The duty to care and the need to split

This paper arises out of psychoanalytically oriented consultancy to teams of staff in the helping professions where there is a statutory 'duty to care'. It takes as its premise the seemingly paradoxical hypothesis that workers may need to split off part of their emotional experience in order to preserve their own mental health and provide reliable services to their clients. I argue that while a professional 'duty to care' requires us to be emotionally 'in touch', the demands of our clients together with the demands of the institutional response to the 'duty to care' cause us to split off parts of our awareness. I also argue that provided the splitting does not become extreme we are doing no more or less than the rest of society. In other words, there is a degree of 'normal splitting' which numbs our awareness of danger and destructiveness and seeks to protect us from too much anxiety and pain. Yet if professional workers are charged with the responsibility of assessing risk and acting accordingly for the protection of all concerned they need ways of being 'in touch' (re-integrating the splits) for some or enough of the time. Finally, I will describe ways of being 'in touch', illustrating the difficulty and the pain of re-integrating the splits and some of the insights that can arise out of this work with examples from my consultancy work.     

Conceptualizing anxiety among social work students: implications for social work education

Student anxiety is frequently discussed within social work education. Due to its potentially devastating impacts, social work educators need to have a full understanding of anxiety in this context, in order to determine the best way to support students. Research on student anxiety from a broad body of literature provides implications for social work classrooms and field education. Key underlying concepts from previous social work and related research on student anxiety inform a conceptual model to help educators develop a more complex understanding of student anxiety. Implications for further research and important next steps in the development of support strategies for social work students are identified.     

Anxiety and depression among college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Cross-informant,sex, and subtype differences

Objective: This study examined symptoms of anxiety and depression among college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants: Data were collected between March 2011 and March 2016 from 150 college students with ADHD and 150 college students without ADHD. Method: Participants with ADHD were compared to a sex- and ethnicity-matched control group. For the ADHD group, parent and self-report of anxiety and depression were also compared. Results: College students with ADHD self-reported significantly higher anxiety and depressive symptoms than did students without ADHD. Scores on parent-report measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms were significantly higher than scores on self-report measures. Significant sex differences were found for participants with ADHD, with females showing higher depressive and anxiety symptoms than males. Parent-reported anxiety symptoms were higher for those with inattentive type ADHD compared to combined type ADHD. Conclusion: The current study highlights the importance of multi-informant assessment in ADHD evaluations for college-aged adults.     

The Indirect Effect of Child Maltreatment Severity on Adult PTSD Symptoms through Anxiety Sensitivity

Although the rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among survivors of child maltreatment is high, individuals differ in symptom severity and many do not experience clinically significant levels of psychopathology. The present study tested the indirect effects of child maltreatment severity on adult PTSD, suicidal ideations, and alcohol dependence via anxiety sensitivity. A sample of 336 participants (mean age of 22.81 years, SD = 8.93; 70.2% female) completed an online survey of child abuse and neglect, anxiety sensitivity, PTSD symptom severity, suicidal ideation severity, and alcohol dependence severity. The results revealed significant indirect effects of child maltreatment on PTSD symptom severity through cognitive and social concerns, but not physical concerns. No direct or indirect effects were demonstrated for suicidal ideations or alcohol dependence severity. These findings elucidate mechanisms in the robust relationship between child maltreatment and adult PTSD symptoms and can potentially inform future research on mechanisms of change in psychotherapy.     

Separations: A Personal Account of Bowen Family Systems Theory

This paper is a personal account of my own family of origin research. It explores the impact of separations from parents, nuclear family, and extended family through a Bowen family systems theory perspective using concepts pertaining to Bowen theory such as chronic anxiety, differentiation of self, multigenerational family process, and the emotional system. An outline of the process of doing research in ‘vivo’ with my mother as well as conversations with my supervisor are included. Theoretical differences between individual and system models are discussed. A Bowen theoretical approach to the anxiety of separations is investigated. The efficacy of engaging in family of origin work and the effects of thinking systems is examined in light of how it assisted me to view family members, family system disturbances, and clients’ emotional systems more objectively.     

大学生应对幽默和社交焦虑与心理健康的关系研究

探讨大学生应对幽默、社交焦虑和心理健康之间的关系,选用应对幽默量表、社交焦虑量表和SCL-90问卷,对600名大学生进行调查,结果是应对幽默与大学生社交焦虑呈负相关,即应对幽默水平有助于减轻社交焦虑;社交焦虑水平与大学生心理健康水平相关,社交焦虑水平越高,心理健康状况越差。因此,应对幽默水平作为一种应对方式对大学生心理健康水平有正面影响。     

大学生男子篮球运动员竞赛焦虑状态及调控

运用运动心理学的相关理论与方法对河北省大运会男子篮球赛的部分运动员竞赛焦虑状态的影响因素进行问卷调查,得出影响程度由大到小为：挫折、冲突、比赛、失误、自我评价、实力和身体状态。针对具体情况,提出了教练员在赛前、赛中以及日常训练时的心理调控和培养对策。     

现代性焦虑与日常生活批判——论王跃文官场小说的审美立场与艺术价值

王跃文的官场小说为我们构造了一个巨大的官场日常生活世界。通过回到官场生活世界和人的本身,王跃文的官场小说在意义和价值层面展开了对官场人物的灵魂探寻和生命叩问。在其对官场充满生活气息的叙述中,凸显着的是一个有着责任和担当意识的现实主义作家的思维空间和审美立场,以及在现代性焦虑中发出的对官场现实的质问和对官场文化的质询。王跃文官场小说独特的艺术创造,开辟的是当代官场小说精神重建的努力方向。     

鲶鱼效应：外语课堂教学中的博弈

讨论了鲶鱼效应的工作机制及其对外语课堂教学的指导作用。由于鲶鱼效应主要实现为博弈,因此合理把握博弈中的对抗强度是成功实施课堂教学鲶鱼效应的关键;以心理学和力学原理为依据,解释了鲶鱼效应与博弈在课堂教学中的可行性。     

中国问题、文论旅行与原创焦虑

讨论中国问题时,应该充分意识到其中的复杂性,尤须摆脱那种形而上的理论化迷思,尊重男男女女汹涌如潮的切肤体验;应该妥善处理好中国文学体验与域外文学理论之间的关系难题,特别是,不能以特殊性否认乃至对抗一般性的价值;应该致力于理论启蒙,致力于融会贯通后的自然创新,放弃原汁原味式理论原创的幻想,进而消除因其不可得而引发的焦虑与怨恨。