Critique an article about patient with bipolar disorder Research Paper

Critique an article about patient with bipolar disorder - Research Paper Example On one hand, there are those people who, although they have bipolar disorder, accomplish so much in their lifetime and become historical landmarks. Conversely, bipolar disorder can interfere with the psychosocial functioning of certain people, thus making it difficult for them to carry out normal daily functions. In their work, Functional Outcome in Bipolar Disorder: The Big Picture Levy & Manove (2012) seek to gain more insight into the functionality levels of people with bipolar disorder. This essay aims at critiquing the work by Levy & Manove and analyzing the validity of their arguments. In their work, Manove & Levy (2012) aim at explaining the causes of negative functional outcomes among people with bipolar disorder, in addition to proposing mechanisms for reducing this deficiency in functionality. To this end, the authors succeed in explicating how people with bipolar disorder are unable to function properly. The authors do this by looking at a number of issues affecting bipola r people. The causes and triggers of bipolar disorder are often a debated topic among experts in this area. Some suggest that the condition is inherent, while others suggest that the condition is acquired from life experiences. ... Nonetheless, the authors argue that people with bipolar disorder experience more emotional instabilities than normal people, in addition to poor premorbid functionality. The authors successfully inform the reader about the various difficulties faced by people with bipolar disorder. For example, as Levy & Manove (2012) write, studies have shown that bipolar disorder affects the functioning of the brain, through a process in which the high stress levels reduce the volume of the prefrontal lobe, and an increase in the lateral ventricles. Essentially, severe illness leads to cognitive dysfunction, which then worsens the functioning of people with bipolar disorder. According to Levy & Manove (2012), studies show a positive correlation between cognitive deficiencies and the severity of illness among people with bipolar disorder. The authors suggest that changes in moods may affect verbal memory for bipolar people. If the mood changes are too frequent, then it may lead to psychological stre ss for the person with bipolar disorder, thus contributing towards the formation of neurotoxins which lead to the degeneration of the neurological and cognitive functions in the body. It is often reported that people with bipolar disorder often exhibit abnormally high levels of anxiety, as compared to normally functioning people. In this respect, Levy & Manove (2012) write that the more severe the illness, the higher the anxiety levels among bipolar people. Extremely high anxiety often leads to early onset of mania, addiction to substance abuse, and higher chances of suicide among bipolar peoples. The authors, therefore, argue that anxiety often leads to cognitive impairments among people with bipolar disorder. The argument advances

Critical Analysis of the Authenticity of Adventure Racers Identities Research Paper

Critical Analysis of the Authenticity of Adventure Racers Identities - Research Paper Example An examination of what it is that makes the identity of adventure racers in the sport authentic reveals that the characters involved in the sport usually depict a characteristic of resistance. This sport is self-sufficient, multidiscipline, multiday, non-stop, and it also involves a mixed gender team. This sport being a multiday sport requires that the racers master several outdoor skills. The racers are also required to develop skills on how to manage risks such as illness and injury. These are some of the factors that are seen to make the identity of adventure racers authentic in the sport. The racers are also required to get accustomed to harsh conditions such as the deprivation of sleep, extreme weather conditions, harsh terrains and weight loss (Brown and Eisenhardt, 1998). The distinctive Habitus theory and adventure racing This paper will use the distinctive Habitus theory to critically examine what makes adventure racers authentic in the sport. The Habitus theory will examine the embodied culture and link it with some of the new corporate cultures, and examine how they influence the authenticity of adventure racers identities. The analysis will be based on the concept of Pierre Bourdieu, which tends to be pivotal in the practice of authentic racing. According to this theory, adventure racing incorporates some schemes of disposition and these are some of the factors that make the identity of adventure racers authenti

