Psychopathology and the ‘Scaling Up’ Problem

This conference will focus upon the 'scaling up' problem in the context of psychopathology. More precisely, it will focus upon the extent to which phenomenological and enactive accounts of psychopathology are, or must be, 'representation hungry'. Whilst explicitly anti-cognitivist phenomenological and enactive accounts of psychopathology are present in the literature, very little work has been carried out on discerning the extent to which they require the positing of representation. This is somewhat surprising, because 'representation hungry' cognition (thought, imagery, hallucination) plays a prominent role in most psychopathologies.

During the conference, we aim to consider questions like: is it possible to provide non-representational accounts of psychopathology?; if so, is it desirable?; if not, does this damage the prospects of phenomenological and enactive explanations of psychopathology?; does the representational status (or lack thereof) of a given account have important ramifications for clinical theorising and practice?; and, more generally, is the concept “representation” helpful, harmful, or irrelevant to understanding psychopathology?.

In short, whilst anti-cognitivist accounts of psychopathology have been provided by phenomenologists and enactivists, very little has been said about the 'scaling up' problem with regards to them. The aim of the conference is to fill this gap.

The conference will be held via the Zoom platform on Monday the 5th, Tuesday the 6th, and Wednesday the 7th of October, from 15.00 to 17.30 CET.

Organization
Adrian Downey & Tobias Schlicht
Institute of Philosophy II
Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Contact: a dot downey at sussex dot ac dot uk 

My source:

Philos-L "The Liverpool List" is run by the Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/philosophy/philos-l/ Messages to the list are archived at http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/philos-l.html. Recent posts can also be read in a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/PhilosL/ Follow the list on Twitter @PhilosL. Follow the Department of Philosophy @LiverpoolPhilos

Study: Measuring Different Types of Relationship Styles in Psychosis

Division of Psychology and Mental Health
2nd Floor, Zochonis Building
The University of Manchester
Brunswick Street
Manchester
M13 9PL

Participant Information Sheet

Measuring Different Types of Relationship Styles in Psychosis

You are being invited to take part in a research study developing a questionnaire to measure different types of relationship styles in psychosis. Before you decide whether or not you would like to take part in the study, please read the following information carefully so that you can understand what taking part would involve for you. Then click the button at the bottom of the page to continue. If you have any questions or queries about taking part in the study, please contact the principal investigator, Catherine Pollard (catherine.pollard AT postgrad.manchester.ac.uk). You do not have to make a decision straight away, so if you have any doubts or feel unsure please take some time to think it over.

What is the study about?

Our early relationships have been linked to the development of psychosis, a mental health problem that means people interpret things differently from those around them. Psychosis involves experiences such as hallucinations, where a person hears, sees and in some cases feels, smells or tastes things that are not there; or delusions, where a person has strong beliefs that are not shared by others.

When people are young, they develop a sense of how they relate to themselves, others and the world. This includes how others relate to them. Some people grow up seeing their parent/guardian as fearful. Research suggests that when these young people grow up they are more likely to report hearing voices and feel paranoid. However, it is not clear how this happens.

At the moment, it is difficult to understand why these people are more likely to hear voices and feel paranoid. Therefore, more research needs to be done. We aim to develop a questionnaire that measures whether people have grown up feeling scared of their parent/guardian so that we can use this in research to help us understand the link between feeling fearful in early relationships and the development of psychosis.

This study will not directly offer you any benefit, but the study addresses a gap in psychosis research. Our work will help to understand the development of unusual experiences and help us develop more treatments for distressing experiences.

Please CONTINUE READING...

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

SELF beliefs early relationships  lived experiences sensory experiences - hear, see, feel, smell, taste ... hallucinations, delusions psychosis, distress, trauma Confident with	WORLD Involved in major accident antipsychotic medication Diagnosis  Evidence-base Measures
English language OTHERS social environment parent(s), guardian, significant others fear, traumatic loss of other  Therapeutic input: CBT, Psychologist	WORLD Treatment in a Mental Health Unit / Hospital Input from Community Mental Health Team or Early Intervention Service

subjective ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OBJECTIVE

qualitative -------------------------------------------------------------- QUANTITATIVE

My source:
@HearingVoicesUK & @RSInPsychosis
https://twitter.com/HearingVoicesUK/status/1073647206685663232

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

My source: BBC World Service

"Hallucination Machine" = Humanistic insights?

