@PsychBlog

 In psychology and social circles, validation means the feeling that other people approve of and accept you (Cambridge Dictionary, 2022). Validation is the ability to communicate understanding the other person’s current state and accepting it, free from morality.

 Feel, think, and act is often beyond our understanding, and the narratives we believe in giving some sense of comprehension will be biased and flawed. How someone should think, feel, or behave are important moral questions. However, they have no place in the sanctuary of validation.

 Therefore, tension arises as we need to recognise social norms, laws, and behavioural guidelines to ensure a functioning, safe society; however, we also need to create a place where people feel listened to, accepted, and not judged.

    A delicate balance is required, and people must take time to think about what they say and reflect on conversations past to ensure we are becoming adept at understanding the cues in social situations to validate or to moralise.

 Invalidation is proving that an opinion or argument is wrong (Invalidation, 2022). According to Marsha Linehan, invalidating environments occurs when “the expression of private experiences is not validated” (Linehan, 1993). Invalidating environments can happen in our family home, school, workplace, and own head.

  Three main types of invalidation (Rathus, 2015) include.

 ·         Type 1 Invalidation: Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviours

·         Type 2 Invalidation: Lower-Level Expressions of Emotion Are Ignored or Punished, and Emotional

Escalation Is Sometimes Given Greater Attention

·         Type 3 Invalidation: The Ease of Problem Solving and Meeting Goals Is Overstated Oversimplified

No more explicit pictures arise than the childhood movie Matilda as the difference between a validating and invalidating environment.

 It is easy for all of us to fall into moralising mode, “I don’t like it therefore you can’t do it”, and sometimes it is, of course, necessary, but not all the time. Sometimes a “that makes sense to me” or a “wow, that sounds tough” can be what is most needed……. especially when talking to ourselves.  

 For further information, see the link below

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-emotional-validation-425336

 References

Cambridge Dictionary. (2022, February 3rd ). Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/validation

Invalidation. (2022, February 3rd). Retrieved from Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/invalidation

Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-Behavioural treatment of borderline personality disorder. In M. Linehan, Cognitive-Behavioural treatment of borderline personality disorder (p. 49). New York: Guilford.

After a year of up’s & downs, I am pleased to announce that our own Social Prescribing Project is ready to begin. Following from last years posts this project has been in the making for some time so for further information please visit https://www.connectedtownsville.com.au/ and share :)

Social Prescribing

 In Biopsychosocial model of health, we often refer to the bio (biology) as referring to the typical medical establishment of doctors, specialists, nurses, hospitals, and medication. Moving to the psycho (psychological) we refer to mental health and all associated specialists in this area. Bio-Psycho covering all Allied health resources and typically most of all healthcare-based research, assessment, interventions, and funding. So where is the social?

 Social approaches to health take a big picture view. This includes Social capital which refers to the networks, norms of reciprocity, and trust among members of a neighborhood or community that develop through social interaction and mutual co-operation (Haslam et al., pg.7, 2018). The idea being the greater the social capital the better the society functions with higher indicators in wellbeing and economics.

 Another Social approach is referred to the Social Determinants of health approach which focuses on the relationship between social inequality and health (Haslam et al., pg.8, 2018). The idea being through addressing inequality we improve the health of individuals who suffer due to no fault of their own.  

 It is through these bigger approaches to health that public policy and investment in community organisation’s is formed.  Purely for the purpose as stated by Putnam (2000), As a rough rule of thumb, if you belong to no groups but decide to join one, you cut your risk of dying over the next year in half”. Better for the individual and better for the group.

 Tremendous leaps in infrastructure and public health care management have enabled referral pathways to and from the Bio and the Psycho of health, yet the Social is still lacking. There is a need for the connection between enabling people with at risk health to join social structures that can help them. This is where Social prescribing comes into play. 

