The good, bad and ugly of sport and exercise psychology

Lloyd Emeka (PhD Student, St Mary’s University) with a review of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Sport and Exercise Annual Conference.

05 February 2024


It’s a cold late November morning in Edinburgh. There is a distinct chill in the air whilst walking to the conference venue, soon replaced with the warmth of seeing colleagues and friends. We share our sense of excitement for the next two days, talks that we plan to attend and discuss our thoughts about the conference theme ‘The good, the bad and the ugly: reflection and learnings from applied practice and academia’.

As delegates entered the main session room and looked forward to hearing from the first keynote speaker, we were reminded of the key conference values (insight, honesty, integrity, celebration, openness, and collaboration) which helped to set the tone for the two days ahead.

There were in the region of 50 oral presentations, five keynote speakers, several workshops, symposiums, and 26 poster presentations. The purpose of this review is to outline key highlights from the sessions that I attended, with a structure in keeping with the conference theme…
The good
Reframing success within sport

Success within sport has typically been viewed through the lens of performance and winning medals at elite level. In recent times, there has started to be a shift in how success is defined with less emphasis on binary concepts (i.e. win-loss) and the significance of context which can shape athletes’ experiences and perceptions of success. This was a key element of Dr Cath Bishop’s presentation which led to some further reflections. How can Sport Psychologists and Coaches support athletes (at all levels) in their framing of success, and challenge pervasive narratives where medalists are lauded more frequently in comparison to non-medalists? Whilst some progress is being made with changing the narrative, there is still a long way to go.
Initiating culture change within and across systems

In recent years, Sport Psychologists are increasingly helping to create culture change within organisations, and this was a recurrent theme that emerged across various presentations at the conference. Although 1:1 consultation with athletes remains the ‘bread and butter’ of applied practice, hearing examples of culture change work being undertaken by Sport Psychologists was a good reminder of how the profession is continuing to evolve and the various complexities that arise when operating at a systems level.
Developing awareness and knowledge of the motherhood journey in elite sport

During day two of the conference, there was an excellent symposium ‘Movement, mind, and motherhood: The role of Sport Psychology in the maternity journey’ which illustrated female athletes’ experiences during different stages of pregnancy and post-partum. It was insightful to hear about the work that was being undertaken by Sport Psychologists to support women during their pregnancy and post-partum to continue with physical activity. Some of the challenges within the elite sport environment (i.e. lack of gender-specific policies) were also discussed which demonstrated that there is still significant progress required to create an optimal environment for elite female athletes. As a male person, I learnt a lot from the symposium, and it helped to improve my understanding of sport through the lens of motherhood. On a slightly separate note, there was very limited male attendance at the symposium – disappointing, as this subject area should be of importance to everyone.
The future of Applied Exercise Psychology

The keynote talk by Dr Paula Watson and Dr Lynne Johnston raised some excellent points about the future of Applied Exercise Psychology that warrants further debate and discussion:The number of applied exercise psychologists is growing but still very low (in comparison to sport psychologists).
Most exercise psychology trainees are being supervised by people who have never worked in exercise psychology.
Could we have a future where exercise psychologists are employed by the NHS?
The need for more practice-based evidence in exercise psychology.
Exercise psychologists should go through therapy as part of their training and throughout their careers.

I came away from the talk with some key reflections (1) Exercise psychology has an important role to play within society but there is a need to continue educating people about the role and exercise psychology/ists – what it is and what it isn’t. (2) I would argue that Sport Psychologists should also have to go through therapy as a mandatory part of their training as this would help to equip them with vital skills for applied practice work. (3) It was enlightening and concerning that most exercise psychology supervisees have not worked in exercise psychology before – how can we reverse this trend in future? (4) There is a need and opportunity for Exercise Psychologists to work with specialists from a broad range of disciplines to further develop the field from a research and practice perspective. Progress won’t be achieved through working in silos.
Aligning personal and professional identity within applied practice

Another highlight was the ‘navigating critical moments in practice’ workshop by Dr Jo Batey and Sarah Murray. They discussed some of the challenges that can arise from misaligned identities within applied practice. This was framed within the context of the individuation process whereby feeling individuated means experiencing a unity between personal & professional selves and the working environment and being able to work in authentic and congruent ways.

The concept of critical moments was introduced, referring to when your values as a practitioner are being challenged within the system you are operating in. Whilst this could be construed negatively, it presented an opportunity for the speakers to develop self-awareness in understanding their values and where/when they are prepared to adopt some compromise.

It was beneficial to hear experienced practitioners candidly share some of the critical moments they have faced during their career, the challenges and how they have managed them thus far. The speakers illustrated that critical moments can arise at any stage of your career, and it is vitally important to have a peer support group/mentor/ally that you can turn to for support and advice.
The enthusiasm and engagement of delegates at the conference

Whilst not specifically related to any of the subject areas covered during the conference, it is worth mentioning that seeing delegates embrace the conference values, providing support and genuine appreciation to the presenters was a positive aspect of the conference. The friendly atmosphere and community spirit helped to create a sense of belonging.
The bad
Pervasive scepticisms about Sport Psychology/ists

Drew Wallace shared some experiences of working in team sport and a key lesson was that some players and coaches are still sceptical about Sport Psychology. Although this issue has existed for several years, it was disappointing to hear that there is still more work to be done in this area. Considering this point from a wider lens, we have continued to witness examples of organisations recruiting Sport Psychologists for no or low pay. Does this problem stem partly from scepticism about the value of Sport Psychology and how can we work collectively to address this problem? There is some work being done already within the profession to tackle this problem, but it remains a big challenge nonetheless.
Determining how the success of a Sport Psychologist is measured

Dr Alex Oliver shared some of his reflections on the challenges faced from a student-centred pedagogical approach to an athlete-centred practitioner approach. One of the final points in his talk was about the measurement of success against KPI’s in an academy football environment. The short-term focus of delivery against KPI’s can be incongruent with the nature of Sport Psychology work where change might occur over a longer period of time. Finding the balance between short-, medium- and long-term measures of success within a role can be challenging and particularly the case for trainees/early career practitioners. This is an area where supervisors and mentors can provide support with how to approach conversations about setting goals and measures of success within the workplace.
The ugly
Psychologically unsafe dance environments

Dr Grace Tidmarsh discussed some of the factors that contribute to psychologically unsafe dance environments (i.e., emotional abuse, demand for perfectionism, power imbalance). In parallel, there has also been a high prevalence of mental illness amongst dancers which Is partly due to precarity, limited availability and high competition for work in dance environments.

Whilst listening to the presentation, it struck me that some of the themes were similar to various sports, and an over-arching message was the need for culture change. Sport Psychologists can have an important role with providing support to dancers and creating culture change.

I had a fantastic two days at the DSEP annual conference and felt inspired from the sessions that I was able to attend. As I embarked on my journey back to London, I considered myself as fortunate to be a part of the DSEP community. For anyone who is considering attending the DSEP conference for the first time, I would highly recommend registering for the next conference later this year.

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/good-bad-and-ugly-sport-and-exercise-psychology(accessed 29.2.24)

'We have a moral responsibility to offer support and aid… and insight'

Ron Roberts writes.

28 November 2023


With the ongoing catastrophic situation in Israel-Palestine, I feel compelled to issue a call for members of our Psychology profession to respond in some constructive way.

We have a moral responsibility to offer support and aid where it is needed, and insight where it is possible. The infrastructure of the academic community in Gaza has effectively been destroyed, large swathes of research either curtailed or abandoned through loss of personnel, resources, and data. Along with this, those offering medical or psychological aid, do so under the most trying conditions imaginable. I learned from friends in Bosnia much more than can be conveyed by news media about how devastating war is – and I cannot imagine the suffering which so many people are enduring. I think, difficult as it is, that we must strive for some kind of clarity about these events.

