Psychology (Functional Area: Clinical Psychology)

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Open Access
What Does Therapist Presence Look Like in the Therapeutic Encounter? A Rational-Empirical Study of the Verbal and Non-Verbal Behavioural Markers of Presence
(2014-07-09) Colosimo, Kenneth Andrew; Pos, Alberta
Humanistic approaches to psychotherapy recognize therapeutic presence as necessary to sharpening one’s attunement to ongoing dynamics of intra and interpersonal processes, promoting empathy, and developing a strong working alliance. Despite its purported value, however, little empirical research has explored the nature of presence in the psychotherapeutic encounter. Following a task analytic methodology, the current study used both rational and empirical strategies to investigate how highly present therapists manifest presence behaviourally. Results from the present study show that therapist presence is linked to a constellation of verbal and non-verbal markers that reflect four modes of expression, which were named ‘here’, ‘now’, ‘open’, and ‘communion’. The final model included prominent behaviours such as poised body posture, unwavering eye gaze, responsive nodding and facial expressiveness, and vitality in face, body, and vocal tone. Implications for the development of an observational measure are discussed, along with limitations and suggestions for future research.
Open Access
Investigating the Effect of Systemic Constructivist Couple Therapy (SCCT)- Based Relationship Enhancement Workshops on the Relationship Satisfaction of Couples in the Community
(2014-07-09) Eshghi, Niloufar; Reid, David W.
Relationships play an essential role in the well-being of individuals and there have been many attempts in recent years to help couples build stronger bonds with each other. For the purposes of this study, a workshop format of a previously validated couples intervention was created and its effectiveness was investigated. Specifically, this study examined the effect of a four-session workshop rooted in the empirical findings of systemic constructivist couple therapy (SCCT) research. A sample of 15 couples participated in this workshop over a span of 8 months. The results of this study showed that the workshop was effective in enhancing the relationship of the couples as measured through five self-report measures completed pre and post participation in the workshop. The self-report measures captured relationship quality, styles of listening, emotional experience of the relationship and closeness with the partner. These results and the implication of this study are discussed.
Open Access
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Motivational Interviewing for Binge Eating
(2014-07-09) Vella-Zarb, Rachel Aviva; Mills, Jennifer S.
Rationale: Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative therapy that focuses on strengthening a person’s internal motivation to change (Miller & Rollnick, 2002, 2012). Research suggests that MI may be helpful for treating binge eating; however, findings are limited and little is known about how MI for binge eating compares to active therapy controls. As such, the present study aimed to build on the current literature by comparing the efficacy of MI as a prelude to self-help treatment for binge eating to psychoeducation as a prelude to self-help treatment for binge eating. Method: Participants with full or subthreshold DSM-IV Binge Eating Disorder (BED) or nonpurging Bulimia Nervosa (BN-NP) were randomly assigned to receive either 60 minutes of MI followed by an unguided cognitive behavioural self-help manual (n = 24) or 60 minutes of psychoeducation followed by an unguided cognitive behavioural self-help manual (n = 21). Questionnaires were completed immediately before and after the treatment session, as well as at 1 month and 4 months post-session. Changes in readiness to change, confidence in ability to control binge eating, binge eating frequency and severity, eating disorder behaviours and attitudes, self-esteem, and depression were examined. Results: Findings revealed that MI significantly increased readiness to change and confidence in ability to control binge eating, whereas psychoeducation did not. Participants in the MI condition reported a significantly stronger therapeutic alliance than did participants in the psychoeducation condition. No group differences were found when changes in eating disorder and associated symptoms were examined; both groups showed significant overall improvements in eating disorder symptoms, binge eating frequency and severity, and self-esteem. Conclusions: MI offers benefits for increasing motivation, self-efficacy, and therapeutic alliance in treating individuals with clinically significant binge eating problems. However, it is not a uniquely effective treatment approach for reducing binge eating and other eating disorder symptoms.
