Previous research with an on-line processing task found that individuals without social anxiety generate benign inferences when ambiguous social information is encountered, but people with high social anxiety or social phobia do not (Hirsch and Mathews, 1997, 2000). In the present study, we tested if it is possible to induce a benign (or less negative) inferential bias in people who report anxiety about interviews by requiring them to take the perspective of an interview confident person, rather than their own. High interview anxious volunteers were allocated to read descriptions of job interviews, either taking their own perspective in the described situation or that of a confident interviewee. At certain points during the text, a target letter string appeared and participants were asked to indicate whether it formed a word or a non-word (lexical decision). Some of the lexical decisions occurred in the context of ambiguous text that could be interpreted in both a threatening and a benign manner. In a baseline condition, decisions were made following text for which there was only one possible inference (either threat or benign). The results indicated that, compared to the self referent condition, participants who adopted the perspective of a confident other person showed enhanced inhibition of threat inferences.

A modified version of the probe detection task was used to investigate the time course of attentional biases for emotional words in high and low socially anxious individuals. Word pairs were presented at two exposure durations, 200 and 500 msec, in order to investigate the different components of attentional bias in anxiety (e.g., vigilance or avoidance of threat). There was evidence of an attentional bias favouring initial vigilance towards (social and physical) threat words and subsequent avoidance of the same stimuli in high social anxiety. In contrast, low socially anxious individuals did not exhibit an attentional preference. The interaction of social anxiety and exposure duration for threat words remained when controlling for general negative affect. Theoretical and clinical implications of the results are discussed.

Alcohol use and anxiety disorder frequently co-occur. Despite this, no research has satisfactorily examined the effect of alcoholism treatment on anxiety states. The effect of Relapse Prevention (RP) treatment on alcohol dependence and co-morbid panic disorder in a single case was therefore examined. RP reduced alcohol intake and anxiety levels, and eliminated panic attacks, although carrying alcohol to prevent panic attack remained. Belief change was achieved when this behaviour was eliminated. Results are consistent with a “feed-forward” model of co-morbidity. The need for further research exploring RP and co-morbid anxiety disorder is emphasized, as is work examining alcohol-related safety-seeking behaviour.

The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of cognitive group therapy compared to a waiting list in a sample of patients with heterogeneous non-psychotic disorders. Participants in this study were referred from either the psychiatric in- or outpatient clinic at the psychiatric university hospital in Trondheim, Norway. The patients were assessed with SCID I and SCID II, and randomized either to cognitive group therapy (n=15) or to a waiting list (n=17). Self-report assessments of symptoms and interpersonal difficulties were administered at the start of therapy, after termination of therapy (8 weeks), and at 6 months and 12 months follow-up. Thirty-two patients completed 8 weeks of therapy. Results showed that an 8-week program of CBGT performed better than the waiting list controls, on symptom relief at post-treatment for all patients. The effects of therapy were still upheld at 6 and 12 months follow-up. Cognitive therapy seems to be useful and effective in a group format in naturalistic clinical settings, with patients suffering from various forms of non-psychotic co-morbid psychiatric disorders.

The transfer of knowledge occurs most effectively through the stories – the narratives – that we tell others and ourselves about our experiences. Cognitive behaviour therapists may incorporate stories, metaphors and analogies within their daily practice, when assessing suitability for treatment, challenging unhelpful styles of thinking, and addressing maintaining behaviours. The collaborative development of stories can enhance rapport, enable clients to gain a new perspective upon their problems, increase personal impact and clarity of meaning, and reinforce clients' motivation to effect therapeutic change. This paper discusses the use of the story, anecdote, metaphor, analogy, and quotation within cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). The contribution of other psychotherapies to these forms of therapeutic communication is outlined. Practical examples of stories and analogies that illustrate the main principles of CBT and its application to the treatment of common mental disorders are described. The benefits and limitations of employing individualized analogies and stories within the therapy session are highlighted.

