Listen and you will see the person through the dementia

Dementia is an ever-increasing health and social problem, with a growing number of people being affected worldwide. As dementia progresses, dependency on others increases, requiring the presence of caregivers. Caregivers tend to focus on the diagnosis itself – dementia – which makes it difficult to see the person in their uniqueness. The person is there, and can be seen by listening, which requires time and communication skills. The voices of older adults living with several types of dementia, collected while working as a psychologist in a nursing home, are presented in the first person to bring forward the person they are. These excerpts of interactions illustrate the basic psychological need of relatedness, which is built through interaction, stories, and touch, and the needs of competence and autonomy. The framework of this paper encompasses validation therapy, person-centered care, and self-determination theory. Two conclusions emerge: Seeing the person through the dementia enables an adequate psychological assessment and a helpful supportive psychotherapy, and it also makes us acknowledge and help satisfy the three basic psychological needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy.

Instrumentos utilizados na avaliação psicológica no tratamento da obesidade: revisão integrativa

Os instrumentos utilizados na avaliação psicológica no tratamento clínico ou cirúrgico da obesidade tem grande relevância no resultado e processo da avaliação. Identificar personalidade, ansiedade, depressão e compulsão alimentar é fundamental, pois são fatores que podem afetar diretamente na manutenção do peso e adesão ao tratamento. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar a literatura científica sobre instrumentos utilizados na avaliação psicológica da pessoa obesa. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa realizada nas bases de dados: BVS, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), da National Library, com os seguintes descritores controlados: "psychometrics”, "psychological test", “Psychological Assessment”, "psychologist", "obesity", "overweight" e o descritor não controlado "psychological assessment” e os operadores booleanos “OR” e “AND”. Ao final das buscas, 14 publicações atenderam aos critérios de análise e foram selecionadas para o estudo. Diante dos estudos selecionados, encontramos 52 ferramentas utilizadas na avaliação, dentre eles, os mais utilizados nos programas de perda de peso foram respectivamente o Beck Depression Inventory – BDI (Inventário de Depressão de Beck); o Binge Eating Scale - BES (Escala de Compulsão Alimentar Periódica - TCAP); e a Escala Hospitalar de Ansiedade e Depressão – HADS. Essa pesquisa nos dá evidências importantes para elaboração instrumentos específicos do tratamento da obesidade no Brasil.

Psychological Assessment: a systematic review of the literature / Avaliação psicológica: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

Psychological assessment is a practical application of professional psychologists working in different areas of health, education, safety, traffic and so on. as well as it can be applied in different contexts and at different moments of human development. Given the above, this article aimed to conduct a literature review to understand the paths built by psychological assessment in their contexts, ramifications and future possibilities, through a search in sources such as books, articles published in journals indexed in the main scientific databases from Brazil and the world, in order to promote a compilation of the main findings of science on the subject, in the light of different views and areas of psychology, education science and human health in general. To this end, a literature review was carried out, from scientific sources such as books, articles, dissertations, theses and monographs, in specialized websites and in scientific databases such as Scielo, Scopus, Lilacs, among others. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were used, filtering texts in Portuguese or English that were relevant to the theme. Theoretical data were analyzed and discussed between the authors and their views. Based on the research, it is possible to conclude that psychological assessment is a tool that directs the psychologist's therapeutics and praxis in educational, clinical, criminal contexts, among others. It is understood from the data in the literature that psychological assessment needs theoretical and practical knowledge, aligning and directing the procedure and guiding the correct diagnosis. Being the psychologist's responsibility, psychological assessment needs ethical procedures based on the professional psychologist's code of ethics, for collective and individual well-being in professional practice.

The emotional aspects of and psychological assessment for aesthetic, cosmetic and non-surgical treatments

Kimberley Cairns explores relevant psychology-related developments as a part of the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners' core principles and functions

Zur Aufhebung von Scheinerinnerungen: Neue Befunde von Oeberst et al. (2021) und ihre aktuelle Übertragbarkeit in die forensische Praxis

A current finding by Oeberst et al. (2021) suggests a reversal of false memories of autobiographical events by means of source and false memory sensitization. The use of both techniques led to a significant reduction in the recollection quality of false memories in the sample examined. At the same time, the quality of memories of true experiences was barely diminished. Such results are seldom and significant, transferring them into forensic practice would be beneficial. However, if the meaningfulness and potential transferability of the results is examined more closely against the backdrop of forensic practice’s demands, it becomes apparent that using techniques in such a manner has not yet been sufficiently investigated and empirically verified. This applies to the psychological assessment of credibility as for the police questioning of witnesses. More details are discussed in the present article, whereby the study by Oeberst et al, its results, informative value and validity is successively and primarily referred to in relation to the psychological assessment of credibility.