The purpose of this study was to examine interpersonal problems and its relationship to the working alliance in psychotherapy. To examine this, data was used from Umeå and Lund University psychology practice client database, which clients responded to by using the self-assessment scales Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex Scales and the Working Alliance Inventory. The sample consisted of 201 participants that answered the questionnaires both before and after psychotherapy. A second sample consisted of 93 clients who specifically sought help for interpersonal problems. Results showed that the level of interpersonal problems before and after psychotherapy changes.

AbstractAim: The aim of this study was to describe cancer patients? experiences of quality of life and wellbeing in relation to yoga practice.Method: A descriptive qualitative study with semi structured interviews was carried out during the fall of 2009 at the University of Uppsala. Informants in the study were cancer patients who were participating in the yoga/psychotherapy group at the clinic of oncology at the Akademiska hospital in Uppsala.Result: Five out of six informants experienced that their quality of life and their wellbeing improved by practicing yoga. One informant had mixed feelings which were not due to the yoga practicing, but to the place where it was practiced. For her this place was associated with illness.

The aim of this study was to examine what factors experienced psychotherapists emphasize as central and change developing in psychotherapy. The intention was to highlight the therapists' personal thoughts and experiences of psychotherapeutic change. By personal interviews with three cognitive and three psychodynamic psychotherapists, data was retrieved and then analysed with a qualitative phenomenological and hermeneutical approach. The study revealed great accordance between the psychotherapists regarding the importance of therapeutic relationship, factors connected to therapeutic treatment and flexibility regarding to the method of treatment. Moreover, it has been revealed that psychotherapeutic change in both treatments of psychotherapy is due to integration between emotional and cognitive processes.

The aim of this paper was to illuminate the effect of mentalizationbased psychotherapy. The patients in the survey group were interviewed before and after treatment with regard to specific symptoms of borderline personality disorder and symptoms of other personality disorders with the semi structured interviews ZAN-BPD and SCID-II. Open interview questions that were worked up in a qualitative manner were as well put to the patients that had received the treatment program. A focus group interview with the staff working with the concept within the frame of the MBT-team of Psychiatry southwest in Stockholm was also carried out. The result shows on a group level between the pre and post measuring a reduction of specific borderline symptoms like impulsivity and cognitive symptoms.

The working alliance between therapist and client has been proven important for the treatment outcome in psychotherapy, as well as the therapist?s characteristics. The aim of the current study was to examine the experience of important characteristics when forming a working alliance, among psychotherapy trainees. Eight psychotherapy trainees at Umeå University were interviewed and the material was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Characteristics described as positively impacting the working alliance were interested, empathic, warm, genuine, secure, flexible and accepting.

This paper aims to describe and discuss psychotherapy in rhetorical terms; in particular how psychotherapists can use their ethos, or person, as a means for convincing the patient, and subsequently discuss how these insights in turn can be useful for other rhetors.Classical rhetoric is commonly associated with one speaker exercising influence on an audience of many, but modern rhetoric is broader, and includes all situations where someone is attempting, by speech or in writing, to affect anyone, including the rhetor himself. With this broader definition, psychotherapy may also be considered a form of rhetoric. Psychotherapy does, however, highlight the aspect of power distribution, in that it is clear that it is up to the patient to determine whether the rhetoric will achieve its purpose or not, that is, if he will be influenced by it. In psychotherapy, it is also important to differentiate between persuading and convincing: for a permanent change to occur in the patient?s thoughts and actions, the deeper, "internal" form of conviction is necessary for change to take place.When attempting to convince an audience, it is important for the speaker to establish a credible ethos, that is, present a trustworthy persona.

Approximately one third of all patients in primary care have a psychosocial component to their illness that requires adequate professional treatment. However, primary care is insufficiently prepared for these patients. The aim of this case-study was to evaluate a pilot project in primary care offering psychotherapy as a treatment alternative. The data collected includes 1) data from 352 referred patients regarding demographics, diagnosis, treatment duration and pre- and post health status, 2) a patient-satisfaction questionnaire and 3) interviews with six therapists and five medical doctors. The treated patients improved significantly and showed a high degree of satisfaction.

