Scientific Program

Conference Series Ltd invites all the participants across the globe to attend 28th International Conference on Psychiatry & Psychology Health Holiday Inn Amsterdam – Arena Towers, Hoogoorddreef 66a, 1101 BE Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Day :

  • Psychiatry | Neuro-cognitive Disorder | behavioral Psychology
Location: Hotel Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Session Introduction

Catherine A. Carlson

Private Practitioner, USA

Title: Formulating diagnostic impressions and pitfalls of self-report
Speaker
Biography:

Catherine Carlson, Psy.D., L.P., earned a Psy.D. from Argosy University in 1994 and has been a forensic psychologist for over 20 years. She has provided forensic psychological services for adult, criminal, and family courts for the State of Minnesota since 1995. She has expertise in the identification of mental illness, character pathology, substance use/disorders, organicity, intellectual disabilities, and malingering.  She spent over 4 years at the Minnesota Security Hospital, where she also provided clinical services.  She has evaluated over 5000 defendants/respondents and testified to her opinions on many occasions.  As a court-appointed examiner, she has had access to records not readily available to other examiners.

Abstract:

INTRODUCTION

Critical analysis is the sine qua non of assessment. The role of a psychiatric diagnostician is akin to a sleuth because similar skills are required. Both must gather, recognize, identify, and determine the reliability of available data to arrive at a hypothesis. Reliability, in this case, refers to whether data can be believed, trusted, and relied upon in forming valid diagnostic conclusions. The self-report of people with mental illness, who may be guarded, misguided or have poor insight, is often unreliable and accepting self-report and/or self-diagnosis at face value can lead to erroneous diagnoses and thus, inappropriate treatment.

Available data can be broken down into two types, objective and subjective. Objective and behavioral data is inherently more reliable than subjective data which can be colored by conscious or unconscious distortions or erroneous conclusions. Subjective data is contained in personal and professional accounts, endorsements, and opinions. Self-report regarding symptoms, or Symptom Expression (SE), and the diagnosis of another clinician are examples of subjective data. Observable behavior recognized manifestations of genuine mental illness, and voluntary versus involuntary presentations are examples of objective data. An examinee who endorses (SE) debilitating symptoms of depression, should show overt signs of debilitating depression because people who are severely depressed show overt signs of depression. Important, and often unrecognized data, is embedded in behavioral functioning and can expose unreliable SE. The SE of an examinee who endorses debilitating symptoms of depression and presents with bubby effect, perfectly coiffed hair, and bright red lipstick is probably unreliable. Learning what major mental illness looks like outside the diagnostic manual, and how to categorize, recognize, and look at data, will assist in the formulation of valid diagnostic impressions.

CONCLUSION

Several clinical vignettes will illustrate the analytic and didactic material. The user-friendly content is captivating, supported by research citations, and geared toward mental health professionals who conduct psychiatric evaluations.

 

Speaker
Biography:

Hilla Yaniv is a Ph.D. student at Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan Israel and has a master degree in Clinical Social Work from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Hilla works as a social worker in rehabilitative agency, which accompanied individuals who cope with different mental disorders, in their rehabilitation process in the community

Abstract:

The lecture will present research investigates the connection between creativity and aggression in different mental disorders, and examining their mutual influence on each other, in reference to Eysenck's three dimensions of personality, as well as to other personality's traits. The study examines five different groups: (1-2) individuals dealing with mental disorders – with or without a background of aggression; (3) creative-individuals; (4) aggressive-individuals; (5) and a control group.  The main comparison focuses on examining cognitive psychopathology, which leads the positive aspect to creativity on the one hand, and the negative aspect of aggression on the other hand.

These topics are investigated by using various questionnaires as well as by the microgenetic-method, which uses visual stimulation, in this study artworks. By using this method, it is possible to investigate the influence of visual perception of stimuli and the way individual projects his or her inner world and personality is tested by examining the projection content toward the stimulus.

The expectation is to find a relationship between creativity and aggression, especially in psychopathology groups. This relationship connects broadly to the psychoticism dimension of Eysenck's three personality dimensions, which is also expected to be high among the pathologies groups. These pathology populations were deliberately chosen because they are on the extreme expression of various personality traits and dimensions, particularly the aspects related to measures of creativity and aggression. Consequently, psycho-therapy for those populations can be suited specifically to the individual's profile, using different creative therapy methods. First results will presents. 

