First published in 2005. This special issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Volume 12, number 2, is a collection of essays around the topic of positive psychology in Behavioral Medicine. Including topics of the psychobiology of emotion, health benefits that help us thrive, integrative therapy for depression and slower disease progression in HIV.

This book provides deep insights into concerns related to the well-being in older women across the globe. Written by experts in the field, it explores social roles, health, quality of life/well-being, as well as concerns related to abuse and neglect, impacting the health of older women. It discusses important conditions for the holistic health of older women from different perspectives and provides practical guidelines towards improving the overall status of older women's well-being in society. The chapters analyze the wider implications of older women's experiences as family members, drivers of economies and members of a diverse population worldwide. Covering a focus which is applicable to countries across continents, whether developed or developing, the book has an overall appeal to academicians, health care, policy makers as well as researchers in areas such as aging, gerontology, social work and psychology.

This book, with contributions emanating from the 21st World Congress of Psychosomatic Medicine held in Seoul in August 2011, presents the latest evidence-based information about the mechanisms, assessment, and management of psychosomatic disorders from a biopsychosociocultural perspective. Somatization is a process characterized by excessive or inappropriate focus on physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. It is highly prevalent in primary care medicine, as somatoform (psychosomatic) disorders tend to be chronic and can cause significant personal suffering and social problems as well as financial burden.

This volume brings together two parallel fields of interest. One is the understanding among psychologists and other social scientists of the limits to psychometric measurement, and the challenges in generating information about quality of life and wellbeing that enable comparison across time and place, at both individual and population levels. The second is the interest among anthropologists and others in the lived experience of chronic illness and disability, including the unpredictable fluctuations in perceived health and capability. Chronic conditions and physical impairments are assumed to impact negatively on people's quality of life, affecting them psychologically, socially and economically. While some of these conditions have declined in prevalence, as a result of prenatal diagnosis, early successful interventions, and changes in medical technology and surgery, many of these conditions are on the increase as a consequence of improved life-saving medication and technology, and greater longevity. 'Quality of life' is often used as an indicator for successful and high quality health services, and good access to medical attention and surgery - for hip replacements or laser surgery to improve vision, for instance. But it is also used as an argument against interventions, when such interventions are seen to prolong life for its own sake. Yet we also know that people vary their idea of quality as a result of the context of fluctuations in their own health status, the presence or absence of pain or discomfort, and as a result of variations in social and economic contextual factors. In exploring these questions, this volume contributes to emerging debates related to individual health outcomes, but also to the social and other individual determinants that influence everyday life. Understanding these broader contextual factors will contribute to our knowledge of the kinds of services, support systems, and infrastructure that provide people with good 'quality of life' and a sense of wellbeing, regardless of their physical health, capability and functioning. The volume includes scholars from all continents who have been encouraged to think critically, and to engage with the descriptive, methodological, social, policy and clinical implications of their work.

This book is a primer on Stepped Care 2.0. It is the first book in a series of three. This primer addresses the increased demand for mental health care by supporting stakeholders (help-seekers, providers, and policy-makers) to collaborate in enhancing care outcomes through work that is both more meaningful and sustainable. Our current mental health system is organized to offer highly intensive psychiatric and psychological care. While undoubtedly effective, demand far exceeds the supply for such specialized programming. Many people seeking to improve their mental health do not need psychiatric medication or sophisticated psychotherapy. A typical help seeker needs basic support. For knee pain, a nurse or physician might first recommend icing and resting the knee, working to achieve a healthy weight, and introducing low impact exercise before considering specialist care. Unfortunately, there is no parallel continuum of care for mental health and wellness. As a result, a person seeking the most basic support must line up and wait for the specialist along with those who may have very severe and/or complex needs. Why are there no lower intensity options? One reason is fear and stigma. A thorough assessment by a specialist is considered best practice. After all, what if we miss signs of suicide or potential harm to others? A reasonable question on the surface; however, the premise is flawed. First, the risk of suicide, or threat to others, for those already seeking care, is low. Second, our technical capacity to predict on these threats is virtually nil. Finally, assessment in our current culture of fear tends to focus more on the identification of deficits (as opposed to functional capacities), leading to over-prescription of expensive remedies and lost opportunities for autonomy and self-management. Despite little evidence linking assessment to treatment outcomes, and no evidence supporting our capacity to detect risk for harm, we persist with lengthy intake assessments and automatic specialist referrals that delay care. Before providers and policy makers can feel comfortable letting go of risk assessment, however, they need to understand the forces underlying the risk paradigm that dominates our society and restricts creative solutions for supporting those in need.