Effectiveness Of Mbct Against Other Approaches Psychology Essay

Effectiveness Of Mbct Against Other Approaches Psychology Essay Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is increasingly used in adult mental health treatment. Compare and contrast the effectiveness of MBCT to other approaches. Mindfulness-Based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a relatively new class-based program designed by Segal, Williams and Reasdale, 2002. The program was designed to prevent future relapse for people who suffer from major depression (Coelho, Canter, Ernst, 2007). This approach to psychological prophylaxis, based on current metacognitive concepts on information-processing, was designed based upon the integration aspects of CBT (Beck et al., 1979) and the mindfulness-based stress reduction programme (MBSR) developed by Kabat-Zinn and colleagues 1990.(REFERENNCE) Recently there has been a growth of interest in mindfulness-based psychotherapeutic approaches across a range of medical problems. Although the current empirical literature includes many methodological flaws, findings suggest that mindfulness-based interventions may be helpful in the treatment of several disorders such as pain, stress, anxiety, depressive relapse, and disordered eating. (Baer, 2003) Mindfulness based cognitive therapy combines the practice and clinical application of mindfulness meditation with the tools of cognitive therapy. This paper aims to explore mindfulness based cognitive therapy in terms of schema theory in contrast to Wells S-REF model. A number of theorists have raised concerns over the limitations of schema theory, and have put forward revised frameworks for the conceptualization of cognitive processing in emotional disorders. Teasdale and Bernard (1993) believe that if people think negatively then that is the consequence of depression, rather than the cause of it, and the dysfunctional attitudes during an episode return to normal after recovery. Alladin (1985) conducted a longitudinal study which provided evidence that challenged the belief that negative cognitions caused depression. The primary focus of schema theory and cognitive therapy has been on the content of thoughts and beliefs rather than the cognitive processes. However, Becks schema theory explains the content of peoples thoughts but not on the style of their thinking. For example, overcritical parents, who never praised their child for success maybe the explanation for the definitive core believe (I am a failure) through the theoretical framework of schema theory. Although the model explains the content of peoples thoughts it does not give an explanation for the development of the distinct mode of thinking, for example, only processing information that backs up the failure theme, which is, the mistakes the person has made and the goals they have not achieved. However, Wells (2000) considers that these issues are missing links between cognitive theory and therapy. It is seen that how people think is an important dimension that has implications on the maintenance of psychological disorder and recovery. (REFERENCE) Teasdale et al. (2002) investigated the effectiveness of the mindfulness-based approach in prevention and relapse. Teasdale had 145 recovered randomised depressive patients to continue only treatment as usual or to receive mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. The patients were assessed over a 60week period the results showed that, for patients with three of more depressive episodes in the past, Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduced the risk of relapse, moreover, patients with only two depressive episodes sited no change. Teasdale et al. (2000) concluded that these results were clinically significant because the relapse rates of the group with the highest risk of reoccurrence had been halved. Teasdale et al. (2002) found that the combination of cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, as a result, metacognitive awareness is increased and depressive relapse is reduced. It can be seen that both approaches encourage a shift in a persons relationship with negative thoughts rather than a change of the thought itself. Despite the overall efficacy of the mindfulness approach, there are still theoretical limitations which need to be addressed which might lead clinical developments further in cognitive therapy. Baer 2003 emphasized a number of methodological problems whilst the research studies where taking place, noting that there were a major limitation to this approach. Baer criticizes the majority of studies examining the effects of mindfulness training, as they never used control groups. Moreover, TAU (treatment as usual) consisted of medical or unspecified psychotherapy approaches which does not allow the comparison of the effects of mindfulness interventions with specific psychological approaches. Bishop 2002 also questions the result from Teasdale et al. 2000 study, by stating that combining two forms of treatment together; it is difficult to draw any solid conclusions about the effectiveness of mindfulness-based approach in prevention of depressive relapse. Furthermore Bishop 2002 refers to problems with the conceptualization of mindfulness. Western descriptions up to now have been consistent with the Buddhist tradition which normally does not go beyond a descriptive nature. As of yet there have been no attempts to develop any qualities or the criteria of the mindfulness approach which have not been operationalised. Individuals experience and judge the effectiveness of mindfulness in different ways, which presents the problem of the determination of the criteria which are responsible for preventing patients from relapse and depression more difficult. Therefore the validity is in question due to the lack of evidence to support the definition of the construct. Bishop 2002 goes on to argue a conceptual definition is needed before the validity is tested. In this vein, Baer (2003) postulates the necessity of more randomized control trials to clarify whether observed effects are due to mindfulness interventions of to confounding factors such as placebo or passage of time. Furthermore, Wells (2000) criticizes the theoretical background of the mindfulness approach, the interactive cognitive sub-systems model, and states that one of its greatest limitations is the Implicational code concept and its circularity as it is difficult to define exactly what it means and where to locate implicational meaning in the information processing context. Moreover, Wells (2000) argues that the mindfulness awareness concept does not describe which component of self awareness improves or worsens emotional disorders. Wells (2000) then presents an alternative model of self-regulatory information processing (S-REF) which overcome the limitation of interactive cognitive sub-systems by using metacognition and attention in the centre of development and emotional disorders, rather than implicational meanings (e.g., ICS). Wells S-REF model is uniform with the schema theory, however it also incorporates aspects of cognitive architecture such as, regulation of attention and other components the individuals schema. The S-REF approach by Wells (2000) underlines the importance of restructuring maladaptive metacognitive beliefs as well as non metacognitive beliefs on schemas, which provides different clinical implications for cognitive behaviour therapy. New tools are then required for the restructuring of new therapeutic techniques in order to monitor and modify the metacognitive processes. An example of one of these new tools is metacognitive profiling (Wells, 2000) is to identify metacognitions like meta-beliefs, coping strategies, attention or memory that are activated in stressful situations. Wells (2000) and colleagues developed three different metacognitions questionnaires, an example of theses are , the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ) (Wells, 2000), which assess and monitor metacognitionin in patients during their treatment. Other than monitoring metacognitions, Wells (2000) presents two different techniques to restructure cognition, i.e., modify attention (Attention Training Technique (ATT) and Situational Attention Refocusing (SAR)), which have some similarity with the mindfulness approach but without the focus on meditation. The theoretical model of self-regulation mechanisms in emotional disorder developed my Wells is important for the future development of cognitive therapy. The S-REF model seems to create the missing link between cognitive theory and therapy that Wells (2000) identified and could possibly form a base for the advancement for cognitive therapy in the future (Scherer-Dickson, 2004). It would be premature to attempt to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of Mindfulness based cognitive therapy as it is still in its early days of research. Given the growing interest in MBCT is should be seen as to consider the way in which future research should be directed, and not be critical on current effectiveness of the model. (Coelho, Canter, Ernst, 2007). Evidence that is circulating gives some indication that MBCT may be effective in treating a cognitive style that is characterised with depression. Kingston et al., 2007 noted that MBCT may be useful in treatment of residual depressive symptoms, however, these findings are not due to any specific effects of MBCT. (Coelho, Canter, Ernst, 2007). Further methodological testing is still required gain more insight into the developments to give this approach an even more robust foundation (Scherer-Dickson, 2004). New models developed on the basis of findings in cognitive sciences and cognitive theories about information processing and emotional processing (see Rachmann, 1980; Teasdale, 1999b) seem to have a major impact on the understanding of the development and maintenance of emotional disorders. The new models of cognitive processing do have clinical implications for cognitive therapy that goes beyond the framework of Becks schema theory (Beck et al., 1979). Apart from the development for prevention of relapse of depression with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, Wells (2000) has gone on further to develop metacognitive aspects of emotional disorders. On looking at the models and theories outlined in this essay, changing the relationship that people have with the way they think, instead of changing the content of those thou ghts, has a major impact on therapy outcomes and relapse prevention (Schere- Dickson, 2004). It is clear to see that Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression is a cost-effective treatment programme for prevention of relapse. It goes on to teach patients skills in which they can identify high risk situations, and change their attitude to accept the way in which they think. The programme works better for those who seem more vulnerable and enable them to break the cycle of lifelong course of recurrent depression. The high relapse rates for depression underline the importance of prophylactic treatment during periods that fall between acute depressive episodes. Group programmes, like the one presented, could have a major impact on health services as they are cost-efficient and seem to work especially well with recovered patients that are very likely to relapse. (Scherer-Dickson, 2004)

