Kirsten Roessler - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Kirsten Roessler

Psyke & Logos

Rum, natur, relationer og stemninger er fænomener, som beskrives i en arkitekturpsykologisk tilga... more Rum, natur, relationer og stemninger er fænomener, som beskrives i en arkitekturpsykologisk tilgang, der i nærværende artikel spørger, om eller hvordan naturen kan understøtte menneskers helbred. Vi undersøger på grundlag af teoretiske præmisser, metodiske overvejelser og empiriske resultater, om og hvordan mennesker med sundhedsmæssige og psykiske udfordringer kan få gavn af ophold i og mødet med naturen. Selv om det er indlysende, at omgivelser kan berige mennesker, så er det ikke ofte, at forskere, kommuner og naturvejledere arbejder sammen i et forsknings- og praksisorienteret projekt. Artiklen beskriver erfaringer fra et pilotprojekt, der bruger naturen som med-behandler for stressramte mænd, og byder samtidig på en teoretisk tilnærmelse til emnet. Pilotprojektet blev gennemført i samarbejde mellem Svendborg kommune og museet Naturama og bestod af tre kursusforløb af otte ugers varighed med i alt 33 mænd. Projektets formål var at bruge naturen som med-behandler for en målgruppe...

Journal of Medical Internet Research

Background Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) has been demonstrated to be cost- a... more Background Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) has been demonstrated to be cost- and clinically effective. There is a need, however, for increased therapist contact for some patient groups. Combining iCBT with traditional face-to-face (FtF) consultations in a blended format may produce a new treatment format (B-CBT) with multiple benefits from both traditional CBT and iCBT, such as individual adaptation, lower costs than traditional therapy, wide geographical and temporal availability, and possibly lower threshold to implementation. Objective The primary aim of this study is to compare directly the clinical effectiveness of B-CBT with FtF-CBT for adult major depressive disorder. Methods A 2-arm randomized controlled noninferiority trial compared B-CBT for adult depression with treatment as usual (TAU). The trial was researcher blinded (unblinded for participants and clinicians). B-CBT comprised 6 sessions of FtF-CBT alternated with 6-8 web-based CBT self-help modules....

BMC Public Health

Background Interdisciplinary rehabilitation programmes (IRP) are used in municipality settings to... more Background Interdisciplinary rehabilitation programmes (IRP) are used in municipality settings to assist unemployed citizens with complex health and/or life issues. Individually tailored IRP activities help people develop their personal working life skills and increase their chances of re-entering the work force. The aims of this paper were to describe citizens’ wellbeing in terms of health aspects, explore the impact of stressful life events on wellbeing and obtain understanding of how IRP activities affect the participants’ development towards future employment. Methods A mixed methods exploratory approach has been used. For data collection a quantitative longitudinal survey (baseline and 1-year follow-up) and qualitative interviews were conducted. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis of survey data, while the data material from interviews was analysed using directed content analysis. Results were discussed with the theory of flourishing as a framework to develop unde...

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 2021

To explore patients’ existential challenges when living with chronic pain or multiple sclerosis, ... more To explore patients’ existential challenges when living with chronic pain or multiple sclerosis, 23 semistructured patient interviews were conducted together with an interpretative, phenomenological analysis inspired by Søren Kierkegaard. Patients experienced their illness as a “stroke of fate” resulting in despair and a profound struggle to find out, who they were, and how they could relate to themselves in their new life-situation. Becoming oneself was experienced as a long-term existential process realized by synthesizing the existential poles of necessities and possibilities through “the other,” such as relationships, nature, spirituality, or God. The different ways to respond to the existential challenges were identified as subjective choices of aesthetic, ethic, and religious life-spheres. The Kierkegaardian relational self and the life-spheres as diverse possibilities are valuable for understanding patients’ existential challenges and the complicated process of finding a new ...

Neral practitioner (GP) prescribes EoP for sedentary individuals with medically controlled condit... more Neral practitioner (GP) prescribes EoP for sedentary individuals with medically controlled conditions. The individual takes the prescription to a physiotherapist or an exercise specialist working with EoP. The participants complete four months of supervised training and motivational counselling. Questionnaires and interviewing are completed after 0, 4, 10 and 16 months. In PP the participant contacts the physiotherapist or exercise specialist working with EoP. The participants are included to PP if they are sedentary and in risk of developing lifestyle diseases that can be positively influenced by physical activity. The participants carry out unassisted exercise and receive motivational counselling at 0, 4, 10 and 16 month. Questionnaires and interviewing are completed after 0, 4, 10 and 16 months.<b>Copyright information:</b>Taken from "Exercise on Prescription. Effect of attendance on participants' psychological factors in a Danish version of Exercise on Presc...

Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2022

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In Denmark attractive rehabilitation offers for men are lacking. Consequen... more BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In Denmark attractive rehabilitation offers for men are lacking. Consequently, more men than women say no to participate in and more often drop out of rehabilitation programs. Therefore, a nature-based rehabilitation program called the 'Wildman Programme' has been designed to men. The 'Wildman Programme' combines nature experiences, body awareness training, mind relaxation, and supporting community spirit. The method is called Nature-Body-Mind-Community (NBMC). The aim of this study was to assess the implementability and effect of the 'Wildman Programme' on the participants' quality of life and symptoms of stress. MATERIALS AND METHODS The 'Wildman Programme' was explored as a quasi-experimental study. The study included 20 men with psychological stress and diminished quality of life due to mental health challenges and chronic illnesses. The primary outcome was quality of life and the secondary outcome was stress level. All outcomes were measured at baseline (T1) and at the end of the 'Wildman Programme' (T2). RESULTS The study showed the 'Wildman Programme' has potential to reduce stress symptoms (15.40%) and enhance quality of life (10.07%) among the male participants. Furthermore, physical health (13.92%) and psychological health (16.88%) in relation to quality of life increased during the program. CONCLUSION The study showed that the 'Wildman Programme' is implementable in a Danish healthcare center. It was well received by the health professionals and the method was in demand by the target group of men. However, a larger study should be conducted to further investigate the findings of this study.

INTRODUCTION: Body contouring surgery is associated with changes in body image and identity. The ... more INTRODUCTION: Body contouring surgery is associated with changes in body image and identity. The primary aim of the study was to investigate a multidisciplinary assessment of potential psychological challenges before and after body contouring surgery. METHODS: Eight preand post-operative patients undergoing plastic surgery, two surgeons and two nurses were investigated using semi-structured and focus group interviews to capture the perspectives of both the healthcare professionals and the patients. Data were analysed using an interpretive descriptive approach and coded line-by-line until all relevant codes had been extracted. RESULTS: A total of seven psychological themes were identified, indicating that surgery alone cannot improve the patients’ psychological difficulties and that psychological care and management of the expected discomfort and body image is of considerable importance in providing continuity of care. CONCLUSIONS: The reported quality of life is of considerable impo...

Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 2020

Objective: Research suggests that existential, spiritual, and religious issues are important for ... more Objective: Research suggests that existential, spiritual, and religious issues are important for patient's psychological adjustment when living with chronic pain and multiple sclerosis. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating how physicians experience and approach these patients' needs. Design: Physicians' experiences with and approaches to existential, spiritual, and religious needs when treating chronic pain or multiple sclerosis were studied in eight semi-structured interviews and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: Physicians found that only few patients had spiritual and religious needs; however, they experienced that every patient were struggling with existential challenges related to the illness and rooted in a changed identity and approaching death. How the physicians approached these needs appeared to be influenced by six conditions: Their medical culture, training, role, experiences of time pressure, their personal interests, and interpersonal approach. Conclusion: Physicians' training seems better suited to meet biomedical objectives and their patients' concrete needs than patients' wish for a relational meeting focused on their subjective lifeworld. This challenge is discussed in relation to modern patient-centeredness, doctor-patient relationship, culturally constructed experiences of privacy, and future clinical practice and research needs.

Hormones and Behavior, 2021

BACKGROUND Transgender men are assigned female sex at birth, but identify as men. The anabolic an... more BACKGROUND Transgender men are assigned female sex at birth, but identify as men. The anabolic and androgenic sex hormone testosterone has been positively associated with aggression. Therefore, transgender men are warned of increasing aggression when initiating testosterone therapy. AIM To explore the literature regarding the effects of testosterone therapy on aggression-related constructs in transgender men. METHODS Following PRISMA-guidelines, PsycINFO, MEDLINE®, EMBASE, and PubMed® were searched in November 2019. Risk of bias was analyzed using the Newcastle-Ottawa-Scale, and result-synthesis was grouped by aggression-outcome. RESULTS Seven prospective cohort studies investigating aggression-dimensions pre- and post-testosterone therapy, reporting on data from 664 transgender men, were eligible. The studies had moderate to high risk of bias due to non-randomization, lack of appropriate control groups, and reliance on self-report. The behavioral tendency to react aggressively increased in three studies out of four (at three months follow-up), whereas only one study out of five found angry emotions to increase (at seven months follow-up). In contrast, one out of three studies reported a decrease in hostility after initiation of testosterone therapy. The remaining studies found no change in aggressive behavior, anger or hostility during hormone therapy. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Four out of seven studies reported an increase in aggression-related constructs, while one study reported a decrease. In all studies reporting changes, the follow-up period was less than 12 months, indicating that gender-affirming testosterone therapy could have a short-term impact on aggression-related constructs. However, the available studies carried a risk of bias, which indicates a need for further research.