This book takes a unique interdisciplinary approach to the planned return of humans to the Moon. With the Artemis Project, the US and its partners have planned an ambitious project with the creation of the Lunar Gateway, to be followed by the landing of the first woman and next man on the Moon. This book explains that the Artemis project then forms the basis of planned sustained human missions to Mars. Russia and China have also announced their intentions to establish a permanent base on the Moon and have commenced the deployment of modules which will form part of this project. This book states that whilst there has been a permanent human presence in Low Earth Orbit since 2000, with the continued crew rotation on the International Space Station, perhaps the most successful international collaboration of modern times, the establishment of a base on the Moon will generate new challenges for human survival and success. The continued human presence on the space station has provided an incredible opportunity to observe and study the effect of being in space upon the human body and the human psyche. In addition, this book explores that it has provided the scope and context for a vast range of scientific experiments. Now that it has become likely that more humans will need to live and work in space for sustained periods of time, it is essential that we consider matters beyond the engineering questions of how we go to space to the broader questions of how we will live there? What will we need? What will the effects of sustained living in space be for us, emotionally, cognitively, physically and how do we need to consider the impact we will have on the environment to which we are travelling. This book is unique in that, not only does it bring together a diverse yet complementary set of expertise, but it also consciously brings those different experts together in jointly authored chapters, mirroring the way we will have to work together as teams of diverse experts in space. It creates interwoven chapters co-written by various teams of psychologists, lawyers, engineers, regulators, policy experts, architects and cultural studies experts. This book will enable the fielding and addressing of the difficult questions that need to be considered before space habitation may be a successful and sustained mode of existence. This book fills a gap in the area of space studies which tends to focus on narrow, discipline specific issues. It provides a thought-provoking launchpad for further work in this area and above all, stresses the needs of the human in a hostile environment.

Queer Entanglements provides the first comprehensive account of the intersections of lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, trans, and non-binary people's lives with the lives of animals. Exploring diverse topics such as domestic violence, grief following the loss of an animal, veganism, cruelty-free makeup products, Pride events, and community activism, the book offers a theoretical and empirical basis for understanding the contexts that bring together human and animal lives. By using real-world examples, it provides a lively and engaging view of what it means to think about the connections between animal and human lives, even when human experiences operate at the expense of animal wellbeing. This critical, intersectional, and interdisciplinary perspective on human-animal relations will be of interest to scholars and students in human-animal studies, psychology, sociology, social work, and cultural and gender studies.

This book focuses on the concept of subjective views of aging. This concept refers to the way individuals conceptualize and perceive the aging process. Social and cultural perceptions regarding older adults are incorporated and internalized into views people hold regarding their own aging process. The book contains three parts which present theoretical, empirical, and translational perspectives about subjective views of aging. The theoretical section expands the framework of subjective views of aging with the inclusion of additional concepts, and further integrates these concepts by accounting for their synergistic effects. The empirical section presents recent developments in the field starting at the intra-individual level as assessed by ecological momentary assessments, going through the level of interpersonal relationships, and concluding at the social and cultural levels. Finally, the translational section presents recent endeavours to develop interventions aimed at advancing favourable views of aging. This cutting-edge edited book includes chapters written by internationally renowned scholars in the field and serves as an up-to-date resource for scholars in the field as well as a textbook for students in courses like social gerontology, lifespan psychology, and life course sociology.

