The Cardiac Rehabilitation Psychodynamic Group Intervention (CR-PGI): An Explorative Study

COVID-19 related conspiracy beliefs and their relationship with defense strategies, emotions, powerlessness, attitudes, and time perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted individual's life and society, and such an emergency has increased the likelihood of recurring conspiratorial thinking. There is much research on broader conspiratorial thinking and studies on COVID-19-related conspiratorial thinking has been growing worldwide, moreover, the negative consequences of COVID-19 specific conspiratorial beliefs for people's health are clear. However, person-centered research aiming at identify groups of individuals who share patterns of relations between COVID-19 specific conspiratorial beliefs and other psychological features is still scarce. A sample of 1.002 people (18-40 years old, M = 23; SD = 5.19) responded to a questionnaire administered online. The aim was to identify groups of individuals based on their beliefs about COVID-19 conspiracy theories and to compare the groups identified in terms of psychological characteristics associated such as automatic defense mechanisms, coping strategies, powerlessness, emotions, emotional regulation, attitudes toward the COVID-19, social distancing discontent, perceptions of COVID-19 severity and temporal perspective. A k-mean cluster analysis identified the groups of Believers (22.26%), Ambivalent believers (34.3%), and Non-believers (43.21%). The three groups differ particularly in terms of defense mechanisms, and time perspective. Results suggested the need to tailor interventions for individuals believing in COVID-19 conspiratorial theories based on differences in the psychological characteristics among the three groups.

A Psychosocial Genomics Pilot Study in Oncology for Verifying Clinical, Inflammatory and Psychological Effects of Mind-Body Transformations-Therapy (MBT-T) in Breast Cancer Patients: Preliminary Results

Several studies have highlighted the key role of chronic inflammation in breast cancer development, progression, metastasis, and therapeutic outcome. These processes are mediated through a variety of cytokines and hormones that exert their biological actions either locally or distantly via systemic circulation. Recent findings suggest that positive psychosocial experiences, including psychotherapeutic interventions and therapeutic mind-body protocols, can modulate the inflammatory response by reducing the expression of genes/proteins associated with inflammation and stress-related pathways. Our preliminary results indicate that a specific mind-body therapy (MBT-T) could induce a significant reduction of the release of different cytokines and chemokines, such as SCGFβ, SDF-1α, MCP3, GROα, LIF, and IL-18, in the sera of breast cancer patients compared to a control group, suggesting that MBT-T could represent a promising approach to improve the wellness and outcome of breast cancer patients.

School-Based Mind–Body Interventions: A Research Review

This paper contains a narrative review of the literature in the field of school-based mind–body interventions (MBIs). The aim of the current review is to verify whether the school-based MBI programs implemented in primary and secondary schools over the past 5 years are effective in helping schoolchildren cope with stress-related, behavioral, and affective issues, as well as improve stress response and school performance. All articles were retrieved using a number of databases. Inclusion criteria comprised qualitative and quantitative, English language, and peer-reviewed studies among third graders (8–9 years old) to twelfth graders (17–18 years old), including special needs pupils. Qualitative studies were limited to pupils’ experience only. Ten studies meeting the criteria for this review were assessed. The school-based interventions included yoga-based programs and mindfulness training. Evidence was evaluated and summarized. Across the reviewed studies, we found support for MBIs as part of school curricula to reduce negative effects of stress and promote overall well-being with caveats to consider in choosing specific programs. The practical implications of the current review include considerations related to the incorporation of MBIs in school curricula, which would likely benefit schoolchildren.