Open Access
Smoking Status, Cognition, and Neurobiology in Schizophrenia
(2015-01-26) Pinnock, Farena Soshana; Heinrichs, Robert Walter
Cognitive impairments are considered a core feature of schizophrenia. Nicotine has been suggested to have an effect on cognition in individuals with schizophrenia and in the general population. Since smoking status is seldom controlled for in cognitive research studies understanding the contribution of nicotine dependence is a potentially important issue for data interpretation. Thus, the current study examined whether smoking status has a differential association with cognition and regional cortical thickness in 71 patients and 63 nonpsychiatric control participants. Cognition was measured with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and social cognition was measured with the Faux Pas and Reading the Mind in the Eye tasks. The Vocabulary and Matrix Reasoning subtests of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) and Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-4) were used to assess general intelligence (IQ) and premorbid functioning, respectively. Cortical thickness was measured with a high-resolution 3-Tesla MR whole body scanner. Results revealed that patients (relative to controls) and smokers (as compared to nonsmokers) showed impairments on all cognitive measures (e.g., attention, processing speed, working memory, social cognition, etc.). Neuroimaging results indicated widespread cortical thinning among patients as compared to controls. However, patient smokers and control nonsmokers had similar cortical thickness patterns in the left parahippocampal gyrus and bilateral medial orbitofrontal gyri. The findings suggest that smoking status should be taken into consideration in cognitive research given that smoking status may confound overall results.
Open Access
The Resentful Embittered Personality, Adjustment and Depression in Student and Marital Relationships
(2015-01-26) Velyvis, Vytas P.; Flett, Gordon L.
Hostility and anger have long been shown to be predictive of negative psychological, interpersonal and physical outcomes. Much of the literature, has focused on hostility as a state rather than a personality trait and has not attempted to explicate the link between embittered personality and depression. To achieve these goals, a newly created measure called the Resentful Embittered Personality Scale (REPS) was evaluated in detail. First, the literature examining the construct of embitterment and hostility was reviewed, its links with depression was explained, and unpublished pilot data were reviewed. Next, the psychometric properties, convergent and divergent validity, and reliability of the REPS were evaluated in the first study by exploring correlations with the NEO-FFI and other specific personality constructs and measures of hostility and distress. The second study evaluated the REPS with the larger measure of general personality, the NEO-PI-R, to further understand the nuances of these relationships between the REPS and the specific facets from the Big Five measure of personality. The focus of the third study was to examine the REPS with respect to both well-being and distress along with measures of stress. Finally, the fourth study examined the predictive validity of the REPS with respect to dyadic adjustment and depression six months later, after the birth of their first child. Results showed that the REPS was a valid and reliable measure and that the construct’s associations with certain factors of the NEO-PI R suggested that it reflected a highly ego-defensive and interpersonally sensitive personality style that likely functioned to set up a self-fulfilling prophecy of expected and elicited interpersonally conflictual exchanges. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses found that the REPS predicted both main and interactive effects of psychological distress and well-being over and above other personality and stress measures. Finally, embittered personality predicted poorer dyadic adjustment and depression for both male and female heterosexual couples three months after the birth of their first child. Together these results lent support to the interpersonal and negative affectivity theories of depression and have shown the REPS to be a valid, reliable and useful personality measure for personality, interpersonal and clinical purposes.
Open Access
Narrative - Emotion processing in Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
(2015-01-26) Macaulay, Christianne Braid; Angus, Lynne
Constructing adaptive narratives in therapy involves processing and symbolizing (i.e., storying) emotional experience. The Narrative-Emotion Process Coding System (NEPCS) is a tool for coding in-session client behaviors that indicate 10 underlying narrative-emotion processes: Same Old Story, Empty Story, Unstoried Emotion, Superficial Story, Reflexive Story, Inchoate Story, Experiential Story, Competing Plotlines, Unexpected Outcome, and Discovery Story. The NEPCS was applied to videotaped therapy sessions of three recovered and three unchanged clients who underwent cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing (MI) for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Multilevel modeling analyses demonstrated a significant effect of outcome for Reflexive Story, Competing Plotlines, and Unexpected Outcome, and a significant outcome x stage effect for Discovery Story. Findings are discussed in the context of ambivalence about worry and emotion avoidance as key features of GAD. Limitations and future research directions, including avenues for further elucidation of mechanisms of MI for GAD, are also discussed.