This book will fill an important gap in literature covering the clinical health psychology applications affecting the military and veteran health care systems. The authors draw on a wealth of experience related to treatment of service members and veterans, implementation of innovative research programs within military settings, and analysis of health economics issues. Section I examines key economic challenges facing civilian, military and Veteran healthcare providers. Section II discusses innovative clinical health psychology applications in military hospitals and clinics from around the country, including comprehensive literature reviews and presenting novel clinical applications in military hospitals. This book is relevant for clinicians, policymakers and administrators working with military and veteran patients.

Adventure stories, produced and consumed in vast quantities in 18th, 19th and 20th-century Europe, narrate encounters between Europeans and the non-European world. They map both European and non-European peoples and places. "Robinson Crusoe" maps a white, male, Christian, middle-class adventurer - a vision for Britain - and it maps a "petit-bourgeois" , settled island with a white master and a black slave - a vision for British colonialism. Exotic, malleable, uncomplicated settings serve to neutralise and normalise constructs, that seem implausible in more immediately familiar, textured settings. Victorian boys story writers such as Robert Ballantyne, map hegemonic masculinities, notably Christian manliness, and imperial geographies, including particular colonies. But beneath the superficial realism of adventure stories there lies an undercurrent of ambivalence, which makes "adventures" maps more fragile than they appear. While adventure stories map, they also unmap geographies and identities, destabilizing and sometimes recasting them.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415137713

This innovative volume introduces Twinley's concept of 'The Dark Side of Occupation'. Focused on less explored and under-addressed occupations, it is an idea which challenges traditional assumptions around the positive, beneficial, health-promoting relationship between occupation and health. Emphasising that people's individual experiences of occupations are not always addressed and may not always be legal, socially acceptable, or conducive to good health, the book investigates how these experiences can be explored theoretically, in practice and research, and in curriculum content for those learning about occupation. Beginning with a discussion of some assumptions and misunderstandings that have been made about the concept, the substantive chapters present and analyse tangible examples of the concept's applicability. This ground-breaking and practice-changing text provides ideas for future research and highlights contemporary, internationally relevant issues and concerns, such as the coronavirus pandemic. This book is an essential purchase for students in occupational therapy and science, and valuable supplementary reading for practitioners. It is also relevant to a wide interdisciplinary audience with an interest in human occupation, encompassing anthropologists, councillors, criminologists, nurses, and human geographers.

Advancements in research in psychological science have afforded great insights into how our minds work. Making an Impact on Mental Health analyses contemporary, international research to examine a number of core themes in mental health, such as mindfulness and attachment, and provides an understanding of the sources of mentally ill health and strategies for remediation. The originality of this work is the embedding of psychological science in an evolutionary approach. Each chapter discusses the context of a specific research project, looking at the methodological and practical challenges, how the results have been interpreted and communicated, the impact and legacy of the research and the lessons learnt. As a whole, the book looks at how social environments shape who we are and how we form relationships with others, which can be detrimental, but equally a source of flourishing and well-being. Covering a range of themes conducive to understanding and facilitating improved mental health, Making an Impact on Mental Health is invaluable reading for advanced students in clinical psychology and professionals in the mental health field.

Sensitive periods occur when unique experiences permanently influence brain development either by their presence or absence. This volume covers underlying brain systems and behaviors that are sculpted by the environment in humans and animals in a search for commonalities. The mechanisms involved, the importance of timing in the process, and factors that can change the brain are discussed in this exciting book. Different chapters examine how experience guides the development of cells, circuits, and function using vision, cortical circuits, and cognition as frameworks. Scientific evidence for effective preventative intervention approaches, including diet, exercise, and music, are included to find ways to maximize child and adolescent development. The adverse effects of early brain injury are also included. As sensitive periods are gaining importance in their application in the real-world, novel statistical approaches for human studies are presented and the importance of sensitive periods are covered by examining the juvenile justice system. The book has interdisciplinary appeal and scholars with an interest in brain resiliency or vulnerability will find it of particular interest.

