Niko Tiliopoulos

A Spiritual-Hypnosis Assisted Treatment of Children with PTSD after the 2002 Bali Terrorist Attack

Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a spiritual-hypnosis assisted therapy (SHAT) for treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children. All children, age 6–12 years (N=226; 52.7% females), who experienced the terrorist bomb blasts in Bali in 2002, and subsequently were diagnosed with PTSD were studied, through a longitudinal, quasi-experimental (pre-post test), single-blind, randomized control design. Of them, 48 received group SHAT (treatment group), and 178 did not receive any therapy (control group). Statistically significant results showed that SHAT produced a 77.1% improvement rate, at a two-year follow up, compared to 24% in the control group, while at the same time, the mean PTSD symptom score differences were significantly lower in the former group. We conclude that the method of spiritual-hypnosis is highly effective, economic, and easily implemented, and has a potential for therapy of PTSD in other cultures or other catastrophic life-threatening events.

Aesthetic Emotions and Aesthetic People: Openness Predicts Sensitivity to Novelty in the Experiences of Interest and Pleasure.

There is a stable relationship between the Openness/Intellect domain of personality and aesthetic engagement. However, neither of these are simple constructs and while the relationship exists, process based evidence explaining the relationship is still lacking. This research sought to clarify the relationship by evaluating the influence of the Openness and Intellect aspects on several different aesthetic emotions. Two studies looked at the between- and within-person differences in arousal and the emotions of interest, pleasure and confusion in response to visual art. The results suggest that Openness, as opposed to Intellect, was predictive of greater arousal, interest and pleasure, while both aspects explained less confusion. Differences in Openness were associated with within-person emotion appraisal contingencies, particularly greater novelty-interest and novelty-pleasure relationships. Those higher in Openness were particularly influenced by novelty in artworks. For pleasure this relationship suggested a different qualitative structure of appraisals. The appraisal of novelty is part of the experience of pleasure for those high in Openness, but not those low in Openness. This research supports the utility of studying Openness and Intellect as separate aspects of the broad domain and clarifies the relationship between Openness and aesthetic states in terms of within-person appraisal processes.

Schizotypal personality traits and attitudes towards Hinduism among Balinese Hindus

The study explored the relationship between schizotypal personality traits and attitude of Hindus towards their faith. A total of 309 Balinese Hindus responded to the Santosh–Francis Scale of Attitude towards Hinduism, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief, and a number of external indicators and religious practices. Attitude towards Hinduism, frequency of prayer, and temple attendance had a rather weak positive relationship with each other, while prayer behaviour exhibited negative low-to-moderate relationships with schizotypal traits. A hierarchical multiple linear regression model identified the disorganised elements of schizotypy as the primary predictor of the attitude towards Hinduism. Finally, age showed negative associations with schizotypy and positive ones with Hinduism, while women were less schizotypal and had more positive attitude towards their faith than men. These findings suggest the presence of both underlying cross-faith elements and the strong influence of faith- and culture-specific forces on the relationship between religiosity and schizotypy.

Aspects of identity in a British Christian sample

Quantitative studies on religiosity and identity appear to be generally absent. In the present study we investigated this relationship, and predicted that personal identity would be positively associated with church attendance, and mainly intrinsic and quest Christian religious orientations, while social identity would exhibit a positive association with extrinsic orientation. A total of 161 British Christian adults took part in the study and responded to standardized measures of Christian religiosity and identity. The predicted relationship between religiosity and aspects of identity was to an extent supported. As expected, personal identity showed a positive association with quest, while social identity was positively related to extrinsic-personal, and negatively to intrinsic. Counter to our predictions, church attendance had an inverse association with social identity, while it lacked an obvious association with personal identity. It appears that the social expressions of Christians are more likely to be concerned with broad inclusive collective identities.

Exploring the Relationship between Schizotypal Personality Traits and Religious Attitude in an International Muslim Sample

The study explored the nature of the relationship between schizotypal personality traits and attitude of Muslims towards their faith. A total of 114 adult Muslims from eighteen countries responded to the Sahin-Francis scale of Attitude towards Islam, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief, the short version of the Eysenck Lie scale, and a number of external indicators and religious practices. Attitude towards Islam, frequency of prayer and Mosque attendance had a relatively strong positive relationship with each other, while these religious characteristics exhibited a weak negative relationship with schizotypal traits. Age and social desirability did not seriously affect the religiosity-schizotypy relation, while a moderating effect of gender was identified. These findings suggest the presence of both underlying cross-faith elements and potential faith-specific behaviours in the relationship between religiosity and schizotypy.

When 2-3% really matters: The (un)importance of religiosity in psychotherapy.