  • WORKSHOPS
Location: Hotel Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Session Introduction

Rachel Kenworthy

Leeds Trinity University, United Kingdom

Title: The effect of competition and mental toughness on measures of pain tolerance
Speaker
Biography:

Rachel is a second year Ph.D. student at Leeds Trinity University. Her thesis adopts a biopsychological approach to investigate the role of mental toughness in mediating pain tolerance, with the aim of developing an intervention to improve mental toughness to help individuals with chronic pain cope more effectively.

Abstract:

Mental toughness is a multidimensional construct that has been associated with increased resilience to stress and the ability to overcome setbacks. Mental toughness has mainly been researched in professional sportspeople, demonstrating that mental toughness is associated with greater pain tolerance and improved rehabilitation following injury. The current study aimed to examine whether mental toughness was associated with measures of pain tolerance, assessed using the cold pressor task (CPT), in a non-specialised sample. Further, the study aimed to examine the effect of introducing social and personal competition on measures of pain tolerance. Eighty-six (68 females; age: 23.14, 5.84) participants attended four experimental test sessions in a counterbalanced order. A social competition was introduced by having two participants complete the CPT at the same time. A Personal competition was introduced by having participants perform against a timer and against a personal immersion time goal. Differences in pain tolerance were assessed using the CPT with the following outcome variables: total immersion time, time of pain onset since immersion (pain threshold) and post-CPT self-reports of pain. Results indicated that there was no effect of competition condition on measures of pain tolerance. Increased mental toughness was associated with increased pain tolerance, evidenced by longer immersion times and increased pain thresholds. There was no association between mental toughness and post-CPT self-reports of pain. These findings support and extend previous research and suggest that mental toughness may have an important role, and be a target for intervention, in improving tolerance to pain in the clinical population. 

  • POSTERS
Location: Hotel Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
  • WORKSHOPS
Location: Hotel Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
Speaker
Biography:

Dr. Don Martin is a professor and director of the urban school counseling program at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. He was trained as a neuropsychologist and is a staff member at Vibra and Generations Hospitals. Dr. Martin has received the distinguished research award from both Youngstown State University, Western Illinois University, and the Ohio Counseling Association. He has authored over 85 research articles and nine books. His latest book “Finding Grit” discusses the impact of athletics and academics on the development of girls. He presents his ongoing research and blogs on his Facebook page @raisedaughterswithgrit.

Dr. Magy Martin is a professor in the doctoral clinical psychology program at Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is formally an associate superintendent and principal in several public school systems and a clinical psychologist in private practice. She is an author of nine books and over 70 research articles. She is a co-author of the book “Finding Grit” and her most recent research has focused on the impact of social media and the self-concept of adolescent girls.

Abstract:

The presenters will discuss an ongoing five-year grant project in an urban school district in Youngstown, Ohio. It is the only urban school district/ university partnership where the district funds school counseling students in the U.S. In this grant, 12 Masters level school counseling students are placed for 20 hours per week for three years in an urban school in exchange for graduate-level tuition and a stipend.

In these schools, the students provide guidance lessons, consultation with staff and parents, and mental health counseling services to students. In addition, the students have been involved in numerous research projects with the presenters in order to examine the impact of trauma, violence, and poverty relative to the mental health and academic performance of African-American children within the district.

The presentation of the workshop will be twofold. First, we want to discuss the impact on graduate students regarding both their mental health and graduate training while they have worked in an urban school with students who have a significant need for services. Most of our students were raised in lower-class to middle-class families and had little experience working with children in significant poverty. The adjustment has been difficult and we will share comments and experiences from our students during this journey.

The second part of the presentation will focus on students in the Youngstown city district which is one of the poorest cities in the United States with an unemployment rate that is three times the national average. In the previous decade, Youngstown was called the murder capital of the United States. Violence and drug use is commonplace for these children and many have a parent or sibling who is incarcerated. As the poorest performing academic district in the state, the governor of Ohio chose to take over the district and appoint a CEO to run the district in order to improve both it's academic and financial standing.

Besides providing trauma data regarding over one thousand students in the district over several years, we want to discuss the typical life of many of these students and how they relate to teachers and other staff. Mental health services and policies will be discussed as well as interventions that we have found effective with children who suffer from significant trauma. In addition, we will discuss the political dynamics of an urban school district where change and success are difficult to achieve. Lastly, we will discuss how working closely with an urban school district has transformed our graduate school program into a nationally ranked program that attracts students throughout the U.S. who want to work in urban schools.

