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Objectives: To describe the clinical characteristics and factors associated with CD4 T‐cell count and CD4/CD8 ratio restoration in HIV mono‐infected and HIV/HBV co‐infected individuals, and to explore liver and renal functional changes in both groups. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed including 356 HIV/HBV co‐infected and 716 HIV mono‐infected participants who initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) during 2013–2017 in Beijing Youan Hospital, China. Demographic and clinical characteristics were compared between the two groups, using χ2 and Mann–Whitney non‐parametric tests. Bivariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to test their association. Results: Baseline HIV viral load and ART regimen were found to be significantly associated with CD4 T‐cell restoration among HIV‐infected participants, whereas baseline HIV viral load was the only significant factor associated with CD4 T‐cell restoration in HIV/HBV co‐infected participants. The final model showed that baseline HIV viral load and ART regimen were significantly associated with CD4/CD8 ratio restoration among HIV‐infected participants, while baseline HIV viral load was the significant factor. Liver and renal functions were similar at the endpoint (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Baseline HIV viral load count was found to be the key factor affecting immune restoration in both HIV and HIV/HBV individuals. Future multi‐wave prospective studies are needed to clarify the potential biological mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst there is research evidence on the benefits of mentoring and its non-significant effects, the practice of peer mentoring in the Youth Justice System has received little empirical attention. This paper seeks to critically explore the benefits, limitations and challenges of using young offenders as peer mentors. First, the paper reviews relevant literature. Second, it explains the aims and methodology of the study. Third, the paper presents the findings and discussion. Findings suggest that young offenders who are peer mentors have experiential knowledge and can act as positive role models and sources of hope, potentially helping mentees to (re)engage with services. Findings also suggest that young people particularly value building empathic and collaborative relationships with professionals who are ex-offenders and have lived experiences of contact with the criminal justice system. The article also introduces issues and challenges associated with peer mentoring, notably professionals being risk avoidant and disinclined to use young offenders as peer mentors. It also draws on a participant-led music project as a potentially useful means of integrating peer mentoring. The evidence from the study suggests that children and young people's active and meaningful participation in this project can help to facilitate the process of change, including healing, growth and identity transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on an athletic trainer's pragmatic approach to optimism when dealing with an injured client. An unrealistically positive attitude displayed by the client may actually be a denial of the injury's severity. Effective rehabilitation depends on productive optimism which the article explains.

Background: The presence of disease is often responded and interpreted subjectively. The interaction between the patients and the disease may bring the meaning of disease to the patients, which has impacted on the health status. Objective: The research was aimed to observe disease interpretation on the asthma patients during their healing process. Materials and Methods: We used the qualitative phenomenological method in this research. The data were collected by the in-depth interviews, observations, documentation, and field notes from 20 people as the subjects. Result: We obtained that each subject interpreted the disease differently. Therefore, it was classified into two of eight of interpreting the disease categories. Group I interpreted the disease positively, while Group II interpreted the disease negatively. Positive interpretation toward the disease could enhance the recovery. Meanwhile, negative interpretation toward the disease could slow down in the healing process. The condition could be seen when the subjects interpreted positively to their disease and illness. The subjects' attitudes and behaviors either positive or negative are the manifestations of emotion. The emotion plays a role in controlling the subjects' mindset and behavior. Apparently, the subjects enabling to regulate the positive emotion which is based on high spirituality can reduce the recurrence rate of asthma, which eventually has impacted on physical health, psychological, social, and spiritual. Conclusion: The interpretation toward the disease had a correlation to the healing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A loss is an adverse external event which a person has no control over and changes one's belief system and cognitions. Normal grief is a normal reaction to loss and refers to the distress resulting from bereavement. However, complicated grief is a syndrome where normal grief is unusually prolonged because of complications in the natural healing process; namely the insufficient integration of a new situation into pre-existing cognitive structures and distorted beliefs during the grieving process. Complicated Grief is a disorder characterised by an inability to accept the death, intense yearning, avoidance, somatic distress, social withdrawal and suicidal ideation and has a distinct cluster of symptoms which can be distinguished from other psychiatric disorders. The aims of this review are to give an overview of abnormal forms of grief reactions and risk factors, to introduce proposed diagnostic criteria for complicated grief, to inform about the