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic --------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group

See also:

Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science

Video source - Wired How scientists are manipulating the mind with VR

[Preprint] The Hallucination Machine: A Deep-Dream VR platform for Studying the Phenomenology of Visual Hallucinations Keisuke Suzuki, Warrick Roseboom, David J. Schwartzman, Anil K. Seth
bioRxiv 213751; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/213751

My source:
Moody, O. (2017) Trip without the high on Sussex University’s hallucination machine, The Times,  20 November. p.21.

Hearing voices and hallucinations | Juno's Story

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic --------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group

My source: @supernalthefilm

Computer-based 'avatar' therapy promising for persecutory auditory hallucinations

A study in the British Journal of Psychiatry has reported symptom reductions among patients hearing voices, who developed computerised 'avatars' of the voices and then engaged in dialogue with them. When compared with treatment as usual during a randomised trial, the therapy group showed mean reductions in scores for auditory hallucinations and for the omnipotence and malevolence of the voices. The researchers conclude: 'Patients who are able to sustain a dialogue with their persecutor feel much more in control.'
BJP June 2013, 202:428-433

Source:
http://www.mental-health-forum.co.uk/news-blog.html

In addition see and listen to:

UCL news:  Avatar therapy helps silence voices in schizophrenia

BBC Radio 4: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23141916

Conceptual Reflections on Schizophrenia - Hodges' model

A decade ago I was studying the Psychosocial Interventions for Psychosis (COPE) pathway part-time at Manchester University. The student body was interprofessinal made up of nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists, nurses and if memory serves me right people from the voluntary (third) sector. What I learned then left me wondering where I had been all those years since qualifying (lost in IT....).

There are many universities now delivering this curriculum, presenting the very latest research. The lecturers are frequently the researchers themselves, working in ongoing multicenter trials studying  various aspects of the treatment and care management of psychosis.

This is why it is very alarming to hear of the lack of progress not just within in-patient care as per the findings of the Schizophrenia Commission, but the delivery of care for these individuals and their families across the health and social care system. Of course, as a former student and holder of a PG(Dip.) I am not at present practising these skills formally.

In the h2cm table that follows I have highlighted some of the main concepts across the care domains of Hodges' model:

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

beliefs, perception, attention, anxiety, stress, vulnerability, pleasure, feedback, motivation, mood, therapies, therapeutic relationship, communication, assets, cognitive triad, perception, delusions, hallucinations, positive and negative symptoms, person-centered care, existing coping strategies, mental health assessment, literacies (3Rs, emotional, health), salience, attention, attribution, meaning, creativity

physical health, weight, fitness, side effects, medication, atypical antipsychotics, evidence, genetics, research, diagnosis, (cognitive) information processing, dual diagnosis, risk, models of care, recovery, hierarchy of clinical evidence, care processes - assessment, care planning, access to interventions, audio recording of sessions, protocols, DSM IV

clinical supervision, social attitudes - family, friends, community, stigma, myth, media, carers, familes, social relationships, network, self help groups, survivors, www.hearing-voices.org/ activities, daily routine, 'value' of a diagnosis - pros & cons (discuss), community centers, clinical supervision, positive risk management, employment, social history of mental health, social psychiatry, stories,education - schools & community, 'community care', housing

mental health history, institutional vs. community care, mental health law, autonomy, consent, capacity, best interests, equity mental health services, early intervention, access, POLICY, anti-psychiatry, equity, governance, data gathering, statistics, reporting, outcomes, services, secure provision, early intervention, crisis intervention, DSM V, commissioning, funding for mental health, education and training, sickness - welfare benefits - 'incapacity' review 'return to work'

The relative position of concepts above does not indicate priority.