement of a measure designed to assess salient aspects of the psychotherapeutic process. The VPPS consists of seven scales which can be grouped under the headings of: Exploratory Processes, Patient Involvement, and Therapist-Offered Relationship. Its reliability and other psychometric properties are considered satisfactory so that the instrument can be recommended for operational use.

Principles and procedures for supervising cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) were broadly defined in 2 early seminal texts almost 15 years ago (Liese & Beck, 1997; Padesky, 1996) and updated more recently (Beck, Sarnat, & Barenstein, 2008; Newman, 2010). However, the actual practice of CBT supervision often shows poor fidelity to this model (Townend, Iannetta, & Freeston, 2002) with notable deficiencies in the use of direct observation, standardized observational rating systems, and experiential methods in supervision (Milne, 2008). The advent of more specific competency statements on CBT supervision has been a significant leap forward (Falender et al., 2004; Roth & Pilling, 2008) but poses some practical challenges to clinical supervisors in terms of transferring broad competency statements into actual supervisory practice. We address the need for more rigor in CBT supervision within a university training clinic setting and outline some promising ingredients for this specification drawing on competencies, metacognition, and experiential learning theory.

This article reviews the fledgling psychopathy development and intervention literatures. We conclude that long-term, intensive, multiple systems interventions, which integrate cognitive-behavioral and motivation-enhancement techniques, provide the greatest promise for youths exhibiting psychopathy features.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for anxiety disorders is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on decreasing the behavior regulatory function of anxiety and related cognitions, and has a strong focus on behavior change that is consistent with client values. In this case series, 3 consecutive referrals seeking treatment for anxiety disorders at a private practice were treated with 9–13 sessions of ACT. In-session exposure therapy was not included to determine the effects of ACT without the compounding effects of already proven treatment procedures. The treatment procedure was identical across disorders to test the use of a unified treatment protocol for anxiety disorders: panic disorder with agoraphobia, comorbid social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. All participants showed clinical improvement in their specific anxiety disorders as rated on multiple standardized assessments after treatment, with gains maintained at follow-up (8 months or more). Time series assessments, taken throughout treatment, of anxiety and avoidance behaviors showed large decreases in avoidance but not in anxiety, suggesting ACT was effective by changing the way participants responded to anxiety rather than anxiety itself.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP) has proven to be an effective treatment modality for children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Less research exists demonstrating efficacy for this treatment modality among children with comorbid diagnoses of OCD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and virtually, nothing has been reported examining intensive interventions for the most severe cases. As such, this article discusses the treatment of an adolescent male with severe OCD comorbid with ASD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and chronic tic disorder using a cognitive behavioral approach and ERP. We conclude with recommendations for continued clinical research to understand approaches to help nonresponders to standard therapeutic approaches with this challenging population.

Although studies have assessed the association between affective dysfunction and parental bonding, little research has assessed the information processing characteristics of individuals with disrupted parental bonding. The current study investigated differences in attentional processing between individuals with relatively poor versus secure parental bonding, and also assessed this processing in conjunction with a mood priming procedure that has been used in previous vulnerability research. Using a Stroop procedure, results indicated that poorly bonded individuals were less distracted by depressive information than were individuals reporting a secure bonding history. Results also suggested that avoidance of anxious information in the poorly bonded group was uniquely associated with maternal overprotection. These results suggest that poorly bonded individuals may cope with their increased vulnerability by avoiding some types of affectively linked information, and that some of this avoidance may be linked to perceptions of a mother who is overly intrusive.

A psycholinguistic account of motivational interviewing (MI) is proposed. Critical to this view is the assumption that therapists and clients are natural language users engaged in a constructive conversation that reveals and augments relevant information about the status of future change in a client’s substance abuse. The role of client speech acts—most notably, verbal commitments—during MI is highlighted. How commitments can be signaled in client speech or gestures is discussed. How these commitment signals can inform therapeutic process and subsequent behavioral outcome is then put forth. Using natural language as a measure, a MI process model is presented that not only posits a mediational role for client commitment in relating underlying factors of desire, ability (self-efficacy), need, and reasons to behavior, but also a pivotal role as a need-satisfying enabler of a social-cognitive mechanism for personal change.

Adler’s Individual Psychology (IP) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (BT) have many common precepts and suppositions. This paper delineates many of these commonalities and suggests areas in which the therapists may learn from each other.

