While humor is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct to traditional, symptom-focused treatments for depression, there remains a lack of integrated clinical guidance for its use. This narrative review synthesizes findings from clinical psychology and humor research to provide a comprehensive analysis of the therapeutic potential of and contraindications to humor interventions in depressed populations. The review examines both the benefits—including emotional gain, responsiveness to humorous material, and the effects of humor-based interventions—and the risks—such as impaired humor skills and possible adverse effects—before integrating the two to offer recommendations for identifying good candidates for humor interventions and for tailoring the content to the profiles of people with depression. Particular consideration is given to the different stages of depressive disorders, the heterogeneous nature of humor, its role as an emotion regulation strategy, and its integration into broader therapeutic frameworks. The review concludes by emphasizing the need for specialized education for practitioners and considering the potential of digital technologies and priorities for future research.
Objective: Misophonia is a subtype of decreased sound tolerance associated with significant distress and reduced quality of life. Although no evidence-based treatments exist specifically for misophonia, cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs) show promise. Cognitive reappraisal (CR), a core transdiagnostic CBT intervention, is frequently used in experimental studies, however, its effects on misophonia in ecologically valid conditions remain untested. Similarly, the needs and perspectives of individuals with misophonia regarding treatment are underexplored. This study developed and evaluated a CR protocol tailored for misophonia, assessing feasibility, acceptability and satisfaction, as well as preliminary assessment of the intervention outcomes through an uncontrolled quantitative as well as qualitative design.Methods: The intervention included a 90-minute group session and three 30-minute individual online sessions over four weeks. Adults (N = 23) were recruited using structured interviews. Misophonia symptoms were assessed at two pre-treatment time points and post-treatment. Semi-structured group interviews explored participants’ experiences.Results: No significant changes were observed between the two pre-treatment assessments in three of the five symptom subscales, partially confirming baseline symptom stability. In contrast, a significant post-treatment reduction in externalizing responses to misophonia triggers was observed (Estimate = -8.47, SE = 2.32, t(42.45) = -3.65, p < 0.001), with similar improvements across other S-Five subscales. Qualitative data highlighted feelings of isolation, appreciation for the group format, and a need for more individualized support.Conclusion: CR shows promise as a component of misophonia treatment that warrants further controlled evaluation. The participant’s feedback highlights the importance of tailoring interventions to individual needs and patient perspectives.
The article investigates the Suharto rule regime’s use of necropolitics to construct Indonesia’s memory of the 1965–66 mass murders. These memory politics were based on the anti-communist myth, which was the basis of the memory formation and creation of positive and negative heroes closely related to political changes. The regime used the bodies of generals who were killed during the attempted coup for political purposes, thus permanently anchoring this image in Indonesian society’s space and memory. Herein, the image of the generals’ bodies is juxtaposed with that of the victims’ bodies, which are still cursed and excluded from official Indonesian history. These necropolitics served the Suharto regime’s various interests of power, knowledge, and the clash between sacred and cursed bodies. Thus, the generals’ and victims’ bodies enhanced Suharto’s credibility. In this context, the generals’ bodies are treated as sacred, while the victims’ bodies are considered to be cursed, but both are causative agents of the development of the regime’s historical narrative, collective memory, and national identity.
Pozostałe osiągnięcia naukoweArtykuły (zamknięty dostęp)Journal article
This article examines the Plantungan women’s camp as a central instrument of gendered repression under Indonesia’s New Order regime. The study argues that Plantungan functioned as a gendered carceral regime in which women’s bodies were simultaneously disciplined, exploited, and morally stigmatized. To support this, I draw on fieldwork in Central Java, interviews with former prisoners, local memory traces, and various published testimonies. Through forced labour, spatial isolation, sexual violence, ideological instruction, and the enduring myth of the ‘wild Gerwani,’ the state produced a multilayered apparatus of domination that sought not only to punish political dissent but to reshape gendered subjectivities. The analysis situates women’s testimonies within broader frameworks of biopolitics, necropolitics, and feminist theory, demonstrating how state power operated through everyday routines, embodied practices, and enforced silences. It also traces the afterlives of this violence, showing how memory erasure, local stigma, and the absence of institutional reckoning have shaped survivors’ lives long after their release. Finally, the article examines contemporary artistic grassroots efforts that challenge official forgetting and reclaim gendered histories excluded from national narratives. This reconstruction of prisoners’ lived experiences illuminates the intersections of gender, forced labour, and authoritarian power, while contributing to debates on memory politics and transitional justice in Indonesia.
Background
Personality disorders are highly prevalent worldwide imposing substantial personal and social challenges. Schema Therapy is an effective psychotherapeutic approach for personality pathology and other complex characterological problems. New scientific insights prompted a re-evaluation of its theoretical underpinnings leading to a reformulated Schema Therapy theory. Furthermore, the assumed cross-cultural universality of the Schema Therapy model has not been tested.
Aims
This project has two primary aims: (1) To develop revised instruments based on the reformulated theory that are psychometrically sound and valid across diverse cultures and languages. (2) To validate the Schema Therapy-related constructs and their inter-relationships across cultures.
Methods
New draft versions of the Young Schema Questionnaire, Schema Coping Inventory, and Schema Mode Inventory were developed. Before dissemination, these instruments will undergo rigorous psychometric evaluation to refine item sets and ensure linguistic and conceptual consistency. A minimum of 100 adult mental health patients and 100 non-patients from each participating country will complete the revised instruments. Sociodemographic and mental health-related variables will also be assessed. Statistical analyses will evaluate (a) internal consistency, (b) unidimensionality, (c) cross-cultural invariance, (d) factorial validity (if possible), and (e) known-group validity. Malfunctioning items will be deleted, and subscales will be shortened, if possible, targeting internal consistency of ≥.80.
Expected outcomes
This study is expected to yield optimized versions of the three instruments aligned with the reformulated theory. These findings will inform subsequent international studies to further assess the structural and cross-cultural validity of the revised scales. The resulting empirically validated scales will be openly accessible, facilitating worldwide utilization.
Discussion
This protocol outlines the first international study based on the reformulated theory, aiming to extend the psychopathological coverage and enhance the cross-cultural application of evidence-based treatments for personality pathology. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. Potential limitations are discussed.