Browsing by Author "Zalzala, Aieyat"

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    Meaning-making processes across the lifespan: An investigation of the developmental course of metacognitive capacity
    (Elsevier, 2022) Davis, Beshaun J.; Bonfils, Kelsey A.; Zalzala, Aieyat; Lysaker, Paul H.; Minor, Kyle S.; Psychology, School of Science
    Deficits in metacognitive capacity (i.e., the ability to integrate knowledge of oneself and others into a cohesive whole) have been shown to lead to poor functional outcome in psychosis. However, there is a gap in the literature concerning the role of metacognition in typically developing populations, which makes it difficult to define what level of metacognition is normative and at what point deficits in metacognition suggest pathology. To explore this issue, we utilized cross-sectional design to assess metacognitive capacities among 69 neurotypical adults whose ages varied from 18 to 65 using the Metacognitive Assessment Scale - Abbreviated (MAS-A) and then compared those with MAS-A scores from a second previously gathered sample of 360 adults diagnosed with psychosis across four key developmental windows: emerging adulthood, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. Our findings suggest that in our overall sample, individuals with psychosis had significantly lower levels of metacognitive capacity across all domains assessed by the MAS-A in comparison to neurotypical individuals. Additionally, our data suggest a deleterious effect of psychosis such that individuals with psychosis showed significantly lower metacognition in each developmental stage. Additionally, these differences were largest in emerging and late adulthood and for both groups awareness of others stood out as the single metacognitive domain which was significantly less impaired among older groups. Our results suggest a developmental course for metacognitive capacity such that awareness of others is the sole domain that grows over the lifespan.
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    Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy: A Recovery-Oriented Treatment Approach for Psychosis
    (Dove Medical Press, 2020) Lysaker, Paul H.; Gagen, Emily; Klion, Reid; Zalzala, Aieyat; Vohs, Jenifer; Faith, Laura A.; Leonhardt, Bethany; Hamm, Jay; Hasson-Ohayon, Ilanit; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Recent research has suggested that recovery from psychosis is a complex process that involves recapturing a coherent sense of self and personal agency. This poses important challenges to existing treatment models. While current evidence-based practices are designed to ameliorate symptoms and skill deficits, they are less able to address issues of subjectivity and self-experience. In this paper, we present Metacognitive Insight and Reflection Therapy (MERIT), a treatment approach that is explicitly concerned with self-experience in psychosis. This approach uses the term metacognition to describe those cognitive processes that underpin self-experience and posits that addressing metacognitive deficits will aid persons diagnosed with psychosis in making sense of the challenges they face and deciding how to effectively manage them. This review will first explore the conceptualization of psychosis as the interruption of a life and how persons experience themselves, and then discuss in more depth the construct of metacognition. We will next examine the background, practices and evidence supporting MERIT. This will be followed by a discussion of how MERIT overlaps with other emerging treatments as well as how it differs. MERIT’s capacity to engage patients who reject the idea that they have mental illness as well as cope with entrenched illness identities is highlighted. Finally, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.