Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
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Psychother Psychosom · Jan 2007
Meta AnalysisMeta-analysis of the effectiveness of atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of behavioural problems in persons with dementia.
To review published reports of the usage of atypical antipsychotics for behavioural problems of dementia patients. ⋯ In general, effect sizes of atypical antipsychotics for behavioural problems are medium, and there are no statistically or clinically significant differences between atypical antipsychotics and placebo.
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Psychother Psychosom · Jan 2007
Increased 12-month prevalence rates of mental disorders in patients with chronic somatic diseases.
Although it is well established that chronic somatic diseases are significantly associated with a wide range of psychopathology, it remains unclear to what extent subjects with chronic somatic diseases are at increased risk of experiencing mental disorders. The present epidemiological study investigates age- and sex-adjusted 12-month prevalence rates of mental disorders in patients with cancer, and musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and respiratory tract diseases, based on comprehensive physicians' diagnoses and compared with physically healthy probands. ⋯ There is a strong relationship between chronic somatic diseases and mental disorders. A future task is to improve the care of mental disorders in patients with chronic physical illness, specifically with multimorbid conditions.
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Psychother Psychosom · Jan 2007
Leadership, mental health, and organizational efficacy in health care organizations. Psychosocial predictors of healthy organizational development based on prospective data from four different organizations.
Only a few studies of psychosocial determinants of employee health and organizational development have been prospective, involving more than one organization and applying standardized assessment tools. This limits the ability of providing evidence-based guidance as how to carry out healthy organizational transformations. ⋯ Performance feedback and participatory management might be two common predictors of healthy workplaces. Some of the psychosocial determinants of healthy organizations suggested in previous research might not be universally valid. It is suggested that future research should to a larger degree make use of multiple departments and organizations in studies of psychosocial determinants of healthy organizations.
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Psychother Psychosom · Jan 2007
Mindfulness training as an intervention for fibromyalgia: evidence of postintervention and 3-year follow-up benefits in well-being.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) proposes a systematic program for reduction of suffering associated with a wide range of medical conditions. Studies suggest improvements in general aspects of well-being, including quality of life (QoL), coping and positive affect, as well as decreased anxiety and depression. ⋯ Based upon a quasi-randomized trial and long-term observational follow-up, results indicate mindfulness intervention to be of potential long-term benefit for female fibromyalgia patients.
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Psychother Psychosom · Jan 2007
Pain response in depersonalization: a functional imaging study using hypnosis in healthy subjects.
Depersonalization (DP) is characterized by persistent or recurrent episodes of detachment from one's self with reduced pain perception being a common feature. Alterations in the body schema similar to the cortico-limbic disconnection syndrome of pain asymbolia are suggested to be responsible for DP. In this study we used hypnosis to induce DP in healthy subjects and to examine neural patterns of pain perception in the state of DP by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). ⋯ Pain response during H-DP was reduced in sensory and affective pain-related areas, reflecting the diminished intensity of the perceived pain. Moreover, a network of cortical and subcortical areas that have been implicated in the perception of the own body was less responsive during DP, which might point to a specific neural mechanism underlying the 'out-of-body' experience. Although the small number of subjects does not allow a generalization of our findings, H-DP seems to be a promising tool for the investigation of psychological and biological mechanisms of self-inflicted injuries as well as the mind-body interplay within the realm of psychosomatic disorders.