Many years ago, Noam Chomsky (in Levy, 2010) described the then situation in Gaza as a ‘cruel and cowardly exhibition of human savagery’. What is taking place now is immeasurably worse and is recognised as such by many in the international community and major aid agencies. Alongside its accompanying criticism of the actions of Hamas ‘in the strongest possible terms’, grave concerns have been raised by the Secretary General of the UN, whilst experts from the organisation’s Human Rights Office of the High Commission have said they are ‘profoundly concerned about the support of certain governments for Israel's strategy of warfare against the besieged population of Gaza, and the failure of the international system to mobilise to prevent genocide’. We must listen carefully to such voices.

Several years ago, I conducted work in Bosnia with colleagues there. We later published it in a political science journal where it was subsequently picked up by one of the lead negotiators in Kosovo, who praised it for its insightfulness and counter intuitive empirical findings. We published it there because no psychology journal would even review it, on the spurious basis it was not led by psychological theory. For all the good in the discipline, and despite the fact that the study of conflict has been a key feature of social psychology for decades, we seem to have an aversion to dealing with the messy real world. Perhaps this is in part why we have been unable to predict the eruption of conflict of any great significance anywhere. It is my belief that we must be prepared to engage with events beyond the seemingly safe bounds of laboratory-based theory, however fraught with risk this is.

There are two areas where I believe such work can provide useful insights into the present situation and suggest practical avenues to be explored – social and collective memory, and reconciliation. In my own work (Roberts & Hewer, 2015) we proposed an integrated psychosocial model of traumatic remembering, applicable at several levels of social organisation, from the family thorough to international relations. In this, we argued that two key strategic elements recur in situations of ongoing conflict. The first of these concerns the threatened or actual use of force; and the second, the control of memory, through propaganda, diplomacy, public relations and the denial or falsification of history. The two major narratives at work in the Middle East concern the Holocaust as seen from the Israeli side and the Nakba as seen from the Palestinian. To these, we might even consider a third, which concerns the colonial imprint of the European powers, which functions as a discourse in absentia.

These narratives seek to dominate discourse, both internally and externally, again backed up by different degrees of power and force. This suggests we must treat media narratives with extreme care – a conclusion supported by work undertaken by the Glasgow University Media Group (Philo & Berry, 2011) which provides firm evidence of the biases in conventional news media on the Israel–Palestine conflict. How we represent certain conflicts – or whether we represent them at all – has enormous implications. Elsewhere Happer and Philo (2013) wrote, ‘The information that people are given in media accounts can both legitimise the actions of the powerful, and facilitate change at the collective level, but can also limit and shape the behaviours of individuals which are central to wider social change.’

However Western media narratives refer to current events in Gaza, it should be self-evident that what is unfolding is but the latest step in a long-running conflict, which itself cannot be understood without reference to the Nazis’ attempt to exterminate European Jewry. In Naomi Klein’s (2023) recent Doppleganger she discusses how victims of genocide have now, with ongoing US support, sought to enact the disappearance of another group of people. At the time of writing, more civilians have been killed in a month and a half than during the whole of the Ukraine-Russia war to date.

The second area where I believe useful insights are to be found lies in the field of reconciliation. Appeals for reconciliation, as Cohen (2001) notes, explicitly assume that perpetrators, victims, and bystanders have already acknowledged what has happened. In the context of South Africa, Cohen cites a letter from Human Rights Watch to President F.W. de Klerk in which the organisation stated that, ‘It is impossible to expect reconciliation if part of the population refuses to accept that anything was ever wrong, and the other part has never received an acknowledgement of the suffering it has undergone or of the ultimate responsibility for that suffering.’

Desmond Tutu added to this, in remarking that ‘reconciliation based on falsehood, on not facing up to reality, is not reconciliation at all’ (cited in Garver, 2004, p.16). In both Northern Ireland and South Africa, but in neither Bosnia nor Israel-Palestine, past injustices have been more readily acknowledged by those on all sides. What continues to be disputed, however, is the meaning of those events and the justifications for them. However, in Northern Ireland and South Africa, cessation of violence brought about the creation of a common public space for storytelling. This created effective dialogue and the sharing of narratives across communities. Cultural change emerged from this as did the reconstruction of the institutions of state, aided, and abetted by outside international economic and political pressure.

Below, I offer a few suggestions for what we might do, though I invite the collective wisdom of all our community to contribute more.

Firstly, that we actively seek to offer whatever support we can to our colleagues in Gaza and Israel who may not for various reasons be free to speak out, either for practical reasons or for fear of retribution but nevertheless, that we seek their view as to how we can best lend assistance. Secondly that we mobilise our best understanding and forward thinking on the many issues involved in the conflict. Thirdly, as psychologists in a country whose historical imprint is still felt in Israel-Palestine, we have a duty to inform ourselves as best we can and to pursue justice for all the people in the region. This will be difficult. I believe most of us entered the profession with a desire to make the world a better place. 

- Ron Roberts, Honorary Lecturer, Kingston University
References

Cohen, S. (2001). States of denial (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2001).

Garver, E. (2004). For the sake of argument: Chicago: practical reasoning, character, and the ethics of belief. Chicago. University of Chicago Press.

Happer, C. & Philo, G. (2013). The role of the media in the construction of public belief and social change. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 1(1), 321-336.

Klein, N. (2023). Doppleganger. A trip into the mirror world. London. Allen Lane.

Levy, G. (2010). The punishment of Gaza. London. Verso.

Philo, G., & Berry, M. (2011). More bad news from Israel. London. Pluto Press.

Roberts, R & Hewer, C. (2015). Memory, ‘Madness’ and Conflict: A Laingian Perspective. Memory Studies, 8(2), 169-182.

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/we-have-moral-responsibility-offer-support-and-aid-and-insight(accessed 23.2.24)

Dance yourself happy?

New research expands on the links between emotionally expressive movement and mood induction.

21 February 2024

By Emma Young


If you find yourself hitting a productivity slump at work, perhaps you should get up and dance. This, at least, is the implication of new research finding that copying ‘happy’ dance moves improves mood and makes people feel more motivated to achieve work goals.

This new study, led by Eva-Madeleine Schmidt at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Germany, and published in the British Journal of Psychology, follows earlier findings that asking people to ‘jump for joy’ can make them feel happier, while asking them ‘sink to the floor in sadness’ could lower their mood. Instead of asking participants to copy these particular actions, Schmidt and her colleagues turned to the EMOKINE dance stimuli library, which contains videos of simple dance movement sequences created to express a different emotion. The library also contains videos in which a robot avatar performs the same dance sequences.

A total of 66 adults (about two thirds female, average age 36) learned both the ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ dance sequences, then performed them. Some copied the human dancer, while others copied the robot avatar. At various points, the participants also reported on their mood (they gave ratings for a range of emotions, including anger and fear, as well as happiness and sadness) and how motivated they felt to tackle work-related goals.

Schmidt and her colleagues found that, whether they’d copied a human or robot avatar, after performing the ‘happy’ dance, participants felt happier and reported more work-related motivation. After performing the ‘sad’ dance, they said they felt sadder. The team’s analysis also revealed that more the happy dance boosted happiness (and the more the participants reported liking the character in the video, whether human or robot), the bigger the boost to work-related motivation.

The finding that ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ dance moves affected the participants’ emotional state feeds into an ongoing debate about the extent to which moving muscles in the body or face can alter how you feel.

Earlier work has found that when people copy a smile, this can make them feel happier. However, research that found that holding a pencil between the teeth — to mimic some of the facial movements of smiling — improved people’s mood has failed to replicate. In this study, the participants knew when they were copying a ‘happy’ dance and when they were copying a ‘sad’ dance, because the videos were labelled. This knowledge, rather than the actual physical movements per se, may have led to the mood changes. Another limitation of the study is that the final mood measure was taken immediately after the dance performance, so the researchers don’t how long the impacts on mood may last.

