"Medical knowledge is a social process: The conversations that occur around artifactual data are always more important than the data themselves. "


Posts tagged with 'self-determination'

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 papers relevant to psychotherapy

28th May 2009

Here are six studies relevant to improving psychotherapy outcomes. Brewin et al report on using imagery-based interventions to help people with depressioin. Lydiard et al highlight the importance of sleep-related disturbances as a treatment target in PTSD. McCrady and colleagues show that working with couples rather than just individuals seems …

Handouts & questionnaires for self-determination theory (SDT), an upgrade

23rd February 2009

I'm a big fan of self-determination theory (SDT). I've posted before on SDT. See, for example, the September post from last year with its links to a lecture I've given and to a number of handouts. See too Wellbeing, time management & self-determination in the website's Good Knowledge handouts section. …

Self-determination theory

6th September 2008

I'm a big fan of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). SDT is a general theory of motivation and personality that has evolved over the past three decades. SDT suggests that humans, like plants or other animals, intrinsically 'strive' for need satisfaction & flourishing. Social context and personal choices can support or thwart …

Peer groups: Cumbria spring group - first reflection

12th May 2008

Why are these groups often so great, so welcome, so precious? Real life is very rich - theories only capture aspects of this richness. However a theory, that I like a lot, highlights one reason why these peer groups are so important. The theory is Self-Determination Theory (SDT). It has …