Social Connection Planning for Lonely or Socially Isolated Older Adults

Social connections are important for maintaining health and well-being with age. Behavioral interventions to promote connectedness hold promise, but there is limited evidence to guide effective modifications in the context of physical distancing or quarantine restrictions, such as those required during the COVID-19 pandemic. We present evidence for a brief (1-2 session) social connection intervention, “Connections Planning,” to enhance social connectedness for older adults. We first describe a cognitive-behavioral model of loneliness, which served as the framework for developing the intervention. We then present two case examples to demonstrate the application of the intervention with older adults in a community mental health clinic during physical distancing restrictions. Finally, we present initial findings from a pilot study to examine the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention delivered remotely with up to 10 community-dwelling older adults who endorse clinically significant loneliness. Recommendations for adapting the intervention during physical distancing restrictions are provided.

Cognitive Behavioral Crisis Intervention Model for Health Care Professionals in Pakistan

The health care professionals (HCPs) in Pakistan are vulnerable to the negative psychological impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The shortage of trained HCPs in Pakistan coupled with vulnerable infrastructure and depleted resources make the situation a source of psychological reactions like fear, anger, anxiety, and depression for HCPs during COVID-19 outbreak. These psychological reactions are produced by the preceding thoughts and emotions according to the cognitive behavioral model. Therefore, a cognitive behavioral crisis intervention model (CBCIM) is proposed with aim of helping HCPs deal with these psychological reactions efficiently. The common components of CBCIM include the cognitive restructuring of the negative thoughts, teaching of relaxation and mindfulness exercises, the teaching of ACT-ADD approach and use of coping cards, district wise team-based action plan and the provision of these services to HCPs regularly even after the end of COVID -19 pandemic.

Associations Among the Big Five Personality Traits, Maladaptive Cognitions, and Internet Addiction Across Three Time Measurements in 3 Months During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The present study examined the longitudinal association among the Big Five personality traits, maladaptive cognitions, and Internet addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 481 Chinese university students (247 men; mean age = 20.31 years) were surveyed three times (interval of 1 month) by using the Chinese version of the Big Five Personality Traits Scale, Maladaptive Cognitions Scale, and Internet Addiction Scale. The results of a cross-lagged panel analysis highlighted that (i) extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness were negatively associated with maladaptive cognitions and Internet addiction, whereas neuroticism was found to be positively associated with maladaptive cognitions and Internet addiction across time; (ii) associations among the Big Five personality traits, maladaptive cognitions, and Internet addiction were dynamic and bidirectional; and (iii) maladaptive cognitions played mediating roles in extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and Internet addiction across time. The Big Five personality traits, maladaptive cognitions, and Internet addiction predicted each other across time, and maladaptive cognitions were likely to be the key mediating factor in the associations between the Big Five personality traits and Internet addiction, which supported and expanded the Davis’ cognitive–behavioral model.

Cognitive-Behavioral Model of Generalized Anxiety Disorder Psychotherapy

Among the variations of anxiety disorders, generalized anxiety disorder is considered to be one of the most problematic. In times of intense social transformation, the issue of mental health of the youth, in particular the prevalence of tendencies to generalized anxiety disorder among young people arises. For this reason, the purpose of the article is to investigate the propensity of young students to excessive experiences and propose a model of understanding and treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive-behavioral methodology is used while the study for understanding generalized anxiety disorder, PSWQ experience questionnaire, WWS-II experience value scale, and two survey items. The results of the study show that 18% of the youth surveyed have a high level of anxiety. Such young people can be considered a risk group for generalized anxiety disorder. The results of the study indicate that respondents with a high level of worry are statistically more likely to perceive worries as those helping them to solve problems, motivate them to act and are able to prevent negative results. Such positive beliefs about the experience may reduce the perceived need to seek help from psychologists and psychotherapists. A description of the clinical case is given and the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions is demonstrated. An algorithm for working with clients is proposed, which is based on a modern protocol for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. It includes: qualified examination; reassessment of the usefulness of the worry; assistance in a realistic understanding of ambiguous situations as such that are not clearly threatening; rethinking attitudes to situations of uncertainty; use of exposures for the purpose of deeper processing of the stimulus in a nonverbal way; skills of overcoming negative emotions without avoiding them. An attempt to combine the clinical paradigm and the scientific position is made in the article. Nowadays there are very few studies based on cognitive-behavioral methodology in Ukraine.