assessment tools, and to demonstrate the distinction between complicated grief and other psychiatric disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The healing process after breast cancer treatment is predominantly focused toward the physical changes to the body that a patient has experienced. Breast reconstructions are considered standard of care after mastectomy, and the nipple and areolar complex is often reconstructed as well, using a combination of skin graft and tattoo. A patient who decided to forego nipple reconstruction and areolar tattooing and instead chooses to apply decorative temporary tattoos to her breast reconstruction is described. Compared with permanent tattoos, these unconventional tattoos allow the patient to change the design to fit her mood. Unconventional tattoos are an alternative and creative approach to the healing process, in which artistic and individual expression allows the patient to embrace the physical change she has undergone as a breast cancer survivor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Depression is a mental disorder, affecting the quality of life. Our study explores the efficacy of Pranic Healing (PH), as an adjuvant therapy in treating depression Methods: In this randomised double-blind controlled trial, 52 participants with a mean age of 34.4 years, with mild to moderate depression were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating (HAM-D) scale during the 5-week study. Both Medication + PH (MedPH) and Medication + Mock PH (MedMockPH) groups comprising 26 members received Pranic and mock healing lasting 20 minutes per session respectively once a week for 4 weeks, along with the antidepressant drug.Results: The average decrease in HAM-D score in MedPH was median 11 (Interquartile Range (IQR) 7-12) and was significantly higher compared with the MedMockPH group median 6.5 (IQR 3-9). At pre-assessment, both groups had 8 cases of mild and 18 cases of moderate depression. At post-assessment, HAM-D showed that the improvement in depression category was seen in 69.2% of participants in the MedMockPH group and 100% in MedPH group.Conclusions: These results give first the evidence that PH can aid as an adjuvant therapy for depressed people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rumi writes "Keep walking, though there's no place to get to. Don't try to see through the distances . . . move within" (Barks, 1997, p. 278). In this lyrical essay, I begin by enacting a walk I took with my mother along the ocean. I poetically dwell in a sensual phenomenological inquiry where I attune to the experience of this walk as it is unfolding: the images, the colours, the gestures, the scents, the sounds and the silences. Through the (re)telling of this pivotal event, I am then transported to the past, where I (re)enter a painful moment in a classroom. As in the line of the altering hues of the horizon that we walk alongside of, I relinquish to this line of inquiry. As I theorize this space in between the present and the past, I am brought to an epiphany and transcend both experiences into a renewed understanding of my pedagogical self. Here, I learn how the body holds the words; and in poetry as a physical, emotional and spiritual walking through, I then enter into a place of light. The keen lessons of an encountering give in healing and meaning, illuminating the future with promise and with purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies a semiotic lens to argue that news media are not only conveyors of images of terrorism but, through a combination of photographs, editorial cartoons, and anchoring texts, have the potential to serve as facilitators of healing and solidarity in both the local and the global media arena. This anchoring function is essential for audience decoding—especially in the global—because many photographs and cartoons are culturally bound and therefore not readily accessible to the broader audience. Through the information they provide, written texts help to anchor meanings of the visual texts, conveying a sense of solidarity against terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing interest in the use of healing gardens in healthcare settings to provide therapeutic benefits. However it is not yet well understood how people who spend time in these gardens use these spaces, and whether the intended benefits are experienced. This paper evaluates visitor feedback about healing gardens at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, to gain insight into end-user experiences compared with existing literature about experiences of healing gardens and natural contexts. We have coded and analysed unsolicited comments left in visitors’ books over a period of four weeks immediately after the hospital was opened. Several themes have been identified relating to reasons for which people access the healing gardens; benefits they perceive from spending time in these spaces; and features and aspects of the gardens that are most appreciated. We conclude that the gardens at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital provide emotional respite to visitors, through appreciation of the views, being able to have time out, being in nature, restorative experiences, and access to outdoor air. The visitor feedback suggests that the original intention of the garden design has been largely successful, and provides insight into particular aspects of the garden design that are critical to enhancing visitor benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's insights on the use of an intersectional approach or further consideration into healing from his essay titled "The Violence of Heteronormativity in Communication Studies." Topics discussed include the affective, cognitive and bodily aspects of healing, the importance of queer relationality in the area of his investigation, and the need for ongoing and careful observation to heal from the violence of heteronormativity.