Time and Body promotes the application of phenomenological psychopathology and embodied research to a broad spectrum of mental disorders. In a new and practical way, it integrates the latest research on the temporal and intersubjective constitution of the body, self and its mental disorders from phenomenological, embodied and interdisciplinary research perspectives. The authors investigate how temporal processes apply to the contribution of embodiment and selfhood, as well as to their destabilization, such as in eating disorders and borderline personality disorders, schizophrenia, depression, social anxiety or dementia. The chapters demonstrate the applicability of phenomenological psychopathology to a range of illnesses and its relevance to treatment and clinical practice.

This handbook integrates and discusses a growing evidence base concerning individual development across middle and late adulthood. The book includes a comprehensive analysis of what growth implies within midlife and older age and considers how different developmental areas are intertwined (i.e., physical, cognitive, social and emotional development as well as personality growth). As the gap between theory and practice still constitutes an issue in developmental research, the handbook also aims to provide illustrative examples of prevention and intervention from a positive psychology perspective. These were selected to represent a variety of topics, relevant for individual development where research informs practice, ranging from happiness, grandparenthood, love and sexuality to loneliness, depression, anxiety, suicide prevention and coping with death. This handbook is a must-have resource for students and researchers working in developmental psychology, health psychology, gerontology and, public health. It will also be of interest to practitioners such as counsellors, life coaches, psychotherapists, organizational psychologists, health professionals, social workers or public health planners.

Providing detailed information on structural HIV prevention interventions, this book is intended for health care practitioners and researchers to plan, implement, and evaluate such interventions in their own communities. As defined by the CDC, structural interventions focus on the physical, social, cultural, political, economic, legal, and/or policy aspects of the environment. Designed to reach a large number of individuals, structural interventions usually occur across entire communities, cities, or countries. As a result, the resources required to initiate structural interventions can far exceed those required for smaller-scale behavioral programs. However, changes from structural interventions have the potential to last over time, even after the programs have ended, resulting in effective use of public and private prevention resources. Because the reach of structural interventions is typically larger than that of individual- or group-focused interventions (for example, the 100% Condom Use Program, which was implemented countrywide in Thailand), their influence may be equally-if not more-significant.This book is a resource for health practitioners, educators, and researchers who seek HIV/AIDS structural prevention programs that have been shown to be effective in their regions or for their target populations (e.g. injection drug users, commercial sex workers, or the general public). With extensive case studies, the book classifies interventions according to the desired outcomes (specific behavior or policy changes) so that the reader may focus on examples of programs with similar goals and target populations to their own. Addresses the quintessential public health ethical dilemma regarding which types of environmental changes should be mandatory via legislation and which should be voluntary, promoted via programmatic, practice, and policy change.

This book presents an in-depth qualitative study carried out with inpatients under treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) in seven therapeutic communities (TCs) located in three countries: Peru, Nicaragua and Czech Republic. By comparing the experiences in these different cultural contexts, the book presents a grounded theory of SUDs treatment in TCs from a cross-cultural perspective, identifying factors that influence the efficacy of SUDs treatment in TCs based on interviews carried out with inpatients. Based on rigorous qualitative research methods, this book presents not only a comparative analysis of TCs located in different cultural contexts, but also analyzes the cross-cultural nature of the therapeutic programs adopted in these communities, such as the combination of traditional Amazonian medicine based on the therapeutic use of ayahuasca with conventional psychotherapy and occupational therapy, among other approaches. Departing from the interviews carried out with inpatients, the authors present a comparative analysis of how the different TCs address important issues related to SUDs treatment, and complement this analysis with machine-generated summaries of relevant scientific papers. These summaries contain results of similar research projects conducted in other cultural contexts. Substance Use Disorders Treatment in Therapeutic Communities: A Cross-Cultural Approach presents the results of a unique comparative study with great translational potential which will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners working in TCs. This unique comparative study identifies factors affecting the efficacy of therapeutic programs and proposes a grounded theory which aims to serve as an important source of information for therapists and other professionals working with SUDs treatment and for the replication of applied therapeutic methods in other TCs.

This book investigates attitudes to the avoidance and management of stress by project managers within the professional construction industry. The author argues that a widespread toxic culture belonging to the industry substantially contributes to industry stress, and analyses stress impacts among construction professionals, as well as the industry-specific causes of stress. The impacts and causes of stress of construction project managers are compared with those of other employees in the construction industry and with attitudes from across broader industry. The author concludes by establishing a leadership model for government and private organisations to effectively address a construction industry systemic problem head on.

