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"Occasionally, there are books that try to make sense of a key moment in history - and become an indispensable guide to the times we live in. This book is one of them. In The Psychology of Totalitarianism, world-renowned Professor of Clinical Psychology Mattias Desmet deconstructs the societal conditions that allow collective psychosis to take hold. By analysing our current global situation and identifying the phenomenon of 'mass formation' - a type of collective hypnosis - he illustrates how close we are to repeating totalitarian behaviours within democratic structures. Totalitarianism is not a coincidence and does not form in a vacuum. Desmet explains how it arises from a collective psychosis that has followed a predictable script throughout history, its formation gaining strength and speed with each generation - from the Jacobins to the Nazis and Stalinists - in lockstep with technological advances. He demonstrates how governments, mass media and other large, 'mechanised' forces use fear, loneliness and isolation to demoralise populations to exert control, persuading large groups of people to act against their own interests, always with destructive results. Building on Hannah Arendt's essential work on totalitarianism, The Origins of Totalitarianism, Desmet offers a sharp critique of the cultural 'groupthink' that existed pre-pandemic but has steadily and inexorably advanced during the Covid crisis. He cautions against the dangers of our current societal landscape, media consumption and reliance on manipulative technologies and then offers simple solutions - both individual and collective - to prevent the willing sacrifice of our freedoms. The Psychology of Totalitarianism describes exactly how, during this extraordinary time of loneliness, free-floating anxiety and fear, we are surrendering our freedoms and giving way to censorship and loss of privacy - driven by a dominant crisis narrative that excludes dissident views and relies on destructive groupthink"--

This study examines the relationships between parental attachment, peer attachment, and subjective feelings of emotional loneliness. Three alternative models were tested in a group of 440 graduating psychology students at Ghent University in Belgium. The first hypothesis explored the
linear causal relationship between parental attachment, peer attachment, and feelings of emotional loneliness. The second hypothesis tested the direct relationship between parental attachment and feelings of emotional loneliness, and the third hypothesis examined the reciprocity between feelings
of emotional loneliness and peer attachment. Using Structural Equation Modeling, results showed that peer attachment mediates strongly between parental attachment and feelings of emotional loneliness. The direct contribution of parental attachment to feelings of emotional loneliness was rather
weak. Finally, feelings of emotional loneliness did not contribute significantly to the explanation of peer-attachment style.

Several theorists have suggested that interpersonal dependency and excessive self-criticism are characteristics of personalities prone to depression. Here the results of a study are presented in which the hypothesis that these personality styles are connected to specific depressive
symptoms in a sample of depressed outpatients (N = 163) was evaluated. Hypotheses were that dependency is specifically associated with the somatic symptom cluster of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) and that self-criticism is specifically associated
with the cognitive symptom cluster. In measuring the personality styles, the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (Blatt, D'Affliti, & Quinlan, 1976) was used. No evidence suggesting that dependency is specifically connected to somatic depressive symptoms was found. Self-criticism
was specifically associated with cognitive depressive symptoms. However, the results suggest that content overlap might explain the relationship between self-criticism and cognitive depressive symptoms.

Totalitarismus ist kein Zufall und bildet sich nicht in einem Vakuum. Der Ursprung liegt in dem Phänomen der "Massenbildung", einer Art kollektiver Psychose. Mit detaillierten Analysen, Beispielen und Ergebnissen aus jahrelanger Forschung legt Mattias Desmet die Schritte dar, die zur Massenbildung führen: Aus einem allgemeinen Gefühl der Einsamkeit und des Mangels an sozialen Bindungen und Sinnhaftigkeit entstehen Ängste und Unzufriedenheit, die sich wiederum in Frustration und Aggression manifestieren. Diese werden von Regierungsvertretern und Massenmedien mithilfe von bestimmten Narrativen geschickt ausgenutzt und kanalisiert. In der Folge dehnt sich der Einfluss des Staates auf das Privatleben des Individuums immer mehr aus. Neben einer glasklaren psychologischen Analyse und aufbauend auf Hannah Arendts grundlegendem Werk Elemente und Ursprünge totaler Herrschaft formuliert der Autor auch eine scharfe Kritik am kulturellen "Gruppendenken" und der Angstkultur – die bereits vor der Pandemie existierten, mit der COVID-Krise aber exponentiell zugenommen haben –, warnt vor den Gefahren unseres Medienkonsums und unserer Abhängigkeit von manipulativen Technologien. Dabei zeigt er aber auch sowohl individuelle als auch kollektive Lösungsansätze auf, um zu verhindern, dass wir unsere Freiheiten freiwillig opfern. (Verlagstext)

Background: The mental healthcare treatment gap (mhcGAP) in adult populations has been substantiated across Europe. This study formed part of MentALLY, a research project funded by the European Commission, which aimed to gather qualitative empirical evidence to support the provision of European mental healthcare that provides effective treatment to all adults who need it. Methods: Seven focus groups were conducted with 49 health professionals (HPs), including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, general practitioners, and psychiatric nurses who worked in health services in Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The focus group discussions centered on the barriers and facilitators to providing quality care to people with mild, medium, and severe mental health problems. Analyses included deductively and inductively driven coding procedures. Cross-country consensus was obtained by summarizing findings in the form of a fact sheet which was shared for triangulation by all the MentALLY partners. Results: The results converged into two overarching themes: (1) Minding the treatment gap: the availability and accessibility of Mental Health Services (MHS). The mhcGAP gap identified is composed of different elements that constitute the barriers to care, including bridging divides in care provision, obstacles in facilitating access via referrals and creating a collaborative 'chain of care'. (2) Making therapeutic practice relevant by providing a broad-spectrum of integrated and comprehensive services that value person-centered care comprised of authenticity, flexibility and congruence. Conclusions: The mhcGAP is comprised of the following barriers: a lack of funding, insufficient capacity of human resources, inaccessibility to comprehensive services and a lack of availability of relevant treatments. The facilitators to the provision of MHC include using collaborative models of primary, secondary and prevention-oriented mental healthcare. Teamwork in providing care was considered to be a more effective and efficient use of resources. HPs believe that the use of e-mental health and emerging digital technologies can enhance care provision. Facilitating access to a relevant continuum of community-based care that is responsive coordinated and in line with people's needs throughout their lives is an essential aspect of optimal care provision.