Encephale
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Estimates of the prevalence of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) are discordant and are moving towards an apparent increase in rates. ⋯ How to study epidemiology in the future - to move forward, studies should be designed with partners' medical history and medicosocial studies, based on a better consensual methodology, epidemiology, statistics and diagnosis, with a definition of the thresholds for inclusion, and arbitration procedures. On this basis, a study must also be coordinated with those concerning mental retardation, learning disorders, etc, otherwise the same topics will be counted twice or even three times. As for the addition of syndromic forms of PDD (those with known aetiology), their number is still below a proportion sufficient to be an appeal. Moreover, another problem exists: the degree of membership of each of these syndromes, or individual cases, or autistic spectrum disorders (internal variability phenotypes). For the moment, we could design two studies included better: developmental disorders and associated pathologies. Regarding the "ethic" dimension, a more regular diagnosis of PDD (preferred to that of mental retardation or learning disorder) will lead to shared practices and set limits for greater recognition.
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The impact of music therapy on dementia care for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is well-recognized. Music alters the different components of the disease through sensory, cognitive, emotional, behavioral and social impacts. The academic aspect of music therapy in this area was based on the fact that music can alter the various components of the overall evolution of this disease. We found around 10 case studies presenting various results from receptive music therapy sessions on patients with Alzheimer's disease. The results of these studies point out the interest of music therapy in the multidisciplinary care of Alzheimer's disease and its related syndromes. It has been deemed useful for significantly reducing the medication given to AD patients. A music therapy protocol, specifically tailored to the patient's needs has been shown to significantly reduce anxiety, depression and aggressiveness in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. This technique has also demonstrated its impact on helping AD patients recall their previous life experience. ⋯ This preliminary study demonstrates the feasibility as well as the initial efficacy of music therapy in terms of its impact on the overall care for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. This easily applicable technique can be useful in treating anxiety and depression in a patient with Alzheimer's disease and also in relieving the emotional and physical burden experienced by the main caregiver.
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The link between dissociative disorders and delinquent behavior has been reported in forensic and clinical adolescents. Despite the frequency of dissociative symptoms in nonclinical adolescents, the relation between dissociative disorders and antisocial behavior has not been studied in community samples of adolescents. ⋯ As in other studies, antisocial behavior appeared more linked to psychopathological variables in girls than in boys. The most salient result was the influence of dissociative symptoms on antisocial behavior in girls contrary to boys. Three hypotheses may explain this link: dissociative symptoms may facilitate antisocial acting-outs; dissociation may be a defense against anger and affect dysregulation; antisocial behavior and dissociative symptoms may be linked to a third variable such as trauma antecedents. Whereas depressive symptoms were positively linked to antisocial behavior among boys, depressive symptoms were negatively and significantly linked to antisocial behavior among girls. Depressive symptoms may inhibit antisocial behavior in girls. The association between dissociative and depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior in girls warrants further studies.
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In France, as in the European Union, the number of psychologists continues to increase and constitutes by far the most important source of professionals in this field. The requests for services of psychologists in many various domains have also increased in an unprecedented way over a number of years. In spite of this development, which should continue to increase considerably, the initial training of psychologists remains uneven and disparate and often remote from, even unsuitable to, the legitimate expectations of users. It is therefore important to reform this training by extending, updating, homogenising and adapting it to current knowledge and needs, and by marking it by a single and specific degree: that of a doctorate. This new eight-year doctoral curriculum would be at the same time more complete and simpler than the European Diploma in Psychology model (EuroPsy), for instance. This latter is a very complicated and insufficient subject and would not completely resolve the great problems of psychologists' training and the competences they need to gain in order to access professional practise, research and teaching. This extension of the psychologists' training would make it possible to integrate new data concerning traditional fields of psychology and data concerning new fields of application of psychology and should obviously include the essential training for psychotherapies referred to the great theoretical and practical models, since their interest is clinically acknowledged (psychoanalysis and psychoanalytical therapies, cognitive and behavioural therapies, systemic therapies, therapies for individuals, couples, families, groups...). This polyreferred training would make it possible to go from a culture still too often axed on orientation and deficiencies of the therapist, to a culture of indication, opening and competence, focused on the patient's interest. Teaching of psychophysiology and neurosciences should be updated and harmonised by taking into account the great current and future stakes of public health. It should be supplemented by psychopharmacology lectures. This reform of psychologists' training would ensure a common pedestal of increased knowledge coupled with theoretical/practical competence. The positive consequences of such a reform would relate to many fields. Here are six examples. ⋯ It is more than ever essential to develop and update in excellence the high level "psy" generalist profession, the profession of psychologist, which users need in many fields of their private, professional or social life. We should guarantee that European Union countries, eager for development and modernity, will rapidly be able to initiate this type of good sense reform, which, by improving care for people and collective balance, would be a new and important step in their humanistic traditions (according to the World Health Organization, one person out of four is in psychological distress). Since psychism and human behaviour are complex and central in all fields of life, the existence of highly qualified psychologists to help them is imperative. Reaching this high level of updated qualification is technically possible and humanly impossible to avoid. Fast reforms must make this requirement achievable. It is in the interest of all the European Union, and all its member states must become a reference and an example in the world for teaching and professional practise of what has become a key discipline: psychology.