Psychological mindedness (PM) has long been considered to be an important mediator of therapy outcome. However, to date, definitions of PM have been typified by linguistic imprecision and lack of conceptual clarity. Further, most definitions and measures of PM have approached the task from a psychodynamic perspective, thus limiting the use of this construct by clinicians and researchers from other theoretical perspectives. In this paper, previous definitions and self-report measures are reviewed and a new definition proposed. It is argued that PM is best conceptualised as a form of metacognition: a predisposition to engage in metacognitive acts of inquiry into how and why people behave, think, and feel in the way that they do. A new model, based on this definition, suggests that PM may be assessed by measuring individuals' metacognitive processes of self-reflection and insight, circumventing many of the problems associated with previous self-report measures of PM. Research into individual differences in propensity for PM, self-reflection, and insight may well provide the clinician with additional tools with which to facilitate purposeful, directed change in both clinical and nonclinical populations.

The ability of a school-based program with training in both cognitive and social skills to prevent depressive symptoms in children (the Penn Prevention Program) was evaluated. Research conducted in Australia has failed to replicate the success of the program in the United States. Also evaluated was the ability of the program to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, the assumption that changes in social skills and cognitive style would be associated with changes in symptoms of depression and anxiety, and the relative merits of the cognitive and social components of the program. Sixty-three children in fifth and sixth grades were randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. There was no evidence that the Penn Prevention Program had any impact on the variables measured at the end of the program or at the 8-month follow-up assessment. Limitations and implications of the present findings are discussed.

This study examined the effectiveness of emotive imagery as a treatment for clinically significant darkness phobia in 7- to 10-year-old children. Twenty-four clinically diagnosed children were randomly assigned to either emotive imagery treatment or a waiting-list control condition. Emotive imagery was conducted over six sessions, one per week. The results demonstrated that the emotive imagery group showed significantly greater reductions in darkness fears and anxiety according to child and parent reports and a behavioural darkness probe task, in comparison to the waiting-list group. The waiting-list children showed minimal reductions in fearfulness over the 20-week waiting-list period. The improvements of the emotive imagery group were maintained at the 3-month follow-up.

The study investigated whether obese children are more impulsive than lean children, taking into account the multidimensionality of the construct. Responses of 41 overweight children were compared to those of 40 lean children. The Stop Task, Circle Drawing Task and Opposite Worlds Task were administered to measure executive inhibitory control, and the Maudsley Index of Childhood Delay Aversion and the Door Opening Task were administered to measure motivational inhibitory control. On the Stop Task, the overweight children showed less inhibitory control. On the Opposite Worlds task, we found no significant difference, whereas on the Circle Drawing Task an unexpected group difference was found. Although on the Door Opening Task the overweight children showed greater reward sensitivity, they were equally motivated to wait on the Maudsley Index of Childhood Delay. We conclude that the findings were different depending on the measure used, but that they suggest that overweight children can be characterised by a decrease in executive and motivational inhibitory control.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterised by a marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations. Cognitive models suggest that self-focused cognitive processes play a crucial role in generating and maintaining social anxiety, and that self-focused cognition occurs prior to, during, and following social situations (Clark & Wells, 1995; Rapee & Heimberg, 1997). There is a substantial body of empirical evidence demonstrating that socially anxious individuals engage in self-focused cognition during and following a social or performance situation. A smaller but growing body literature suggests that a similar process occurs prior to such situations, and that these three processes are interdependent. Furthermore, the vast majority of research to date indicates that self-focused cognitive processes are detrimental, and that they generate and maintain social anxiety in a variety of ways. However, there remains considerable scope for research to further explicate the role of these processes in the maintenance of SAD, and to enhance interventions designed to ameliorate their negative effects.

There is an urgent need to find strategies to promote positive mental health in the workplace. The current study presents outcomes of a pilot trial of the Promoting Adult Resilience (PAR) program, an innovative mental health promotion program, which is conducted in the workplace over 11 weekly sessions. The PAR program is a strengths-based resilience-building program that integrates interpersonal and cognitive–behaviour therapy (CBT) perspectives. Pre-, post- and follow-up measures on 20 PAR participants from a resource-sector company were compared with a non-intervention-matched comparison group. At follow-up, the PAR group had maintained significant post-test improvements in coping self-efficacy and lower levels of stress and depression, and reported greater work-life fit than the comparison group. The program appeared to be ecologically valid and treatment integrity was maintained. Process evaluations of PAR program showed that skills were rated highly and widely used in everyday life at both post and follow-up measurement times.