There seems to be an abundance of "factual" information regarding alcoholism; what causes it, who is most susceptible, how it affects its victims, and how it should be treated. However, a definitive source of data supporting -- or refuting -- the numerous and diverse positions was never available. Thus, the goal of the author is to provide professionals with a solid understanding as to which "factual" statements about alcoholism are actually supported with evidence, and some of the empirically validated ways to proceed with treatment. Major methods of treatment are reviewed, and empirically based approaches are compared and contrasted with one another. Different and sometimes new focal points are explored, such as the disease concept of alcoholism, family members of alcoholics, personality characteristics, and effects of alcoholism exclusive to women. Also notable is the nearly unprecedented look into the impact of alcohol on all types of mood and behavior, rather than just on aggression -- a topic long since exhausted. A comprehensive review of literature, complemented with critiques of research, this two-volume set is a thorough, informative source of reference for anyone who seeks to further their knowledge of this often misunderstood, yet unfortunately all too common phenomenon.

The field of health psychology has grown dramatically in the last decade, with exciting new developments in the study of how psychological and psychosocial processes contribute to risk for and disease sequelae for a variety of medical problems. In addition, the quality and effectiveness of many of our treatments, and health promotion and disease prevention efforts, have been significantly enhanced by the contributions of health psychologists (Taylor, 1995). Unfortunately, however, much of the theo rizing in health psychology and the empirical research that derives from it continue to reflect the mainstream bias of psychology and medicine, both of which have a primary focus on white, heterosexual, middle-class American men. This bias pervades our thinking despite the demographic heterogeneity of American society (U. S. Bureau of the Census, 1992) and the substantial body of epidemiologic evidence that indicates significant group differences in health status, burden of morbidity and mortality, life expectancy, quality of life, and the risk and protective factors that con tribute to these differences in health outcomes (National Center for Health Statistics, 1994; Myers, Kagawa-Singer, Kumanyika, Lex, & M- kides, 1995). There is also substantial evidence that many of the health promotion and disease prevention efforts that have proven effective with more affluent, educated whites, on whom they were developed, may not yield comparable results when used with populations that differ by eth nicity, social class, gender, or sexual orientation (Cochran & Mays, 1991; Castro, Coe, Gutierres, & Saenz, this volume; Chesney & Nealey, this volume)."

* Provides the reader with information and education, enabling the provision of support to reduce psychological distress and improve diabetes self-management. * A necessary guide to understanding mental health issues in those with diabetes. * Explores cultural differences in the experience of diabetes * Includes anonymous quotes from people with diabetes based on numerous independent studies concerning how people self-manage their condition to illustrate the patient's perspective of the issues highlighted in each chapter.

What if philosophy could solve the psychological puzzle of trauma? Embodied Trauma and Healing argues just that, suggesting that one might be needed in order to understand the other. The book demonstrates how the body-mind problem that haunted Descartes was addressed by phenomenologists, whilst also proposing that the human experience is lived subjectively as embodied consciousness. Throughout this book, the author suggests that the phenomenological tools that are used to explore the body can also be an effective way to discuss the physical and mental aspects of embodied trauma. Drawing on the work of Paul Ricoeur, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Emmanuel Levinas, the book outlines a phenomenological approach to the embodied and relational subject. It offers a reading of embodied trauma that can connect it to wider conversations in psychological underpinnings of trauma through Peter Levine's somatic research and Bessel van der Kolk's embodied remembering. Connecting to the analytic tradition, the book suggests that phenomenology can unify both language-based and body-based therapeutic practice. It also presents a compelling discussion that ties the embodied experience of relation in trauma to the wider causal factors of social suffering and relational rupture, intergenerational trauma and the trauma of land, as informed by phenomenology. Embodied Trauma and Healing is essential reading for researchers within the fields of philosophy, psychology and medical humanities for it actively engages with contemporary configurations of trauma theory and recent research developments in healing and mental disorder diagnosis.