Recalling Good Times May Reduce Depression

http://inthenews.springhillgroupcounselling.com/2013/02/28/recalling-good-times-may-reduce-depression/ 


There is a new strategy that was discovered to improve mood for the ”depress”, it is easier and costs nothing.  This is easy just the recollection of positive day-to-day experiences.  This can work for those who are not suffering from depression as well.  I’m sure this will change anyone’s mood.

Researchers suggest that recalling actual, detailed memories that are positive or self-affirming can help to improve the mood of people with a history of depression.

Sad to say, for people who suffer from depression, this kind of vivid memory for everyday events seems crippled by the victims.

In the new study, Tim Dalgleish, Ph.D., of the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and colleagues hypothesized that a well-known method used to enhance memory — known as the “method-of-loci” strategy — might help depressed patients to recall positive memories with greater ease.

The method-of-loci strategy consists of connecting vivid memories with physical objects or locations.  An example of which are buildings you see on your commute to work every day. To bring to mindall the memories, you just have to imagine going through your commute.

An article published in Clinical Psychological Science the study is further discussed.  In the study, depressed patients were asked to come up with 15 positive memories.

The method-of-loci strategy was used by one group to create associations with their memories and the other group was asked to use a simple “rehearsal” strategy, grouping memories based on their similarities.

The participants were asked to recollect as many of their 15 positive memories as they could after working on the techniques.

Both groups were able to recall nearly all of the 15 memories.  Although the method were equally effective after the initial memory test conducted in the lab, the strategies were not equally effective in the long run.

A surprise call was made by the researchers after a week when they are already at their own homes.  They then asked them to recall the 15 memories once again and the group who used the method-of-loci passed with flying colors while those who used the rehearsal technique did not do the same as the other group.

This made a conclusion and the researchers believe these findings suggest that using the method-of-loci technique to associate vivid, positive memories with physical objects or locations may make it easier for depressed individuals to recall those positive memories.

Recalling and focusing on positive memories, rather than negative projections, may help individuals elevate their mood in the long run.  And also for all of us this may help brighten each day so you may have a great day ahead!

Infant Research & Neuroscience at Work in Psychotherapy

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2013/infant-research-neuroscience-at-work-in-psychotherapy/

For decades, psychotherapy has been considered “the talking cure”: two people in conversation,
with a shared goal of relieving the suffering of the patient. From the early days of Freud to the
current popularity of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the spoken word has been the central focus in
the therapeutic alliance. In recent years, however, the advent of functional MRIs and other
brain-scanning technologies has led to new discoveries about the workings of the brain that may
afford clinicians innovative and exciting new ways of working with clients, beyond simply “talking.”

Judith Rustin’s Infant Research & Neuroscience at Work in Psychotherapy: Expanding the Clinical
Repertoire brings together many of these new discoveries. In her book, published by Norton, Rustin
summarizes key research in the areas of both infant behavior and neuroscience, and provides
easy-to-understand examples that help clarify how rather elusive concepts—such as implicit and
unconscious ways of remembering and communicating—can be applied in day-to-day therapeutic
interactions.

Rustin begins with a focus on infant research, stating that “the nonverbal modes of communication
discerned in the interactive process between infant and mother…can be used by the therapist as tools
or techniques in treating her patients.” After summarizing much of the major research on the
infant-mother interaction, including studies on eye-to-eye gaze, face-to-face play, and self- and mutual
regulation, she describes her treatment of a patient called “Jack,” detailing how she applies her
knowledge of infant research to their therapy relationship. Her description brings the reader into the
therapy room, and provides an excellent example of the research at work.

In each of the chapters that follow, Rustin continues to first explain the current research on the brain
and infants, then follow up with a clinical example of how she or another clinician has applied that
research to a specific therapy client. These real-life accounts, in addition to bolstering Rustin’s theory,
make the book more than simply a dry review of the scientific literature.

The book goes on to discuss studies on memory, the mind-body connection, the fear system, and mirror
neurons and shared circuitry. Since Rustin believes that focusing on the spoken narrative “can
sometimes limit our vision to other possibilities for understanding and intervention,” she illustrates in
each example how attending to bodily responses and emotions—both her clients’ and her own—can
provide insights that might otherwise be missed.

The ideas in Rustin’s book are not intended to replace traditional psychotherapy; rather, she says,
“they just provide additional pathways for understanding and intervening in a way that offers additional
sources of fluidity and elasticity to the therapeutic relationship and clinical process.” Rustin does an
excellent job of reviewing the literature and giving detailed examples of how to apply infant research and
neuroscience in a clinical setting with adults. She makes it clear that each therapeutic dyad is unique, and
that the examples she provides are just one of many ways that the research can be applied. By opening our
concept of therapy and demonstrating new applications of research, Rustin has contributed an important
 addition to a growing body of work.