Signe Hjelen Stige

The development of visual P3a and P3b.

The relationship of visual P3a and P3b to age and neuropsychological performance was investigated in 26 healthy children (6.8–15.8 years) and 129 adult volunteers (20.0–88.8 years). Within the sample of children, an effect of age on midline topography was observed, with higher frontal amplitudes in the youngest compared to the oldest children. Increasing age was associated with lower P3a and P3b amplitude and shorter P3b latency at Fz. Performance on neuropsychological tests (matrix reasoning from WASI, digit span from WAIS, word order and hand movement from Kaufman) was only weakly associated with measures of P3a and P3b. The analyses were then repeated with the full life-span sample (n = 155). It was found that for P3a, amplitude decreased and latency increased with age. For P3b, the pattern was more complex, with a nonlinear amplitude reduction and no latency change with age. It appears that the development of P3a in children represents the start of processes that later continue in the adult life-span, but that the automatic processes indexed by P3a seems to mature earlier than the controlled processes reflected by P3b. Finally, it was demonstrated that the relationships between neuropsychological test scores (matrix reasoning, digit span) and P3 parameters were complex, following a mix of linear and nonlinear patterns. It is suggested that the neuropsychological significance of the different P3a and P3b parameters may change from childhood to the adult life-span.

The Process Leading to Help Seeking Following Childhood Trauma

In this article we explore the process leading to help seeking following childhood trauma among women who were currently in treatment. We interviewed 13 participants from six treatment groups for clients exposed to human-inflicted traumas. Transcripts were analyzed using a hermeneutical-phenomenological approach. Help seeking was initiated after a prolonged period of time (13 to 58 years after first trauma exposure), during which participants relied heavily on a strategy of managing on their own. Self-management contributed to delays in help seeking, but was also an important resource. High levels of distress were reported prior to help seeking, often without help seeking being considered as an option. The participants sought help when encountering situational demands exceeding available resources, resulting in experiences of exhaustion and loss of control. We present a model of the help-seeking process, underlining the importance of respecting and exploring the individual process of seeking help when offering trauma-specific treatment.

How Do People Experience Early Intervention Services for Psychosis? A Meta-Synthesis:

We conducted a study to explore how people diagnosed with first-episode psychosis experienced their contact with early intervention services for psychosis and the way these experiences relate to their recovery processes. Our aim was to integrate and describe the service users’ experiences in a rigorous and comprehensive way. A broad literature search was performed in June and July 2016. After screening, 17 qualitative studies were included. We analyzed the findings in two main steps: (a) translating studies into one another and (b) synthesizing the findings from the studies. Through these interpretative processes, we found five new and overarching themes: (a) something is wrong, (b) do for myself, (c) it’s about people, (d) a price to pay, and (e) ongoing vulnerability. We describe these themes as a process that service users’ maneuver through in their contact with the services. Our findings are discussed in light of relevant research.

A meaningful struggle: Trauma clients' experiences with an inclusive stabilization group approach

Abstract The present study explores how trauma clients experience participation in an inclusive stabilization group approach. Upon completion of treatment, all 31 clients from six stabilization groups for women were invited to participate in a qualitative post-therapy interview study. Thirteen clients consented to participate. All interviews were carried out by a team of three health-care workers shortly after completion of treatment. Five main themes were identified: Dreading and Hoping—Preparing for Participation; Tuning in and Staying Put; Meeting Other Trauma Survivors; Acquiring a Stabilizing Ballast; and Being Receptive to Change. Participating in the stabilization group was experienced as demanding, while also providing new and helpful experiences. Participants emphasized the importance of being receptive to help in order to benefit from treatment.

A Stabilization Group Approach for Heterogeneous Populations of Trauma Clients.

High prevalence and long-lasting implications of human-inflicted trauma call for effective treatment approaches reaching clients in need of trauma-specific treatment. Numerous approaches exist, but often with limited empirical support. There is also a tendency toward segregating treatment approaches depending on type of exposure history and presenting symptoms. This might exclude clients in need of trauma-specific treatment; therefore, treatment approaches that can reach more heterogeneous groups of clients are needed. In this article, a group-based treatment approach adjusted to include clients with a wide range of trauma-related problems and traumatic experiences will be presented. A brief outline of the approach is presented, together with the theoretical and empirical background, to facilitate implementation by practitioners and empirical testing.