 Social prescribing is the practice where health professionals, including GPs, have the resources and infrastructure to link patients with social services – or even social groups – in a bid to address the social determinants contributing to poor health and stave off the epidemic of loneliness and social isolation. A GP may, for example, suggest a patient join a local running group to enjoy the benefits of exercise and interaction (https://chf.org.au/social-prescribing 2020).

 For people who are already struggling with overwhelming issues, stress, and life, it is near impossible to find time or instigate the process of joining a social group. Social prescribing takes out this chore through the development of a structured social project that contains hundreds of different groups and programs that can be accessed by the individual in a supported approach.

 Person presents to GP or Allied Health professional >

Professional identifies social identity issues and refers to social group

 The referral to a group is facilitated by the Social Prescribing Project. @psychology is starting their own project named ‘Connected’ which health care professionals will be able to refer people to so as to access appropriate social groups.

 Reference

Today is International Women’s Day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, scientific and political achievements of women. It is a day to recognise the achievements of all women from across the world and disciplines, it is also a day to recognise and celebrate the collective effort of women to stand against institutionalised and cultural discrimination which has persisted for thousands of years.

The persecution of women has only started to change in recent times. In Australia only in the last 60 years have women;

- Had access to the contraceptive pill (only with a prescription and a husband) 1961 - Aboriginal women recognised as citizens 1967 - Following a lift in the ‘Marriage Bar’ which required women to leave their jobs once they were married, women could continue to work in Public Service following marriage 1969 - Been able to access prohibitively conditioned abortion rights 1969 - Been able to drink in QLD public bars following a lift of a ban 1970 - File for no-fault divorce 1975 - Be able to prosecute rape in a marriage after it was finally outlawed in SA in 1976 - Theoretically have access to equal pay, rights and freedom from discrimination with the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1984

The above short list highlights the struggles and tribulations of women in Australia and the abhorrent discrimination that women have survived in modern history. Although culture is undoubtedly benefited from the recent progressive leaps it still subjects women to less pay, greater domestic violence and blaming women for sexual abuse.

Misogyny is the hatred of, contempt for or prejudice against women and girls. It is important to identify its origins and the institutions that perpetuate it so it can be stopped. In the defiance of misogyny women like Elizabeth H. Blackburn (first australian female noble laureate), Tayla Harris (AFLW star and professional boxer) and Julia Gillard (First female Australian Prime Minister) demonstrate through their achievements that Misogyny’s long lived reign is coming to an end.

As Julia Gillard said in her landmark 2012 speech, “I say to the Leader of the Opposition I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. I will not. And the Government will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. Not now, not ever”.

References:

Today I just wanted to highlight an amazing resource that I use, and thousands of classrooms use every day. GoNoodle! This fun interactive app and website is available to everyone and is a great way to get kids moving and engaged.

GoNoodle taps into fun, movement and distraction which not only allows children to reset but then be able to go about an activity or task with restocked attention and concentration. GoNoodle is also a great example of how technology is a constant and the issue is not with technology but how we use it. Screen time can be interactive and advantageous when it is monitored, time limited and content restricted.

This is a great resource for children and families and I especially like focusing in on the flow and Mr.Catercise GoNoodles to help kids participate in mindfulness and build stronger brain body connections.  

To operate in a social world it’s important to have an understanding of what other people are thinking. This ability is named Theory of Mind. Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states — beliefs, intents, desires, emotions, knowledge — to oneself, and to others, and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are different from one's own (Premack & Woodruff, 1978).

Theory of Mind is tested in the Sally-Ann test by using a false belief. The child observes Sally and Anne together, putting a marble in a basket. Sally leaves the scene and Anne moves the marble to another location. The child is asked “where will Sally look for the marble?”

If the child has developed a Theory of Mind, they will answer “in the basket” because, although the child knows that the marble has been moved, it also knows that Sally is unaware of this and will go to where she had left it.

Young children approximately 4 years old can pass the Sally-Ann test demonstrating the development of Theory of Mind. This foundation of social cognition is pivotal in social interactions hence it’s early formation. However, such a skill in my experience can often be taken for granted and Theory of Mind is replaced with cognitive bias and assumptions that can be damaging to relationships.