Speaker
Biography:

Guahara completed her degree in Social work in Las Plams de GC. She proceeded to train as a Gestalt Therapist with the Gestalt Institute of Valencia and Las Palmas and qualified in 2009. She underwent the Official Biodanza training with Rolando Toro School. Guahara works as a Training and Developing Consultant and Psychotherapist. She completed her Master Degree in CBT and Compassion Focused Therapy as part of her Clinical Consultant role.  She is the Founder of the "Sitting on Fire" and "The Reset" workshop. Guahara Dominguez has published the “Guide for Holistic Education” in collaboration with Las Palmas City Council.   

Abstract:

Mindfulness and body presence has been clinically proven to be a supportive method of intervention for the effective treatment of multiple mental health disorders including depression and anxiety as well as being a preventive and management technique for stress and mood dysregulation.

In this workshop participants will be able to experience a variety of guided movement and dance which will lead to an immediate sense of enjoyment and optimism. We use this discipline to support the cognitive restructuring and behavioral changes that we try to induce using more traditional methods of Psychotherapy including CBT and systemic therapies to reinforce the renewal of vitality, creativity, and closeness in the participants. The session also serves to integrate the participants with each other, so we get a feeling of belonging, connection and being part of a group.

This session will also aim to promote the detachment for the intellectual mind ruled by the ego and the connection with a higher understanding and feeling rules by a higher consciousness. Biondaza and healing movement are intended to increase well-being and general health by encouraging self-expression and self-management through music, dance, and interaction. This is an opportunity for clinicians to experiment with the impact of the Healing guided movement as an effective method of therapeutic intervention.

  • Psychology |Psychiatry |Psychology Health |Mental Health
Location: Hotel Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
Speaker
Biography:

Karin E. Peuschel studied medicine and molecular biology at the University of Zurich (Switzer-land), she completed her medical thesis at the University of Zurich. She is currently the director of Praxis Erlenhof in Zug (Switzerland) and independent researcher in psychiatry and psychotherapy. She has published papers in the field of molecular biology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy and has been serving as a speaker, organizing committee member and reviewer. She has developed novel psychotherapy consisting in the therapy of unresolved conflicts and a complementary therapy of non-hypnotic age regression.

Abstract:

Mental health may impact physical health via different mechanisms. Psychotherapy of unresolved conflicts has shown that physical symptoms may be integrated into conflicts, for example abdominal symptoms, headaches, back pain and cardiac symptoms. If conflicts are not resolved physical symptoms may be recurrent and psychosomatic, e.g. without any somatic cause. They may disappear after psychotherapy of unresolved conflicts even years after the initial conflict. In non-hypnotic age regression, psychosomatic symptoms may show up during regression and described by clients as localized physical findings in the body, that may be removed during age regression together with the accompanying symptoms. These findings correlate with the amount of reported physical symptoms and repression and avoidance of emotions, e.g. in somatoform pain

Speaker
Biography:

Emiel Martens is Assistant Professor at the Department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam and Postdoc Researcher at the School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC) at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He is also the Founding Director of Caribbean Creativity, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the Caribbean and other diversity cinema, and the Film Producer of Gifts from Babylon (2018), a short narrative exploring the psychological impact of illegal Africa-EU migration through the eyes of a traumatized Gambian return-migrant.   

Abstract:

The majority of the mental healthcare clients are treated for psychological problems after violence or abuse during their childhood and adolescence. Usually, they receive a form of psychotherapy (nowadays often in combination with EMDR) to deal with their early trauma and to reduce their mental issues, particularly anxiety and mistrust in intimate relationships. Despite this intensive treatment of traumatic experiences, people with a complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) and other trauma-related disorders are often not helped in a productive way. In this auto-ethnography, Dr. Emiel Martens will argue, on basis of his own experience of a relationship with a partner with cPTSD, that therapists (including couple therapists) run the risk of taking the client’s distorted worldview of fear and suspicion to be the truth. As a result, their psychological problems largely remain out of the picture – and as such the trauma is not dealt with and often even strengthened. In addition, the trauma is also often transferred to their children and partners, because people with complex trauma cannot break the cycle of abuse, physical and/or emotional, they have grown up with. Martens calls for more insight into the impact of complex PTSD on intimate relationships based on the experiences of family and friends. Involving and listening to them, and partners of people with cPTSD in particular, in the treatment (including couple therapy) could, according to Martens, avoid a great deal of confusion, misunderstanding, sadness, pain and even trauma, both among people with cPTSD and their loved ones.

