Examining the Role of Repetitive Negative Thinking in Relations Between Positive and Negative Aspects of Self-compassion and Symptom Improvement During Intensive Treatment

Positive aspects of self-compassion (i.e., self-kindness and nonjudgmental acceptance of personal experiences) as well as negative aspects (i.e., high self-criticism and self-coldness) are strong predictors of anxiety, depression, worry, and quality of life. To date, however, relatively little is known about (a) how both aspects of self-compassion change during naturalistic treatment, (b) whether and how such changes relate to symptom improvement, and (c) which processes might explain the potential benefits of self-compassion. To address these gaps, the present study examined whether relations between changes in both aspects of self-compassion and treatment outcomes in a brief partial hospital setting for acute psychology could be explained by associated changes in repetitive negative thinking (RNT), an established maladaptive cognitive process involved in anxiety and depressive disorders. In a sample of 582 people receiving cognitive-behavioral (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy over the course of 1–2 weeks, increases in positive aspects of self-compassion and decreases in negative aspects related to improvements in depression and anxiety. RNT mediated the relationship between decreases in negative aspects of self-compassion and improvements in anxiety and depression. However, a reverse model also showed that decreases in negative aspects of self-compassion could also explain relations between RNT and depressive symptom improvement only. These findings suggest that negative aspects of self-compassion and RNT may constitute important targets for treatment in acute settings. Future studies should investigate the impact of greater focus on self-compassion on RNT and symptom improvement using longitudinal experimental designs with multiple assessment points, examining causality and directionality.     

A psychodynamic clinician's foray into cognitive-behavioral therapy utilizing exposure-response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Research suggests that, by itself or as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) involving exposure with response prevention (ERP) is an effective treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). However, there is a shortage of clinicians trained in this form of therapy. Although many psychodynamic clinicians treat individuals with OCD using traditional therapy that may assist them with their relationships, there is little evidence that such treatment is effective in ameliorating the OCD symptoms. As there is a clear need for more clinicians trained in CBT for OCD, it may be possible for practitioners trained in psychodynamic or other modalities to learn ERP. Such cross-theoretical training involves a number of challenges. These include the therapist's own anxiety about ERP, understanding resistance, and reconsidering therapeutic boundaries. The first author describes his experiences as a psychodynamically-trained psychologist venturing into ERP in an attempt to demonstrate that although there are barriers they are not insurmountable.     

Incorporating spiritual beliefs into a cognitive model of worry

Cognitive theory and research have traditionally highlighted the relevance of the core beliefs about oneself, the world, and the future to human emotions. For some individuals, however, core beliefs may also explicitly involve spiritual themes. In this article, we propose a cognitive model of worry, in which positive/negative beliefs about the Divine affect symptoms through the mechanism of intolerance of uncertainty. Using mediation analyses, we found support for our model across two studies, in particular, with regards to negative spiritual beliefs. These findings highlight the importance of assessing for spiritual alongside secular convictions when creating cognitive-behavioral case formulations in the treatment of religious individuals.     

Treatment outcome for adolescent obsessive-compulsive disorder in a specialized hospital setting

Although few data are available concerning adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the existing literature suggests that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line treatment of choice for adolescents with mild to moderate OCD. A combination of CBT and serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) is recommended for more severe forms of OCD, based on the Expert Consensus Guidelines for the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and the Pediatric OCD Treatment Study (POTS). Despite the effectiveness of CBT, a recent meta-analysis found that 27% of adolescent outpatients fail to show clinically significant improvement following CBT and many also fail to show improvement with pharmacotherapy. One alternative for those who do not improve with outpatient treatment is an intensive inpatient program. Within the last 10 years, two specialty hospitals have created programs that provide intensive CBT milieu treatment with multidisciplinary support (e.g., nursing, psychopharmacology) to treat adolescents with OCD. This naturalistic study describes treatment outcomes in 23 patients who received treatment in one of these programs between 2005 and 2006. Results suggest significant improvements on the majority of outcome measures, with 70% of the patients judged to meet criteria for clinically significant change. Thus, inpatient treatment appears potentially efficacious, although future controlled trials with larger samples are needed.     

Foetal antigens on leukaemia cells (author's transl)]

An antiserum against human foetal liver cells reacted in in-vitro-cytotoxic test with the leukaemia cells of 6 out of 10 children with acute lymphocytic leukaemias (ALL) and with the lymphoma cells of 1 out 2 children with lymphosarcoma (LS). No cytotoxic reactions were obtained against leukaemia cells of 5 children with acute myelogenic leukaemia (AML), leukaemia cells of 7 adults with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), bone marrow cells of 9 children in clinical remission and lymphocytes of normal donors. The cytotoxic activity of the anti-foetalserum was removed by absorption with foetal liver but not with adult liver. The results suggest that foetal antigens may occur on ALL-cells and LS-cells.     

The Free Volume and Its Recovery in Pressure‐Densified and CO2‐Swollen Heterocyclic‐Ring‐Containing Fluoropolymers

Changes in the free volume in CYTOP due to pressure densification and swelling with CO₂ have been examined using PALS and PVT experiments. Employing the Simha‐Somcynsky equation of state the specific hole free, V_f, and occupied, V_occ, volumes were estimated. The change in the total volume due to the pre‐treatments occurs exclusively in the hole free volume and the relative change in V_f is one order of magnitude larger than in the total volume. V_occ shows no memory for the history of the polymer glass. The mean and width of the size distribution of subnanometre holes in the glassy state decrease upon densification and increase upon swelling. The volume changes which are frozen in the polymer glass begin to recover at temperatures distinctly below T_g.