Some environments are so toxic that one needs to move far away to extricate oneself from their poisonous field of gravity. The desire to escape a noxious interpersonal constellation in a corrupt society can be a motivating factor in the choice to leave one’s country. Oedipus fled from Corinth to evade the fate of murdering his father and marrying his mother, as predicted by the oracle at Delphi, only to find himself in Thebes, where he was born, murdering his father and marrying his mother, thus fulfilling the prophecy he set out to escape. Like Oedipus, immigrants frequently find themselves in the kind of milieu they were hoping to leave behind. Life in a strange land, far from a familiar environment may recapitulate and even intensify the disjointed experience of a poisoned childhood. Away from one’s original environment reality no longer intrudes upon fantasy, and one’s destructive introjects gain free reign. The past remains arrested and it can easily turn into an imaginary static realm. Paradoxically though, immigration can also facilitate healing. Exile can become a haven, a potential space, if you will, in which to develop the capacity to think and build linkages and process a disturbing personal and historico-political domain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study was aimed at describing parents' and parental figures' narratives concerning the process of overcoming sexual assaults experienced by their children (direct victims) and themselves (indirect victims). Narrative analysis was used to examine in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 18 parents and/or parental figures of children and adolescents after the completion of the latter's therapeutic process for sexual assault in 3 specialized centers in Santiago, Chile. The results obtained make it possible to picture the experience and meanings associated with the overcoming of sexual abuse from the participant's perspective as well as the elements that foster this outcome, while at the same time revealing the similarities and differences observed by the subjects regarding their own and their children's improvement. Besides, results show the interconnected and joint manner in which this process takes place in parents and children. Along with broadening theoretical knowledge about the phenomenon of overcoming abuse, the results highlight the importance of expanding the therapeutic spaces currently available in Chile for the parents of direct victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary on Kathleen McPhillips’s (this issue) “‘Unbearable Knowledge’” paper looks at implications for theory of the model she uses to analyze collective trauma. While affirming the model’s robustness, it is suggested that it has both theoretical and political ramifications that need to be further spelled out. The commentary ends with several questions regarding the leap from individual to collective trauma. These include the importance of maintaining a steady appreciation of multiplicity, which is foundational to relational psychoanalytic theory; second, the need to appreciate the complexity of dismantling a collective dissociative defense; and finally, the significance of spontaneity in healing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is an extreme traumatic event associated with numerous long lasting difficulties and symptoms (e.g., Herman, 1992). These include, among other things, the impediment of basic interpersonal structures of attachment (Rumstein-McKean & Hunsley, 2001), as well as impairment of mental integration manifested in dissociation (Van Den Bosch et al., 2003). Theoretically, attachment insecurities and dissociation are closely linked, since dissociation is generated as a way to resolve the conflicted attachment demands faced by the abused child (e.g., Liotti, 1992). Nevertheless, the directionality of association between attachment insecurities and dissociation during treatment of adult CSA survivors remains largely uninvestigated. Filling this gap, the present prospective study assessed female adult survivors of CSA who were outpatients at four treatment centers in Denmark ( n = 407), at the start of treatment (T1), 6 months after starting treatment (T2) and 12 months after starting treatment (T3). Results indicated that both attachment insecurities and dissociation reduced over time during treatment. Elevated attachment insecurities were associated with elevated dissociation at each of the measurements. Moreover, there was a reciprocal association between attachment avoidance and dissociation during treatment. Low levels of attachment avoidance predicted a decline in dissociation and vice versa. Findings suggest that treatment creates a cycle of healing in which rehabilitation of attachment fosters reintegration, which in turn deepens the restoration of attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intimate non sequitur poem/non-fiction narrative of plants, nature, ritual and spirit in mental health and trauma healing, and the limits placed on ‘non-normative’ minds within a capitalist framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As mental health issues in the military-connected community continue to command attention within the social work and public health communities, the question of faith's role in reintegration and readiness is highly relevant. The practical issue is whether resilient traits can be cultivated through spiritual fitness practices. This review discusses the