The Expository Times, 2020

Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 2019

Research documents that many chronic non-malignant pain patients experience existential, spiritua... more Research documents that many chronic non-malignant pain patients experience existential, spiritual and religious needs; however, research knowledge is missing on if and how physicians approach these needs. We conducted a systematic review to explore the extent to which physicians address these needs in their communication with chronic non-malignant pain patients and to explore the facilitators and challenges of this communication. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, searching Embase, Medline, Scopus and PsycINFO. The quality of the included articles was assessed based on design-specific screening tools. We included four of 2337 screened articles and found the quality to be good. Physicians’ communication about existential, spiritual and religious needs was given low priority and depended on the patients’ own initiative, except when clinicians were interested in holistic care. Patient dissatisfaction with the physici...

Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 2019

Purpose: Target-shooting sport requires mental effort and concentration. Training may reduce inat... more Purpose: Target-shooting sport requires mental effort and concentration. Training may reduce inattentiveness and distractibility. There is little knowledge if children with symptoms of attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) benefit from practicing target-shooting sport. Materials and methods: Our study aims to investigate this in a non-randomised controlled open-label study of 128 children, 10-14 years of age, with ADHD-symptoms. The intervention-group (n ¼ 64) practiced target-shooting in local shooting associations once a week for 6 months. The control group (n ¼ 64) received treatment as usual. Primary outcome: teacher-rated ADHD-RS-IV-total score. Secondary outcomes: (a) parent-rated ADHD-RS-IV-total score; (b) teacher-and parent-rated Strengthsand-Difficulties-Questionnaire (SDQ); (c) self-rated quality of life (KIDSCREEN-27-total score); and (d) four objective measurements of ADHD-symptoms using the QbTest TM. The data were collected at baseline and after 6 months. Results: When estimating the marginal effect of the intervention on our primary outcome, the teacher-rated ADHD-RS-IV, we found no significant effect (mean change between groups (contrast)¼ 2.23; p ¼ 0.193). However, we did find significant beneficial effects on four of the eight secondary outcomes, including the parent-rated ADHD-RS-IV-total score (contrast ¼ 4.76; p ¼ 0.024), the parentrated SDQ-total score (contrast ¼ 2.09; p ¼ 0.027), and on the QbTest TM measurements of the Reaction Time Variation (RTVar) (contrast ¼ 36.96; p ¼ 0.013), and of Omission Errors (contrast ¼ 7.57; p ¼ 0.019). Conclusions: Despite the negative result on the primary outcome, the robust findings on these secondary outcomes in this open-label study indicate proof of concept that practicing target-shooting sport may have some beneficial effects on the severity of ADHD-symptoms in children. No adverse events were reported. Randomised trials of this non-pharmacological intervention are needed.

Scandinavian journal of public health, 2018

The aim of this study is to compare the effect of exercise training on physical capacity and alco... more The aim of this study is to compare the effect of exercise training on physical capacity and alcohol consumption in alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients. One hundred and five AUD patients were randomly assigned to treatment as usual combined with running and brisk walking for 30-45 min twice a week, either in small supervised groups (GR) or individually (IND), or to a control group with no running (C). Assessments were made after 6 and 12 months of training. Training volume was estimated as 36 min per training bout at an intensity of 78% of HR with no differences between GR and IND ( p>.05). A highly significant reduction in training frequency was seen in both training groups after the first month ( p<.0001). Only IND increased VO, by 5.7% ( p<.05), while no differences were seen between GR, IND and C. Alcohol intake decreased from 219 to 41 units per 30 days as the average for the entire sample with no significant difference of drinking outcomes between groups ( p<.0001)...

BMC Psychiatry, 2017

Background: Practising target-shooting sport requires focused attention and motoric steadiness. A... more Background: Practising target-shooting sport requires focused attention and motoric steadiness. A previous non-controlled pilot study suggests that children with impairing symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) benefit from participating in target-shooting sport in local shooting associations, as rated by parents and teachers. This study aims at examining if, and to which extent, target-shooting sport reduces parent-and teacher-reported severity of inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity in children with attention difficulties, and if, and to which extend, target-shooting sport improves the children's wellbeing and quality of life. Methods: A mixed method approach is applied. A non-blinded, waiting list controlled study is combined with a case study, consisting of interviews and observations. The intervention consists of children practising target-shooting sport, by attending a local shooting association, once a week for six months, during regular school hours. Data from questionnaires (ADHD-RS, SDQ, Kidscreen-27), as well as a computerized continued performance test (Qb test), measure the children's activity and attention. The study includes 50 children in an intervention group and 50 children in a waiting list control group. The Qb test collects data from at least 20 children from the intervention group and at least 20 children from the waiting list control group. Data from the questionnaires and Qb-test is collected at baseline, and six months post intervention. In addition, a case study is carried out, consisting of interviews of at least five children from the intervention group, their parents, teachers and shooting instructors. Observations are carried out, when children are in school and while they are attending the local shooting association. The case study adds to an in-depth understanding of children's participation in target-shooting sports. Discussion: At present, little is known about the effects and influence of practising target-shooting sport for children experiencing difficulties with inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity. This study is expected to contribute to an understanding of the influence of participating in target-shooting sports on inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive symptoms, and the effects on the children's psychological wellbeing and quality of life. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials NCT02898532. Retrospectively registered

Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 2017

O besity has more than doubled since 1980, 1 and a meta-analysis on body mass index and mortality... more O besity has more than doubled since 1980, 1 and a meta-analysis on body mass index and mortality showed that mortality in people with a body mass index over 25 kg/m 2 increased approximately log-linearly. 2 Bariatric surgery has been shown to be the most effective treatment of moderate to severe obesity, which has led to an increasing number of bariatric procedures performed worldwide. 3-5 Health-related quality of life is important to patients seeking bariatric surgery, 6 and weight loss following bariatric surgery is associated with improvement in health-related quality of life. 7,8 However, massive

Internet Interventions, 2017

Major depression is among the most common and debilitating disorders worldwide, associated with l... more Major depression is among the most common and debilitating disorders worldwide, associated with large societal and individual costs. Effective treatments exist, but accessibility is scarce. Guided Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (guided iCBT) is a promising approach to reach more people in need of help. In the present pilot study, we investigated the outcome of a guided iCBT program for mild and moderate depression when disseminated from Sweden to Norway. The guided iCBT intervention was implemented within a university-based outpatient clinic by six student therapists under supervision. Twenty-two participants with mild and moderate depression were included in the study. Large treatment effects were found for depressive symptoms, whereas small to medium effects were observed for anxiety symptoms. More than half (55%) of the participants were classified as recovered at post-treatment and more than a third (41%) at follow-up. No participants had a significant deterioration from pre-to post-treatment, but two reported a significant deterioration from post-treatment to 6-month follow-up. Benchmarking the present results against those reported in the four original Swedish studies, we found that the treatment effect in the Norwegian study was slightly higher at post-treatment and slightly lower at 6-month follow-up compared to the outcome in the Swedish studies. The results should be interpreted with caution, as our sample was small and had no control group.

Archives of Public Health, 2022

Background Vocational rehabilitation programs (VRP) developing and improving work ability are use... more Background Vocational rehabilitation programs (VRP) developing and improving work ability are used in Denmark to assist long-term unemployed citizens with complex problems. The aims of this study were to (1) describe VRP-participants in relation to general health, well-being, work ability and self-efficacy at baseline and one-year follow-up, (2) obtain an understanding of VRP-participants’ personal development towards improving work ability, and (3) explore VRP-participants’ hopes and thoughts about their future. Methods In a mixed methods approach, data from a longitudinal survey and semi-structured interviews were collected. In the quantitative longitudinal survey, all participants completed paper questionnaires at baseline and one-year follow-up. For the qualitative semi-structured interviews, VRP participants were recruited with a maximum variation sampling strategy through VRP coordinators and personal contact. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics and systematic text co...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Investigating therapeutic environments for young drug users is needed to avoid a high dropout rat... more Investigating therapeutic environments for young drug users is needed to avoid a high dropout rate due to a potential stigmatising effect of the structure of the space. In this article, we draw from three semi-structured interviews with young drug users. The interviews focused broadly on their experiences being on drug treatment and on how they experienced counselling and treatment in different spaces. The findings show that therapeutic spaces that were viewed as clinical and sterile were experienced as stigmatising, which discouraged young drug users from engaging in treatment and therapeutic processes. In contrast, therapeutic places with a homely atmosphere reduced the experience of stigmatisation, facilitated participation in treatment and helped users to relax and feel part of a community. In the analysis, we show how enabling therapeutic places with a homely atmosphere can be produced through materials, activities, and sensory processes.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022

Self-perceived interpersonal problems are of central concern for researchers and individuals; the... more Self-perceived interpersonal problems are of central concern for researchers and individuals; they are at the basis of psychopathology and cause for subjective distress. In this study, we examine whether a group-based rehabilitation program in nature may reduce self-perceived interpersonal problems in a heterogeneous group of men declining participation in traditional rehabilitation offers. The intervention consisted of weekly meetings in nature, taking place over the course of nine weeks. Through a matched-control study including 114 participants in the intervention group and 39 in a treatment as usual group participating in traditional rehabilitation offers, we found that there was no statistically significant development in self-perceived interpersonal problems in the nature-based rehabilitation offer. Though promising with regards to a number of mental challenges, including relational challenges, nature-based group-rehabilitation may require a more elaborate and thoroughgoing in...