Still, the work does suggest that copying emotionally expressive dance moves may help to shift our mood. Given the additional findings on work motivation, the team suggests that copying dance videos could be a way to boost productivity in the workplace.

They do also concede, though, that this strategy may not be broadly popular: when the participants were asked to indicate, on a scale of 1 to 100, how likely they were to actually use dance movements to regulate their mood in future, the average score was just 39. But if employees might be reluctant to start dancing at their desks in the workplace, home-workers may be more willing to give it a try.

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/dance-yourself-happy(accessed 23.3.24)

The power of love in mental health

Oliver Seligman on how his therapist’s approach helped him turn a corner; with Tone Fagerli’s response.

06 February 2024


Most people have no desire to be an inpatient in a mental hospital. Yet in November of 2014, I was so broken down by years of depression, mania, and psychosis that a bed in a quiet ward was all I longed for.

My relationship with bipolar began in 1993 when I was in my final year of school. In the weeks before my A-level exams, a blissfully euphoric mania slithered into my mind before morphing into a paranoia that tried to destroy me. It all came to a head at a police station in the South of England and only ended after two months as an inpatient at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

A year later, I was prescribed lithium, a mood stabiliser that I took every day for nearly two decades. Initially, lithium worked well. The chalky-white pills strengthened my fragile brain, expelling the extreme highs and lows from my mind, along with the anxiety which had haunted me throughout my teenage years. I felt strong, my confidence returned, and I was able to re-join life again. However, it wasn’t only elation, depression and paranoia that dried up like a thirsty creek in the midday sun.

In fact, my entire emotional life ground to a halt. Love, melancholy, sadness, jealousy, satisfaction, tenderness, worry, and contentment all but disappeared from my life. I felt numb. I had been an artist and a writer and loved to act. Yet as soon as a high dose of lithium was coursing through my veins, my interest in, and ability to perform, vanished. Headaches and exhausted days in bed became the norm, I was confused by simple tasks (such as trying to find my way home), and I began to hallucinate.

In 2011, as a 35-year-old, I began asking myself, ‘Do I really need lithium?’ Bravely, or foolishly, I lowered my dose until I was off the drug.

Fast forward to December 2014. Coming off lithium had been a nightmare, plagued by psychotic episodes and depressions. In agreement with my psychiatrist, I chose to go back on the drug, but this time on a lower dose. My psychotic and manic symptoms vanished, but a stubborn depression persisted. I was devastated that my plan had failed, that I had wasted so much time, and caused so much damage to my family and my life. Back on lithium, I was ‘stable’ but down. I felt no hope, no optimism, or desire to make anything of my life. All emotional sunlight was obscured by a thick canopy of despair that covered my mind.

It was in this depressed state that a clinical psychologist came into my life like a breath of fresh air.

Tone Fagerli was loving and enthusiastic. A woman with practical, down-to-earth wisdom and an easy smile. Someone to whom I could relate and trust. Before I met Tone, I had been treated by two other clinical psychologists, neither of whom had helped me. They had the same qualifications as Tone, but their personalities were so different. Both had a frosty demeanour, and I never saw either of them smile.

If a psychologist isn’t warm and loving, I don’t rate their chances of helping me to find happiness.

Tone was different. In our first meeting, she put me at ease. Partly with her reassuring words but primarily because of who she was. Tone exuded the qualities of warmth and love, which rekindled in me something I had lost: over a few weeks of psychotherapy, I began to feel a sense of hope. These moments sprouted into self-belief, which then blossomed into confidence. Glimmers of positivity shone through what had been an impenetrable darkness. I had been consumed by bipolar, but Tone helped me take a step back and look at the condition with fresh eyes. I was getting better.

I could do this!

When I was ready, we identified some core beliefs which were holding me back. Since I was a small child, I set standards for myself (and others), which were unrealistically high. My perfectionist tendencies had served me well in exams, but when it came to happiness, they hindered me. As an adult, I put myself under pressure to live an impressive life and achieve things that a healthy person would struggle to achieve.

Tone could see this, but instead of pointing it out, she guided our conversations in directions where I could discover it for myself. It is one thing to be told about my limiting beliefs, but far more powerful to discover them for myself. Our conversations gave me permission to lower my standards and give myself (and others) a break. I could contribute to the world without having to conquer it. For the first time in years, I could relax.

Tone also helped me to recontextualise the resentment I felt after being ill for so long. Over the years, I had been given some questionable advice and was furious with the people who had given it. This resentment could have chewed me up for years, but psychotherapy helped me contextualise what had happened, let go of these negative feelings and move on.

One quality I believe is sometimes overlooked in a good therapist is a sense of humour. In a world where taking ourselves too seriously is all too common and often encouraged, a healthy dose of humour goes a long way. Humour has a way of taking the edge off our problems by recontextualising them.

Whilst some situations call for a sensitive approach, I think it is helpful to recognise that injecting humour into a situation can often improve it. Tone had a great sense of humour, and I often walked out of our meetings with a smile on my face after she made me laugh about myself and my habits. Tone was always kind but knew how to poke me into taking myself less seriously.

I began to see life as an adventure again rather than the battle it had been. In short, Tone’s loving approach worked wonders for my state of mind and for my relationship with bipolar.

Love not only played a powerful role in my psychotherapy but helped me as an inpatient in mental hospitals all over the world. As a scared and confused teenager roaming the corridors at night, patient nurses gently calmed me down and led me back to my bed. Their love penetrated the thick cloud of psychosis that had overcome me.

Hospital visits were also acts of love, which connected me to the life to which I wanted to return. My family and friends showed me I wasn’t forgotten and would get home at some point. When exposed to love, we humans benefit in myriad ways, but I have yet to see the mainstream medical community give love the attention it deserves. It is a footnote at best. I believe the recovery process of many a patient would be assisted if love was consciously harnessed in treatment. Of course, giving love requires time, which requires money. It’s hard to be loving if one is doing the work of two people or filling in forms all day.

I believe many medical practitioners would benefit from being educated as to how important their love is. Not because they are not already loving enough, but because this knowledge would empower them. This became clear to me after a talk I gave to a group of psychiatrists in Norway. After the talk, a psychiatrist came up to me. With tears in his eyes, he told me he worked with some of the sickest people in the country and had no idea what a difference his love could potentially make.

As soon as his patients were no longer critically ill, they were sent to other units, so he never knew what impact he had had or if they had ever recovered. He only saw them again if they became critically ill again and returned to his ward. He felt despondent and had been contemplating giving up his job.

Yet, hearing about love’s potential role in treatment inspired him to explore love, giving him a renewed sense of purpose. He told me he couldn’t wait to get back to his ward to experiment with this novel idea. All it took to inspire him was to be made aware of the value of the love he already possessed.

Imagine working in a clinic where love is a top priority, and all employees are encouraged to value it. A place where love is acknowledged as an instrumental part of treatment. Many of those who have looked after me over the last 30 years expressed a great deal of love but did so because they were loving people, not because the system supported it.

I believe that if a person acts in loving ways, they create a field of love around them, and this is contagious. If you go to a party where one person is holding a grudge, it can pull the party down. If you go to another party where someone is in love, it can uplift the group. Loving people spread good vibes and optimism, and by giving love away, we magnify it. The more we give away, the more we receive. The field of love uplifts us, makes us feel safe, and comforts us.
So how do we amp up the love?

A loving field can be catalysed by a simple loving act. Even if we don’t feel particularly loving, by acting in loving ways, we can strengthen the field. Even small acts of love can have a great impact. Speaking kindly to others, showing courtesy, and caring without over-caring all create love. Love first, ask questions later.