A literature search yielded no studies investigating Wegner's (1989) proposal that repeated suppression attempts and rebound opportunities (indulgence cycles) lead to an escalation of intrusions, providing a mechanism whereby an unwanted intrusive thought may develop into a clinical obsession. It was predicted, based on Wegner's (1994) ironic process theory of mental control, that individuals high in trait obsessionality would exhibit an increase in thought frequency as a function of indulgence cycle and that those low in trait obsessionality would display a corresponding decrease in thought frequency. Participants (N=40) were asked to suppress and then express a personally relevant obsessive intrusive thought through two indulgence cycles. There was no significant escalation in thoughts across indulgence cycles for the high obsessionality group, but the low obsessionality group were significantly more successful at suppression. The results confirm previous research suggesting that trait obsessionality has an impact upon the effectiveness of thought suppression.

The manner in which parents adapt to the experience of caring for a child with an intellectual disability is generally thought to depend upon a range of variables typically conceptualized within multi-dimensional models. This review briefly describes three such models that share significant common features, incorporating child variables, environmental characteristics, and parental cognitive processes as contributors to parental coping styles or parenting stress. The effects of child and environmental characteristics on parenting stress and coping in parents of children with disabilities have been well documented. It is argued, however, that some aspects of cognitive processes in parents of these children have received less attention from researchers. In particular, there has been a large amount of research into parenting self-esteem, parental attributions, and parental locus of control with parents of other groups of children. This research is reviewed, and it is argued that further research into similar cognitions in parents of children with intellectual disabilities is warranted. Finally, the potential clinical implications of such research are examined in relation to behavioural interventions for children's behavioural difficulties. It is suggested that parental cognitions may influence the acceptability of such interventions and also be associated with their effectiveness.

The feasibility of a brief home based cognitive behavioural intervention for depression associated with Parkinson's Disease (PD) was evaluated. Five depressed patients with PD participated. Their ages ranged from 54 to 82 and they all attended a movement disorder clinic. Outcome was assessed using mood and quality of life inventories (Beck Depression Inventory; Geriatric Depression Scale; Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire). Four individuals demonstrated a clinically reliable reduction of symptoms according to the GDS scores, with greater improvement reported for the two individuals with more severe pre-therapy levels of depression. The BDI findings suggested most of the improvement related to the cognitive dimensions of guilt, pessimism and failure. Overall, the change in mood was not accompanied by an enhancement of perceived quality of life, and little variation in the frequency of activities was reported over the course of therapy. Possible explanations for the findings are considered along with implications for theory and clinical practice.

Three exploratory studies evaluated group mindfulness training (which aims to facilitate non-judgmental attention to present moment experience through the practice of meditation) in patients waiting for cognitive behaviour therapy for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The approaches used were based on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. The first group showed that such training is acceptable to patients and that it results in significantly improved subjective measures of anxiety, and improvements in subjective levels of fatigue that approached significance, when compared to waiting list controls. A second uncontrolled study replicated the findings of the first study and also demonstrated an improvement in quality of life as measured by the Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS). More wide-ranging effects were demonstrated in the final study in which significant improvements in subjective levels of fatigue, anxiety, depression, quality of life and physical functioning were observed following the training programme. These effects were sustained for 3 months. Overall, the findings of the three exploratory studies indicate that MBSR/MBCT has potential for the treatment of patients with CFS.

Self-harm and externally-directed impulsive behaviours are relatively common in psychiatric populations. Different explanations have been advanced for the presence of these behaviours, including the suggestion that they are driven by unconditional beliefs (schema-level cognitions) and that they are related to dissociation (a reduction in processing of intolerable cognitions and affect). This brief study begins to test a model based on the hypothesis that unconditional core beliefs are associated with the use of impulsive behaviours, and that dissociation is a key factor that mediates the relationship. An unselected group of 50 psychiatric inpatients completed standardized self-report measures of core beliefs, dissociation and impulsive behaviours. For female patients only, the results of mediational multiple analysis were compatible with a model where the relationship between unconditional abandonment beliefs and self-harming behaviours is perfectly mediated by dissociation. The strengths, limitations and directions for further research are discussed.

The relationship between schemas, depression and psychotic themes was explored in a sample of 26 patients with schizophrenia. Results show an association of underlying depressive schema vulnerabilities with specific psychotic themes. This preliminary investigation provides support for the meaningfulness of psychotic symptoms. This paper implies that schema focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could lead to improvements in linked psychotic symptoms.