As adults we are put to the Sally-Ann test on a daily basis when it comes to testing false beliefs in relationships. Remember that we might learn Theory of Mind at a young age but learning about beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions and values for the self and others is a life long experience.

Reference

Premack, D & Woodruff, G (1978). "Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?". Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 1 (4): 515–526

So now it is October and my muster for battle call in January feels very distant and leaves a twinge of embarrassment. For some of you though it might create a feeling of Shadenfreude, the illicit enjoyment of another’s bad luck. This emotion derives from the German Schaden (harm) and Freude (pleasure) but has long be written and referred to throughout human civilisation.

Shadenfreude is a curious emotion as from an early age we are taught to share, play nicely, empathise with others and congratulate and rejoice the good qualities of one another. So why do we build such an emotion? Why is the thrill of another’s misfortune a hidden human pleasure that we keep to ourselves?

As humans we work closely together, we live closely together and through emergence our independent selves have become part of much more complex intricate systems, similar to a lone neuron in the brain. Being part of such a system can be at times difficult, we might not understand certain outcomes or behaviours or decisions. Just being alive in such a system can be confusing, fearful and anxiety provoking.

Schadenfreude perhaps then could be built from the situation of another’s misfortune not because of malevolence (wishing harm on another) but because it reminds us that bad things happen to people and this time it didn’t happen to us. There can be a certain togetherness and unity when holding back a smile as a co-worker is berated for their overachieving, or another parents child is yelled at for inappropriate behaviour.

This week marks National Volunteers week and celebrates the tireless efforts of volunteers across the country. Give a little change a lot is the thee for 2018 and more information can be found here https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/nvw/.

Technology is a part of our lives and a useful tool in helping us through everyday activities. Self-care, relaxation and mindfulness are no exception to this. A growing part of my practice is the inclusion of mindfulness and relaxation activities.  In the 2017 Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Health of the nation report, Mental health was cited as a top-three issue by 65% of female GPs and 53% of male GPs.  These concerns were predominantly depression, mood disorders and anxiety. Self-care and relaxation exercises are pivotal to assisting people in lowering their overall stress responses and assist in the therapeutic process.

Easy to use applications that are freely available such as smiling mind (https://www.smilingmind.com.au/) , headspace (https://www.headspace.com/), What’s Up (https://au.reachout.com/tools-and-apps/whats-up)  or Mindshift (https://www.anxietybc.com/resources/mindshift-app) are great companions to therapy and assist anybody in maintaining a mindful or relaxation routine.

My current app of choice, however, is a paid app called Calm (https://www.calm.com/). This app has many great features, easy to use and assist with relaxation, mindfulness, seep, anxiety, depression and stress. Calm also offers master classes in areas of anxiety, depression and other ever-changing topics. For therapist or patient alike this is a useful app that I would recommend to anybody.

Referral

Psychologist Misconduct

According to a recent study by Kremer, Symmons & Furlonger (2018) between the period of 2008-2013, 42 Psychologists were found guilty of misconduct and malpractice in civil and administrative courts across Australia. Of the offenders 25 were male and 17 female. Transgressions included;

Boundary Violation

Profesisonal – Incompetence

Professional – Poor Communication

Poor Business practices

False use of Dr/Professor or specialist title

Professional – Poor reports

Misleading registration claim

Impairment (mental illness, addiction)

Kremer, Symmons & Furlonger (2018) found the most common category of transgression resulting in a court‐based guilty verdict for psychologists relates to inappropriate sexual liaisons, followed by professional incompetency, and then poor communication in the provision of services. Reasons for transgressions coalesced into three themes: the externalisation of responsibility for personal actions and behaviours, a lack of objectivity concerning why such behaviours occurred, and an inability to understand how personal circumstance affected the provision of ethical services to clients.