This study adopted a self-presentation perspective to examine cognitive factors involved in maintaining social anxiety in men in heterosexual situations. The self-regulatory appraisals of 25 socially anxious and 25 nonanxious men were compared using a modified version of the Articulated Thoughts in Simulated Situations (ATSS) procedure (Davison, Robins, & Johnson, 1983). Subjects viewed videotapes of two enacted situations between a male actor and a female actor which differed on whether the individuals were strangers or acquaintances. The subjects were instructed to identify with different male actors who depicted contrasting styles of self-presentation. In contrast to nonanxious men, socially anxious subjects consistently made pessimistic self-appraisals, articulating more negative self-focused thoughts, and displaying negative self-other biases. However, nonanxious men showed equivalent levels of self-focused negative thoughts in response to representations of a protective style of self-presentation. Unexpectedly, for all subjects, the less intimate first meeting situation elicited more negative self-focused thoughts than did the more intimate dating situation. The findings are discussed in terms of self-regulatory components of self-presentational styles and the implications for treatment of social anxiety.

The present review examines how resources have been used in trauma-focused psychotherapy with an emphasis on their use in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Current practices of EMDR-trained clinicians are presented in a historical context and considering a range of contemporary approaches to ego strengthening. This article describes the use of resources as presented in the EMDR literature along with research findings. The review concludes with a call for controlled research on widely used resource-focused procedures and practice guidelines for their use in clinical applications of EMDR.

Medications to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can increase students’ ability to stay awake to cram for exams. Although popularly viewed as “academic steroids,” there is no evidence that ADHD medications promote complex cognitive functioning or scholarship. To the contrary, compelling new evidence indicates that ADHD drug treatment is associated with deterioration in academic and social-emotional functioning. Yet, ADHD diagnosis and drug treatment have risen unabated for decades. Today, ADHD medications are so prevalent on college campuses that students falsely perceive these drugs as relatively benign and freely use them for nonmedical reasons, resulting in record numbers of adverse events and deaths. This article describes the nature of the ADHD drug abuse epidemic, rules some colleges have implemented to manage risk, and actions that any educational institution may consider to combat ADHD drug abuse and to promote student health and campus safety.

Le trouble de la personnalité narcissique et le trouble de traits narcissiques sont associés à des conduites égoïstes et à un défaut d'empathie envers les autres. Les patients dont la présentation initiale dans la psychothérapie correspond à l'un ou l'autre de ces tableaux ont un profil égocentrique ; ils manquent d'empathie ou se préoccupent peu de la souffrance qu'ils peuvent provoquer chez d'autres personnes, mais ceci n'est qu'un élément parmi d'autres. Parfois le défaut d'empathie et l'égoïsme ne sont que des défenses. Pour appréhender pleinement ce problème, il faut également avoir conscience des difficultés sous-jacentes à se définir soi-même qui sont à l'origine des manifestations comportementales du narcissisme. Comme c'est le cas pour tout problème psychologique, le traitement EMDR nécessite une compréhension de la manière dont les expériences en début de vie conduisent aux symptômes ultérieurs. La compréhension des voies qui relient les expériences vécues à un jeune âge aux traits narcissiques (y compris les présentations latentes) est essentielle à une conceptualisation de cas adéquate, tout comme il faut cerner les structures mentales défensives qui empêchent l'accès aux expériences défavorables fondamentales sous-jacentes aux symptômes.

This case study reports the use of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and family therapy for a 10-year-old boy with severe separation anxiety disorder (SAD). It illustrates how the use of the standard EMDR protocol for the boy and his mother combined with family therapy, led to symptom alleviation and restored appropriate developmental functioning as evidenced by behavioral outcomes. The participant initially presented with severe anxiety about separating from his mother, several years after his parents went through a painful divorce. Treatment focused on processing the boy’s disturbing memories of past nontraumatic events in 14 EMDR sessions; his mother received 4 EMDR sessions to address her perceived marital failure and guilt about the effects of her ensuing depression on him. Eight family therapy sessions were used to help the family spend positive time together. Prior to treatment, the child had been unable to play outside, checked on his mother frequently, and could not attend activities without her. At the end of treatment, he was able to play with friends outside, ride his bike around town, engage in after school activities, and sleep over at his friends’ houses. Gains were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Treatment did not include instruction in parenting skills or psychoeducation for the mother, or any exposure therapy for the child.

