Psychological profile of pet owners in Isfahan, Iran

This study aimed to compare the psychological profile of pet owners with the ones who didn’t own any pets. The research method was a casual-comparative study. Pet owners and people without pets were included in this research which was done in Iran in February 2017. One hundred and sixty people were selected in this sample in a nonrandom available sampling method and matched in terms of demographic characteristics. Eighty people, pet owners, were referred to the veterinary clinics and 80 didn’t own any pets. They were assessed by a psychological signs inventory. The result of ANOVA indicated that pet owners and those without any pets were indifferent in the characteristics of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, hostility, paranoid, interpersonal sensitivity, and psychosis, while those without any pets, statistically had a higher average in somatization and depression than the pet owners and it could be justified by corrective emotional experience, displacement, and sublimation in the pet owner. This statistic can be based on the fact that pet owners use these animals as an object for thrilling topics which is a factor to decrease their psychological stress and increase their physical health.

The Origins of the Leading Edge in Kohut's Work

This article traces the evolution of the concept of the leading edge in Kohut's work. The leading edge is defined as the growth-promoting dimension of the transference. The authors argue that although Kohut did not ever use the term explicitly in his writings—Marian Tolpin (2002), one of Kohut's gifted pupils, introduced the concept into the psychoanalytic literature in the form of the forward edge—the idea of the leading edge was already present in nascent form in Kohut's earliest papers and became ever more central as his psychology of the self evolved and the concept of the selfobject transference took center stage. Kohut, it is argued, could not fully develop the idea of working with the leading edge for fear of being accused of advocating for a corrective emotional experience in psychoanalytic treatment. However, in his posthumous empathy paper (1982) Kohut came as close as he could to endorsing the leading edge as pivotal in all psychoanalytic work.

Viewing Psychodynamic/Interpersonal Theory and Practice Through the Lens of Memory Reconsolidation

In this chapter, the case is made that the procedure for memory reconsolidation (MR) is compatible with the strategies and interventions of modern psychodynamic psychotherapy. In particular the concept of the corrective emotional experience (CEE) is seen as integral to the MR process. A measure (the Narrative-Emotional Processing Coding System [NEPCS]) was used to code transcripts from a case being seen in Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy. Results indicate that the NEPCS was able to track key shifts consistent with the MR process and CEE. One implication of this work is that psychodynamic therapists might be able to use an MR framework intentionally to foster enduring change more effectively and efficiently.

Assimilative Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Assimilative psychodynamic psychotherapy maintains a relational psychodynamic focus and methodology but assimilates interventions from other orientations seamlessly when it might help to facilitate treatment for the patient. In order to understand the potential value of these interventions drawn from other orientations, accommodation is necessary. This is done by means of an expanded three-tier model. The importance of the therapeutic relationship, particularly with regard to providing a corrective emotional experience, and the value of self-understanding is stressed. An illustrative case is presented, research summarizing the equivalent efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy is presented, and directions for future development are suggested.

How to Assess the Impacts of Interventions

Whenever individual psychodynamic techniques are applied, it is important to quickly assess their proximal clinical impacts. Therefore, this chapter focuses on helping clinicians identify the many, and sometimes subtle, signs that an intervention was either corroborated or disconfirmed. Common examples of both sets of patient signs are included. Some characteristic indicators of corroboration include the generation of new and emotionally rich clinical material. Signs of disconfirmation may include the patient verbally rejecting the intervention, stalled free association, or an alliance rupture. However, clinical context is important to consider, as indicators may vary greatly across patients and according to their relative location on the supportive–expressive continuum. Finally, the concept of a corrective emotional experience is discussed as another possible clinical impact. Clinical criteria for an in-session corrective emotional experience are proposed.

Using Creative Arts in Trauma Therapy: The Neuroscience of Healing

Knowledge about the brain and the impact of trauma has increased significantly in recent years. Counselors must understand brain functioning and the effects of trauma in order to choose the most effective methods for working with clients. Creative arts therapies offer a nonthreatening way for clients to access and express their trauma, creating a corrective experience in the brain. Activities that incorporate body movement can be particularly helpful by providing a corrective emotional experience for those clients with an immobilized response to a traumatic event. This article offers a model for the assessment and treatment of trauma through the use of creative arts.

Case Studies in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP):Reflections on the Case of "Rosa"

Systematic case studies can benefit understanding of the process and outcome of Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP; Fosha, 2000) and other affect-focused and experiential therapies by expanding the scope of investigation from the moment-to-moment emotional change on which these therapies are particularly strong to changes that occur over and across sessions. Systematic case studies are also important because the link between in-session changes and changes in the client behavior and interpersonal relationships in daily life can be explored. In the engaging AEDP case study of "Rosa" (Vigoda Gonzales, 2018), the language switching that allowed Rosa to access painful emotions had an additional relational implication in that the therapist was able to directly connect to Rosa’s child self, which was encoded in a different language than her adult self. I suspect that this prevented Rosa and the therapist from running into difficulties due to the potential mismatch in their backgrounds. Corrective emotional experience seen in this therapy confirmed the finding by my own case study research team (Nakamura & Iwakabe, 2018b) that client therapeutic gains are most clearly reflected in new relationships rather than existing attachment relationships. My commentary concludes with some questions posed to the author relating to the issue of effective training in empathic attunement and working with strong emotions in therapy.