Recent research: NICE guidance on recognition of child maltreatment & report of the Task Force on neck pain
3rd September 2009
Here are a disparate pair of subjects for a research update. One is the recent NICE guideline on " ... alerting features in children and young people (under 18 years) of: physical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, fabricated or induced illness." I have posted on NICE and its guidelines before. …
Goal renewal boosts wellbeing: third post
30th August 2009
In a series of linked blog posts over the course of this month, I've discussed writing for health and wellbeing, assessment of one's own level of wellbeing, and using a broadened Best Possible Selves exercise. In today's post I take these ideas a step further by linking them to the …
Recent research: six studies on positive psychology, goals, relationships, caregiving, mindfulness & nature
27th August 2009
Here are half a dozen studies that one could loosely put under the broad umbrella of positive psychology. Zorba the Greek said "Take what you want and pay for it, says God." and Niemiec et al's study, on the effects of achieving different kinds of goal, supports this statement (for …
Autogenic training: fourth session
24th August 2009
For the fourth Autogenic Training class, I introduce a number of new practices and ideas. These include the next stage in the basic Autogenic Training sequence (pulse & general calmness), beginning to work on application during daily life (1st differential exercise), and a focus on the "Nourishing positive states" aspect …
Goal renewal boosts wellbeing: second post
23rd August 2009
I wrote a week ago about assessing one's wellbeing level. It makes sense to do this before exploring how much the following goal renewal suggestions boost your sense of wellbeing and associated life satisfaction. How might we renew our goals? Obviously there are many options here. One effective one is …
Recent research: six studies on the long-term effects of abuse & deprivation
20th August 2009
Here are half a dozen studies on the long-term effects of various forms of abuse & deprivation. Paras et al systematically reviewed the association between a history of sexual abuse and a lifetime diagnosis of a somatic disorder. They found significant links with functional gastrointestinal disorders, nonspecific chronic pain, psychogenic …
Autogenic training: third session
17th August 2009
Here are materials for the third session of the Autogenic Training classes that I've taught for many years. Please read the introductory remarks and take time to work through the first and second Autogenic Training exercises before starting on this third Limb Warmth focus. Once working with the Warmth exercises, …
Goal renewal boosts wellbeing: first post
16th August 2009
Here's a method that's exceptionally likely to both boost our overall level of wellbeing and move us towards the goals we feel our most important in our lives. It will take a bit of effort and commitment - so don't fall into the trap highlighted by Thomas Edison's comment: "Opportunity …
Recent research: articles from July journals
13th August 2009
I read a lot of research. When I find an article of particular interest I download it to my bibliographic database - EndNote - which currently contains over 13,000 abstracts. Every few weeks I scan through all the articles I've found interesting in the previous month (in the general areas …
Autogenic training: second session
10th August 2009
I usually encourage people to practise the first Autogenic Limb Heaviness exercises twice daily for at least a week before getting them to consider moving on to this Neck & Shoulders exercise. There are several important points that I try to get across in this second lesson. One is that …