Quantum bioenergetics, mental boundaries and affective response : a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study

Previous research has demonstrated the effects of ostensible subtle energy on physical systems and subjective experience. However, one subtle energy technique that has been neglected by previous studies, despite anecdotal support for its efficacy, is Quantum BioEnergetics (QBE). Furthermore, personality traits that influence subtle energy effects remain unclear, and previous experimental studies have not investigated the constructs of Love and Joy, despite qualitative and anecdotal reports indicating that these variants of positive affect are essential elements of the subtle energy experience. The aim of the present study was to investigate experimentally the effects of QBE, and the personality trait Mental Boundaries, on positive and negative affect. Participants (N = 69) were administered the Boundary Questionnaire Short Form to quantify Boundaries, and then randomly assigned to one of three conditions: QBE, Placebo ("sham"), or Control. Affect was retrospectively assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect subdimensions of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI). As predicted, a significant multivariate effect for condition was found with regards to the PCI subdimensions: Joy, Sexual Excitement, Love, Anger, Sadness, and Fear. In contrast to our expectations, a significant multivariate effect was not found for Boundaries with regards to the combined PCI-Affect variables. As hypothesized, significant interactions were found between condition and Boundaries with regards to Positive Affect, Love and Joy, with the QBE/Thin Boundaries factorial combination associated with the highest mean scores for these dependent variables. It will be prudent to ascertain whether these results are replicated in a larger sample and a placebo condition that improves on the standard randomized placebocontrolled protocols of previous subtle energy research.

Mindfulness and the treatment of anger problems

Clinical interventions based on training in mindfulness skills are an increasingly common part of psychological practice. Mindfulness training can lead to reductions in a variety of problematic conditions including pain, stress, anxiety, depressive relapse, psychosis, and disordered eating but to date there have been few attempts to investigate the effectiveness of this approach with problematic anger. In this paper, the literature in relation to the theory and treatment of problematic anger is reviewed, with the aim of determining whether a rationale exists for the use of mindfulness with angry individuals. It is concluded that anger as an emotion seems particularly appropriate for the application of mindfulness-based interventions, and the potential mechanisms for its proposed effects in alleviating the cognitive, affective and behavioral manifestations of anger are discussed.

The meaning of anger for Australian Indigenous offenders : the significance of context

The problem of overrepresentation of Indigenous offenders in Australian prisons highlights the need for effective tertiary intervention programs within correctional settings as a way of reducing Indigenous reincarceration. This study seeks to explore meanings of anger within an Indigenous context that might inform the development of more acceptable and potentially more effective rehabilitation programs. A methodology that acknowledges the importance of narrative, context, and culture was devised to explore how anger as an emotion is understood and experienced by a group of Indigenous men in a South Australian prison. Although some of the major themes reflected experiences of anger common to many offenders, it was evident that for these Indigenous men, anger was experienced within a broad social and political context that imbued the experience of anger with layers of culturally specific meaning. It is suggested that these layers of meaning constitute sufficient difference to warrant further exploration.

The development of CBT programmes for anger : the role of interventions to promote perspective-taking skills

Although the emotion of anger has, in recent years, been the subject of increasing theoretical analysis, there are relatively few accounts of how interventions designed to reduce problematic anger might be related to cognitively oriented theories of emotion. In this review of the literature we describe how a cognitive-behavioural approach to the treatment of those with anger-related problems might be understood in relation to conceptualizations of anger from a cognitive perspective. Three additional interventions (visual feedback, chair-work, forgiveness therapy) are identified that aim to improve the perspective-taking skills of angry clients. It is concluded that such interventions might be considered for use within the context of cognitive-behavioural treatment.

Anger and indigenous men : understanding and responding to violent behaviour

This book is for social work and criminal justice practitioners who wish to develop culturally appropriate and effective programs for reducing anger-related violence perpetrated by Indigenous men. It places cultural context at the heart of any intervention, broadening the focus from problematic behaviour to a more holistic notion of well-being.

Researching anger in indigenous men in prison : a perspective from non-indigenous researchers

In this chapter, the attempts of non-Indigenous researchers to develop an appropriate research methodology to investigate anger in Indigenous men in prison are described. The chapter examines the need for research that can meaningfully inform service provision to be conducted in the context of Indigenous critiques of mainstream research methodologies and describes some of the issues that arose in our attempt to achieve this. What emerged was an appreciation of the way in which the research methodologies that were available to us were inescapably representations of our own cultural backgrounds and that effective and culturally acceptable research practice was not a question of mere methodology, but of being prepared to remain conscious of the potential for our research to do harm.