Psychotherapy of the chronically suicidal patient

A major issue in the psychotherapy of the chronically suicidal is the patient's avoidance of his responsibility. If the patient is not helped to recognize this avoidance, the therapist's efforts may be consigned to future attempts to either assume responsibility for the patient or to rescue him.     

Psychotherapy integration in Japan.

Psychotherapy in Japan is a relatively new area of practice growing rapidly in the last 10 years, especially in the area of education as the problems associated with school-aged children such as bullying and truancy became one of the major social challenges. The majority of Japanese psychotherapists practice approaches developed in North America and Europe, and Jungian theory has been influential to Japanese psychotherapists. Psychotherapy integration in Japan often take a form of cultural integration that takes two routes: adjusting and modifying technical procedures in the western psychotherapy to suit Japanese client population and developing theoretical concepts that are more in agreement with Japanese culture and its underlying worldview. Psychotherapists in Japan emphasize the importance of a non-talking cure, or silent processes and often employ nonverbal tasks such as drawing and sandbox. They have also developed innovative theoretical constructs that emphasize the importance of healthy dependence between mother and child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapy integration in Portugal.

In answering five questions regarding the status of psychotherapy in Portugal, predominant theoretical orientations, standing of psychotherapy integration, and cultural issues, the author draws a brief sketch of the situation of psychotherapy in Portugal. It is stressed the increasing number of patients seeking therapy as well as the increasing number of professionals providing it, and a growing dialogue between psychologists and psychiatrists. In terms of theoretical orientations, the dominant ones are the analytic/dynamic and the cognitive-behavioral with an increasing number of therapists leaning towards integration. In terms of cultural issues relevant to psychotherapy, it could be said that a significant number of patients deal with issues related to the question of balancing "cooperation/proximity" and "agency/competitiveness," as well as matters of unassertiveness. From the standpoint of the author, major lessons learned from being in Sepi are flexibility, humility, sharing, and something close to the "bearable lightness of being..." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The decline of youth suicidal behavior in an urban, multicultural public school system following the introduction of a suicide prevention and intervention program

A 5-year longitudinal study of suicidal behavior of students attending Dade County Public Schools (DCPS) in Miami, Florida, between the 1989-1990 and 1993-1994 school years, is described. As the fourth largest public school system in the United States, DCPS is representative of an urban, multicultural community. The prevalence of suicidal behavior among DCPS students necessitated the development of a districtwide Suicide Prevention and School Crisis Management Program (SPSCMP), including the creation of the "Youth in Crisis Hotline." A review of eight national school districts' suicide prevention and intervention programs indicates similarities with the DCPS model. Statistical data compiled by the DCPS program are organized into annual, monthly, grade level, and school level classifications, and are analyzed to determine the degree and direction of self-destructive behavior among youth in a culturally and linguistically diverse school population following the introduction of a suicide prevention and intervention program. Evaluative data regarding the effectiveness of the program as well as implications for suicide prevention and intervention are discussed.     

Postdoctoral Training in Psychotherapy.

During the past year, a number of articles have appeared in the American Psychologist on the general issue of whether psychologists should or should not do psychotherapy. While it is indisputable that a problem of this kind deserves attention as long as enough people are concerned to give it substance, we confess to a sense of bewilderment: Is not a long dead horse receiving a rather severe whipping? In settings ranging from hospitals and clinics to private practice, psychologists are doing psychotherapy, have been doing it for some time, and are likely to continue doing it as long as there is a social need for this kind of service. This fact has been clearly acknowledged by such national organizations as the VA and the USPHS and, through ABEPP and the Education and Training Board, by the APA itself. Much more central questions, it seems to us, are those of whether psychologists are being adequately trained for their therapeutic function and of what can be done to make training opportunities more available. First, we recommend that a comprehensive survey be made, through the Education and Training Board or other appropriate agency, of precisely what postdoctoral training resources are available in the nation for psychologists. Second, we urge that the APA investigate the possibility of establishing postdoctoral training programs in strategically located universities. Third, suspecting that one or another of the major foundations would be interested in this kind of venture into professional training at postdoctoral levels, we suggest that the APA take responsibility for investigating potential sources of financial support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapy in the day clinic

Recently, the importance of psychiatric day hospital treatment is increasing in German psychiatry, as the regionalization and community-orientation of care advance and catchment areas become smaller. When a psychiatric department of a local general hospital is within easy reach of the patient's residence, the means for intensive treatment, as is available in a hospital, can be utilized during the day, while the patient spends a considerable amount of time (in fact, two thirds) in the familiar surroundings of his/her own home. This is applicable for many psychiatric conditions, including neuroses, personality disorders and psychosomatic diseases. As compared to conventional individual outpatient psychotherapy on the one hand and a distinct limited stay in a psychosomatic sanatorium far from home on the other hand, psychotherapy in a day hospital offers a promising additional way to provide effective and lasting professional help early and with a low threshold. The article summarizes the experience gained in a newly founded department of psychiatry and psychotherapy at a general hospital in one district of eastern Germany, where the staff is struggling to meet the needs of the catchment area in spite of a too small number of hospital beds.     