Speaker
Biography:

Nadereh Sohrabi has completed her Ph.D. at the age of 28 years from Shahid Chamran University in Ahvaz city. She is the executive director of the Journal of Psychological Models and Methods. She has published more than 40 papers in reputed journals. She is a faculty member of Dep. Psychology at Islamic Azad University. Also, she is the manager of the Aramesh Center in Shiraz and Chair member of Shiraz Psychology Association.

Abstract:

Introduction: Lifestyle is an important factor in life quality. Lifestyle refers to the set of habits and behavior that one does daily, weekly and monthly. According to the action-reaction principle in systems theory, all our actions or behavior will follow with an emotional, cognition and behavioral reaction. Generally, these actions are selected by individuals consciously. Based on these two (action-reaction principle and conscious selection), what an individual feels, is the result of his/her selection. As individuals are the agent to choose their behavior and lifestyle is a choice for choosing, selecting a specific lifestyle (as a set of action) will make a specific consequence for him/her. So, lifestyle is a good predictor for life quality.

The main goal of the research was to develop a healthy lifestyle scale.            

Method: The sample consisted of 300 college students in Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University. A 28 items scale was used to assess healthy lifestyle. These items were pooled based on the sim-structural interview with 30 married persons between 25 to 58 years old. All participants filled out the scale. Principal factor analysis was run to test factor structure of the scale.

Result: The results of the factor analysis showed a seven-factor structure for the family lifestyle scale. These factors named: emotional relationship, privet time with close people, time for fun and play, effective social network, respect and appreciation, quality of sleep and, physical activity. The result revealed acceptable reliability for these factors.

Conclusion: In sum, the results of the research showed that the Healthy Family Life Style Scale is a valid and reliable scale to assess lifestyle.

Speaker
Biography:

Siamak Sama​ni has completed his Ph.D. at the age of 30 years from Shiraz University. He is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University. Also, he is the manager in charge and Co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Psychological Models and Methods. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of Family Research Journal. He has developed a Family Process and Content Model. Also, he is a member of the family core group at Shahid Behashti University.  

Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to exam the psychometric properties of the Resilience Research Center Adult Resilience measure (RRC-ARM) for Iranian sample. The RRC-ARM is a screening tool design to assess the resources available to the individual that may rely upon their resilience. The RRC-ARM consisted of 28 items with a 5-point response scale (Not at all, A little, Somewhat, Quite a bit, A lot). The tool measures three sources of resilience (individual, family, and social). To prepare the tool for Iranian sample, the RRC-ARM was translated to Farsi (Persian) firstly. The sample in this study consisted of 280 adults between 22 to 48 years old. All participant filled out the RRC-ARM. To check the factor structure of the RRC-ARM, principle component factor analysis was used. The KMO index and Barttlet Sphericity test showed the content sampling adequacy of the RRC-ARM and adequacy of a correlational matrix of the items respectively. The results of the factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure for the Farsi version of the RRC-ARM. These factors named Individual resilience, Family resilience and Social Resilience. The Cronbach's alpha showed acceptable internal consistency for the extracted factors. Also, test-retest reliability with two weeks interval showed high reliability for the RRC-ARM. In sum, the results revealed that the tool is a reliable and valid screening tool to measure different sources of resilience.

Speaker
Biography:

Yuri Brito is a fourth-year medical student from the Frank Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. After graduation, Yuri plans on entering a psychiatry residency training program. His professional interest includes the psychological and psychiatric health of military service members and veteran.

Abstract:

Over 2.4 million military service members deployed overseas in support of military operations as part of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). As these veterans return home, society must address one of the least discernable consequences of US global involvement in various conflicts—the psychological effects of war on military men and women.

The present study seeks to address shortcomings in veterans’ healthcare by investigating the under-utilization of VA healthcare services from the vantage point of veterans. It is believed by working directly with veterans, through a focus group, the study can identify underlying themes and concerns regarding underutilization of VA healthcare services and therefore identify opportunities to address the psychological and mental health needs of military veterans and service members. 