The efficacy of cognitive—behavioural therapy (CBT) for the treatment of childhood anxiety has mainly been demonstrated in university-clinic settings. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of CBT for the treatment of childhood anxiety in a community mental health service, compared with standard treatments (‘Treatment as Usual’ [TAU]) 'child psychotherapy, family therapy and eclectic treatments. Fifty-four children with anxiety disorders, aged from 7 to 14 years, were randomly assigned to either a CBT or TAU group. CBT and the standard treatments were provided by 18 experienced therapists, and the mean number of treatment sessions was 12. Baseline and follow-up measures at 3, 6 and 12 months included an interview based on criteria in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) that was conducted by a clinical psychologist who was blind to the treatment conditions, and standardised anxiety measures (parent, child and teacher reports). Significant improvements were found on all anxiety measures over time, but no significant differences were found between CBT and TAU. The challenge of conducting such research in community settings is discussed.

This study examined the efficacy of the Group Triple P-Positive Parenting Program with a Japanese population to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the program and the parenting skills taught in a crosscultural context. The study involved 50 Japanese parents living in Australia and used a randomised group comparison design with two conditions, Triple P group and a waitlist control group. The results revealed significant reductions in parent reported child behaviour problems, parental overreactivity and laxness, and parental conflict as well as increasing parental competence. The acceptability of the program was found to be high. Intervention effects and program acceptability in a Japanese context as well as limitations and future research are discussed.

Perfectionism has been suggested as a risk factor for the development of stress and burnout in psychotherapists, but this has not been extensively investigated. This study examined the relationship between perfectionism, stress and burnout in 87 Australian clinical psychologists. Stress had significant influences on the relationship between perfectionism and burnout. Specifically, stress was found to be a partial intervening variable in the relationship between perfectionism and personal burnout. In addition, stress was also found to completely mediate the influence of perfectionism on work-related and client-related burnout. The results indicated that perfectionism was both directly and indirectly related through stress to various types of burnout in clinical psychologists. Implications of the findings for research in to the utility of intervention for high levels of perfectionism in clinical psychologists are discussed.

Research on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT; Segal, Williams, & Teasdale, 2002a) has supported the effectiveness of this approach for use with preventing relapse in recurrent depression. This study evaluated the use of MBCT in a heterogeneous sample of 26 psychiatric outpatients with mood and/or anxiety disorders. Results from both completer and intent to treat analyses showed that MBCT was associated with statistically significant improvements in depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia symptoms. Rates of clinically significant improvement were comparable with effectiveness studies of cognitive behaviour therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction in heterogeneous samples. It is concluded that MBCT may be of value for a range of psychological presentations, administered in heterogeneous groups. Future, controlled, research is required to further evaluate this conclusion and to investigate mechanisms of change.

Many researchers report the p value of an analysis to communicate whether findings are significant. This may be misinterpreted to imply that if p < .05 the finding is also of clinical significance. Researchers should also report the magnitude of the association, an easily calculated statistic, to allow a better understanding of results when p < .05. Methods for doing this for t, χ2, and F values are given. The clinical significance of an intervention is also commonly determined by whether p < .05. A better understanding, however, is gained by then calculating the effect size (d). This measure enables effects and strengths of association to be compared among studies. Methods for doing this, for the same statistics, are given.

This study aimed to (a) appraise the efficacy of a well validated Anglo-Australian anxiety-prevention and stress-resiliency program (FRIENDS) for use with culturally diverse migrant groups residing in Australia, (b) examine the social validity of FRIENDS, and (c) obtain information from both participants and facilitators regarding how the program can best be modified for specific use with non-English-speaking background (NESB) clients. To test the efficacy of the intervention, pre- and post-intervention evaluation of internalising symptoms and coping ability were compared with waiting-list control groups (matched according to ethnic group, gender, and school level). One hundred and six primary and ninety-eight high school students differentiated by cultural origin (former-Yugoslavian, Chinese, and mixed-ethnic) and school level (primary and high school), completed standardised measures of internalising symptoms and were allocated to either an intervention (n = 121) or a waiting-list (n = 83) condition. Both groups were readministered the assessment package for comparison following a 10-week treatment or waiting period. Consistent with a recent pilot study, pre/post-assessment indicated that participants in the intervention condition exhibited lower anxiety and a more positive future outlook than waiting-list participants. Participating students reported to be highly satisfied with the intervention. Despite the overall success of FRIENDS, the program may be enhanced by culturally sensitive supplements so that the program is more applicable for use with NESB participants. Suggestions for treatment program modifications of FRIENDS are discussed.

Domestic violence is a pervasive social problem that has devastating emotional, physical, psychological, and financial costs for individuals, families, and communities. Despite the widespread use of current intervention programmes, recent reviews have demonstrated that these have only a small impact on the reduction of recidivism. In this article, we briefly summarise the features identified in the literature that distinguish domestically violent men from those who do not engage in such behaviours. We then explore the most common interventions used to treat domestic violence offenders and discuss the limitations of these interventions, before outlining the assumptions of the Good Lives Model (GLM), a strength-based approach to the treatment of offenders. We discuss the advantages of using the GLM compared to existing approaches and finally, we consider future directions for the use of the GLM in domestic violence interventions.