David Levinsons Seasons of A Mans Life :: Psychology Levinson Males Essays

David Levinson's Seasons of A Man's Life Introduction Background In May of 1977, Daniel Levinson constructed a model of the seasons of a man's life. His developmental theory consists of universal stages or phases that extends from the infancy state to the elderly state. Most development theories, such as Freud's psychosexual development theory or Piaget's cognitive development theory, end in the adolescent stage of life. Levinson's stage theory is important because it goes beyond most theories assuming that development continues throughout adult life. Levinson based his model on biographical interviews of 40 American men. These 40 men were between 35 to 45 years in age and they worked as either biology professors, novelists, business executives or industrial laborers. The biographical interviews lasted one or two hours and ranged from six to ten interviews for each subject. The questions asked focused on the subject's life accounts in their post adolescent years. The interviews focused on topics such as the men's background (education, religion, political beliefs) and major events or turning points in their lives. Levinson's concept of life structure (the men's socio-cultural world, their participation in their world and various aspects of themselves) is the major component in Levinson's theory. The life structure for each person evolves through the developmental stages as people's age. Two key concepts in Levinson's model are the stable period and the transitional period in a person's development. The stable period is the time when a person makes crucial choices in life, builds a life structure around the choices and seeks goals within the structure. The transitional period is the end of a person's stage and the beginning of a new stage. Levinson's model contains five main stages. They are the pre-adulthood stage (age 0 - 22), the early adulthood stage (age 17 - 45), the middle adult stage (age 40 - 65), the late adulthood stage (age 60 - 85) and the late late adult stage (age 80 plus). Levinson states "the shift from one era to the next is a massive development step and require transitional period of several years."(Levinson, 1977) This would explain why there is an overlap in each of these stages. Levinson's first adult stage in his model is called the Early Adult Transition Period. This phase is similar to Erikson's psychological theory in that both concern the young adult's identity crisis or role confusion. It is during this phase that the young adult first gains independence (financial or otherwise) and leaves the home. This is a transitional stage because it marks the end of adolescence and the beginning of adulthood. The second stage would be a stable period because it marks the time

