Many persons with long-term illness experience a decline in their quality of life. Perceived Quality of Life is a subjective term based on prior personal experiences and is highly individual. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate perceived Quality of Life in persons with Multiple Sclerosis and to get knowledge if physical therapy changes a person?s quality of life. Three women and three men with a range of disability were interviewed in depth.

In this study we have examined in which way the horse is used in Equine Assisted Therapy, and what effects the treatment staff experience and describes that the interaction with horses has on girls who self-harms. Our Empirical data was collected through qualitative methods such as interviews, participant observation and informal interviews with a total of six different informants, from five different activities with Equine Assisted Therapy for girls who self-harms. In the analysis we have assumed symbolic interactionism, a theory focusing on the human as a social being, where the self-image alters in the social interaction with other human beings. We interwove this theory with the Biophilia hypothesis, an explanatory model concerning human?s relationship to animals and nature.The conclusions we have found in the results are:Equine Assisted Therapy is a complementary treatment comprises both horseback riding and exercises which is not based on the horsebackEquine Assisted Therapy almost always involves three parts, the therapist, the client and the horse.

Although Dan Andersson (1888-1920) is considered perhaps the most important of the early Swedish workingclassauthors, there has not been much research on his work. Through a perspective based on critical whitenessstudies, intersectionality and existential phenomenology, this thesis performs a close reading of Andersson?sKolarhistorier (1914) and Chi-mo-ka-ma (1920) in order to map the discursive formations of whiteness andblackness in the texts, as well as to expose how these formations interrelate with that of humanhood.Since an underprivileged situation of oppression and poverty is the point from which the fictional worldunfolds in both Kolarhistorier and Chi-mo-ka-ma, whiteness is not an existential style within close reach for thecharacters. In Kolarhistorier the charcoal-burners claim themselves as ?weary of whiteness? and accordingly thetext establishes what the thesis reads as a realm of blackness where the black, male body becomes a locus ofpleasure instead of despair.

Background: With increasing age follows higher risks of conditions and illnesses which can cause a decrease in health and wellbeing. A meaningful social environment can positively impact the physical health of older people. Dogs are increasingly being used for different purposes within health care and animal assisted therapy aims to improve people?s physical, social, emotional and cognitive function.Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of animal assisted therapy on older people?s health and wellbeing.Methods: A literature review where searches for academic articles in databases PubMed, Cinahl and PsychInfo were performed. The searches resulted in 14 articles which were selected for further review.

The purpose of this study has been to investigate how psychosocial support for families where a parent suffers from a life threatening illness can be constructed. The intent was also to explore how the child's perspective is protected and what barriers and opportunities there are for family oriented support. The study has a qualitative approach and includes interviews with four social workers. The interviews were analyzed with a systems theory and attachment theory. The conclusions are that the whole family suffers psychological and social pressures when a parent is sick.

This pilot study describes a therapy method for persons withBroca´s aphasia. This method is based on the mapping hypothesis (Schwartz,Saffran & Marin 1980). The mapping hypothesis is based on the assumptionthat agrammatism is caused by an inability to combine syntactic structurewith thematic roles. This study describes a combination of the therapymethod mentioned above and the Everyday life activities photo series (ELA,Stark 1992). The aim of the study was to investigate if therapy based on awritten sentence/picture format is a viable starting-point for future research.The therapy presented combined written sentences with pictures describingeveryday life activities.

Internet's entry into our home has changed our communication capabilities. As a result more and more services in the digital world are available. Besides e.g. shopping, gaming and general information, different social networks now offer preventive and therapeutic health-oriented services. When being asked by several young people, with whom I have been working in a clinical setting, to offer conversations over the Internet that enables both to see and to hear each other in real time, I decided to conduct a pilot study which is presented in this paper. The aim was to investigate the feasibility of offering supportive therapy using video calls over the Internet.

AbstractA systematic replication study was conducted at the training site at the University of Karlstad. Student therapists performed cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) as a part of their master?s degree in psychology.  The systematic replication that took place was based on the work of Hiltunen et al. (2013), who evaluated the efficacy of CBT treatment conducted at the training site previously mentioned.

The purpose of this essay is to understand how children and adolescent regard participating infamily therapy sessions, and the children´s views on their own contribution to the therapy.Another focus is weather family therapy can strengthen children´s identity and sence ofcoherence, and thus help them being more able to coping with dificulties in the future.Important questions for this work is to investigate how the attitudes and abilities of familytherapists can help the children become participating subjects, and how the collaborativeapproach contribute to bringing new perspectives and opportunities in the family's relationalcontext and life situation. By using Antonovsky´s salutogenic theory and narrative theory, theaim of this paper is to bring forth ways to approach children as family therapist that helpsstrengthen the childrens identity, self-esteem and sence of coherence.By analyzing family therapists known for being child-focused, such as Jim Wilson, MichaelWhite, David Epston and Haldor Övreeide, and compare the approach as therapist to theconclusions of the recent studies, this paper wants to emphasize how to approach children,adolescents and parents in a way that helps children contribute to solving the problem and thatbrings forth new narratives about the childs identity and relational context..

Uncertainty is a well-known phenomenon that is recurring in biographies, imaginative literature and science, but is less studied in nursing science. The aim of this participatory action research project was to, in collaboration with nursing students; explore nursing activities for relieving patients? uncertainty. A qualitative approach was chosen with focus groups and the text was content analyzed. The students studied their third semester on a nursing program.

Evidence-based psychotherapeutic methods compete with each other, while meta-analysis have shown that variability due to different methods related to outcome is remarkably low. In this qualitative study six former patients were interviewed about experiences of method and technique in Affect-focused therapy, with a slight overweight towards unsatisfactory experiences. Responses were analysed and categorised in emergent themes. Methodological focus on affect showed to be a much appreciated, as well as insufficient, element. Alongside positive experiences or summaries of therapy, methodological frames were felt to be at times restrictive, even invalidating, as far as not allowing focus on what was felt to be the more predominant need.

Hambert, M. Degree project in social work. Malmö University: Faculty of health and society, Department of social work, 2014. Equine assisted therapy is for many a yet unknown form of rehabilitation. In the current situation there is a lack of documented research on horses' involvement in rehabilitation and social work. Studies show that animals, and especially horses, can have a positive impact on human well-being, both physically and mentally.

Humans and dogs are both mammals. One of the differences between the two species is that man walk on two legs and dogs on four legs. There are also differences in the nerve system between the two species. The human nerve system is supposed to provide opportunity for fine motor tasks- while the nerve system of the dog is more focused on the ability to perform locomotor tasks. Humans need to increase their motor control and postural control when affected by various conditions and diseases.

Schizophrenia can cause symptoms such as auditory hallucinations, delusions, emotional blunting, apathy and lack of motivation. These result in a diminished ability to participate in daily activities and bring the client group into the domain of occupational therapists. The purpose of this literature review is to compile the latest findings in occupational therapy interventions for individuals with schizophrenia. Furthermore guidance regarding the utility of the interventions will be given based on the author?s assessment of the evidence in the 22 articles included.

Background: Testosterone is the most important androgenic hormone in the male. Aging is closely associated with reduction of serum testosterone which can lead to reduced muscle mass, muscle strength, bone density, and depression. These symptoms may be counteracted by administration of testosterone. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of hormone replacement in men with age-related testosterone deficiency. Method: We performed a systematic review using Randomised Controlled Trials (RCT).