Enhancing personal wellness in counselor trainees using biofeedback: an exploratory study

Daddy, daddy cool: stallion-foal relationships in a socially-natural herd of Exmoor ponies

Different forms of direct paternal investment have been described in mammals. One such species where paternal care was noticed, but remains poorly understood, is the horse (Equus caballus), where the male keeps a long-term relationship with several females and offspring. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the interactions between the harem stallion and his foals. Two herds of Exmoor ponies living under semi-feral conditions in two separate reserves within Czech Republic were studied, each during one of the two consecutive breeding seasons (in 2016 and 2017). Both herds consisted of a stallion, 14 mares and their offspring (12 and 10 foals). The behaviour of all group members was recorded focusing on the stallion-foal interactions. The results show that the stallion receives more friendly interactions, snapping and playful behaviour from foals compared with adult mares. Furthermore, the stallion is more tolerant than mares, and actively plays with his offspring. There is no statistical difference in the sex of the foals in the stallion-foal interactions; however, male foals are more active than female foals in interacting with their father. The probability of a certain behaviour occurring between adult and foals changed over time. The stallion's presence might, therefore, be crucial for the physical and psychological development of the foals, especially the colts. These results may bring new insight into the common management of domestic horses, where stallions are usually kept separately and are not allowed to form natural groups.

Training in psychotherapy: a call for embodied and psychophysiological approaches

Psychotherapy research studies are increasingly focused on the clinical process, which has allowed for the definition of general models about clinical functioning and the role of the therapist. Embodiment-based research has shown that interpersonal processes, such as synchrony and attunement, are critical for the development of crucial therapist skills and that these mechanisms are mediated by physiological processes. Although the connection between these embodied processes and clinical practice is currently a topic of investigation in psychotherapy research, its implications for clinical training are potentially broad, but they remain unexplored. The present contribution proposes the idea of embodied trainings for psychotherapy trainees, which could support their acquisition of clinical skills through implicit, embodied, and affective learning. We present detailed potential mechanisms, study designs, and psychological variables that could be used to develop such an in vivo training and suggest some possible applications, ranging from biofeedback sessions to experimental settings and roleplaying. Additional research in this field can help bridge the gap between psychotherapy research and psychotherapy training, by overcoming some of the limitations of post-session and external evaluations, by enriching psychotherapy training programs, and by facilitating the implicit and automatic attunement of the attitudes of the students who will become tomorrow's therapists.

An examination of college student wellness: A research and liberal arts perspective

Promoting wellness within academia reduces disease frequency and enhances overall health. This study examined wellness factors among undergraduate students attending a research university (n = 85) or a small liberal arts college (n = 126). Participants were administered surveys which measured physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and occupational wellness. Significant institutional differences emerged on measures of physical and social wellness. When collapsed across academic institutions, students who were gainfully employed reported greater self-efficacy compared with unemployed students. Gender differences emerged on measures of physical and social well-being. Our findings support the need for targeted interventions that facilitate enhanced college student development and well-being.