Glass in 2003 developed the guidelines around gray areas of boundary crossings and violations. Glass demonstrated his concept in a Venn diagram below;

 Undertaking psychotherapy is a personal journey and trust is of the utmost importance to form a therapeutic bond. In this process boundaries can sometimes be crossed, however, it is important to understand that these crossings whilst seemingly harmless can be the start of a slippery slope and regular supervision, client check-ins and objective reasoning is important safeguards against the possibilities of transgressions.  

Reference

Glass, L. L. (2003). The gray areas of boundary crossings and violations. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 57(4), 429-44. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/213131708?accountid=166958

Activity Based Work or Hotdesking is a shared office approach in which individuals do not have assigned work stations. Rather the office is designed to accommodate all employees on an as needs basis including IT access, meetings, networking etc. Immediately it is clear that the greatest benefit of such a design is that it maximises office space in that you can fit more employees into an a single area. This works by having an employee who is at their desk for 40% of the day and out of the office for 60% of the day. If we have 2 employees that meet this criteria then instead of 2 desks hypothetically they could work from 1. Less space per employee means less overheads and greater savings for the organisation. Another benefit for organisations that have multiple departments is that due to the office spaces being indifferent, departments can be moved and changed as needed throughout office spaces providing greater flexibility. 

So great benefits for the organisation but what about the individual? On average not so great. 

In a study by Morrison & Macky (2017) found that shared desk environments increased distrust, distractions, uncooperative behaviour and negative relationships. Shared desk environments were also found to have a decreased perception of supervisor support. In a study by Hirst (2011) in which observations were made of a team transitioning to a hotdesking system, it was found that social patterns still persisted in that some individuals would arrive early and settle in certain spaces whilst those who were unable to were termed “wanderers” resulting in bigger environmental changes and lower perceived identity at work. Both studies also cited the issue of having to pack up and set up desks on a daily basis which was perceived as a waste of time by employees and an inconvenience. 

On the face of it a shared desk environment makes sense, much like trickle down economics. However, it only makes sense from a financial standpoint and it is at the cost of employee wellbeing. That is not to say that some employees do not enjoy a flexible work environment where they can choose to take a space that is isolated, social, standing, sitting or anything in between but it is a preference and depends on their work style and demands. Workspaces need to accommodate the needs of the worker and should be a reflection of the various work roles of a team. 

References

Hirst, A. (2011). Settlers, vagrants and mutual indifference: Unintended consequences of hot-desking. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 24(6), 767-788. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09534811111175742

Purposeful behaviour has been a buzz phrase for me in the past few months and often working with clients we are inventing small seemingly unrelated purposeful behaviours to achieve. My reasoning for such small purposeful behaviours is not so much the behaviour change but the shift in perceived behavioural control. Behaviours are preceded by a range of variables and some the biggest predictors within that group are perceived behaviour control and attitude. This is demonstrated in the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) which was proposed by Icek Ajzen (1991).

 In a recent article by Arnautovska et al. (2018) which investigates Physical Activity (PA) in older adults, they provided a summary of TPB;

The TPB (Ajzen, 1991) proposes intention as the proximal predictor of behaviour. It is further hypothesised that intention is predicted by the three belief‐based constructs: attitude (advantages/disadvantages), subjective norm (perceived social approval/disapproval), and perceived behavioural control (facilitators/barriers). In addition, it is proposed that perceived behavioural control directly predicts behaviour. The strength of intention is predicted by a person's evaluation of the target behaviour, perceptions about approval of important others for performing the behaviour, and perceptions of control and ability in relation to behavioural performance. Findings from meta‐analyses support the predictive ability of attitudes and perceived behavioural control on intention, with a weaker subjective norm–intention relationship often found (Downs & Hausenblas, 2005; Hagger, Chatzisarantis, & Biddle, 2002). In line with these findings, a review of TPB‐based PA studies by Hagger et al. (2002), including persons of all ages, indicated that attitudes and perceived behavioural control were the best predictors of intention (ß = 0.40 and 0.33, respectively), and together with subjective norm predicted 45% of variance in intention. In addition, perceived behavioural control was found to be associated with PA, and together with intention explained 27% of the variance in behaviour.