Thanks to a combination of therapy, correct lithium dosage, and some other habits I have picked up over the years, I live a peaceful and happy life. My side effects are tolerable, and I no longer get lost within two hundred metres of my flat! My emotional life has to some degree, returned. Indeed, I am the only person I know who is enthusiastic about being able to feel angry!

My experiences with bipolar have led me into the realm of mental health. I have a passion for helping people to escape the suffering of mental illness and to find peace. I have written a book called Befriending Bipolar: A Patient’s Perspective, and I am currently studying for a master’s in the Psychology of Mental Health at Edinburgh University.

I hope to have a positive impact in this area of psychology, but now that I am not such a perfectionist, I wish to do it one step at a time. At Edinburgh, I am learning a great deal. However, it strikes me that for even the best psychologists, exam results and qualifications have become our gods. We need to redress the balance and focus on acknowledging or studying the impact of love. Perhaps a psychologist’s ethics, values, and kindness are as important (or more so) than their education or knowledge base.
‘I hope there will be an increased focus on caring and loving environments for patients’

I have read Oliver’s article and I am happy to add some reflections on what he has written and around the therapeutic process.

Firstly, I would like to say that the achievements Oliver has made since I got to know him and his way to recovery and into exploring the field of psychology, mainly reflect back on him. I have read his book Befriending Bipolar and heard him giving talks to health professionals several times about living with bipolar and his own journey towards recovery. He is a great storyteller, very open and honest, and able to talk about serious and painful experiences with warmth and with a sense of humour. I think this makes it easier to get the story across.

Oliver talks about how much being met with warmth and love has meant to him. Even when he was so depressed that he could not express himself, the love and warmth from another human being came across to him anyway and helped him endure some terrifying and really painful times. I think it is very important for us working in the mental health field to hear this from our patients. It supports us in our work with people who are suffering, and it helps us when we are exposed to strong emotions of pain, anxiety, and anger. It also helps us when we are exposed to the rough parts of human life. Knowing that we make a difference by being an empathic and caring fellow human being gives meaning to what we are doing.

I also think that one of the ways we are distancing ourselves from the burdens of working in hospitals and mental health units, where we are not able to give our patients the care and help we know they need, is by stopping ourselves from having feelings of warmth, love and the empathy towards our patients. So, I do hope that there will be an increased focus on caring and loving environments for patients in the mental health field.

As for reflections on the therapeutic process, I see instilling hope as one of the most important things for me to do when I first meet a new patient. Conveying to the patient that we have witnessed numerous people find their way back to a good life, and that we have the means and the knowledge to help them recover is fundamental. Recovering from mental illness and experiences of trauma is hard work, and patients need lots of hope to enable them to do that work.

In that regard, being Oliver’s therapist was not very hard work. He is a man who loves to laugh, likes to learn and explore, enjoys finding ways to express himself, and has a zest for life. I do like to laugh myself. It makes me handle the tolls of my work in a better way. Of course, I try to put humour in there in a kind way and adjust it to the other person. Utilising humour is surely not always appropriate, but when it works, I think it strengthens the working alliance between the patient and the therapist, and it tends to take the toll off the hardships of life. And as Oliver says, humour can help us recontextualise our difficulties.

Meeting my patients with warmth and a caring attitude is something that I try to do. However, how I present myself will vary according to the problem the patient brings into therapy and the patient I experience in front of me. I mostly try to be genuine, as I think it helps reduce anxiety within the patient (‘what you see is what you get’). Transference and countertransference are elements that are present when two people meet and connect over matters of emotional importance.

When working with patients with trauma-related disorders and/or personality disorders, the transference will usually be more openly addressed and be a more important part of the therapy. I reduce my openness and warmth in situations where I do not think it is safe or where I do not think it is helpful for the patient.

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/power-love-mental-health(accessed 16.2.24)

Τα παιδιά σε κάθε ηλικία χρειάζονται τα ίδια “φιλιά” που τους δίναμε όταν ήταν μωρά

THE MAMAGERS TEAM14 ΦΕΒΡΟΥΑΡΙΟΥ, 2024




Πόσες φορές φιλούσαμε τα μωράκια μας όταν είχαν γεννηθεί; Ήταν όλη μέρα στην αγκαλιά μας, χαϊδεύαμε τις κοιλίτσες τους και τους δίναμε αμέτρητα φιλιά! Τα παιδιά μας σήμερα μπορεί να έχουν μεγαλώσει, κάποια πηγαίνουν προνήπιο, κάποια δημοτικό, κάποια έχουν ανοίξει τα φτερά τους και δεν θέλουν φιλιά από εμάς… αλλά όλα χρειάζονται τα ίδια “φιλιά” από τους γονείς τους.

Τα παιδιά μέχρι τις πρώτες τάξεις του δημοτικού χώνονται ακόμα στην αγκαλιά μας. Ζητούν στιγμές με φιλάκια. Χαδάκια στα μαλλιά, αγκαλίτσες στον καναπέ, αγκαλιές όταν κλαίνε, όταν χτυπάνε, όταν είναι θυμωμένα. Μετά το δημοτικό δεν θέλουν πια… “είμαι μεγάλος πια”, θα πουν αλλά χρειάζονται την ίδια σύνδεση απλά με άλλο τρόπο.


Στιγμές με “φιλάκια”

Μικρές αγκαλιές όταν ζωγραφίζουν, ένα φιλί πριν κοιμηθούν, επιτραπέζια παιχνίδια κάνοντας high five, μαγειρική ή ζαχαροπλαστική, στρώσιμο τραπεζιού τις Κυριακές.








Mια βόλτα για ποδήλατο, κλείσιμο του ματιού όταν λένε κάτι έξυπνο, συζητήσεις για κάτι που τους ενδιαφέρει, να τους λέμε σ’ αγαπώ, να ρωτάμε τι τους απασχολεί, να μιλάμε για το πώς περάσαμε τη μέρα μας… αυτά είναι τα “φιλάκια” που παίρνουν τα παιδιά από τους γονείς όταν μεγαλώσουν και τα έχουν ανάγκη ακριβώς όπως όταν ήταν νεογέννητα!

ΠΗΓΗ:

https://www.themamagers.gr/family/ta-paidia-chreiazontai-ta-idia-quot-filia-quot-poy-toys-diname-otan-itan-morakia/(accessed 16.2.24)

EuroPsy Basic

1. Τι είναι το ΕυρωΨυ (EuroPsyBasic);

Το ΕυρωΨυ είναι μια Πιστοποίηση της Ευρωπαϊκής Ομοσπονδίας Συλλόγων των Ψυχολόγων (EFPA), η οποία καθορίζει τα κριτήρια της επάρκειας του σύγχρονου Ευρωπαίου Επαγγελματία Ψυχολόγου σχετικά με την ακαδημαϊκή του εκπαίδευση και την επαγγελματική του κατάρτιση.

Όσοι πληρούν τα κριτήρια αυτά τους απονέμεται η Πιστοποίηση EuroPsyBasic και καταχωρούνται στο Ευρωπαϊκό Μητρώο Ψυχολόγων της EFPA, το οποίο είναι προσβάσιμο στο κοινό (http://www.europsy-efpa.eu/).

Η Πιστοποίηση ΕυρωΨυ είναι εθελοντική και σέβεται τους νόμους του κάθε Ευρωπαϊκού Κράτους. Απαραίτητη προϋπόθεση για την απονομή του είναι η κατοχή άδειας άσκησης επαγγέλματος ψυχολόγου από τον ενδιαφερόμενο στη χώρα απονομής του Πιστοποιητικού. Απευθύνεται σε όλους τους επαγγελματίες ψυχολόγους της κάθε χώρας, ανεξάρτητα από τη συμμετοχή τους ή μη σε οποιαδήποτε ακαδημαϊκή εταιρεία ή επαγγελματικό σύλλογο.