Open Access
"I-We" Boundary Fluctuations in Couple Adjustment to Colorectal Cancer and Life with a Permanent Colostomy: A Qualitative Validation Study
(2015-01-26) McCarthy, Molly Clare; Fergus, Karen D.
This study aims to validate a classification system of couple adjustment to cancer, developed with breast and prostate cancer patients. The classification proposes that couples undergo fluctuations between togetherness (“We”-ness) and separateness (“I”-ness) during their cancer experience, which may affirm or erode their mutual identity. The application of the classification system to couples coping with colorectal cancer (CRC) and permanent colostomies served as a novel approach to member checking as a means of validation. Nine couples were interviewed. Transcripts were coded for “I-We” shifts in couples’ adjustment, either as these were implicitly described within their dialogue, or as they were explicitly self-identified by the couple. With the exception of four “We”-eroding shifts, all of the previously identified shifts within the “I-We” classification system were observed. One new “I-We” shift was developed from this analysis. Implications to colorectal cancer patients with colostomies and theories of couple resilience emphasizing “We”-ness are discussed.
Open Access
Untying The Knot: A Qualitative Inquiry into the Enduring Marriage
(2015-01-26) Kagan, Fern Hyla; Angus, Lynne
A qualitative analysis using a modified grounded theory approach was performed on 11 interviews from one representative of 11 marriages, including examples of both happy and unhappy marriages, in order to generate a participant-informed account of the enduring marriage. The heuristic model created through the qualitative analysis was contrasted and compared to the existing body of literature on lasting marriage in order to identify areas of convergence and divergence. The qualitative analysis identified a core category termed Emotional Anchoring and seven defining categories that thematically united all examples of lasting marriage in the present study. Results suggest that there are different ways of remaining married but that each example of a lasting marriage is a testament to participants’ ability to balance the competing demands of autonomy and connection in their union.
Open Access
Vulnerable Emotional Expression in Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples: Relating Process to Outcome
(2015-01-26) Mercier McKinnon, Jacqueline; Greenberg, Leslie S.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether levels of vulnerable emotional expression and supportiveness related to forgiveness and other measures of outcome in a sample of 32 couples presenting for Emotion-focused Therapy for Couples (EFT-C) with unresolved emotional injuries. For each couple studied, the two best examples of vulnerable emotional expression made by each partner were identified and rated on a measure of vulnerability. Each partner was then rated on the degree of supportiveness exhibited in response to their partner’s two best examples of vulnerable emotional expressions. Outcome in injured partners (i.e. those identifying as the victim of the emotional injury) was assessed with self-report measures of forgiveness, unfinished business, trust, and relationship satisfaction. Outcome in offending partners (i.e. those identifying as having perpetrated the emotional injury) was assessed with a measure inquiring about the degree to which one feels forgiven, and a measure of relationship satisfaction. For each outcome measure, two hierarchical regression models tested the relative contributions of vulnerability and supportiveness to outcome in a stage wise manner. In Model 1, the injured partner’s mean vulnerability score was first entered, followed by the offending partner’s mean supportiveness score. In Model 2, the offending partner’s mean vulnerability score was first entered, followed by the injured partner’s mean supportiveness score. Model 1 significantly or marginally significantly predicted improvement on all outcome measures. Model 2 significantly or marginally significantly predicted improvement on all outcome measures with the exception of the measure of relationship satisfaction. Of the 4 predictors examined, the offending partner’s level of supportiveness was the most consistent in providing a statistically significant and unique contribution to the outcome variance, followed by the offending partner’s level of vulnerability. Based on these findings, it is recommended that therapists working with couples seeking to heal their relationship following an emotional injury attempt to draw out the offending partner’s more vulnerable emotions. Moreover, it is recommended that at times when the injured partner expresses vulnerable emotion, the therapist be directive in coaching the offending partner to listen and respond supportively if he or she does not do this instinctively.
