The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the subjective experiences of 29 university students who participated in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program for academic evaluation anxiety. Participants who self-referred to the Student Counseling Service underwent individual semi-structured interviews about how they experienced the personal relevance and practical usefulness of taking the MBSR program. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed through a team-based explorative–reflective thematic approach based on a hermeneutic-phenomenological epistemology. Five salient patterns of meaning (themes) were found: (1) finding an inner source of calm, (2) sharing a human struggle, (3) staying focused in learning situations, (4) moving from fear to curiosity in academic learning, and (5) feeling more self-acceptance when facing difficult situations. We contextualize these findings in relation to existing research, discuss our own process of reflexivity, highlight important limitations of this study, and suggest possible implications for future research.
Background: The literature on antipsychotic medication in psychosis lack systematization of the empirical knowledge base on patients' subjective experiences of using antipsychotic drugs. Such investigations are pivotal to inform large-scale trials with clinically relevant hypotheses and to illuminate clinical implications for different subgroups of individuals. Aims: To re-analyze and summarize existing qualitative research literature on patient perspectives of using antipsychotic medication. Method: A systematic literature search was performed in September 2018 (Protocol registration no. CRD42017074394). Using an existing framework of meta-analyzing qualitative research, full text evaluation was conducted for 41 articles. Thirty-two articles were included for the final synthesis. Results: Four meta-themes were identified: (1) short-term benefits; (2) adverse effects and coping processes; (3) surrender and autonomy; (4) long-term compromise of functional recovery. Conclusions: While largely positive about acute and short-term use, patients are more skeptical about using antipsychotic drugs in the longer term. The latter specifically relates to processes of functional and social recovery. The clinical conversations about antipsychotic medication need to include evaluations of contexts of patient experience level, patient autonomy processes, patient values and risk preferences, and patient knowledge and knowledge needs in addition to assessing the severity of symptoms of psychosis.
Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) for academic evaluation anxiety and self-confidence in 70 help-seeking bachelor’s and master’s students was examined. A repeated measures analysis of covariance on the 46 students who completed pretreatment and posttreatment measures (median age = 24 years, 83% women) showed that evaluation anxiety and self-confidence improved. A growth curve analysis with all 70 original participants showed reductions in both cognitive and emotional components of evaluation anxiety, and that reduction continued postintervention. Although more research is needed, this study indicates that MBSR may reduce evaluation anxiety.
An increasing range of approaches to psychotherapy emphasize the importance of unprocessed emotions in explaining the root of psychological problems. These approaches suggest different interventions intended to enhance emotional processing. One such intervention, derived from Emotion-focused Therapy (EFT), is referred to as a two-chair dialogue. This intervention aims to enhance the emotional processing of individuals with regard to destructive self-criticism. More specifically, the intervention is expected to effect the arousal of emotions and help clients attend to and appraise their emotional experiences. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate and explore the impact of the two-chair dialogue intervention. Twenty-four clients presenting with destructive self-criticism were recruited from a Norwegian public mental health program, meant for people who are on sick leave due to depression and anxiety, which is the most common mental health difficulties. In this study a multiple baseline design was used. Each client was assigned to a baseline phase comprising either 5, 7, or 9 sessions. For the baseline phase, the therapists were asked to focus on the relationship aspect of EFT, that is, they were required to empathically attune to the clients' emotional experience, provide validation and reassurance for the clients' emotional experience, while complying with the basic Rogerian conditions of empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard. In the second phase, we added a two-chair dialogue intervention for five consecutive sessions. This dissertation comprises three papers. For paper 1, all clients' sessions were recorded on video and analyzed with the Client Emotional Arousal Scale III and Experiencing Scale. Subsequently, it was investigated whether the phase which included the two-chair dialogue intervention was associated with a higher level of emotional processing in comparison to the baseline phase. Results suggest that the phase containing the two-chair dialogue intervention is associated with significantly more high-arousal episodes than the baseline phase. Experiencing increases List of publications
Why do we need qualitative research on psychological treatments? The case for discovery, reflexivity, critique, receptivity, and evocation psykologisk.no /sp/2016/05/e8/ All research needs to be engaged, reflexive, and honest. We propose five functions that qualitative approaches may contribute to achieve these aims within the study of psychological treatments, write Per-Einar Binder and colleagues.
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