Η Πιστοποίηση ΕυρωΨυ συνάδει με τις κατευθυντήριες οδηγίας της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής, προκειμένου να υιοθετηθεί από τα κράτη-μέλη για την διευκόλυνση της ελεύθερης μετακίνησης των επαγγελματιών ψυχολόγων και την προστασία του πολίτη στην Ευρώπη.

ΠΗΓΗ:

https://seps.gr/europsy/europsy-basic/(accessed 16.2.24)

«Μια καρδιά γεμάτη αγάπη είναι η πιο αληθινή σοφία» Charles Dickens

ΑΓΓΕΛΙΚΗ ΛΑΛΟΥ
7 ΦΕΒΡΟΥΑΡΙΟΥ 2024


Ένας από τους πιο σημαντικούς συγγραφείς του 20ού αιώνα γεννήθηκε στις 7 Φεβρουαρίου 1812


Μεγάλες Προσδοκίες, Όλιβερ Τουίστ, Ιστορία δύο πόλεων, Ντέιβιντ Κόπερφιλντ, Ο ζοφερός οίκος, «Χριστουγεννιάτικη ιστορία», μερικά από τα σημαντικά έργα του που έχει υπογράψει. Ο Κάρολος Ντίκενς (Τσαρλς Ντίκενς Charles Dickens) γεννήθηκε στις 7 Φεβρουαρίου 1812 κι ήταν Άγγλος μυθιστοριογράφος.

Ο Τσαρλς Ντίκενς υπήρξε ένας από τους πιο διάσημους Άγγλους μυθιστοριογράφους και κριτικούς της κοινωνίας. Επινόησε ορισμένους από τους γνωστότερους διεθνώς φανταστικούς χαρακτήρες και θεωρείται από πολλούς ως ο σπουδαιότερος συγγραφέας της Βικτωριανής Εποχής. Τα έργα του έχαιραν άνευ προηγουμένου δημοτικότητας κατά τη διάρκεια της ζωής του, ενώ αυτή η δημοφιλία διατηρείται και σήμερα τόσο για τα μυθιστορήματα όσο και για τα διηγήματά του. Οι κριτικοί της λογοτεχνίας του 20ού αιώνα όπως και οι ακαδημαϊκοί τον έχουν αναγνωρίσει ως μια λογοτεχνική διάνοια. Στα ελληνικά κυκλοφορούν πολλές αξιόλογες μεταφράσεις των βιβλίων του, ενώ αρκετοί τίτλοι του έχουν μεταφερθεί στον κινηματογράφο αλλά και στο θέατρο.

Πέθανε στο Λονδίνο στις 9 Ιουνίου 1870, στη χώρα κηρύχθηκε πένθος και τον έθαψαν στη γωνία των ποιητών, στο Γουεστμίνστερ Άμπεϋ. Η δημοτικότητά του ήταν εξαιρετική όσο ζούσε και, όπως είπε και ο Walter Allen, «η επιρροή του εξακολουθεί να είναι αισθητή και το έργο του μέρος του λογοτεχνικού κλίματος μέσα στο οποίο ζει ο δυτικός άνθρωπος».


Με αφορμή την επέτειο της γέννησής του, θυμόμαστε μερικές από τις χαρακτηριστικές του φράσεις:

«Μια καρδιά γεμάτη αγάπη είναι η πιο αληθινή σοφία».

«Σφυρηλατούμε οι ίδιοι τις αλυσίδες που φοράμε στη ζωή».

«Ο πόνος του χωρισμού δεν είναι τίποτα μπρος στη χαρά της εκ νέου συνάντησης».


«Αν δεν υπήρχαν κακοί άνθρωποι, δεν θα υπήρχαν καλοί δικηγόροι».


«Να έχεις μια καρδιά που δεν σκληραίνει ποτέ, και μια ιδιοσυγκρασία που δεν κουράζει ποτέ, και ένα άγγιγμα που δεν πονάει ποτέ».

«Υπάρχουν σκοτεινές σκιές στη γη, αλλά τα φώτα της κάνουν πιο δυνατά την αντίθεση».

«Η φύση δίνει σε κάθε εποχή κάποιες δικές της ομορφιές. Και από το πρωί μέχρι το βράδυ, όπως από την κούνια μέχρι τον τάφο, δεν είναι παρά μια διαδοχή αλλαγών τόσο ήπιων και εύκολων που μετά βίας μπορούμε να σημειώσουμε την πρόοδό τους».

«Δεν θα μπορούσα ποτέ να κάνω αυτό που έκανα χωρίς τις συνήθειες της ακρίβειας, της τάξης και της επιμέλειας, χωρίς την αποφασιστικότητα να συγκεντρωθώ σε ένα θέμα τη φορά».

«Κανείς δεν είναι άχρηστος σε αυτόν τον κόσμο αν δεν ρίχνει το βάρος του σε κανέναν άλλον».

«Η όλη διαφορά μεταξύ κατασκευής και δημιουργίας είναι ακριβώς αυτή: ότι ένα πράγμα που κατασκευάζεται μπορεί να αγαπηθεί μόνο αφού κατασκευαστεί. Αλλά ένα πράγμα που δημιουργείται αγαπιέται πριν υπάρξει».

«Ό,τι προσπάθησα να κάνω στη ζωή, προσπάθησα με όλη μου την καρδιά να το κάνω καλά. Σε οτιδήποτε έχω αφοσιωθεί, έχω αφοσιωθεί πλήρως. Σε μεγάλους στόχους και σε μικρούς, ήμουν πάντα σοβαρός».

«Όσο δύσκολη κι αν φαίνεται η ζωή, υπάρχει πάντα κάτι που μπορείτε να κάνετε και να πετύχετε» Stephen Hawking



«Η Κοκκινοσκουφίτσα ήταν η πρώτη μου αγάπη. Ένιωθα ότι αν μπορούσα να παντρευτώ την Κοκκινοσκουφίτσα, θα έπρεπε να είχα γνωρίσει την τέλεια ευδαιμονία».

«Η ζωή είναι φτιαγμένη από τόσα πολλά χωριστά μέρη συγκολλημένα μεταξύ τους».

«Αυτός είναι ένας κόσμος δράσης, και όχι για σκούπισμα ή απλώς μια βόλτα».

«Οι τύψεις είναι η φυσική ακολουθία των γκρίζων μαλλιών».

«Υπάρχουν βιβλία των οποίων η πλάτη και τα εξώφυλλα είναι μακράν τα καλύτερα μέρη».

«Ας είμαστε ηθικοί. Ας αναλογιστούμε την ύπαρξή μας».

«Ανοίγει τους πνεύμονες, καθαρίζει το βλέμμα, ασκεί τα μάτια και απαλύνει την ιδιοσυγκρασία. Κλάψε ελεύθερα λοιπόν».

ΠΗΓΗ:

https://childit.gr/%ce%ad%ce%bd%ce%b1%cf%82-%ce%b1%cf%80%cf%8c-%cf%84%ce%bf%cf%85%cf%82-%cf%80%ce%b9%ce%bf-%cf%83%ce%b7%ce%bc%ce%b1%ce%bd%cf%84%ce%b9%ce%ba%ce%bf%cf%8d%cf%82-%cf%83%cf%85%ce%b3%ce%b3%cf%81%ce%b1%cf%86/(accessed 7.2.24)

Relational Spaces, Institutions and Professional Groupings

New York University (NYU) features the Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. Current faculty members in the Relational Track are Lewis Aron, Beatrice Beebe, Jessica Benjamin, Philip M. Bromberg, Muriel Dimenv, Morris Eagle, James Fosshage, Adrienne E. Harris, Irwin Z. Hoffman, Frank Lachmann, Donna M. Orange, Jeremy D. Safran, Andrew Samuels, Donnel B. Stern, and Paul L. Wachtel. The Psychoanalytic Society of the Postdoctoral Program is the graduate organisation of the above program. Mitchell joined with Emmanuel Ghent, Philip Bromberg, James Fosshage, and Bernard Friedland to form the relational track at NYU in 1989.