Offense-related trauma refers to a trauma reaction following the perpetration of a violent offense. This research explores the lived experience of offense-related trauma, in two forensic patients. The meaning and understanding these individuals make of their own coping strategies, triggers, and treatment, and how this contributes to their behavior, was explored using a semi-structured interview and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Two super-ordinate themes emerged from the data: “Journey to Forgiveness” and “Living with the Whole Me.” These themes and their subthemes highlight the nuances of offense-related trauma and raise the question of how processes such as complicated grief and associated shame can impact on recovery and rehabilitation. The implications of the findings for professionals providing treatment in forensic settings are considered.

A large proportion (11%–60%) of people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also suffer from substance use disorder (SUD). As the high cooccurrence of PTSD and SUD leads to a worsening of psychopathological severity, development and evaluation of integrated treatments become highly valuable for individuals presenting with both diagnoses. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy may fit these needs. This article summarized all studies that investigated EMDR treatment for SUD, to clarify whether EMDR might be a useful approach. A comprehensive Title/Abstract/Keyword search was conducted on PsycInfo, PsychArticle, PubMed, and Scopus databases. A total of 135 articles were retrieved, and 8 articles met inclusion/exclusion criteria. One RCT and one case study evaluated trauma-focused EMDR; one clinical RCT, one non-clinical RCT, one cross-over study, and one case study evaluated addiction-focused EMDR; and one quasi-experimental and one multiphase case study evaluated the combination of addiction-focused and trauma-focused EMDR. Results show that EMDR treatment consistently reduces posttraumatic symptoms, but that its effects on SUD symptoms are less evident. Although EMDR should be considered as a promising tool for this population due to its possible potential to improve SUD outcomes, further research is needed to see whether EMDR therapy, either trauma-focused or addiction-focused, is effective for SUD. We conclude with suggestions for future research and clinical practice in this area.

This article presents the detailed case of a 27-year-old man who began to suffer from intrusive imagery after watching a brutal scene in the TV series Game of Thrones. The content of the intrusive imagery included images of people with enucleated eyes and was initially accompanied by anxiety about sharp objects. The patient’s mental distress was assessed by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and the Impact of Event Scale—Revised, and the patient was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy was provided to treat related distressing memories and the intrusive imagery. As treatment progressed, more complex and layered aspects of the symptom presentation became evident, and EMDR was integrated with other treatments. These included psychodynamic psychotherapy to address his complicated relationship with his father, exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy to reduce avoidance of sharp objects, and cognitive therapy (CT) for aggressive violent thoughts toward others. The article identifies the various clinical decision points and discusses theoretical conceptualizations and related factors. This clinical case report provides additional support for the body of knowledge on the relationship between traumatic events and imagery in OCD. Therefore, trauma-focused treatments, such as EMDR therapy, which concentrates specifically on those experiences, might be especially effective.

This study investigates changes of stress-related psychophysiological reactions after treatment with EMDR. Sixteen patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following type I trauma underwent psychometric and psychophysiological assessment during exposure to script-driven imagery before and after EMDR and at 6-month follow-up. Psychophysiological assessment included heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) during a neutral task and during trauma script listening. PTSD symptoms as assessed by questionnaire decreased significantly after treatment and during follow-up in comparison to pretreatment. After EMDR, stress-related HR reactions during trauma script were significantly reduced, while HRV indicating parasympathetic tone increased both during neutral script and during trauma script. These results were maintained during the follow-up assessment. Successful EMDR treatment may be associated with reduced psychophysiological stress reactions and heightened parasympathetic tone.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an established treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but there is increasing evidence for its use beyond PTSD. EMDR can be effective at treating distressing memories not associated with PTSD, as well as somatic symptoms (like chronic pain), and as such could potentially be used as a treatment for patients with functional neurological disorder (FND). Searches were conducted for published peer-reviewed articles on the use of EMDR for FND. The databases selected and searched were Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, PsychINFO, PubMed, and Francine Shapiro Library. This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Three relevant articles were found. The studies included are one case series and two case studies. Of the five participants included in the studies, four experienced functional non-epileptic attacks; and one experienced functional movement disorder. Four out of the five patients were successfully treated with EMDR. EMDR is potentially a useful treatment of FND, but further research, including controlled trials, is required. The authors propose that EMDR could be useful in treating patients with FND and comorbid PTSD, as well as patients without comorbid PTSD. We discuss the clinical implications and propose how EMDR could fit into the FND treatment pathway.