Open Access
Functional and Structural Substrates of Neural Modulation in Older Adults After Executive Control Training
(2015-01-26) Adnan, Areeba; Turner, Gary
The fronto-parietal control network (FPCN) and dorsal attention network (DAN) are critical for goal-directed cognition (GDC), which is known to decline with advancing age. Here, we investigated whether a strategy-based executive control training intervention (GOALS) would alter recruitment of the FPCN and DAN in healthy older adults. We also investigated whether functional brain changes would be associated with improvements in GDC and structural integrity of frontal-posterior white matter tracts. Thirteen participants were randomly assigned to the five-week long GOALS training and 12 were randomly assigned to a time and intensity matched control intervention group. Both groups were tested before and after intervention on a goal-directed cognitive task while undergoing fMRI scanning. We observed post-training increases in activation within the FPCN during a selective working memory task requiring GDC in the GOALS training group as compared to the control group, p < .001. These increases were positively correlated with the integrity of white matter pathways connecting frontal and posterior brain regions in the GOALS group, p < .001. In conclusion, this study is the first to our knowledge to report changes in functional neural networks known to subserve GDC in older adults after training and relate these changes to the integrity of underlying white matter tracts.
Open Access
More than Meets the Eye: Visual Attention Biases in Individuals with Chronic Pain
(2015-01-26) Samantha R Fashler; Joel D Katz
The present study used eye-tracking technology to assess whether individuals who report chronic pain direct more attention to sensory pain-related words than do pain-free individuals. A total of 113 participants (51 with chronic pain, 62 pain-free) were recruited. Participants completed a dot-probe task, viewing neutral and sensory pain-related words while their reaction time and eye movements were recorded. Data were analyzed by mixed-design ANOVA with Group (chronic pain vs. pain-free) and Word type (sensory pain vs. neutral). Results showed a significant Group x Word type interaction effect for number of fixations, average visit duration, and late phase fixation duration, all greater for sensory pain vs. neutral words in the chronic pain group. None of the effects for reaction time was significant. Findings support the hypothesis that individuals with chronic pain display attentional biases towards pain-related stimuli and demonstrate the value of eye-tracking technology in measuring differences in visual attention variables.
Open Access
Psychoeducational Program for Breast Cancer Patients: A Pilot Study
(2015-01-26) Mamedova, Khuraman; Rich, Jill Bee
Cancer treatments adversely affect cognition in general and memory in particular. The current study focused on developing and investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of a group program for breast cancer survivors suffering from cognitive problems post cancer treatment. This intervention was designed to provide participants with specific memory and stress-reducing strategies. Three breast cancer survivors participated in this program, which included five 2-hour weekly sessions and one 1-hour follow-up session 1 month later. Assessment included self-report and objective measures. No statistical analyses were performed: all presented results are descriptive. The data hint that the intervention is associated with enhanced quality of life, satisfaction with memory abilities, and some increases in both the quality and quantity of effective memory and stress-reducing strategies of participants. Although the intervention is feasible, there were challenges to recruitment. Further research regarding content and delivery methods for cognitive interventions for breast cancer survivors is warranted.