Personal Conflict Essay

It was on January 2006 when I first set my feet in USA, a day I will live to remember. I was eighteen years old then and had just graduated from high school. I was the best student in my previous school so I got a scholarship to further my studies. Since childhood ,I was fascinated by people especially their cultures, religions and other aspects of their lives but what really amazed me was the way they communicated and the different languages that they used. My life had revolved around one language that was Arabic and therefore when this chance came I was very excited and without second thoughts took the opportunity to study English as my second language. I chose English because it was an international language and I knew it would help me communicate with many people from different parts of the World. More so, it was to be of great assistance to me especially in my stay in the USA. When this day came, I was amidst mixtures of feelings. Even though I was very excited, terror and confusion took the better part of me. The thought of leaving my parents and my younger siblings really terrified me and all of a sudden, I felt lonely. Earlier on after waking up, prayers had been arranged for me and all people wished me a safe journey to America. I was escorted by my friends and family members to the airport where they bid me farewell. This was my first time to travel from my home country and the first to travel in an airplane. While in the plane many thoughts crossed my mind. I thought about the people I would meet and wondered how they would receive me. I also thought about the college I would be enrolled to and my classmates to be . I wondered if there were people from my home place, how many will they be and above all how I would communicate since I was not familiar with English by then. I was in this state when suddenly an air hostess brought me some snacks . Tasty as they looked, I never took a bite. What I could not understand about the air hostess was that she appeared composed and friendly and completely unaware of my predicament. She was young, energetic and cheerful and nothing seemed to trouble her. Contrary, I was deep in confusion and uncertainty . I lost my appetite something which seldom happens to me. In fact , I rarely choose food and anything edible is good to me provided it is not harmful . More so, being the first time to travel by plane I was really uncomfortable and the experience was horrifying. At one time a thought of the aeroplane crushing crossed my mind and it really got me scared. Sleep never crossed my eyes during the whole journey and it took exactly fourteen hours to reach my destination. I arrived at the JFK airport in New York at around 10 pm . The night was chilly and many people wore heavy clothing to keep their bodies warm . I had carried a light jacket which I wore to protect myself from the cold . The environment was new and everything about this place seemed new to me. I was really getting more and more confused and thought it was even better when I was in the plane. My light jacket did not seem to be of much help to me because the cold weather was getting the better of me. Though out of place, a thought crossed my mind. I wondered of how it used to be unusually hot at home and how I had adapted to that kind of climate. I wondered how long would it take for me to get used to this new environment. I do not know exactly how long I had been standing there but what I recall is that I found myself all alone, confused, scared and lost and attracting some policemen. I felt out of place and the way they were looking at me was scaring. Did they see me as a terrorist or something? I never got to answer that question because one of them came directly to where I was and asked whether I was Mr. Mohammed. Though at first I could not understand what he was driving at, the mention of my name made me realize he was out to find me. Upon receiving my answer, he took my passport and asked me to follow him. They took me to one isolated room where they begun interrogating me. Little did they know that I could not understand whatever they were talking about. From their faces I could tell they were suspicious of something. One police officer who was taller than the rest and had a pointed nose with glaring eyes called the others and got outside of the room. I heard them whispering but could not tell what they were discussing. I do not know exactly what transpired but the moment they came in I sensed danger. I was forced to take off my clothes which apart from being humiliating experience it really made me nervous. They might have thought that I had some atomic bomb with me. What made me extremely terrified was the way they were pointing guns at me. For a moment I thought I was going to die. Here I was, people back at home hoping the best for me but not having a clue of the deadly situation I was in at that particular time. The thought of my mum losing me, made me collapse and when I came back to my senses, I was bed ridded in a hospital. At the hospital I got acquinted to the nurse who was taking care of me . She was a very caring and pleasant lady. She did not like it when I told her (she understood me inspite the language barrier) how the policemen had treated me . She failed to understand how people sometimes could be so inhumane. It was from her that I learnt of how I ended up in an hospital and she also told me that our embassy had been contacted. All this she claimed was through the concerted effort of the management of the hospital . Through her kindness and assurance that all will be well, I was beginning to have hope that things would be better for me. I failed to understand how things could contradict themselves. It was simply not easy to relate the caring and treatment I received from the hospital with the ‘reception’ I received from the policemen. I had been at the hospital overnight and I got discharged at around 10 am in the morning. This happened when the Saudi Arabian embassy sent one of its agents to intervene . All was set right and I could not believe it when one policeman was sent to apologize on the behalf of the others and he even offered us a ride to a hotel. The ride was short but I did not fail to notice how the roads were smooth and carefully constructed. If it were home the journey would have taken a little bit longer because most of them need to be tarmacked and they are dusty. When I arrived at the hotel, I took a bathe, had lunch and then slept after 28 good hours of unrest. I woke up at around 10 pm and realized I was all alone, the agent from the Saudi Arabian embassy had promised to drop by the following morning to pick me up. He had informed me that he would take me to his house and where I would be staying for awhile while we sort matters out. I could not get sleep that night. All my thoughts directed to the kind of life I was to lead in the USA. Foremost, being an Arab and a Muslim I wondered where mosques could be found and whether I would learn to communicate in English. Also I thought about the encounter with the policemen and realized the matter had been made complex due to ineffective communications. All these and other thoughts ran across my mind through out the night. In spite uncertainty facing me, I kept on hoping believing and having faith that everything will turn out right for me and I would enjoy my stay in the USA and eventually make it my home. It has been three years now since I arrived in the USA. A lot of things have changed mostly with me trying to catch up with the American way of life. I have made new friends from different backgrounds and we assist each other in times of troubles. Even though I am different in my culture, religion and way of thinking, I get along with others through their support and understanding.