Value Potential in Psychotherapy.

This is a comment on value potential in psychotherapy. The concept of "value potential" versus that of "insight potential" is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapy unification.

A unifying paradigm is proposed to integrate the deeper relationships that exist among seemingly dissimilar approaches to psychotherapy. Unification derives from anchoring human functioning to personality processes and the universal principles of evolution. Parallels are drawn from medical science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problem-solving behavior in suicidal adolescents.

Attempted to evaluate the assumption that suicidal behavior in adolescents is linked to diminished problem-solving capacity. The wais arithmetic subtest and rokeach's map reading problems test were administered to 13 suicidal, 13 psychiatric but nonsuicidal, and 13 normal adolescents. It was found that the suicidal group made significantly lower arithmetic subtest scores and failed the map test problems more often than the psychiatric and normal ss. It is concluded that the assumption of diminished problem-solving capacity in suicidal adolescents is correct. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Classification of suicidal behaviors. II. Dimensions of suicidal intent

A factor analysis of a scale to assess suicidal intent showed four major dimensions: expectancies and attitudes, premeditation, precautions against intervention, and oral communication. Certain types of actions associated with attempted suicide such as seeking help or social isolation appear to be revealing of particular behavioral patterns or motives. Dealing with intent only as a global concept is an oversimplification. Suicidal ideation and suicidal acts are seen as complex patterns of behavior requiring increasingly thorough analyses for better understanding, prediction, and prevention.     

Rigid thinking in suicidal individuals.

The folklore hypothesis that suicidal individuals think in a rigid manner was evaluated by the California F Scale and the Rokeach Map Test. They were administered to a suicidal attempt group, a group of psychosomatic patients, and to hospitalized normal Ss. It was found that the suicidal group earned significantly higher California F Scale scores (p     

Psychotherapy in the real world.

Community or school-based services may be the answer to meeting the needs of disadvantaged or poor children and youth and their families. This article focuses on lessons learned in treating a special population of children and families and discusses how therapists in the real world often modify treatment protocols to address the specific needs of their patients. Office-based settings and traditional psychotherapy approaches may not be salient to meeting the mental health needs of a vast group of children, youth, and families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrative Psychotherapy in Addictive Disorders.

In most countries, addictive disorders have increased considerably in the recent years, becoming a main problem of public health for governments. One approach toward the rehabilitation of people with addictive disorders is in Chile's Therapeutic Communities. In such communities, recovering addicts actively collaborate in the rehabilitation of people in treatment. The characteristics of the rehabilitation process are presented from the perspective of the supraparadigmatic integrative model proposed by R. Opazo (1997). The application of an integrative clinical evaluation record (Ficha de Evaluacion Clinica Integral) helps one to understand, through the different subsystems of the model, the presenting problems of persons entering rehabilitation, the etiological role of each subsystem, and the modification that takes place during treatment. Biological predisposing factors such as extraversion and neurological immaturity are resistant to treatment modification; however, alterations acquired during the addictive process, in all the subsystems of the model, are modifiable after 9 months of integrative psychotherapy. On the basis of the authors' observations and on the supraparadigmatic integrative model, an etiological approach of addictive disorders is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-representation of suicidal adolescents

This study focused on the self-representations of suicidal adolescent. Twenty-six Israeli suicidal inpatients, 24 nonsuicidal inpatients, and 24 control participants completed scales on suicidal tendencies, the hedonic value of self-representations, the complexity (differentiation, integration) of these self-representations, and the discrepancies among self domains (actual, ideal, ought). Suicidal adolescents showed more negative self-representations, a less differentiated and less integrated organization of self-attributes, and more discrepancies between the 3 assessed domains of the self than did control participants. In addition, compared with psychiatric nonsuicidal participants, suicidal adolescents showed a less complex organization of self-attributes and a higher discrepancy between ideal self and ought self. Results were discussed in terms of the vulnerable self of suicidal adolescents, characterized by uneven processing of positive and negative information, confusion, and simplicity.