Open Access
Impoverished Descriptions of Familiar Routes in Three Cases of Hippocampal Amnesia
(2015-01-26) Herdman, Katherine Anne; Rosenbaum, Shayna
Recent research has challenged classic theories of hippocampal function in spatial memory with findings that the hippocampus may be necessary for detailed representations of environments learned long ago, but not for remembering the gist or schematic aspects that are sufficient for navigating within those environments (Rosenbaum et al., 2000). We aimed to further probe distinctions between detailed and schematic representations of familiar environments with three hippocampal amnesic patients by testing them on a route description task and mental navigation tasks that assess the identity and location of landmarks, and distances and directions between them. The amnesic cases could describe basic directions along known, imagined routes, estimate distance and direction between well-known landmarks, and produce sketch maps with accurate layouts, suggestive of intact schematic representations. However, findings that patients’ route descriptions lack richness of detail, along with impoverished sketch maps and poor landmark recognition, substantiates previous findings that detailed representations are hippocampus-dependent.
Open Access
Examining the Relationship between Autobiographical Episodic Memory and Theory of Mind in Developmental Amnesia and with fMRI: The Role of Personal Familiarity
(2015-01-26) Rabin, Jennifer Sarah; Rosenbaum, Shayna
The purpose of this dissertation was to examine if, and under what conditions, autobiographical memory (AM) supported by the hippocampus benefits theory of mind (ToM). To this end, I attempted to address two main questions: (a) Are AM difficulties caused by early-onset hippocampal damage associated with impaired performance on standard measures of ToM (Experiment 1)? (b) Is AM and the brain regions that support it involved to a greater extent in imagining the experiences of personally known others compared to unknown others (Experiments 2, 3, and 4)? In Experiment 1, ToM abilities were examined in H.C., a young woman with impaired AM development due to early hippocampal damage. H.C. performed at the same level as controls on a wide range of ToM tests. These findings suggest that normal AM development is not critical for the development or expression of ToM, at least as measured by standard tests. In Experiment 2, healthy individuals were scanned with fMRI to test whether different neural and cognitive mechanisms support imagining the experiences of personally known others (pToM) versus unknown others (ToM). There was greater neural overlap between AM and pToM compared to pToM and ToM. Furthermore, a direct comparison between pToM and ToM revealed that midline regions associated with AM predominated during pToM, whereas more lateral regions associated with semantic memory predominated during ToM. These findings suggest that there are multiple routes to ToM and the extent to which AM is recruited depends, at least in part, on whether the target person is personally known. Experiment 3 corroborated the neuroimaging results reported in Experiment 2 by showing that H.C. was impaired at producing detailed descriptions of events relating to her own past as well as events relating to personally known others. In contrast, she was intact at describing events relating to unknown others. Experiment 4 explored the neural basis of H.C.’s performance on AM, pToM, and ToM. fMRI analyses revealed that measures of percent signal change and functional connectivity were equivalent between H.C. and controls across all conditions. These finding suggest that BOLD fMRI cannot necessarily distinguish between preserved and impaired behavioural performance in developmental amnesia. Overall, these results contribute substantially to our current understanding of the functional and neural relationship between AM and ToM, and add to the literature suggesting that the hippocampus plays a broader role in cognition beyond that of recalling past events.
Open Access
Which Eating Disorder Prevention Themes are Most Persuasive? Input from Clinical and Non-clinical Samples
(2015-08-12) Witton, Nicole Suzanne; Mills, Jennifer S
Eating disorder prevention programs have been shown to be an effective strategy in combating the development of disordered eating behaviours and attitudes in young women. However, such programs are typically broadband in their content and there is some research suggesting that eating disorder prevention programs directed at young women can have adverse effects. The current study examined adolescent responses to five specific prevention themes that are commonly used in prevention programs, in order to establish which themes were considered most persuasive (i.e., relevant, believable, and emotionally impactful), and had the greatest impact on behavioural intentions (i.e., intention to diet, intention to compare body). The prevention themes were evaluated by clinical participants (i.e., adolescents in treatment for diagnosed eating disorders) and non-clinical participants (i.e., university undergraduates with no current symptoms or history of eating disorders), and the responses of the two groups were compared. Group differences were found in overall persuasiveness ratings, such that clinical participants found the messages to be less persuasive overall than did non-clinical participants. Additionally, clinical participants reported no change in their behavioural intentions following exposure to the prevention themes, whereas non-clinical participants reported a lower intention to diet and make body comparisons after viewing the messages. It was unclear as to whether eating disorder status was exclusively responsible for these group differences, as participant age also appeared to contribute to our findings. The current research found differences in how adolescents respond to common eating disorder prevention messages, which has implications for future treatment and prevention initiatives.