Abstract Affirmative

Abstract affirmative (AA) action is a policy that the government created for counteracting discrimination against people. This happened for the reason of presenting people the chance of gaining equal opportunities for employment education and business. Many of our formal presidents has authorized executive orders that was meant for all hiring to be free from discrimination of race, color, or national origin with all government contractors and the other specifically for associations that had accepted federal contracts and subcontracts intended to end discrimination within the workforce towards individuals where the focus was on race, color, religion, and national origin. Soon after affirmative action was changed to include no prejudice against ones gender. Affirmative action consequently established preferential treatment towards all minorities and women in the hiring process and the chance to receive a higher education. affirmative action holds private employers accountable as well. during the civil rights movement affirmation action was a tool that proposed opportunities for women and minorities and to provide equality for them. there are noted changes in how colleges recruit and enroll students housing and also how using public transportation where now blacks can sit anywhere since Rosa Parks. Since affirmative action was primarily intended on improving chances for African Americans in employment and education but there is still a low percentage of improvement that is why an executive order was signed and it required all government and private industry jobs to increase the number of women disable individuals and minorities to either receive employment or to have the ability to gain an education or have additional training for work enhancement. There are numerous organization that uses affirmative action and equal employment opportunity policies within their business structure there is still a controversy today surrounding these issues. I researched to see if equal employment opportunity and affirmative action policies mean the same thing. equal employment opportunity definition is that it bans all types of discrimination. this means that no matter the race or gender everyone has the same chance of obtaining and getting promotions and the added incentive of training as the workforce continues to grow. But then affirmative action focus on past discrimination acts which were meant to give women, disabled individuals, and minorities an equal footing in gaining employment and a higher education. it was to create equality between the workers and employers however it has caused extra adversity in the workforce. because many believed that jobs held by whites were being jeopardized. has affirmative action been consistently and effectively used to create a more robust and productive workforce I would say yes; affirmative action has made it possible for many to see and earn their desired goals such as their life dreams. I feel that there are still many obstacles but if one applies themselves there are no limitations. Barak Obama was our nation's first black president and there are many who hold prominent leadership roles that which also includes women. recently in the news it was announced that the FBI for the first time in history may have a woman heading this department. though affirmative action has come a long way there are those who still discriminate and don't offer equal chances for others to succeed. Affirmative action has allowed the workforce to become more diverse in races genders and cultures. we must remember that the affirmative action is not about letting minorities to get into college or to get a job but it's about giving qualified individuals no matter their race a chance that they may not get otherwise. in conclusion has affirmative action been consistently and effectively used to create a more robust and productive workforce i would say yes it has worked extremely well. I hope to see it continue because there are many more who could benefit from this program.