RECENT TRENDS IN ALEXITHYMIA

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published in the International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences and is available as an open access article. The construct of alexithymia is rapidly undergoing change. The stability of scores in the measurement of alexithymia has led to questions about it being a trait or a state. Absolute and relative stability of alexithymic scores have implications for psychological assessments and interventions. The conceptual shift and the involvement of both cortical and sub-cortical structures have created new in roads in understanding cognitive and emotional processing in alexithymia. This article gives an overview of how assessments (qualitatively and quantitatively) in alexithymia have evolved over the years. Psychological interventions on alexithymic individuals has long been studied and inconclusive evidences have led to questions about whether alexithymic patients are good responders to psychotherapy or otherwise. Recent literature though sparse has shown that alexithymic patients do better with cognitive behavioral interventions. In addition alexithymia has emerged as better predictor of treatment outcomes. This course on alexithymia is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their understanding of emotional and cognitive processing. The course material includes a brief literature review. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical continuing education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article which includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A major benefit of reading research based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Ruth, Padmakumari