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Biomedical subjects

J A Beshai

Publications and source records attributed to J A Beshai.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Quantitative and qualitative research in hypnosis: a commentary on Woodard.

In recent articles Woodard extended the Snygg and Combs theory of "Perceptually Oriented Hypnosis" to effect a rapprochement with a Phenomenology of Hypnosis. Both use the "Phenomenal Field" of consciousness, but they provide different interpretations and approaches to the essence of hypnosis. Snygg and Combs were heavily reliant on Gestalt psychology with a Cartesian dualism while Phenomenology maintains the unity of quality and quantity within consciousness. This commentary presents the philosophical basis for the two methods used to arrive at the essence of hypnosis in clinical practice.

Awareness↗
PubMed2004

Toward a phenomenology of trance logic in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Some induction procedures result in trance logic as an essential feature of hypnosis. Trance logic is a voluntary state of acceptance of suggestions without the critical evaluation that would destroy the validity of the meaningfulness of the suggestion. Induction procedures in real and simulated conditions induce a conflict between two contradictory messages in experimental hypnosis. In military induction the conflict is much more subtle involving society's need for security and its need for ethics. Such conflicts are often construed by the subject as trance logic. Trance logic provides an opportunity for therapists using the phenomenology of "presence" to deal with the objectified concepts of "avoidance," "numbing" implicit in this kind of dysfunctional thinking in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. An individual phenomenology of induction procedures and suggestions, which trigger trance logic, may lead to a resolution of logical fallacies and recurring painful memories. It invites a reconciliation of conflicting messages implicit in phobias and avoidance traumas. Such a phenomenological analysis of trance logic may well be a novel approach to restructure the meaning of trauma.

Combat Disorders↗
PubMed2004

Existential perspectives on death anxiety.

Construct validity is the hallmark of Templer's Death Anxiety Scale (1970), which has generated a healthy stream of research of paramount importance in the USA and all over the world. This paper contends that scores on this scale provide valuable scientific knowledge on group norms. To expand the concept of death anxiety it is necessary to supplement empirical with qualitative research. Persons with the same scores may show qualitatively different fears of death, and vice versa. Total reliance on empirical scales may not disclose the depth of bipolar meaning in a "life-death anxiety." Templer's scale is a mixture of fears, phobias, and obsessions with thoughts of illness, cancer, heart disease, and wars. A bipolar "life-death anxiety" continuum requires phenomenology to reach beyond the 15 items to the process of "experiencing." The scale addresses "thoughts" about the death of others even though its items are cast in the first person singular. This provides group norms of a "cognitive-affective" construct, with limited generality cross-culturally. Means do not disclose fully meaningful comparisons between persons or cultures. Death Anxiety as an existential anticipatory mode of "being-in-the-world" is embedded in a personal/genetic/cultural matrix that may vary individually and culturally.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1993

The structure of Templer's Death Anxiety Scale among Egyptian students.

Using a standardized Arabic version of the Templer Death Anxiety Scale with Egyptian students (214 males and 214 females), five factors were extracted which corresponded to those reported for several cultures in Asia, Europe, Africa, and America. Means for the Egyptian students of both sexes were significantly higher than those reported in Arab and western cultures. Egyptian female students scored significantly higher than males. The first two factors were mostly comprised of items relating to cognitive/affective components of death and life experiences. These observations support the universality of structures within death anxiety across culture and gender.

Adult↗