biopsychosocial benefits of religiosity for military personnel in transition by employing both personal narrative and research. The mental health protective effects offered by spirituality and religiosity are very powerful; both statistically and practically they are even more powerful than many of the behavioral health practices in which the military currently invests. People who identify as possessing high levels of subjective religiosity enjoy a number of benefits at the psychological and neurological levels. These health benefits are amplified and extended when faith is practiced in ritualized fashion within social community groups. Researchers have found strong correlations between the practice of prayer and physiological changes, including lowered blood cortisol levels and increased cognitive capabilities. Because the brain influences bodily functions like heart rate, blood pressure, and the immune system, shifting that neurological activity through spiritual practice can have significant physical impacts. This review underscores the importance of honestly discussing faith in any conversation about military mental fitness and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are born creative and spend our entire lives trying to express our creativity or run from it. Trauma early in our lives is often a cause if we turn away from our creative impulses, but this trauma that blocks our creativity does not have to be permanent, if it is understood. This article describes one approach to healing the trauma to our inborn creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Placebo effects are documented in a number of clinical and experimental studies. It is possible to benefit from placebo effects in clinical practice by using them as effects additive to those of documented and effective treatments. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how doctors and other health workers may benefit from placebo effects within an ethical framework. A narrative review of the literature relating to placebo effects in clinical practice was performed. We searched PubMed and selected textbooks on placebo effects for articles and book chapters relating to placebo effects in clinical practice. By drawing on placebo effects, doctors may access patients' self-healing potentials. In practice, doctors may best benefit from placebo effects by influencing the patient's expectations through communication. An important principle is to give the patient information stating that a particular treatment is effective, as long as this is based on realistic optimism. A patient-centered style involving elements such as developing trust and respect, exploring the patient's values, speaking positively about treatments, and providing reassurance and encouragement might aid in activating placebo effects. The total effect of a documented treatment will partly depend on how well the placebo effects have been activated. Thus, placebo effects can be understood as a form of supplemental treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have been conducted examining leadership within community colleges, participatory governance and its role, as well as conditions that support organizational change. However, no analysis has been completed documenting the rebuilding of trust within a community college after a trauma is experienced on an institutional level. Broken hearts and broken trust are not just consequences of infidelity; these characteristics are often seen amongst faculty and long-time staff of community collegss where trust has been broken arid institutional instability incurred. This article reviews and compares the emotional recovery process from infidelity to rebuilding trust within community colleges, specifically identifying steps for recovery, and highlighting key activities that can begin the healing and rebuilding of trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neophyte and experienced clinicians alike often question whether so-called "wounded healers" are more effective therapists than those who cannot personally relate to what clients have experienced. This narrative discusses my professional and personal development in the field of death and dying from the perspective of an individual academically proficient in grief theory but devoid of personal experience, to that of intimately informed bereaved mother. The healing effects of narrative, personal observations of grief, and implications for clinical practice are discussed. Please note that some details from clinical practice, all names and identifying features of patients have been altered to ensure complete confidentiality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skeletal muscle myopathy is a common source of disability in diabetic patients. This study evaluated whether low-level laser therapy (LLLT) influences the healing morphology of injured skeletal muscle. Sixty-five male Wistar rats were divided as follows: (1) sham; (2) control; (3) diabetic; (4) diabetic sham; (5) nondiabetic cryoinjured submitted to LLLT (LLLT); (6) diabetic cryoinjured submitted to LLLT (D-LLLT); and (7) diabetic cryoinjured non-treated (D). Diabetes was induced with streptozotocin. Anterior tibialis muscle was cryoinjured and received LLLT daily (780 nm, 5 J/cm, 10 s per point; 0.2 J; total treatment, 1.6 J). Euthanasia occurred on day 1 in groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 and on days 1, 7, and 14 in groups 5, 6, and 7. Muscle samples were