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  Coherence, Complexity, And Information Flow: Self-Organizing Processes In Psychotherapy

  David Pincus

  "This chapter is written in the spirit of optimism, suggesting that self-organization is just such a general theory that may assist in providing a deeper, scientifically grounded understanding of the complex biopsychosocial processes involved in psychotherapy. To provide some foundation to this rather grand suggestion, the following review rests on five more specific theoretical propositions stemming from self-organization theory... The analysis of these propositions begins with an integrative review of traditional theories of interpersonal process through the lens of nonlinear dynamical systems (NDS) and self-organization theory in particular. Next, the contemporary empirical and theoretical developments using NDS to understand psychotherapy process are reviewed. Finally, some general conclusions are drawn, and avenues for future research are suggested. The goal here is not to do away with the rich diversity in approaches to therapy. Rather, the aim is to frame such approaches as approaches, rather than as theories, and to the these approaches together through a deeper understanding of self-organizing interpersonal processes in psychotherapy. With these goals in mind, five specific questions pertaining to depth, breadth, and clinical relevance are addressed[.]"

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  Prenatal Stress and Stress Physiology Influences Human Fetal and Infant Development

  Elyssia Poggi Davis, Calvin J. Hobel, Curt A. Sandman, Laura M. Glynn, and Pathik D. Wadhwa

  "Prenatal stress has been proposed as a risk factor that may have developmental consequences persisting throughout the lifespan. Exposing rodents to stress during pregnancy has consequences for brain development, stress regulation, learning, emotionality (increased anxiety), and social behavior (increased withdrawal) of the offspring (Weinstock, 2001; Chapillon et al., 2002). Additionally, non-human primates who experience stress during pregnancy have offspring with enhanced behavioral reactivity to stressors later in life (Clarke et al., 1994), lowered levels of motor behavior (Schneider, 1992), compromised neuromotor responses (Schneider and Coe, 1993), irritable temperament (Schneider et al., 1992), and attentional problems (Schneider et al., 1999)."

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  Transforming the Pain Terrain: Theory and Practice in the Use of Mental Imagery for the Treatment of Pain

  David Pincus, Tonya Wachsmuth-Schlaefer, Anees A. Sheikh, and Shirin Ezaz-Nikpay

  "This chapter is intended to provide practitioners of imagery psychotherapy with the information to develop such therapeutic maps when treating victims of pain disorders. First, there is a brief discussion of individual causal factors, which are analogous to potentially interesting features of the clinical landscape. Next, the discussion shifts to characteristics of the clinical landscape as a whole, through the lens of systemic theories. Finally, a sample of the various techniques in imagery therapy for pain will be summarized. The use of these techniques, informed by a systemic perspective, may provide the means for empirical and practical explorations of more radical and potentially more potent pain treatments that aim beyond simple here-to-there movements, and instead aim to transform the clinical landscape itself."

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  Mental Health Practitioners and Trainees

  Brennan Peterson, Joyce West, Terri L. Tanielian, Harold Alan Pincus, Jessica Kohout, Georgine M. Pion, Marlene M. Wicherski, Rita E. Vandivort-Warren, Margaret L. Palmiter, Elizabeth I. Irwin, Jeanne C. Fox, Tom W. Clawson, S. Christian Smith, Rex Stockton, Amy Gibson Nitza, John P. Ambrose, Laura Blankertz, Larry D. Sullivan, Kevin P. Dwyer, Michael S. Fleischer, Harold F. Goldsmith, Michael J. Witkin, Joanne E. Atay, and Ronald W. Manderscheid

  Late in 1987, research staff from the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and representatives of professional psychiatric nursing formed a work group on human resources data with staff from the National Institute of Mental Health (Dr. Manderscheid). This group had several major purposes, including identifying common, core data on human resources from each discipline, preparing a chapter for Mental Health 1990, identifying data gaps, coming up with plans to address those gaps, and improving survey compatibility between the involved disciplines.

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  An Update on Human Resources in Mental Health

  Brennan Peterson, Joyce West, Harold Alan Pincus, Jessica Kohout, Georgine M. Pion, Marlene M. Wicherski, Rita E. Vandivort-Warren, Margaret L. Palmiter, Elizabeth I. Mirwin, Jeanne C. Fox, Tom W. Clawson, Kathryn K. Rhodes, Rex Stockton, John P. Ambrose, Laura Blankertz, Kevin P. Dwyer, Victoria Stanhope, Michael S. Fleischer, Harold F. Goldsmith, Michael J. Witkin, Joanne E. Atay, and Ronald W. Manderscheid

  In 1987, staff from the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers, and professional psychiatric nursing formed a work group on human resources data. Their purposes were to identify common, core data on human resources from each discipline, to prepare a chapter for Mental Health 1990, to identify gaps in the data, to determine how to address or fill those gaps, and to improve survey compatibility between their disciplines.