Self‐reflection and self‐practice in training of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: an overview

The present paper deals with a developing training element in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), the self‐practice of therapeutic techniques and the self‐exploration of the person of the therapist. Initially, the current status of this training element in CBT is discussed, and a short note on its terminology is presented. Then an overview of the most important objectives of self‐practice and self‐reflection in CBT, and the concepts and methods of practice of this element is given. The concepts focus on two major aims, the self‐exploration of the person of the therapist within and beyond his or her therapeutic practice, and the self‐application of therapeutic techniques (= self‐practice). In the second part of the paper empirical studies related to the outcome of self‐reflection and self‐practice on the development of the therapist and her or his therapeutic practice are reviewed. The few empirical studies show that trainees experience in their own view substantial professional and personal gains from this training tool, with the professional impact being more important than the personal one. The most important outcomes evaluated by subjective data from the trainees are improvements in self‐insight and self‐awareness and a better understanding of the therapist's role and the therapeutic change process. Additionally, a better understanding of CBT methods and of general therapeutic skills, such as empathy and role‐taking‐competencies, are reported by the trainees. The paper comes to the conclusion that self‐exploration and self‐practice are important components of CBT training. Consequences and recommendations for its integration into training courses for CBT are discussed as well as the necessity for more research in this area. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coexistence of autonomic and somatic mechanisms in the pressor areas of medulla in cats.

The effects of electrical stimulation and microinjection of sodium glutamate (0.5 M) in the sympathetic pressor areas of the dorsal medulla (DM), ventrolateral medulla (VLM), and parvocellular nucleus (PVC) on the knee jerk, crossed extension, and evoked potential of the L5 ventral root produced by intermittent electrical stimulation were studied in 98 adult cats anesthetized with chloralose and urethane. During electrical and glutamate stimulation of these pressor areas, in addition to the rise of systemic arterial blood pressure marked inhibition of the spinal reflex was produced, indicating presence of neuronal perikarya responsible for these actions. Mild to moderate augmentation of spinal reflexes was also observed during brain stimulation but only in a few cases. The magnitude of the somatic effects among the pressor areas of the VLM, DM, and PVC subsequent to glutamate activation was about the same. Induced spinal reflex inhibition, independent from the baroreceptor and vagal influence, remained essentially unaltered after acute midcollicular decerebration. The inhibition was also observed in cats decerebellated 8-10 days in advance. The inhibition was not affected after bilateral electrolytic- or kainic-acid-induced lesions in the paramedian reticular nucleus (PRN). On the contrary, PRN-induced spinal reflex inhibition was attenuated after bilateral lesions in the DM or VLM. Data suggest that there coexists neuronal subpopulations in the VLM, DM, and PVC that can affect both the sympathetic pressor systems and spinal reflexes.     

胰岛素样生长因子-Ⅰ对软骨细胞凋亡的抑制

目的:探讨胰岛素样生长因子-Ⅰ(IGF-Ⅰ)对软骨细胞增殖及白细胞介素-1(IL-1)诱导软骨细胞凋亡的影响,揭示其抗损伤作用机制,为关节软骨损伤治疗提供理论依据。方法:分离培养人胚胎关节软骨细胞,采用四氮甲基唑蓝(MTT)法测定不同含量软骨细胞增殖活性的变化,利用光镜、电镜、DNA电泳及流式细胞仪测定作为凋亡检测指标。结果:IGF-Ⅰ呈剂量依赖式促软骨细胞增殖,当IGF-Ⅰ含量达50μg/L时,促软骨细胞增殖作用达最大值。IL-1组光镜、电镜下可见典型的细胞凋亡形态学改变,琼脂糖凝胶电泳示特征性的DNA梯状条带,IGF-Ⅰ处理组未见明显凋亡征象。流式细胞仪检测发现,IGF-Ⅰ处理后软骨细胞凋亡率显著降低。结论:IGF-Ⅰ能促进软骨细胞增殖,对IL-1诱导的软骨细胞凋亡具有保护作用。     