Conceptualizations of ‘cyberchondria’ and relations to the anxiety spectrum: A systematic review and meta-analyses (Preprint)

BACKGROUND “Cyberchondria” describes detrimental effects of health-related Internet use. Current conceptualizations agree that cyberchondria is associated with anxiety-related pathologies and might best be conceptualized as a safety behavior, but little is known about its exact underlying mechanisms. OBJECTIVE The present systematic review and meta-analyses were conducted (a) to give an overview of conceptualizations of cyberchondria and its relation to anxiety-related pathologies, (b) to quantify the strength of association to health anxiety by using meta-analytic analyses, and (c) to highlight gaps in the literature, and (d) to outline a hypothetical integrative cognitive-behavioral model of cyberchondria based on the available empirical evidence. METHODS A systematic literature search was conducted using the PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycInfo electronic databases. N = 25 studies were included for the qualitative and n = 7 studies, comprising N = 3,069 individuals, for the quantitative synthesis. Meta-analyses revealed a strong association of cyberchondria (r = .63) and its subfacets (rs = .24 - .66) to health anxiety. RESULTS Results indicate that cyberchondria is a construct distinct, yet related to, health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, intolerance of uncertainty, and anxiety sensitivity. Further studies should distinguish between state and trait markers of anxiety-related pathologies and use experimental and naturalistic longitudinal designs to differentiate among risk factors, triggers, and consequences related to cyberchondria. CONCLUSIONS Health-related Internet use in the context of health anxiety is best conceptualized as a health-related safety behavior maintained through intermittent reinforcement. We present a corresponding integrative cognitive-behavioral model.

MUTISMO SELETIVO: considerações teóricas e as contribuições da terapia cognitivo-comportamental

The Selective Mutism is a disorder that affects children, characterized by the lack of oral communication in social exposure environments, being mainly identified at the beginning of the school term. This is a review article, in order to analyze in literature studies on the contributions of Therapy Cognitive-Behavioral at work with children diagnosed with Selective Mutism, and the use of techniques effective for treatment. The literature review occurred through the search for articles in the databases: Pepsic, Scielo, BVS-Psi e Google Scholar. Throughout this research, boolean descriptors and operators were used: “Selective Mutism” AND “Childhood” AND “Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy” AND “Treatment”. From the review critical reading of articles, twelve journals were selected, in the period between 2014 and 2020, in which the data was collected and organized through file, until they are analyzed and included in relevant information for the topic. The results found demonstrate that, the treatment of children diagnosed with Selective Mutism must be performed early, considering the social and learning losses related to it. The Cognitive-Behavioral Model has been shown to be effective and supported by methods and techniques that help the treatment of Selective Mutism and other childhood anxiety disorders.

Session 1: An Overview of the Program

In this first chapter, information is provided about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and how it manifests in adolescents. The chapter describes the symptoms of ADHD and discusses why adolescents sometimes need additional therapy, even if they have been treated with medication for ADHD. The Cognitive Behavioral Model of ADHD is presented along with background information on how this program was developed. It includes descriptions of the supporting research studies and the findings from these studies. Attention is paid to debunking some myths about ADHD, such that individuals with ADHD are lazy and/or not intelligent. Information is provided regarding what clients can expect when participating in the program, as well as descriptions of each of the modules of the treatment program. Use of task lists and calendar systems is introduced, and motivation for change is discussed.

Session 1: An Overview of This Treatment Program

In this first chapter, information is provided about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and how it manifests in adolescents. The chapter describes the symptoms of ADHD and discusses why adolescents sometimes need additional therapy, even if they have been treated with medication for ADHD. The Cognitive Behavioral Model of ADHD is presented along with background information on how this program was developed. It includes descriptions of the supporting research studies and the findings from these studies. Attention is paid to debunking some myths about ADHD, such that individuals with ADHD are lazy and/or not intelligent. Information is provided regarding what clients can expect when participating in the program, as well as descriptions of each of the modules of the treatment program. Use of task lists and calendar systems is introduced and motivation for change is discussed.