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the participants experiences of a parent support group and the effect of their participation on their parental role from a learning perspective. As the parent support group takes place as a group activity, the focus was on the individual learning processes which, in turn, are influenced by both the group itself as well as the leaders of the group. The empirical data was collected from a focus group interview with four mothers, and analyzed using empowerment and coping theories. Based on the participants´ narratives, the result showed that the parent support group had a great social and pedagogic effect on the participants. As a result of the received knowledge in the group from both leaders as well as from other participants, they felt less stressed and more confident in their parental role.

The purpose of this Master Thesis was to study the reader in the informal reading group. To fulfil our purpose we have used the following questions: how did the reader become a reader and what does her reading look like, why do people choose to participate in a reading group, how may the group influence the individual member in her reading and interpretation of a book, does the reading group have a therapeutic function, how does the informant find the group dynamics and different roles in the reading group, and finally how does the informant experience the discussion in the reading group. We have used two studies about reading groups, one by Elizabeth Long and one by Jenny Hartley. Our theory is divided into reading and group psychology. We have interviewed seven women belonging to different reading groups.

This essay describes my work as a director in a specialized orientation within psychodrama, surrealistic psychodrama. Using the language and performance techniques of theater and under the guidance of a director, psychodrama creates an improvised narrative or story. The essay describes several dramas I have directed, reflecting on my actions and choices as a director and group leader. I examine whether my working method has allowed me to be spontaneous and creative, which I believe the example of "The dangerous bear" demonstrates. The process enabled me to establish trust and receptivity so that a newly constituted group dared to investigate conflicts in symbolic ways associated with illness and death.

At first glance, the group CEO's (koncernchefens) legal position looks easy. It is the CEO?s responsibility to lead and make decisions on matters which affect the entire group, all while defending the company?s best interests. However, when one looks closely at how the Companies Act (Aktiebolagslagen) regulates how a company should organize itself, as well as the options available to manage the group, one rea-lizes that simply appointing a group CEO does not necessarily make the company compatible with the Companies Act. A group CEO threatens to reduce both the Board and CEO's legal administrative districts which are not in accordance with legal and commercial principles.In order to introduce a group CEO it requires a detailed investigation of the group's legal relationships.

In today's society there is a trend in progress that it is positive and effective to have working groups or teams in organizations. But is it really all good? This essay explores this question through the concept "group weariness". Group weariness is defined as a negative attitude towards working in groups based on previous experiences of the working form. The aim of this study is to explore the concept of group weariness through a quantitative study.

Socialstyrelsen har konstaterat att äldres psykiska hälsa är ett eftersatt område, trots att många äldre drabbas av psykiska besvär, och efterlyser behandlingsalternativ till medicinering. Man konstaterar samtidigt att det saknas undersökningar av effekten av psykoterapi för personer i högre åldrar, något som delvis kan bero på att många studier har en åldersgräns på 75 år. Tidigare studier visar också att psykoterapeuter föredrar att ta emot yngre patienter i psykoterapeutisk behandling. Studien är en beskrivning av några psykoterapeuters upplevelser av det psykoterapeutiska arbetet med personer som är 75 år och äldre.Sju psykoterapeuter intervjuades i denna kvalitativa undersökning där datainsamling skedde genom semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyserades med tematisk analys. Det som upplevs vara vanligast förekommande tema för denna åldersgrupp är förluster och skam kopplat till detta.

I denna undersökning är handledare under utbildning i fokus. Syftet är att se om det sker någon förändring under utbildningen och vad förändringen består av. Det är en kvalitativ studie med kvantitativa inslag. Materialet som använts är insamlat under två år av handledarkandidaterna i ett forskningsprojekt. Genom studier av hur handledarna förhöll sig till det narrativa materialet under en handledningstimme i början och slutet av utbildningen framträdde en bild som tydde på att handledarna förändrades.

In 2007 the Prevention Unit at Södermalm in Stockholm started a group activity for parents and children. The group activity?s intention is to offer families support in their early interaction. This study is a part of providing knowledge about this intervention. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the stories which are produced by five participants in a support group for parents and children.