Our behaviours are the end of the production line of cognitive assembly and therefore provide a function. Subjective norms, attitude and perceived behavioural control are key factors in the process and can be modified to result in modified intentions and therefore modified behaviours.

Reference

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

Arnautovska, U., Fleig, L., O’Callaghan, F., & Hamilton, K. (2018). Older Adult’s Physical Activity: The Integration of Autonomous Motivation and Theory of Planned Behaviour Constructs. Journal of Australian Psychologist, https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12346

Downs, D. S., & Hausenblas, H. A. (2005). The theories of reasoned action and planned behavior applied to exercise: A meta‐analytic update. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2(1), 76–97. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2.1.76

Reducing loneliness in later life

A recent study by Dawn et al. (2018) highlighted the major health concern of loneliness for the elderly and especially for those who are widowed. Loneliness is associated with a decrease in physical and psychological health (Coyle & Dugan, 2012). According to Holt-Lunstad, Smith & Layton (2010), mortality risk associated with lack of strong social relationships is similar to smoking, approximately double that of obesity and quadruple that of exposure to air pollution.

Dawn et al. (2018) found that widows experienced significantly higher levels of loneliness than those who continued to be married. However, the study revealed that widows who volunteered 2< hours per week had similar levels of loneliness to individuals continuing to marry and also volunteering at a similar intensity.  

Volunteering appears to influence health through psychosocial pathways like a positive emotional exchange, associated lifestyle factors (increased physical, cognitive, and social activity), self-esteem and purpose in life, as well as through stress-buffering effects that moderate the influence of stressors on health (Matz-Costa, Carr, McNamara & James, 2016).

Interestingly Dawn et al. (2018) also pointed out that not all volunteering is the same. Working and religious organisations were shown to have benefits for younger volunteers, however, not so for the elderly. It is believed that due to the individual's ages they are not assigned as meaningful or important tasks reducing the mutually beneficial outcome.

This study does a great job of highlighting the risk of loneliness as well as a direction to reduce this risk. Volunteering is great for all ages but perhaps it could even be lifesaving for those who have lost a close loved one in later life.  

Reference

Coyle, C. E., & Dugan, E. (2012). Social isolation, loneliness and health among older adults. Journal of Aging and Health, 24(8), 1346–1363. doi:10.1177/0898264312460275

Dawn C Carr, Ben Lennox Kail, Christina Matz-Costa, Yochai Z Shavit; Does Becoming A Volunteer Attenuate Loneliness Among Recently Widowed Older Adults?, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Volume 73, Issue 3, 2 March 2018, Pages 501–510, https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx092

Holt-Lunstad , J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 7, e1000316. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316

Canine Assisted Therapy of ironically CAT for short is growing in popularity and acceptance. This is a branch of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) that aims to include highly trained animals within the therapeutic context. CAT is currently still be researched and a paper recently released by Draysnik, Signal & Canoy (2018) indicates that it would be readily accepted by parents as part of a therapeutic intervention in working with children. Children who have experienced trauma have an increased risk of developing PTSD later in life. The current gold standard of assisting children who are experiencing difficulties following trauma is Trauma Focused – Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (TF-CBT). Draysnik, Signal & Canoy (2018) were exploring the acceptance of CAT within the PTSD child population due to a meta-analysis conducted by Hoagwood, Acri, Morrissey, and Peth‐Pierce (2017) which found promising results for CAT and childhood PTSD.