The William Alanson White Institute founded 1943 in New York as an alternative to mainstream Freudian psychoanalysis by Erich Fromm, Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, Harry Stack Sullivan, David Rioch, Janet M. Rioch, and Clara Thompson as the centre of Interpersonal Psychoanalysis. Both Donnel B. Stern and Philip M. Bromberg are graduates of the Institute. Contemporary Psychoanalysis is the Institute’s journal.

The Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity was founded by George E. Atwood, Beatrice Beebe, Bernard Brandchaft, James Fosshage, Frank Lachmann, and Robert D. Stolorow in 1987. All members had been influenced by self-psychology but the outcome of the collaboration has been what is known as Intersubjective Psychoanalysis. Donna M. Orange is a graduate of the Institute.

The Stephen Mitchell Center for Relational Studies in NY offers the only exclusively relational training program in the New York City Metropolitan Area and includes key players Jessica Benjamin, Margaret Black and Jody Messler Davies on its Faculty. They say, “Over the past 30 years we have seen an evolutionary shift in the basic assumptions underlying the practice of dynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. Where once the patient’s unconscious process was the exclusive focus of psychoanalytic work, contemporary practitioners have shifted their attention to the intersubjective arena in which the patient’s internal object world meets and engages the object world of the analyst’s.

The exchange between relational psychoanalysis and attachment has been very prominent in the USA. Two highly influential protagonists are Beatrice Beebe and Frank Lachmann on one hand, and the Boston Change Process Study Group on the other. These pioneers have focused on how the analysis of interaction between infant and caregiver can shed light on the implicit/procedural/non-conscious encodings of interpersonal expectations as manifested in the analytic relationship. Infancy research, developmental psychology and attachment theory are connected to relational thinking via theories of the intersubjective and mutually regulating influence of the mother/carer and baby dyad, which forms a template for relationships and capacity for affect regulation throughout life.

The Bowlby Centre in London, UK offers a psychotherapy training based in the intersection of relational psychoanalysis and attachment based therapy. This organisation was founded by John Southgate and Kate White in 1989 with the support of John Bowlby’s supervision.

Also in London, The Minster Centre for Integrative Psychotherapy places an emphasis on Relational Psychoanalysis in its M.A programme. The Metanoia Institute also includes a relational perspective in its trainings.

The International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy is a membership based umbrella organisation for clinicians wishing to contribute or explore relational approaches to psychotherapy, with outposts in several countries. The IARPP publishes an influential online discussion of relational theory and practice – their colloquium – which is open to the members of the association. This attracts writer-clinicians from many of the relational schools. They also host a major international conference on developments in relational theory. They position themselves thus: “While the term relational was initially used to bridge theories of internal object relations and the intersubjective field, in the past decade its meaning and scope have evolved dramatically, opening myriad questions for further study. The term “relational” applies, most broadly, on three levels:The understanding that all ideas, including psychoanalytic wisdom, are historical, linguistic, political and contextual.
An appreciation that individual experiences and intrapsychic structures derive largely from and are transformations of relationships with significant others.
The discovery that therapeutic change operates, at the same time, both intrapsychically and interpersonally and is most usefully explored in terms of the evolving relationship between patient and therapist.

Fundamental to this outlook is an appreciation that all ideas, including psychoanalytic conceptions and accumulated wisdom, are historical, linguistic, political, and contextual. Individual personality and intrapsychic structures are constructed and derive substantially from personal transformations that come into being in the context of human relationships.”

Journals

Psychoanalytic Dialogues is an international journal offering relational perspectives to Psychoanalysis. It was founded by Stephen A. Mitchell. Some of the editors are Neil Altman, Anne Alvarez, Lewis Aron, Beatrice Beebe, Jessica Benjamin, Sidney Blatt, Philip M. Bromberg, Morris Eagle, James Fosshage, Glen O. Gabbard, Adrienne E. Harris, Irwin Z. Hoffman, Joseph D. Lichtenberg, Thomas H. Ogden, Elizabeth Bott Spillius, Andrew Samuels Jeremy D. Safran, Donnel B. Stern, Robert D. Stolorow, and Robert S. Wallerstein. Psychoanalytic Dialogues was launched in the late 1980s and began to publish in 1991.

The Bowlby Centre is responsible for the joint venture with Karnac Books to publish the journal Attachment: New Directions in Psychotherapy and Relational Psychoanalysis that welcomes contributions from colleagues of all clinical orientations that further attachment-based relational psychotherapy and counselling.

The International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology is published by the International Association of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology. Their executive board features Doris Brothers and James Fosshage. The editorial board of the journal includes Beatrice Beebe, James Fosshage, and Joseph D. Lichtenberg. George E. Atwood, Donna M. Orange, and Robert D. Stolorow are the Philosophy Editors.

SOURCE:

https://www.confer.uk.com/module-study-guide/relational/relational-spaces-institutions-and-professional-groupings.html(accessed 7.2.24)

Neurodiversity in the tech industry

A major new global study suggests an urgent need for more equitable and inclusive workplaces.
Research & evaluationSocial inclusionMental healthOrganisations







The largest global workplace survey on neurodiversity to date in the tech sector reveals that nearly half of neurodivergent employees feel impacted by their neurodivergent conditions, at least on most days, in the workplace. A quarter disclosed that they were impacted every day. The study highlights key challenges for neurodivergent employees and points to improvements in the workplace environment, culture and systems that would make workplaces more accessible and inclusive.

The study explores the intricate social dynamics within company culture and workplace systems that impact neurodivergent individuals’ experiences. It was carried out by the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR) and Inner Ambitions on behalf of the #ChangeTheFace Alliance.Read the study

#ChangeTheFace is a collaborative initiative uniting leading global tech companies, since 2021, to champion diversity, equality/equity, and inclusion within the tech industry. Four companies from the Alliance took part in the study: Colt, Nokia, Samsung, and Vodafone.

The research incorporates findings from an online survey with 2,176 respondents across the four participating companies, with 1,425 neurotypical, 562 neurodivergent, and 189 who were unsure or preferred not to disclose. The researchers also conducted a systematic literature review, validation workshop and three focus groups with employees in the four companies.
How do workplace environments impact neurodivergent employees?

The new research found that company culture and workplace systems can create barriers for neurodivergent people throughout their employee journey, from recruitment to everyday working life, and career advancement.

Notably, more than half of those who self-reported as neurodivergent, refrained from disclosing their condition(s), because they lacked a formal diagnosis (55%) or did not see the value in disclosing it (53%). The researchers suggest that this means companies should create organisational environments that make support available, regardless of whether staff have disclosed their neurodivergence or whether they have a formal diagnosis. Supportive working conditions would also help in making disclosure and seeking support worth the effort and risk, the researchers said.
Four pivotal findings

The research highlighted four key findings for the tech sector, relevant to socio-technical systems thinking, that could support the development of more neurodiverse, inclusive, and accessible workplaces where all employees can thrive.The need for more psychological safety and trust: Organisations must foster psychological safety and trust to make workplaces more supportive of neurodivergent employees’ mental well-being, minimising the need to mask.
Workplace adjustments exist in a wider social context: Organisations need to critically evaluate the impact of their culture on neurodivergent employees and make the necessary adjustments to provide effective support. Many impediments to neurodiversity, equity, and inclusion are rooted in human behaviour.
Systemic barriers to support: Support should be accessible without a formal diagnosis or disclosure, promoting neurodiverse inclusivity and accessibility. Organisations should proactively offer support options to make the workplace more accessible for neurodivergent individuals.
Neurodiversity equity and inclusion hinges on supportive allyship: Organisations must invest in awareness training to foster a culture of allyship and understanding of neurodiversity.