The Meaning of Living in the Time of COVID-19. A Large Sample Narrative Inquiry

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a sudden, disruptive event that has strained international and local response capacity and distressed local populations. Different studies have focused on potential psychological distress resulting from the rupture of consolidated habits and routines related to the lockdown measures. Nevertheless, the subjective experience of individuals and the variations in the way of interpreting the lockdown measures remain substantially unexplored. Within the frame of Semiotic Cultural Psychosocial Theory, the study pursued two main goals: first, to explore the symbolic universes (SUs) through which Italian people represented the pandemic crisis and its meaning in their life; and second, to examine how the interpretation of the crisis varies over societal segments with different sociodemographic characteristics and specific life challenges. An online survey was available during the Italian lockdown. Respondents were asked to write a passage about the meaning of living in the time of COVID-19. A total of 1,393 questionnaires (mean = 35.47; standard deviation = 14.92; women: 64.8%; North Italy: 33%; Center Italy: 27%; South Italy: 40%) were collected. The Automated Method for Content Analysis procedure was applied to the collected texts to detect the factorial dimensions underpinning (dis)similarities in the respondents' discourses. Such factors were interpreted as the markers of latent dimensions of meanings defining the SUs active in the sample. A set of χ2 analysis allowed exploring the association between SUs and respondents' characteristics. Four SUs were identified, labeled "Reconsider social priorities," "Reconsider personal priorities," "Live with emergency," and "Surviving a war," characterized by the pertinentization of two extremely basic issues: what the pandemic consists of (health emergency versus turning point) and its extent and impact (daily life vs. world scenario). Significant associations were found between SUs and all the respondents' characteristics considered (sex, age, job status, job situation during lockdown, and place of living). The findings will be discussed in light of the role of the media and institutional scenario and psychosocial conditions in mediating the representation of the pandemic and in favoring or constraining the availability of symbolic resources underpinning people's capability to address the crisis.

A Phase Transition of the Unconscious: Automated Text Analysis of Dreams in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

AIM

Psychotherapy could be interpreted as a self-organizing process which reveals discontinuous pattern transitions (so-called phase transitions). Whereas this was shown in the conscious process of awake patients by different measures and at different time scales, dreams came very seldom into the focus of investigation. The present work tests the hypothesis that, by dreaming, the patient gets progressively more access to affective-laden (i.e., emotionally charged) unconscious dimensions. Furthermore, the study investigates if, over the course of psychotherapy, a discontinuous phase transition occurs in the patient's capacity to get in contact with those unconscious dimensions.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

A series of 95 dream narratives reported during a psychoanalytic psychotherapy of a female patient (published as the "dreams of Amalie X") was used for analysis. An automated text analysis procedure based on multiple correspondence analysis was applied to the textual corpus of the dreams, highlighting a 10-factor structure. The factors, interpreted as affective-laden unconscious meaning dimensions, were adopted to define a 10-dimensional phase space, in which the ability of a dream to be associated with one or more local factors representing complex affective-laden meanings is measured by the Euclidean distance (ED) from the origin of this hyperspace. The obtained ED time series has been fitted by an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and by non linear methods like dynamic complexity, recurrence plot, and time frequency distribution. Change point analysis was applied to these non linear methods.

RESULTS

The results show an increased frequency and intensity of dreams to get access to affective-laden meanings. Non linear methods identified a phase transition-like jump of the ED dynamics onto a higher complexity level of the dreaming process, suggesting a non linear process in the patient's capacity to get in contact with unconscious dimensions.

CONCLUSION

The study corroborates the hypothesis that, by dreaming, the patient gets progressively more access to affective-laden meaning intended as unconscious dimensions. The trajectory of this process has been reproduced by an ARIMA model, and beyond this, non linear methods of time series analysis allowed the identification of a phase transition in the unconscious process of the psychoanalytic therapy under investigation.

Steps Towards a Unified Theory of Psychopathology: The Phase Space of Meaning Model

The hypothesis of a general psychopathology factor (p factor) has been advanced in recent years. It is an innovation with breakthrough potential, in the perspective of a unified view of psychopathology; however, what remains a controversial topic is how its nature might be conceptualized. The current paper outlines a semiotic, embodied and psychoanalytic conceptualization of psychopathology - the Phase Space of Meaning (PSM) model - aimed at providing ontological grounds to the p factor hypothesis. Framed within a more general model of how the mind works, the PSM model maintains that the p factor can be conceived as the empirical marker of the degree of rigidity of the meaning-maker's way of interpreting experience, namely of the dimensions of meanings used to map the environment's variability. As to the clinical implications, two main aspects are outlined. First, according PSM model, psychopathology is not an invariant condition, and does not have a set dimensionality, but is able to vary it locally, in order to address the requirement of situated action. Second, psychopathology is conceived as one of the mind's modes of working, rather than the manifestation of its disruption. Finally, the puzzling issue of the interplay between stability and variability in the evolutionary trajectories of patients along with their life events is addressed and discussed.