INVASIVE MUCORMYCOSIS WITH GASTRIC INVOLVEMENT IN A PATIENT WITH SEVERE ATHEROMATOUS VASCULAR DISEASE

Gastric mucormycosis involvement is a rare condition that usually occurs in inmunocompromised patients and frequently has a fatal outcome. We report the case of a 73‐year‐old woman admitted to the intensive care unit with severe bleeding after an acute pulmonary disease. Upper endoscopy disclosed wide and deep necrotic ulcers in the body and fundus of the stomach and greenish exudates with the antrum and the duodenum undamaged. Autopsy revealed an invasive mucormycosis and a severe atheromatosis. Several predisposing factors for mucormycosis infection have been reported until now. We postulate that ischemic gastritis could be a predisposing factor for colonization of zygomycete.     

Dynamic evaluation of 18F-FDG uptake by microPET and whole-body autoradiography in a fibrosarcoma-bearing mouse model.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Fluorine-18-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) has been used in the clinic as a diagnostic radiotracer for monitoring many kinds of tumors, but its value for monitoring fibrosarcoma is not well established. METHODS: In this study, the uptake of 18F-FDG in a fibrosarcoma-bearing mouse model was evaluated using the high resolution positron emission tomography (PET) system microPET. Tumor cells were implanted in 3 FVB/N mice, and static microPET scanning was performed on day 1, 7, 12 and 15 after implantation. A dynamic microPET image was scanned on day 12 to determine the 18F-FDG uptake in 3 other tumor-bearing mice. Time-activity curves were plotted by drawing regions of interest in the tumor, liver, kidneys and muscles. The mice were sacrificed after dynamic microPET imaging and whole-body autoradiography (WBAR) was performed. For biodistribution study, 9 tumor-bearing mice, 3 per experimental group, were studied at 3 time points and the results were compared with the static microPET images. RESULTS: MicroPET images suggested that 18F-FDG could be used to monitor the growth of tumors 7 days after implantation. Dynamic scans of 18F-FDG uptake reached a plateau in the tumor after 20 minutes on day 12 after implantation. Both microPET and WBAR revealed evidence of tumor necrosis. The results of biodistribution and WBAR agreed with those from microPET images. CONCLUSION: MicroPET was useful for monitoring the growth of fibrosarcoma and determination of the maximal uptake time point of 18F-FDG in tumors in this tumor-bearing mouse model.     

Model invariant method for extracting single-channel mean open and closed times from heterogeneous multichannel records.

We present a proof that the mean open (and closed) times of the individual channels in a multichannel record can be found in a model-independent fashion. As the results are model independent, they can be derived by assuming the simplest model for all the channels, namely that they all have the basic CLOSED in equilibrium with OPEN scheme. In particular, the method can be applied to patches where the channel population is heterogenous with respect to open probability. Multichannel simulations are performed to test the limits of applicability of this method to restricted amounts of data. One conclusion is that increasing the number of channels does not substantially reduce the errors in estimating the mean times, in spite of the 'increased information' present. We also prove the general applicability of the algorithm of Fenwick et al. (1982) in estimating the mean times without knowledge of the number of channels present, and discuss its limitations. An illustration using experimental data is also given.     

Mediating effects of social support on firefighters' sense of community and perceptions of care

This study examined the relationship between psychological sense of community, social‐support networks, and care‐giver stress and satisfaction among firefighters. No significant gender differences were obtained, but zero‐order correlates demonstrated significant relationships among all four variables. In examining the mediating effects of social‐support satisfaction, partial mediation for psychological sense of community on care‐giver satisfaction was determined, as well as full mediation for psychological sense of community on care‐giver stress. Therefore, firefighters who are satisfied with the support they receive may experience less stress with their care giving than those who experience low levels of support satisfaction. Future studies should assess these relationships more extensively in other areas of civic responsibility among public‐service employees to delineate effective support avenues. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 121–126, 2004.