Does a short self-compassion intervention for students increase healthy self-regulation?: A randomized control trial

The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of a two-week self-compassion course on healthy self-regulation (personal growth self-efficacy and healthy impulse control) and unhealthy self-regulation (self-judgment and habitual negative self-directed thinking) in university students. We also examined the effects on self-compassion, anxiety and depression. Students (N = 158, 85% women, mean age = 25 years) were randomized to an intervention group and a waiting-list control group in a multi-baseline randomized control trial. Healthy self-control was measured by the Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS) and the Self-Control Scale; unhealthy self-control was measured by the Non-judgement subscale from the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (reversed) and the Habit Index of Negative Thinking (HINT). Secondary outcomes were measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-trait), the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), and the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). A 2 × 3 repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed gains for the intervention-group in personal growth self-efficacy and healthy impulse-control and reductions in self-judgment and habitual negative self-directed thinking, as well as increases in self-compassion and reductions in anxiety and depression. After all participants had completed the course, the groups were combined and repeated measures ANOVAs showed that changes remained at six-month follow-up for personal growth self-efficacy, self-judgment and habitual negative self-directed thinking; as well as for self-compassion, anxiety and depression. Concluding, a short self-compassion course seems an effective method of increasing self-compassion and perceived control over ones life for university students, as well as increasing mental health.

Stories from the road of recovery - How adult, female survivors of childhood trauma experience ways to positive change.

The aim of this study was to explore how female survivors of childhood trauma who have sought treatment experience ways to positive change. Little knowledge exists regarding the first-person perspective of the recovery process following childhood trauma, and getting access to this perspective might contribute to better understanding of these processes, hence offering opportunities for health promotion. All clients (31, including 3 who dropped out) from six stabilization groups for women exposed to human-inflicted traumas were invited to participate in the study. Experiences of the recovery process were not restricted to the period of receiving treatment, and all clients who volunteered were included in the study. Qualitative, in-depth interviews with 13 consenting clients were carried out shortly after completion of the group treatment. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, and a hermeneutical–phenomenological approach to analysis was applied. The analysis resulted in five interrelated, but distinct main themes: finding new ways to understand ones emotions and actions, moving from numbness toward vital contact, becoming an advocate of ones own needs, experiencing increased sense of agency, and staying with difficult feelings and choices. The themes support, yet supplement trauma theory, by underlining the relationship between emotional contact and meaning-making, while downplaying the necessity of symptom elimination in the experience of recovery. The findings also underline that the active role trauma survivors play in their processes of recovery.

From painstaking work to a new way of meeting the world—Trauma clients’ experiences with skill training in a stabilization group approach

Abstract Objective: The study explored how former trauma clients experienced the inclusion of skill training in their treatment, their ways of relating to and using these skills, and how this changed over time. Method: Semi-structured qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 clients within three months of their completion of treatment, and again 11–13 months later. Results: Analysis of the material resulted in three main themes: (1) Being ready to find new ways to deal with trauma-related problems as a motivational starting point at intake, (2) Finding new agency through skills and understanding, and (3) One year on—Meeting the everyday world in a new way. An overreaching theme was the significant effort clients put into their treatments. Conclusions: The results show how skills over time became integrated and were linked to profound changes, including changes in emotional processing and an increased sense of agency. An experiential interrelationship between understanding and action was found, that supports the practice of coupling skill training with psychoeducation in trauma-specific treatment.

‘It’s heavy, intense, horrendous and nice’: clients’ experiences in two-chair dialogues

ABSTRACT In this study, we conducted qualitative in-depth interviews to explore how clients experienced working with emotional processing and self-criticism in a two-chair dialogue intervention. Eighteen clients scoring high on self-criticism were interviewed upon completion of a short-term treatment (10–14 sessions) with Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), where the two-chair dialogue was used as the main intervention. A hermeneutic-phenomenological approach guided the research process, while a thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the interview transcripts. Our analysis revealed that clients who are asked to engage in the two-chair dialogue intervention often experience an embarrassment or awkwardness before they decide to engage. When engaged in the intervention, most clients found it intense and demanding, but also meaningful. A few clients found the intervention too intense to be of use. Many of those who participated reported that they became more aware of the fact that they were active agents who took part in their self-critical processes. The intensity and somewhat unusual nature of this intervention call for special attention to the working alliance before clients are invited to engage.

From Cumulative Strain to Available Resources A Narrative Case Study of the Potential Effects of New Trauma Exposure on Recovery

This article presents a narrative case study of a client with a history of multiple traumas and severe symptomatology, coupled with an ongoing recovery process. A hermeneutical–phenomenological approach was used to analyze two interviews with the participant over a period of 1 year, following a trauma treatment program. Her husband’s suicide in between the two interviews allowed for an exploration of the possible effects of new trauma exposure on the process of recovery. Analysis of the data revealed how the participant’s early trauma experiences had resulted in escalating symptomatology. Through her relationship with her husband, she gradually became ready to engage in therapy in a way that allowed her to benefit from it. Her husband’s suicide forced her to reconsider her own part in her recovery, resulting in a strengthened feeling of inner security and self-efficacy parallel to what is seen in posttraumatic growth. The results contribute our understanding of individual processes of change and recovery, including processes of growth following cumulative trauma. Plausible mechanisms for growth in the present case was the ability to recognize and tolerate feelings, making sense of one’s own reactions, as well as a sense of control and trust in available resources.