Speaker
Biography:

Hilla Yaniv is a Ph.D. student at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan Israel and has a master degree in Clinical Social Work from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Hilla works as a social worker in a rehabilitative agency which accompanied individuals who cope with different mental disorders, in their rehabilitation process in the community. 

Abstract:

This lecture will discuss a therapeutic process carried out with patients coping with Schizophrenia, who are highly suspicious of their therapists and having difficulty in forming a relationship. Those circumstances led to combine seemingly a new method of the creative therapeutic process utilizing the observation of artwork – a visual metaphoric instrument. The use of observing artworks, while relating to contents that arise from the artwork, had led to the dissipation of fear and suspicion and gradual familiarity in the relationship, altering between proximity and distance. The analysis of the cases points to the potential of using the observation of artwork in certain therapeutic cases, both for the process of forming a relationship and in nurturing a process of change, which includes a deep emotional dialogue. The resulting dialogue is indirect and gradual, reduces anxiety, facilitates growth and provides support for the rehabilitation process within the community. Examples of therapeutic cases, in which this therapeutic process was used, will be presented.

Speaker
Biography:

Anwesha has completed under graduation in biotechnology from Heritage Institute of Technology, India and masters in neuroscience from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London. She is an alumni member of the prestigious Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS) since 2014. Presently she is a research coordinator at the Department of Neurology at the Institute of Neurosciences Kolkata ( IN-K), West Bengal India.

Abstract:

The clinical relevance of psychotic phenomena has been observed to gradually increase in the late adolescent years of an individual. Several genetic studies investigating potential biomarker, underlying such complex psychotic experiences have shown considerable within-pair discordance among the monozygotic (MZ) twins. Consequently, the results highlighted a possible association of non-genetic factors in the onset of complex psychotic symptoms. The study aimed at identifying the differential DNA methylation patterns in age 18 MZ twins discordant for psychotic experiences which may be influential in the onset of psychotic phenotypes. About 124 pairs of MZ discordant twins from E-risk Longitudinal Twin study cohort were analyzed for differential methylation patterns corresponding to the within-pair differences (after adjusting for smoking in pack-years) among the affected twins and unaffected co-twins. Out of 52 significant probes identified after methylation analysis, the top probe cg09027255 (Δβ= 0.013, P= 7.37×10-7), showed consistent variation in DNA methylation patterns across each discordant MZ twin pair. The pathway analysis of the significant DMP associated genes explained networks like Wnt-protein binding which had been previously associated with major psychotic disorders. The study was first of its kind in investigating the association of epigenetic variations with the manifestation of psychotic experiences in adolescents by examining the DNA methylation patterns from whole blood samples of MZ discordant twins. The promising outcomes encourage further investigation to uncover the underlying epigenetic biomarkers involved in the onset of major psychosis for designing better targeted preventive measures in the future.

Speaker
Biography:

Nazanin Honarparvaran has completed Ph.D. at the age of 40 years from Azad University of Tehran –Iran. She is the faculty member for the department of counseling at Azad University. She has also been the head of the department of counseling for three years. She has published 18 papers in reputed journals. In addition, she has compiled five books in the field of counseling. She has presented more than 40 papers at academic conferences. She has recently attended ISST conference in May 2018 in Netherland. She has held about 200 psychological workshops in the areas of schema therapy, psychodrama, and imago therapy.    She has been a member of the psychology and counseling organization of Iran since 2008. She has got a degree in hypnosis from Iranian scientific society of clinical hypnosis.  

Abstract:

This research‚ seeks to find sexual stereotype among university students by using the phenomenology theory. A mixed method by focusing on lived experience was used for 16 master’s university student in Tehran’s public universities ‚ that was divided into two fields of humanistic science and engineering. Goal oriented method was used to explore the conception, judgment, and act of university students against every sexual phenomenon. The data gathering method was an in-depth semi-structured interview. After scrutiny of the interviews, data analyzed by the conceptual model of Sterubert. The results show 2 main ideas: the process of sexual stereotype construction and quality and quantity of sex which per of them has their own special conceptions. Sexual stereotype construction has 2 subsets: awareness source of sexual phenomena and view of a sexual zone. The quality and quantity of sex has 4 subsets: The effect of beauty on choosing a partner, males and female sexual stereotypes, historical-argumental stereotype and rejected position of sex. The results emphasize the certain effects of historical, cultural and social contents that frame main thoughts about sexual issues.