Open Access
Effects of Practice on Learning and Retention of Tool-Related Motor Skills in Parkinson's Disease
(2015-08-28) Fernandes, Holly Ann; Park, Norman W.
Previous research revealed that individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) show preserved learning of tool-related motor skills within a session. However, as a possible result of striatal dysfunction, retention has been found to be impaired after a 3-week delay. The goal of the current study was to further examine motor skill impairments related to complex tool use in PD by investigating the effects that different delays and extensive practice have on performance. PD participants and controls were trained on novel tools over four sessions, and motor skill performance was investigated by examining patterns of learning and forgetting over time. Results showed that PD participants were unimpaired in motor skill learning within sessions, but they did not retain these skills between sessions. In spite of forgetting, with practice, individuals with PD still demonstrated improvement across sessions. These findings indicate that people with PD may benefit from extensive practice when learning tool-related motor skills.
Open Access
An Empirical Phenomenological-Psychological Investigation of Urinary Urgency in Incontinent Women
(2015-08-28) Miceli, Paula; Katz, Joel D.
Many barriers to help seeking for urinary incontinence (UI) have been reported in the literature. In the past decade, studies of Overactive Bladder Syndrome (OABS), a condition characterized by symptoms of urinary urgency with or without urgency incontinence, have suggested that urinary urgency may be a useful target to promote recognition of continence problems at earlier stages of illness. This qualitative study was conducted to advance health promotion through the clarification of the phenomenon of urinary urgency in ambulatory incontinent women diagnosed with OABS. Ten female patients with a diagnosis of OABS or mixed UI with clinically significant urinary urgency were recruited at a community urological clinic. Interviews were conducted to obtain descriptions of situations in which urinary urgency occurred. Three transcripts were analyzed using the empirical phenomenological-psychological approach and a single psychological structure was generated. Phenomenological reflections revealed that urinary urgency was an episodic phenomenon that was lived through in association with a concomitant urine flow (flow urgency) or a sense of imminent flow (pre-flow urgency). During episodes of urinary urgency, participants were aware that they lacked the capacity to contain urine in a situation (sense of inefficacy), and they felt “pressed” to get to a toilet quickly, as well as uncertain about being able to get to a toilet before urine leakage emerged. Irrespective of whether urine leakage occurred, all participants described emotional sequelae related to the disclosure of urinary flow to others (i.e., distress, embarrassment, sense of inadequacy), which the women attempted to alleviate using material, psychological, relational, and medical strategies. The emotional impact was intensified when access to toilets was hindered by idiographic health and environmental circumstances. These structural features may be useful for enhancing communication between healthcare practitioners and patients regarding urgency during consultations. The results supported a conception of urine containment as an embodied, generative capability that is influenced by one sense of efficacy, or self belief in that capability. The results also supported the need to explore ways in which self-efficacy could be enhanced in patients diagnosed with OABS as a means to promote therapeutic change.