Numerous studies have identified links between psychopathology and a history of traumatic life events and dysfunctional attachment relationships. Hence, given the possible traumatic origins of this pathology, it may be useful to provide a trauma-focused intervention such as the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. This article illustrates a clinical case by describing the positive results of the EMDR therapy in the recovery of unremitting anorexia nervosa in a 17-year-old inpatient. She had previously been hospitalized on 4 occasions in the previous 4 years and received both psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapy. At pretreatment, the client weighed (28 kg, 62 lb) and had a body mass index of 14. She was designated with a dismissing attachment style on the Adult Attachment Interview. EMDR therapy was provided for 6 months in hospital, in twice weekly 50-minute sessions and consisted of standard procedures primarily focusing on her relational traumas, interspersed with psychoeducational talk therapy sessions, and integrated with ego state therapy. At the end of treatment, the client weighed (55 kg, 121 lb) and had a body mass index of 21.5. She no longer met diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, and her attachment style had changed to an earned free-autonomous state of mind. She reported an increase in self-confidence and in her ability to manage various social challenges. Results were maintained at 12 and 24 months follow-up. The treatment implications of this case study are discussed.

Learned helplessness (LH) is considered a psychological trait, which occurs after repeated exposure to aversive and uncontrollable situations (Seligman, 1975). Such an exposure is found to lead motivational, cognitive, and emotional deficits. LH has also been linked to different psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and trauma-related depression. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has been accepted as an efficacious treatment for PTSD, but evidence for its effectiveness as an early intervention is still preliminary. Also, there is some uncertainty regarding the role of eye movements in EMDR. The current randomized controlled study investigated whether a single 15-minute session of EMDR's Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol (R-TEP) could reduce the effects of laboratory-induced LH. The study further investigated whether R-TEP without eye movements would have the same effect. Using established experimental tasks, an LH state was induced via unsolvable maze tasks with effects measured by the participants' performance in solving anagrams. Results revealed that an LH state was successfully induced by the unsolvable mazes. R-TEP effectively reversed the negative effects of the LH state and was significantly more effective than no treatment controls and the R-TEP condition without eye movements, which was essentially a narrative exposure intervention. Results suggest that R-TEP can be successfully administered immediately following a distressful event, and that eye movements appear to be a necessary component of EMDR in reversing the cognitive, motivational, and/or emotional deficits induced by LH.

Constructed as a barrier to treatment adherence, ambivalence is typically pathologized in qualitative research on “bipolar disorder”—seen as something to be feared and eradicated. Here, I critically review this position, arguing that it is constructed through a “lens of risk” that problematically presumes people have a chronic mental illness that requires lifelong pharmaceutical intervention. I then draw on the accounts of three young women who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder to demonstrate how people’s concerns, questions, and dreams could instead be seen as a site of expertise about diagnostic and treatment practices; in turn using their ambivalence to stitch together an alternative analytic “lens of desire” through which to re-view accounts of bipolar disorder. Overall this article is thus both a commentary on mainstream research practices in psychology and an experiment with how we might look differently; believing that perhaps the real risk associated with people’s ambivalence is its ability to force us—psychologists and psychiatrists—to question the ways in which we do madness.

This article documents the murder, by psychiatrists, of a quarter of a million patients, mostly diagnosed as “schizophrenic,” in Europe during the second world war; and the sterilization of hundreds of thousands more internationally, including in the USA and Scandinavia. These sterilizations and murders were justified by biological psychiatry’s unsubstantiated hypothesis that the conditions involved are genetically determined. Gas chambers in the six psychiatric hospitals involved, in Germany, were subsequently dismantled and moved, along with the psychiatrists and their staff, to help establish some of the Holocaust’s concentration camps, in Poland. The avoidance of these facts and their profound implications, by the profession of psychiatry, internationally, over subsequent decades, is discussed. An inspirational trauma-focussed alternative to the pessimistic, unscientific ideology of biological psychiatry, involving psychiatrists 60 years later, is presented.

Studies that attempt to models stress have been limited by the ambiguity surrounding the stress concept. To address this conceptual lacuna, this article proposes a new approach to conceptualizing stress. Through a historical survey of ideas relating to stress, clarity will be brought to the conception of stress through a synthesis of insights on the nature of stress arousal, particularly focusing on the dynamic of generation of stress in the mind. Stress, resulting from both positively and negatively appraised events, is experienced in proportion to the certainty with which we assess an impact to something to which we have attachment (Sanskrit, upãdãna), whether physical or ideological. Ultimately, this ancient conception of the psychological dynamic of stress has borne fruit in philosophy, religion, and psychotherapy, making it a sound candidate for a fundamental psychological conception of stress.