“This was a substantial piece of work and on a topic which seems crucial to the future of the workplace. Supporting neurodiversity equity and inclusion are so important if we want to be in a world where differences are recognised, celebrated and supported. As ever, the best support is rooted in shifts in organisational systems and culture, so we are delighted with the positive reception of this research from the industry. The findings really underscore the urgency for systemic changes within the tech sector and beyond.”


Dr David Drabble, Senior Researcher and Consultant, TIHR


“Our mission at #ChangeTheFace is clear — to work together as an industry to catalyse positive change for a more diverse and inclusive tech sector. Our new insights aim to support the industry to drive positive change, so we can take action to remove barriers in the workplace for neurodivergent employees and create a more accessible and inclusive future for everyone.”


Serpil Timuray, CEO Europe Cluster, Vodafone Group and #ChangeTheFace Alliance Chair
Selected survey findings with workplace culture implications
1. Reasons why neurodivergent employees don’t disclose

More than half of those who self-reported as neurodivergent, did not disclose their condition(s), because they lacked a formal diagnosis (55%) or did not see the value in disclosing it (53%). Around a quarter or respondents cited a fear of stigma (27%) or reduced career opportunities (24%).
2. Mental health

The survey found that on average, neurodivergent employees rated their mental health worse than neurotypical colleagues, with 15% of neurodivergent individuals rating their mental health as poor or very poor, compared to 2% for neurotypical colleagues.
3. Findings related to asking for adjustments

Only 9% of neurodivergent employees had requested an adjustment or support at work, with the majority of those disclosing their condition. Of the majority that did not ask for adjustments, 61% did not think they needed any. And a third (32%) were worried about how it would look, and 29% did not know what to ask for.
4. Workplace barriers

Neurodivergent employees also cited a range of challenges they typically faced at work, ranging from navigating the hiring process, day-to-day work and social interactions, and transitioning careers. All of which are undergirded by the need for stronger allyship. Hiring — In every area surveyed, neurodivergent employees found the hiring process more challenging than neurotypical employees. Nearly four in ten (39%) found salary-related discussions challenging, along with typical recruitment situations like attending face-to-face interviews (21%).
Workplace interactions — Around half of neurodivergent employees felt overwhelmed by distractions in the office (49%) compared to 14% for neurotypical employees. Other challenges included being unable to mentally prepare fully for meetings (30%), not feeling valued (25%) or included (18%) or feeling judged by colleagues (19%).

Fig.1 workplace interactions
Day-to-day — Neurodivergent employees identified their biggest day-to-day challenges as managing workload (46%), looking after their well-being (44%), having long meetings without breaks (43%) and time management (38%).

Fig.2 day-to-day challenges
Career transitions — A smaller proportion of neurodivergent employees had been promoted (42%), compared to 56% of neurotypical employees.
Allyship — Overall, about two-thirds (64%) of neurodivergent respondents wished for more effort and allyship from their neurotypical colleagues to understand neurodiversity. 46% of respondents said they wanted to have ‘unwritten rules’ in the office explained to them, and 44% wished that their colleagues would recognise when to leave them alone. At the same time, neurotypical employees also recognised the need for more awareness training (78%), better knowledge of available accommodations for their neurodivergent colleagues (53%) and more senior leadership role-modelling of inclusive behaviours (44%).

Fig.3 Desired allyship support


The #ChangeTheFace Alliance is urging organisations to reevaluate and reconfigure their ways of working to foster more neurodiverse, equitable, and inclusive environments.



Click the link above to download and read the report Neurodiversity in the tech sector: Global research on accessibility, barriers and how companies can do better — A report for the #ChangeTheFace Alliance, December 2023. By Dr David Drabble, Elyce Cole, Anna Sophie Hahne, Lanre Sulola and Dr Joe Cullen.

For media inquiries and information, please contact Lucy Lloyd: l.lloyd@tavinstitute.org

SOURCE:

https://www.tavinstitute.org/news/neurodiversity_in_the_tech_industry(accessed 1.2.24)

5 τρόποι για να καταλάβετε έναν νάρκισσο

Περιοδικό «Κ»


Πώς θα αντιληφθείτε αυτή την τοξική συμπεριφορά και γιατί ενώ όλοι βρισκόμαστε στο φάσμα του ναρκισσισμού δεν χρήζουμε όλοι ψυχoθεραπείας;


Είναι πραγματικό πρόσωπο αλλά, επειδή δεν είναι πρέπον να την κατονομάσω, θα την αναφέρω ως Ελένη. Επρόκειτο για συνάδελφό μου, υπάλληλο στην ίδια θέση με εμένα σε ιδιωτική εταιρεία, πριν από οκτώ χρόνια. Ενώ στην αρχή ήταν εξαιρετικά φιλική, λίγες ημέρες μετά από την άφιξή της στο γραφείο άρχισα να συνειδητοποιώ ότι κάτι δεν πήγαινε καλά στη συμπεριφορά της. Για παράδειγμα, κάθε φορά που άνοιγε το στόμα της για να πει κάτι καλό («θα σας φέρω ραβανί αύριο»), αυτό το καλό συνοδευόταν με ένα αυτοπαίνεμα («καλά, ε, και να δείτε τι ωραία το φτιάχνω, είμαι φοβερή στο ραβανί»).

Για να μείνω στο ραβανί, αμέσως μου φάνηκε λίγο περίεργη αυτή η ειδίκευσή της στο οθωμανικό γλυκό. Την επομένη, με σέρβιρε στο γραφείο μου χωρίς να της το ζητήσω και με κοίταζε σε κάθε μπουκιά: «Καλά, ε, έχεις φάει τέτοιο ραβανί; Όχι, πες μου!». Τολμώ να πω ότι ο προπονημένος ουρανίσκος μου μού φώναζε πως η γυναίκα που είχα απέναντί μου δεν το είχε καθόλου με τη ζαχαροπλαστική αλλά, από ευγένεια και για να ξεμπερδεύω μαζί της, αποκρίθηκα με ένα «τέλειο, Ελένη μου, γεια στα χέρια σου».



Εσείς ξέρετε πώς να φέρεστε σωστά;


Όσο εργαζόμασταν για την ίδια εταιρεία –και παρότι η παρουσία της εκεί δεν μακροημέρευσε– πρόλαβα να «μάθω» ότι ήταν «φοβερή» σε εκατοντάδες ακόμα πράγματα: Στο να καθαρίζει τις τρίχες της γάτας της από το «υπέροχο» παλτό της, στα εργασιακά της καθήκοντα («είμαι και η πρώτη επαγγελματίας»), στις δίαιτες («φίλε μου, θα σου πει η Ελένη γιατί δεν αδυνατίζεις). Nαι, ενίοτε μιλούσε για τον εαυτό της σε τρίτο πρόσωπο.

Στο Facebook είχε κοντά στους 3.000 φίλους και το χρησιμοποιούσε για να προβάλλει ό,τι έκανε: Τις συναντήσεις της με στελέχη της εταιρείας που βρίσκονταν σε υψηλότερη κλίμακα, τις selfies της με προβεβλημένους, λαοφιλείς αστέρες της μουσικής, τα στραβοχυμένα γεμιστά της, την καινούργια τσάντα που αγόρασε και στάμπαρε με τα αρχικά της.