processed for H&E and Picrosirius Red and photographed. Leukocytes, myonecrosis, fibrosis, and immature fibers were manually quantified using the ImageJ software. On day 1, all cryoinjured groups were in the inflammatory phase. The D group exhibited more myonecrosis than LLLT group ( p < 0.05). On day 14, the LLLT group was in the remodeling phase; the D group was still in the proliferative phase, with fibrosis, chronic inflammation, and granulation tissue; and the D-LLLT group was in an intermediary state in relation to the two previous groups. Under polarized light, on day 14, the LLLT and D-LLLT groups had organized collagen bundles in the perimysium, whereas the diabetic groups exhibited fibrosis. LLLT can have a positive effect on the morphology of skeletal muscle during the tissue repair process by enhancing the reorganization of myofibers and the perimysium, reducing fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gratitude practice can be a catalyzing and relational healing force, often untapped in clinical practice. In this article, we provide an overview of current thinking about gratitude's defining and beneficial properties, followed by a brief review of the research on mental health outcomes that result from gratitude practice. Following an analysis of our case study of the use of gratitude as a psychotherapeutic intervention, we present various self-strategies and techniques for consciously choosing and cultivating gratitude. We conclude by describing ways in which gratitude might be capitalized upon for beneficial outcomes in therapeutic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of social reactions on healing and recovery in rape victims. Findings indicate that victims who have a supporter who believes their account and allows them to discuss the experience have fewer post-rape physical and emotional health problems than victims who experience negative reactions or no support.

This article presents a model that is useful for healing, learning, and growing from painful experiences, endings, and transitions in relationships. The learning and growing process applies whether the painful endings are the result of a game or natural life experiences and circumstances. The new awareness and learning from mistakes can then be applied to the new beginnings and to new hellos with the same person or in a new relationship. This nonblame good-bye/hello model encourages clients to become aware of their patterns of relating, to keep what is working, change what is not, and let go, grieve, and heal those losses that cannot be changed. Case examples illustrate uses of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is my testimony as a therapist on how my personal hopes to heal and grow have been transformed through my emotional engagement with patients and through, often times, retraumatizing impasses. I describe how re-finding myself always emotionally situated in a particular context, a fluctuating and growing complexity sensibility, sustains me in those impasses. I describe a silent impasse in which re-finding myself and bodily seizing this experience enables me, at times, to do better than survive. This would not be possible without my participation in this professional community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Families are beginning to be included in the process of recovery from mental illness. Conventional mental health services may not be as effective if they do not include family support.

Converging lines of evidence from various scientific disciplines consistently point to humanity's African roots. In this context, the term "indigenous healing" is used to refer to universal forms of healing that began in Africa and were developed further both locally and internationally. This article examines the notion of a psychology of indigenous healing and suggests that investigations continually reveal essential structures and practices of a perennial psychology underlying modern scientific, academic and professional forms of this discipline. Examination of such structures and practices illuminates an original psychological theme in Southern African indigenous healing involving recognition of Spirit as Source of Self that extends into transpersonal realms. Related themes include ancestral consciousness, familial and communal spirituality, healers and specializations, illness prevention, health promotion and various forms of empathy. The need for future in depth research into such psychological themes and issues is identified and explicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience is generally understood as a pattern of positive adaptation following significant stress, adversity, or risk, and is often examined when looking to see why some individuals fall victim to despair while others seem to thrive. Previous studies highlight the biological, psychological, and sociological aspects of resilience. This article suggests these perspectives be extended by including spirituality in the current discourse on resilience. By examining etic (variable-centered or quantitative) and emic (person-centered or qualitative) perspectives within the context of individuals suffering from depressive disorders, a four-factor model of resilience is proposed, involving: (a) physical and biological strengths, (b) psychological resourcefulness, (c) interpersonal or emotional skills, and (d) spiritual capabilities. In the end, some clinical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]