‘All the lonely people, where do they all come from?’ (Lennon & McCartney, 1966) Current social development is profoundly influenced by processes of urbanization, globalization, fragmentation of society and societal immersion in technology-mediated environments. The Internet, most notably, is often quoted with negative effects across nations such as contributing to the decline of face-to-face social interaction, social isolation and corresponding increase in loneliness and depression (Amichai-Hamburger et al., 2011, p.584). Online communication in virtual communities does not translate…
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Attachment Styles and Peer Relations
Attachment styles, parenting styles and early peer relations have been identified as the most significant factors forming our identity and personality in later life. The following is a brief overview on classical attachment theory but also its critique regarding inter-cultural validity. To open the PDF simply click on the link below. Attachment and Family – Joana Stella Kompa 2013
Language and Cognitive Development
In his Tractus Logico Philosophicus, Ludwig Wittgenstein (Wittgenstein, 1998) coined the famous phrase ‘The limits of my language are the limits of my world’. It is because of language that we are consciousness of our inner and the outer world and that we are capable of symbolic interaction. Our ability to explain, predict and understand others’ mental states, feelings, wishes, intentions and behavior is known as the Theory of Mind (ToM). Language development and ToM…
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Life span development for a child with Down syndrome (DS)
Overview The life span development for people with DS poses medical and neuro-behavioral challenges that can be overcome and managed with adequate nurture influencing nature. Due to advances in medical care and early therapeutic interventions, life span for people with DS has increased from 9 years in 1929 (Penrose, 1949) to 25 years in 1983 to about 60 years today (Bittles, 2007). Picture: 2-year old girl with Down syndrome from Weijerman, M., & de Winter, J. (2010). Clinical practice.…
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How Thailand lacks Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health Care
Picture: Many homeless, especially in Bangkok, suffer from schizophrenia which is the most common mental health disorder in Thailand. Abandoned by their families they live estranged solitary lives at the edge of society 1. Role of the Principal Government Agency in Thailand In Thailand public mental health services are governed centrally for all of its 76 provinces by the Department of Mental Health (DOMH) as a subdivision of the Ministry of Public Health. The agency is…
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Singapore: World-Class Mental Health Care faces Cultural Obstacles
A Brief Overview – The Institute of Mental Health of Singapore (IMH) The IMH provides formidably a wide range of general and specialized services to the Singapore public addressing as target groups children, adults and the elderly. Assessment for children includes developmental problems, disruptive behavioral problems, emotional problems as well as sleeping- and eating-disorders and pathological video-gaming. For treatment pharmacotherapy, CBT, individual and group-therapy as well as play-therapy are being offered among others. Specialty…
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Society’s View of Mental Illness through the Ages
Throughout cultural history mental illness has been attributed to the influence of supernatural forces, the possession by evil spirits, demons or being a result of displeasing deities. Trephined skulls to release bad spirits are reported going back to the Neolithic Age (Porter, 2002, p. 10). Demonological thinking was prominent in early Chinese, Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek and Hebrew culture and culminated in the ‘Lunacy Trials’ of the Dark Ages, explaining mental illness by witchcraft, and the…
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An Introduction to Grounded Theory and Phenomenology
1. The Analytical Process of Grounded Theory 1.1 Overview Grounded Theory (GT) is arguably the most successful qualitative research approach in contemporary social science and psychology. It is an inductive and emergent approach to produce new theories based on the analysis of qualitative empirical evidence. This is why it has been argued that GT methodology contains elements of positivism, hermeneutics as well as pragmatism (Age,2011). GT was originally formulated by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (1967). The…
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Key-disadvantages of Teacher-centered Learning (Thai Version) ข้อบกพร่องของครูผู้เป็นศูนย์กลางการเรียนรู้
ข้อบกพร่องของครูผู้เป็นศูนย์กลางการเรียนรู้ (click on the link above) The English version is posted at https://joanakompa.com/2012/06/25/the-key-disadvantages-of-teacher-centered-learning/
Changing Corruption Behavior in Thailand (Thai Version), การเปลี่ยนแปลงพฤติกรรมการทุจริตคอรัปชั่นในประเทศไทย
The Thai version of the script ‘Changing Corruption Behavior in Thailand’ for my Thai friends and colleagues. Changing Corruption Behavior in Thailand (Thai version) 2013 The English Version is posted at https://joanakompa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/changing-corruption-behaviour.pdf
Joana Stella Kompa 
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