Open Access
The Impact of Motivational Interviewing on Client Response to the Treatment Rationale Within Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Generalized Anxiety
(2015-08-28) Kertes, Angela Leah; Westra, Henny Alice
Motivational Interviewing (MI) has been applied to the treatment of anxiety disorders in an effort to bolster engagement with and response rates to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Although the addition of MI to CBT has been widely advocated, little is known about the impact of MI on therapy process in CBT. The current study used the Structural Analysis of Social Behaviour (SASB) coding system to discern interpersonal processes (i.e., therapist-client interactions) within therapy sessions from an existing dataset of a clinical trial of MI plus CBT for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The outcome data from the trial demonstrated that the addition of MI significantly improved response to CBT, specifically for those of the highest worry severity at baseline. The current study systematically examined the impact of having received MI (or not) on interpersonal processes following the presentation of the treatment rationale in the first session of CBT, a theoretically meaningful point in the CBT treatment process. In particular, SASB was employed to code 20 video-taped sessions for clients of high worry severity who either received MI as a pre-treatment to CBT (n=10) or who did not receive MI prior to CBT (n=10). MI has been found to decrease client resistance and increase client engagement and motivation for therapy in previous studies. Therefore, it was expected that those who received MI prior to CBT would be more receptive to the CBT treatment rationale and would engage in more affiliative interpersonal processes. Findings revealed that, following the presentation of the CBT treatment rationale, clients who did not receive MI prior to CBT both separated from the therapist and deferred significantly more to the therapist than those who received MI prior to CBT. Moreover, these clients shifted the focus away from themselves and onto the therapist at significantly higher rates than clients who received MI prior to CBT. Accordingly, therapists of clients who did not receive MI both shifted the focus away from the client and onto themselves at significantly higher rates than the MI group, and also engaged in more controlling behaviour than therapists of clients who received MI. These findings have significant implications for improving processes within CBT at theoretically meaningful moments in therapy.
Open Access
Relating a Model of Resolution of Arrested Anger to Outcome in Emotion-Focused Therapy of Depression
(2015-08-28) Tarba, Liliana Ramona; Greenberg, Leslie S.
The present study explored essential client performances believed to be involved in depression resolution with arrested anger at its core for 32 cases. The five predictors were: 1. marker of arrested anger, 2. the expression of assertive anger, 3. empathic and insightful understanding of the Other/Self-Critic, 4. expression of primary adaptive sadness, and 5. letting go/forgiving the Other/Self-Critic. Two independent, blind to outcome raters used The Marker of Arrested Anger Rating Scale (MAARS) and The Resolution of Depression Components Scale (RDCS), both 5-point scales developed during the study, to measure the predictors. The average of "peak" ratings was used. Final outcome was assessed using change scores on three self-report measures: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II, depressive symptomatology), Global Severity Index (GSI, global symptomatology), and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP, interpersonal difficulties). Pearson’s correlations indicated the marker of arrested anger is strongly related with pre-treatment BDI-II scores (r = .78, p<.001), but not GSI and IIP. Simultaneous regressions analyses showed that taken together, the components of resolution significantly predicted changes in BDI-II scores (64% of the overall variance explained), but not in GSI and IIP. Assertive anger expression is a unique independent predictor of BDI-II and GSI change scores (42% and 35% variance explained), but not of IIP change scores. Letting go/forgiving was another independent predictor of BDI-II change scores (23% variance explained). No other components of resolution independently predicted outcome. The results are discussed in light of existing research in depression and emotional processing in EFT.
Open Access
Fractionating Executive Control in the Human Brain: A Within-Subjects fMRI Study
(2015-08-28) Lemire-Rodger, Sabrina; Turner, Gary
Executive control processes have been found to cluster around three factors: updating, inhibition and task switching. However, few studies have directly investigated the fractionation of executive control in the brain, and none have examined convergent and divergent patterns of neural activity for all three using matched tasks in a single scanning protocol. Using a novel paradigm that manipulates executive control demands while keeping other task demands constant, we directly assessed the dissociability of the neural correlates of updating, inhibition and task switching. Our analyses revealed diverse patterns of brain activity associated with each executive control process. Though several interpretations of the data are considered, our results provide strong evidence that executive functions are dissociable at the level of the brain.