This article examines a 2006 European Court of Human Rights judgment concerning educational discrimination against Roma children in the Czech Republic and the involvement of educational psychologists in the case. The court held the school to be the proper final arbiter on the question of the best interests of the child regarding educational placement. Based largely on culturally biased psychological testing results, the Roma children in question were declared mentally handicapped by educational psychologists. On that basis, they were placed in a segregated school for the intellectually disabled where the curriculum was quite deficient. Despite statistical evidence of the overrepresentation of Roma children in such segregated Czech schools, and of widespread discrimination against Roma in schools and in the larger society, the court rejected the claim that the children’s right to an education had been violated. The implication for psychologists and educators internationally, to avoid becoming pawns contributing to an oppressive human rights situation, is discussed.

This Clinical Q&A section responds to a question about organizing a client’s historical information into a targeting sequence within a treatment plan that is consistent with Shapiro’s (2001) three-pronged protocol. The procedures for identifying and prioritizing treatment eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) targets are reviewed in the context of Shapiro’s theoretical model, and various time line models are summarized. The author then presents her EMDR TargetTime Line, which provides a practical simple visual tool for documenting past, present, and future aspects of the presenting problem. It allows the therapist to note if disturbing past experiences present around a core theme, such as negative cognitions, physical symptoms, or situations/persons/circumstances. Three clinical cases are used to illustrate the form’s application with various types of treatment targets.

Research indicates that EMDR is effective for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with numerous studies showing a high percentage of symptom remission after 3 sessions. The case of a tsunami survivor with acute PTSD is presented. Treatment for overt trauma symptoms was completed within 3 sessions, including all 8 phases and the 3-pronged protocol (i.e., past, present, future targets). One EMDR session was sufficient to process the trauma and alleviate the related symptoms, while another session was necessary for re-evaluation and processing present triggers and future templates. Resource installation was particularly helpful to prepare him for those future situations that had been generating anxiety as a result of his traumatization.

Until the 1930s, the term “autism” was not mentioned in the literature. Until then, vaccination programs did not exist in the United States. Leo Kanner applied the term “early infantile autism,” detailing 11 cases of children born in 1931. He thought these children seemed like they inhabited a world of one, hence the term “autism,” originally derived from Bleuler (1911). Kanner furnished the following description: “aloneness that, whenever possible, disregards, ignores, shuts out anything that comes to the child from the outside.” He initially claimed parents of children with autism were often cold and humorless perfectionists (Kanner, 1943), considering them to be “emotional refrigerators,” a characterization that haunted him, one he deeply regretted and ultimately recanted. There has been a significant rise in autism. Some of this is probably due to looser definitions, widened to include a broad “spectrum” of behaviors. However, even when I tightened up the criteria for inclusion, I still was able to observe a rather sizeable—in fact, dramatic and alarming—increment. Curious about why this might be so, I began to investigate. I discovered a great deal of secrecy, nontransparency, obstructionism, mystification, and even falsification of data in which people in high places were engaged. This article is intended to disclose facts heretofore obscured, hidden, or reassembled in fanciful ways and to raise questions and make scientific statements and social commentary on this highly important issue. Possible sources of toxicity are listed.

This review provides the groundwork for a basic understanding of articles written about eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), including a brief overview of theory and practice. It documents EMDR’s established efficacy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder and specifies specific subsets of this population in need of further investigation. The article also provides a review of recent studies evaluating a range of EMDR’s clinical applications and outlines new directions for research investigations and for developments in clinical practice. It concludes with an overview of current research evaluating pre- and post-neurobiological changes, and mechanisms of action. Specific recommendations for future areas of investigations are outlined, and rigorous evaluation is strongly encouraged.

Self-harm is frequently a trauma-driven coping strategy that can be understood from the perspective of the adaptive information processing (AIP) model and treated with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy (Shapiro, 1995, 2001). Self-harm is often connected with memories of adverse and traumatic life experiences. Identifying and processing these memories with EMDR therapy can put an end to the self-injurious behavior. In addition, self-harm is often based on a lack of regulation skills, and these skill deficits can be addressed in EMDR therapy as well. In this article, the authors describe strategies for treating self-harm throughout the 8 phases of EMDR. Although there is no single approach that applies to all cases, the therapist needs to take a careful history of self-harm, its historical origins, and its triggers and functions in the present to formulate a treatment plan. Often, in the authors’ experience, self-harm functions as a self-soothing strategy that redissociates traumatic affect from childhood. Treatment strategies for Phases 3–8 of EMDR therapy are illustrated through case vignettes.