Κυρίως, όμως, κατάλαβα ότι ήταν τρομερά ικανή στο να ενορχηστρώνει καταστάσεις υπέρ της. Κάποτε έφτασε να στήσει ολόκληρη καμπάνια για το πόσο κουρασμένος είμαι έτσι ώστε να «θυσιαστεί, παρά τον δικό της φόρτο εργασίας» και να πάει στη θέση μου σε ένα επαγγελματικό ταξίδι στη Νότια Αφρική (στο οποίο ήθελα να πάω). Ο λόγος; «Για να ξεκουραστώ, ο καημένος».


Εκείνη, άλλωστε, δε χρειαζόταν ποτέ ξεκούραση· τα κατάφερνε πάντα όλα πολύ καλύτερα από τους άλλους, λες και γεννήθηκε με κάποιο χάρισμα που, ειλικρινά, εγώ έψαχνα να το εντοπίσω πάνω της αλλά αποτύγχανα παταγωδώς.

Την Ελένη τη θυμήθηκα ξανά πρόσφατα, διαβάζοντας ένα άρθρο σε μια επιστημονική επιθεώρηση για τη Ναρκισσιστική Διαταραχή Προσωπικότητας (ΝΔΠ). Πληρούσε πολλά από τα προαπαιτούμενα της ΝΔΠ χωρίς, φυσικά, καθώς δεν είμαι ειδικός ψυχικής υγείας, να μπορώ να προβώ σε διάγνωση για το αν το πρόβλημά της ήταν συμπεριφορικό ή κλινικό.
Τα πέντε σημάδια που «δείχνουν» έναν νάρκισσο

Η αλαζονεία. Οι άνθρωποι με ναρκισσιστική συμπεριφορά πιστεύουν ότι είναι ανώτεροι από τους άλλους, γι’ αυτό και όταν οι άλλοι δεν συμπεριφέρονται ως υπήκοοί τους γίνονται αγενείς.

Το ότι θεωρούν δεδομένη την ειδική μεταχείριση. Ακριβώς επειδή οι νάρκισσοι πιστεύουν ότι είναι ανώτεροι από τους άλλους, αναμένουν να τυγχάνουν πάντα ειδικής μεταχείρισης λες και «τους τη χρωστάει η ζωή». Θέλουν να ικανοποιείται κάθε επιθυμία τους και τείνουν να παρακάμπτουν κάθε κανόνα που τους εμποδίζει να αποκτήσουν αυτό που θέλουν.

Η χειριστική συμπεριφορά. Οι νάρκισσοι (θέλουν να) χειραγωγούν τους άλλους, με διάφορες μαλαγανιές και πλάγιους τρόπους, που ενίοτε γίνονται κατευθείαν εμφανείς και άλλες φορές όχι. Ένα συγκεκριμένο μοτίβο συμπεριφοράς τούς θέλει να προσπαθούν, πρώτα, να ευχαριστήσουν και να εντυπωσιάσουν το θύμα τους, έτσι ώστε στη συνέχεια να μπορούν να το εκμεταλλευτούν ή να το ελέγξουν, προς όφελός τους. Σε άλλες περιπτώσεις, το κρατούν σε απόσταση για τους ίδιους λόγους.

Η ανάγκη για θαυμασμό. Το πρώτο σημάδι που σε κάνει να αρχίσεις να υποψιάζεσαι ότι έχεις να κάνεις με ένα άτομο-νάρκισσο είναι η συνεχής ανάγκη του να το θαυμάζουν και να το επαινούν οι άλλοι αναγνωρίζοντας την, τάχα μου, ανωτερότητά του. Αυτή η ανάγκη της επιβεβαίωσης και της τόνωσης του εγωισμού του είναι που το κάνει να καυχιέται συνεχώς ή να υπερβάλλει για τα κατορθώματά του, ασχέτως του αν πρόκειται για ένα ταψί ραβανί ή για μια άβολη γνωριμία με μια influencer με την οποία, λέει, «γίναμε κατευθείαν κολλητές».

Η παντελής έλλειψη ενσυναίσθησης. Τα άτομα-νάρκισσοι είτε δεν θέλουν είτε αδυνατούν να συναισθανθούν τις έγνοιες, τις ανάγκες ή τις επιθυμίες των άλλων ανθρώπων. Για παράδειγμα, η Ελένη, ενώ βρισκόμουν στο νοσοκομείο για ένα πρόβλημα που αντιμετώπιζα με τη μέση μου, σχολίασε στο γραφείο, αφού ανέφερε ότι και αυτή έχει μεγάλο πρόβλημα με τη μέση της αλλά ποτέ δεν έχει λείψει από τη δουλειά: «καλά, με τη μέση του συμπληρώνει φύλα Excel;».

Οι ναρκισσιστές, επίσης, συχνά διακατέχονται από φαντασιώσεις κατάκτησης υπερβολικής εξουσίας, δύναμης και επιτυχίας, πιστεύουν ότι οι άλλοι τους ζηλεύουν ενώ στην πραγματικότητα αυτοί είναι που φθονούν τα επιτεύγματα των άλλων, είναι μεγαλομανείς και αποζητούν τη με το ζόρι παρέα των ανθρώπων με κύρος.
Τι άλλο πρέπει να γνωρίζεις για τον ναρκισσισμό

Ο ναρκισσισμός σήμερα κατανοείται ως ένα «φάσμα» πάνω στο οποίο είμαστε όλοι τοποθετημένοι, καθώς όλοι προβαίνουμε σε ναρκισσιστικές συμπεριφορές που, μάλιστα, μπορεί να είναι ωφέλιμες για την εξέλιξή μας. Αυτές οι συμπεριφορές δεν είναι, παρά σπανίως, παθολογικές. Η ψυχοθεραπεία, λοιπόν, χρησιμοποιείται για την αντιμετώπιση του ναρκισσισμού μόνο όταν αυτός περάσει ένα όριο και το άτομο που συμπεριφέρεται ναρκισσιστικά διαγνωσθεί ως πάσχον από Ναρκισσιστική Διαταραχή Προσωπικότητας (ΝΔΠ).

Έχουν προταθεί γενετικοί και νευροβιολογικοί παράγοντες που ενδέχεται να οδηγούν τους ανθρώπους στην ανάπτυξη παθολογικής ναρκισσιστικής συμπεριφοράς ενώ, κατά μία δημοφιλή ψυχολογική προσέγγιση, οι ναρκισσιστές χωρίζονται σε δύο τύπους –τους μεγαλοπρεπείς και τους ευάλωτους– ανάλογα με τις εμπειρίες που έζησαν κατά την παιδική τους ηλικία, οι οποίες πιστεύεται πως οδηγούν σε διαφορετικούς τρόπους έκφρασης του ναρκισσισμού τους.

Οι μεγαλοπρεπείς ναρκισσιστές, που είναι επιθετικοί και καυχησιάρηδες, ως παιδιά, ενδέχεται να αντιμετωπίστηκαν σαν να ήταν ανώτερα από τα άλλα. Οι ευάλωτοι ναρκισσιστές, πάλι, παραπαίουν συνεχώς από το αίσθημα κατωτερότητας στο αίσθημα ανωτερότητας, είναι υπερευαίσθητοι, παρεξηγιάρηδες και αισθάνονται προσβεβλημένοι όταν οι άλλοι δεν τους φέρονται σαν να είναι ξεχωριστοί. Αυτή η συμπεριφορά ενδέχεται να είναι αποτέλεσμα της παραμέλησης ή κακομεταχείρισής τους κατά την παιδική τους ηλικία. Και οι δύο τύποι ναρκισσιστών ενδέχεται να πάσχουν και από άλλες διαταραχές, γι’ αυτό και η ψυχοθεραπεία είναι απαραίτητη.

ΠΗΓΗ:

https://www.kathimerini.gr/k/k-magazine/562858801/5-tropoi-gia-na-katalavete-enan-narkisso/(accessed 1.2.24)