Previous research suggests that clients’ religious beliefs are commonly excluded from therapeutic practice. Often, this exclusion is attributed to practitioners’ lack of knowledge or appropriate skills. Such analyses, however, have little regard for the interactional aspects of the therapist/client encounter. Drawing upon work within discursive social psychology, we argue that the exclusion of religious beliefs does not reflect therapists’ lack of knowledge or awareness but can more usefully be seen as the discursive accomplishment of marginalizing clients’ beliefs. Six practising psychotherapists were interviewed about religious beliefs within the therapeutic process. Participants construct religious beliefs as important but relevant only to restricted categories of clients. They rework religious beliefs as compatible with accepted practice, or construct particular groups of clients as incompatible with the process. Training and other requirements are reformulated in terms of spiritual beliefs rather than religious beliefs. These constructions display awareness of religious beliefs while marginalizing their relevance in practice. Inclusion of clients’ religious beliefs to best effect will require more psychotherapy to engage more constructively with religion than it does at present.

Attachment as a partial mediator of the relationship between emotional abuse and schizotypy.

Developmental theories highlight the salience of attachment theory in explaining vulnerability towards psychosis. At the same time there is increasing recognition that psychosis is associated with childhood trauma variables. This study explored the interaction between attachment and several trauma variables in relation to schizotypy levels in a non-clinical sample. 283 non-clinical participants completed online measures of schizotypy, attachment, childhood abuse and neglect. When five types of abuse/neglect were entered into a linear regression analysis emotional abuse was the sole independent predictor of schizotypy. Age, attachment anxiety and avoidance were independent predictors after the effects of emotional abuse were controlled for. The overall model was significant, explaining 34% of the variation in schizotypy. Moderation analysis indicated that the effect of emotional abuse was not conditional upon attachment. Parallel mediation analysis indicated small but significant indirect effects of emotional abuse on schizotypy through attachment avoidance (13%) and attachment anxiety (8%). We conclude that emotional abuse contributes to vulnerability towards psychosis both directly and indirectly through attachment insecurity.

Cultural Considerations in the Treatment of Mental Illness Among Sexually Abused Children and Adolescents: The Case of Bali, Indonesia

Childhood and adolescence sexual abuse can have long-lasting and devastating effects on personal and interpersonal growth and development. Sexually abused children tend to exhibit higher rates of poor school performance, aggressive behavior, PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder), or depressive symptomatology, as well as social and relational deficits (e.g., age-inappropriate sexual behaviors). The trauma following such abuse can further affect neurodevelopment and physiology, aggravating mental or physical problems in adulthood. Early symptom recognition and appropriate interventional applications are important factors in successfully treating or even preventing the development of mental disorders in such cohorts. A central element of effective treatment is the selection of treatment targets. Cultural considerations are rarely or peripherally considered in sexual abuse treatment strategies. Western-trained psychiatrists and clinical psychologists tend to overlook or underestimate such factors in cross-cultural settings, resulting in interventional efforts that may interfere with traditional approaches to healing, and potentially contributing to a transgenerational cycle of trauma. By using Bali (Indonesia) as a focal culture, in this article we discuss the effects of cultural elements and showcase their potential contribution and systematic implementation into a holistic and sensitive interventional model for the treatment of mental illness in childhood and adolescence sexual traumatization.

Spiritual-Hypnosis Assisted Therapy: A New Culturally-Sensitive Approach to the Treatment and Prevention of Mental Disorders

This article describes the therapeutic approach of Spiritual-Hypnosis Assisted Therapy (SHAT), originally developed in Bali, Indonesia, and its applications to treatment, intervention, and prevention of mental illness among individuals, groups, and communities. A background of the Balinese culture and religion is also presented to show how it was integral to the development of the method. SHAT has been extensively and successfully used in clinical practice in Bali for over a decade now for a variety of mental disorders, emotional distress (specifically grief and bereavement), sexual, relational, and sexual orientation problems, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Three-factor model of Schizotypal Personality in a British Christian sample

The three-factor structure of schizotypy, as measured through the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), was assessed in a non-clinical Christian sample of 161 British adults from a wide range of denominational backgrounds. Participants were recruited through non-random purposive sampling. The trifactor model was unambiguously replicated. Furthermore, the SPQ exhibited excellent internal consistencies (range 0.73 to 0.97), while Confirmatory Factor Analysis and cross-instrument comparisons with Eysencks Psychoticism scale indicated that elements of its convergence and discriminant validities were highly acceptable. Although this study identified some minor issues that require attention, overall, the SPQ appears to be a rather powerful and highly stable measure of schizotypy that can reliably be used in schizophrenia-related research with Christians.