The present study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in treating pain and subjective distress of patients with cancer. A randomized controlled trial was performed on patients with cancer suffering from moderate to severe cancer pain in Yasuj, Iran, in 2019 and 2020. Sixty patients aged 30–60 years who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected using a consensus sampling technique. Patients were randomly assigned to EMDR therapy or control groups based on random block allocation. EMDR therapy was administered in six to eight daily 1-hour sessions. The control group received the standard treatment provided by the hospital. A Numeric Pain-Rating Scale (NRS) and the Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale (SUDS) were used to assess pain and subjective distress before and after the intervention in each session. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and independent t test using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. The mean pain intensity and subjective distress score in the experimental group before and after the EMDR intervention were significantly reduced (p < .001). In the control group, no decreases in NRS and SUDS scores occurred at any time (p > .05). Differences in pain scores between the groups were statistically significant (p < .001). EMDR can effectively and sustainably reduce the pain and subjective distress experienced by patients with cancer. Thus, EMDR is a recommended therapeutic option to mitigate pain and subjective distress among patients with cancer.

The diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) covers a wide range of conditions, ranging from patients suffering from a one-time traumatic accident to those who have been exposed to chronic traumatization and repeated assaults beginning at an early age. While EMDR and other trauma treatments have been proven efficacious in the treatment of simpler cases of PTSD, the effectiveness of treatments for more complex cases has been less widely studied. This article examines the body of literature on the treatment of complex PTSD and chronically traumatized populations, with a focus on EMDR treatment and research. Despite a still limited number of randomized controlled studies of any treatment for complex PTSD, trauma treatment experts have come to a general consensus that work with survivors of childhood abuse and other forms of chronic traumatization should be phase-oriented, multimodal, and titrated. A phase-oriented EMDR model for working with these patients is presented, highlighting the role of resource development and installation (RDI) and other strategies that address the needs of patients with compromised affect tolerance and self-regulation. EMDR treatment goals, procedures, and adaptations for each of the various treatment phases (stabilization, trauma processing, reconnection/development of self-identity) are reviewed. Finally, reflections on the strengths and unique advantages of EMDR in treating complex PTSD are offered along with suggestions for future investigations.

The standard protocol of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has been well established as an efficacious brief treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addressing past, present, and future aspects of a traumatizing event. This article provides instruction in the administration of the EMDR Life Stress Protocol, which targets a significant recent experience or a life scenario that is not necessarily remarkable as a stand-alone event (getting up every morning with dread, feeling anxious about leaving the house) and which causes distress and impaired function such as has been commonly reported during the COVID-19 crisis. This protocol involves minor but significant modifications within EMDR therapy’s standard procedures. It uses the present-day experience as the Target Memory while accessing briefly, the memory network of historical experiences that inform the client’s reactions to their present circumstances. Successful processing is immediately followed by a Future Template to generate an alternative pattern of response, optimizing the client’s capacity to respond adaptively to continued life demands. The EMDR Life Stress Protocol differs from EMDR’s various recent events protocols, which seek to reduce posttraumatic symptoms following a recent traumatic event or crisis. Those protocols focus on the critical incident and ancillary events, and typically do not intend to activate memory networks of related historical experiences. The article describes case conceptualization to offer a rationale for this approach and provides a detailed description of this protocol, illustrated with case examples, highlighting its application both as a psychotherapy approach and as a brief intervention.

Practitioners of psychiatry and psychology have played an important role in the sterilization of tens of thousands of Americans throughout the past century. This article examines a number of questions relating to the origin and continuation of sterilization as a treatment and preventive. What social and medical beliefs lead to the use of sterilization as a treatment and preventive for both the individual and society? What ills are being treated and prevented? Who becomes a candidate for sterilization? To what degree are ethical concerns raised, and what is the response to these concerns? And finally, Who is the client—the individual, potential children, or society?—and how do practitioners distinguish the interest of the individuals from that of their potential children and society?

A telling arena for observing ethical human behavior is the human treatment of nonhuman animals. How one treats or mistreats animals is a decision mostly grounded in his or her ethical beliefs. This article examines animal ethics and discusses the value of intrinsic motivation through the lens of teaching a freshman animal ethics. In addition, this opinion piece argues the merit of the pass/fail paradigm in lieu of the traditional grading paradigm by using the triad of Kohn’s (1999) intrinsic motivation, Thorndike’s (1913) law of readiness, and Bandura’s (1997) social cognitive notion of self-regulation while exploring the human ethical notions related to learning about animal rights.