Voice phenomenology as a mirror of the past

Background Post-traumatic mechanisms are theorised to contribute to voice-hearing in people with psychosis and a history of trauma. Phenomenological links between trauma and voices support this hypothesis, as they suggest post-traumatic processes contribute to the content of, and relationships with, voices. However, research has included small samples and lacked theory-based comprehensive assessments. Method In people with distressing voices (n = 73) who experienced trauma prior to voice-hearing, trauma–voice links were assessed both independently and dependently (descriptions were presented and rated separately and together, respectively) by both participants and researchers. A structured coding frame assessed four types of independent links (i.e. victimisation type, physiological-behavioural, emotional, and cognitive response themes including negative self-beliefs) and three types of dependent links: relational (similar interaction with/response to, voice and trauma); content (voice and trauma content are exactly the same); and identity (voice identity is the same as perpetrator). Results Independent links were prevalent in participants (51–58%) and low to moderately present in researcher ratings (8–41%) for significant themes. Identification of negative self-beliefs in trauma was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of negative self-beliefs in voices [participants odds ratio (OR) 9.8; researchers OR 4.9]. Participants and researchers also reported many dependent links (80%, 66%, respectively), most frequently relational links (75%, 64%), followed by content (60%, 25%) and identity links (51%, 22%). Conclusion Trauma appears to be a strong shaping force for voice content and its psychological impact. The most common trauma–voice links involved the experience of cognitive-affective psychological threat, embodied in relational experiences. Trauma-induced mechanisms may be important intervention targets.

Teaching Compassionate Mind Training to help midwives cope with traumatic clinical incidents

Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) is taught to cultivate compassion and teach midwives how to care for themselves. The need to build midwives' resilience is recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), who advocate that mental health coping strategies be embedded into the midwifery curriculum. In this respect, CMT can be used as a resilience-building method to help midwives respond to self-criticism and threat-based emotions with compassion. The underpinnings of CMT involve understanding that people can develop cognitive biases or unhelpful thinking patterns, co-driven by an interplay between genetics and the environment. Within this paper, the underpinning theory of CMT and how it can be used to balance psychological threat, drive, and soothing systems are outlined. To contextualise the application to midwifery practice, a traumatic incident has been discussed. Teaching CMT has the potential to improve professional quality of life, and reduce midwife absence rates and potential attrition from the profession.

Guilt, Greed and Remorse: Manifestations of the Anglo-Irish Other in J. S. Le Fanu’s “Madame Crowl’s Ghost” and “Green Tea”

Monsters and the idea of monstrosity are central tenets of Gothic fiction. Such figures as vampires and werewolves have been extensively used to represent the menacing Other in an overtly physical way, identifying the colonial Other as the main threat to civilised British society. However, this physically threatening monster evolved, in later manifestations of the genre, into a more psychological, mind-threatening being and, thus, werewolves were left behind in exchange for psychological fear. In Ireland, however, this change implied a further step. Traditional ethnographic divisions have tended towards the dichotomy Anglo-Irish coloniser versus Catholic colonised, and early examples of Irish Gothic fiction displayed the latter as the monstrous Other. However, the nineteenth century witnessed a move forward in the development of the genre in Ireland. This article shows how the change from physical to psychological threat implies a transformation or, rather, a displacement—the monstrous Other ceases to be Catholic to instead become an Anglo-Irish manifestation. To do so, this study considers the later short fictions of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and analyses how theDublin-born writer conveys his postcolonial concerns over his own class by depicting them simultaneously as the causers of and sufferers from their own colonial misdeeds.

‘Policing’ a pandemic: Garda wellbeing and COVID-19

In response to the global pandemic COVID-19, the Irish government has called upon the Garda Síochána to implement an unparalleled mode of policing to mitigate and contain the spread of the Coronavirus. Studies investigating smaller scale epidemics, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), indicate that staff at the frontlines of an outbreak are exposed to an insuperable amount of stress and experience increased psychological morbidities as a result. Furthermore, research not only indicates that heighted levels of psychological distress are an occupational hazard associated with the law enforcement profession, but that members of the Garda Síochána feel their mental health needs are largely unmet by their organisation. Given the pandemic’s propensity to expose officers to indeterminate echelons of physical and psychological threat; there has never been a more appropriate time to explore the potential burdens associated with ‘policing’ a pandemic, question the governments capacity to address the psychological support needs of frontline professionals, and plan future research for best practice.