The Evaluation of a Mind-Body Intervention (MBT-T) for Stress Reduction in Academic Settings: A Pilot Study

This study is aimed at evaluating the outcomes of mind-body transformation therapy (MBT-T), previously known as the creative psychosocial genomic healing experience© (CPGHE). The intervention was aimed at reducing the perceived level of stress in two non-clinical groups of students with different educational levels and different expertise in the domain of well-being. Whereas participants from the first group were first-year university students, participants from the second group were students attending a post-graduate program in psychotherapy. All participants (n = 159) were exposed to a single session of MBT-T, each group in a separate session. The results of two paired-samples t-tests, conducted separately on the two samples, showed that there was a statistically significant reduction in the participants' perceived level of stress between pre- and post-intervention states in both samples (t₈₈ = 5.39, p < 0.001; t₅₃ = 4.56, p < 0.001 respectively). The results, therefore, showed that a single session of MBT-T was beneficial in reducing the perceived level of stress in both first-year university students and students attending a post-graduate program in psychotherapy, regardless of educational level and expertise in the domain of well-being.

Canonical Correlation between Behavioral-Psychological Variables and Predictors of Coronary Artery Disease Prognosis

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) are considered predictors of CAD prognosis. Unhealthy lifestyles and type-D personality are associated with MetS and are potential causes of primary and secondary CAD. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between behavioral-psychological variables and predictors of CAD prognosis. The behavioral-psychological variable set contained six lifestyle categories and two type-D personality categories. Descriptive analyses, t-tests, analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation, and canonical correlation were used. The behavioral-psychological variable set was related to the predictor set for CAD prognosis, with a significant canonical variate of 0.67 (45% overlapping variance). Significant pairs of canonical variates indicated that poor physical activity and weight control (−0.77), poor dietary habits (−0.78), alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking (−0.37), lack of sleep and rest (−0.40), stress (−0.64) in the lifestyle set, higher negative affectivity (0.52), and social inhibition (0.71) in the type-D personality set were associated with a high MetS score (0.59) and severity of CAD (0.91). A combination of behavioral and psychological variables was found to be important in predicting the prognosis of CAD; therefore, interventions aimed at preventing combinations of these variables may be effective in improving CAD prognosis.

Caregivers' Sensemaking of Children's Hereditary Angioedema: A Semiotic Narrative Analysis of the Sense of Grip on the Disease

Background and aims: In pediatrics receiving a diagnosis of a chronic condition is a matter that involves caregivers at first. Beyond the basic issues of caring for the physical condition of the ill child, how caregivers face and make sense of the disease orients and co-constructs their children’s sensemaking processes of the disease itself. The aim of this article is to explore the experience of a rare chronic illness, a pediatric case of Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) from the caregivers’ perspective. Hereditary angioedema is characterized by subcutaneous swellings that can involve internal as well as external mucosal tissues and is highly variable and unpredictable in terms of severity, frequency, and where it occurs.

A qualitative narrative semiotic analysis of n. 28 maternal narratives on their children’s disease experience. Narratives were collected by an ad hoc interview on three domains of the disease experience: (A) interpretation of disease variability, (B) dialogical processes, and (C) management of the disease. Subsequently, we executed a TwoStep cluster analysis for categorical data to detect cross-sectional profiles of the maternal sensemaking processes of the disease.

Results: The coding grid was built analyzing the characteristics of the narrative links that orient the connection between the elements of the experience within each domain: (A) the connection among events, for the domain of disease variability interpretation, (B) the connection between self and other, for the dialogue domain, and (C) the connection among sensemaking and actions, for the disease management domain. Results from the cluster analysis show three narrative profiles: (1) adempitive; (2) reactive; (3) dynamic.

Discussion: Profiles will be discussed in light of the general conceptual framework of the Sense of Grip on the Disease (SoGoD) highlighting the importance of those sensemaking processes which, instead of relying on a coherent and closed interpretation of the disease, are characterized by a degree of tolerance for uncertainty and the unknown.