Following Bandura's theory, a Self-efficacy Questionnaire for School Situations (SEQ-SS) was developed to assess the cognitions of school refusers. The instrument contains twelve school-related situations which are rated by children according to their belief about their ability to cope with each situation. Factor analysis yielded two reliable factors labelled Academic/Social Stress and Separation/Discipline Stress. Psychometric evaluation also revealed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Total self-efficacy scores for 135 school refusers ranged from very low to very high. Self-efficacy was highest with regard to doing school work and lowest with regard to answering peers' questions about absences. The clinical utility of the SEQ-SS is discussed, with implications for the selection of cognitive and behavioural treatment procedures. The application of the instrument in future research is also considered.

Grazing, or the uncontrolled, repetitive eating of small amounts of food is being increasingly recognised as an important eating behaviour associated with obesity. In spite of the need for a better understanding of this eating behaviour for improved obesity treatment, currently there is no empirically validated self-report measure to assess grazing. Therefore, to contribute to a better understanding of this relatively understudied eating pattern, a new self-report questionnaire of grazing was developed in this study. Questionnaire items were designed to reflect previous empirical descriptions of grazing. A group of 248 university students completed the Grazing Questionnaire, other measures of eating-related behaviours and cognitions, and negative emotion. Sixty-two participants completed the Grazing Questionnaire a second time to calculate its temporal stability. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a clear two-factor solution for the questionnaire, reflecting repetitive eating behaviour and a perception of loss of control. Scores on the Grazing Questionnaire were positively associated with other measures of disordered eating, especially with binge eating. Initial psychometric properties of the new questionnaire are promising. Future research is now needed to examine the prevalence of this eating behaviour in more diverse populations, including those with binge eating disorder and obesity.

The present study investigated whether children with high symptom levels of either social phobia (SP), separation anxiety disorder (SAD), or generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) are characterised by a specific set of dysfunctional interpretations that are consistent with the cognitive model of their specific fear (“content-specificity of interpretations”). It was also examined whether such cognitive bias is predominantly activated in those ambiguous situations that are relevant for the pertinent fear (“content-specificity of situations”). Children high on symptoms of SP, SAD, and GAD and low-anxious control children were exposed to stories describing ambiguous situations and asked to give their interpretations and action plans. Results showed that high-anxious children displayed a negative cognitive bias compared to control children, but did not differ from controls with respect to the action plans given. Some evidence was found for the content-specificity of this cognitive bias. That is, consistent with the hypothesis of content-specificity of interpretations, children high on SAD reported more interpretations consistent with the content of their fear than children high on SP and GAD. Further, children high on SP and SAD predominantly displayed a negative cognitive bias in response to respectively social and separation situations. Children high on GAD did not show content-specificity for interpretations or situations. The theoretical implications of these findings are briefly discussed.

Background: The pervasive tendency to avoid perceived risks has been recently implicated in the maintenance of anxiety pathology, and more specifically, social phobia. Social anxiety symptoms are thus hypothesised to be associated with a global risk-avoidant decision-making bias. Aim: This study investigated: (1) the relationship between risk-avoidance and social anxiety symptoms using both self-report and behavioural measures of risk-taking; and (2) whether risk-avoidance mediates the relationship between a dispositional vulnerability to anxiety (Behavioural Inhibition System [BIS] sensitivity) and social anxiety symptoms. Method: Fifty-five undergraduate students completed self-report measures assessing for social anxiety symptoms, risk-taking across various domains, and BIS sensitivity. Risk-avoidance was also assessed using a behavioural computer task. Results: As hypothesised, risk-avoidance correlated significantly with both social anxiety and BIS. Multiple regression analyses revealed that risk-avoidance served as a partial mediator between BIS and social anxiety. Conclusion: These results confirm the hypothesised relationship between BIS, risk-avoidance, and social anxiety symptoms. Risk-avoidance is one possible mechanism by which personality characteristics may be linked to anxiety pathology.

This study examined the efficacy of a modified form of cognitive behavioural therapy, known as cognitive behavioural coaching, in reducing levels of perfectionism and self-handicapping in a non-clinical population. Twenty-eight research higher degree students participated in an intensive workshop series held over 6 weeks. Perfectionism and self-handicapping were measured at the commencement and conclusion of the workshop series, and again 4 weeks later. Levels of perfectionism fell during the workshop series and this reduction was sustained at follow-up. Levels of self-handicapping did not fall during the workshop series but had fallen significantly by follow-up. Participants' level of satisfaction with their candidature progress also improved. This study demonstrates how the principles of CBT can be successfully modified and used with a nonclinical population.