More research needs to be conducted within all forms of AAT to gain further understanding as to it’s mechanics and function. A literature review by Draysnik, Signal & Canoy (2018) stated that;

Extant research on the positive effects of canine‐human interactions (including the production of oxytocin, often referred to as the relational hormone, Beetz, Uvnas‐Moberg, Julius, & Kotrschal, 2012) strongly support the potential for CAT to facilitate the goals of TF‐CBT. Younger children in particular seem to have an innate attraction to canines, which may result from the predictability and simplicity that is characteristic of the behaviour of both (Zilcha‐Mano, Mikulincer, & Shaver, 2011). Just like dogs that derive affection from touch through petting, very young children experience similar affection from their caregivers by way of gentle touch and physical comfort (Levinson, 1984). Therefore, it is suggested that the inherent value of CAT is its potential to help younger children form a commitment to therapy through forming a comforting attachment to the therapy animal (Levinson, 1984).

Although more research is needed in to how best use animals within the therapeutic setting, it is already clear that there is benefits. I look forward to this area of research and hope to incorporate dogs, horses and even dolphins into future interventions.

 Reference

Beetz, A., Uvnas‐Moberg, K., Julius, H., & Kotrschal, K. (2012). Psychosocial and psychophysiological effects of human‐animal interactions: The possible role of oxytocin. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00234

Dravsnik, J., Signal, T., Canoy, D. (2018) Canine co‐therapy: The potential of dogs to improve the acceptability of trauma‐focused therapies for children, Australian Journal of Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12199

Hoagwood, K. E., Acri, M., Morrissey, M., & Peth‐Pierce, R. (2017). Animal‐assisted therapies for youth with or at risk for mental health problems: A systematic review. Applied Developmental Science, 21(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2015.1134267

Levinson, B. M. (1984). Human/companion animal therapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 14(2), 131–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00946311

When in a perceived stressful situation our autonomic nervous system ramps up to allow the body to meet the demands of the stress. In certain cases, it activates to the point of the fight or flight response. Automatic reactions to the perceived stress that take out conscious control of the brain and just give it simple options. This is an invaluable evolutionary mechanism as it allows an animal to act under pressure and make a snap decision of two valid survival responses.

Another part of this system is the freeze response where due to the perceived danger we can dissociate from ourselves as a last resort survival tool. Common in lizards who are playing dead as a predator is within the area or victims of sexual abuse.

Recently I have come across the fourth ‘F’ in the survival system repertoire which is Fawn. Fawn is described as co-dependant behaviour in which any kind of autonomy or relationship boundaries are forfeited. A fawn relationship could look like a dominant bully and a peer that gives constant praise or an abusive relationship. Fawn I find to be a helpful concept in the understanding of people’s behaviour which often gets typical responses of “Why don’t you think for yourself?”, “Why don’t you just leave?” Fear is what drives Fawn responses and through that fear it becomes easier to understand the behaviour as a response and not a flaw of the person.

A recent study found the importance of Vitamin D3 in regulation of dopamine circuits that impact on dopamine dependant behaviours such as managing food consumption and drug use. The study by Trinko et al (2016) used mice to measure the impact of D3 on the dopamine pathways. Mice that were treated with a D3 supplement and fed a high fat diet displayed reduced food intake and weight.

Vitamin D has also been shown to be responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium and phosphate (Holick, 2006). This is vital for healthy bone development, immune functioning and maintaining mental wellbeing.

Vitamin D (separated into D2 & D3) is best received through sunlight on the skin. Vitamin D3 is a naturally made by the body during exposure to sunlight and more specifically Ultraviolet B.

Sunlight often gets a bad name and especially here in Australia due to the high skin cancer rates that occur when over exposed to the sun. However, sunlight is so important to human biological functioning and it is something to be embraces whilst also being smart. Be smart, be sun safe but ensure you take those opportunities during the morning (6am-8.30am best times for sunlight absorption for endocrine functioning), during a lunch break at work, sitting by a window or taking that afternoon walk.

Reference

Trinko, J. R., Land, B. B., Solecki, W. B., Wickham, R. J., Tellez, L. A., Maldonado-Aviles, J., … DiLeone, R. J. (2016). Vitamin D3: A Role in Dopamine Circuit Regulation, Diet-Induced Obesity, and Drug Consumption. eNeuro, 3(3), ENEURO.0122–15.2016. http://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0122-15.2016