Phenomenological Psychopathology / 신경정신의학

Phenomenology was founded in the 19th century by Edmund Husserl. Apart from natural sciences and metaphysics, phenomenology is presented as a rigorous scientific discipline, which aims to provide an understanding of the subjective experiences of human beings. After the eras of descriptive and dynamic psychiatry, phenomenological methods were adopted by psychiatry, and phenomenological psychopathology suggested a new perspective for understanding the pathological experiences of psychiatric patients. However, after the development of psychopharmacology and the operational diagnostic system, the center of phenomenology in psychopathology was moved from comprehensive understanding to simple description. Thus, phenomenological psychopathology in its original meaning did not get remarkable repercussions, especially in the English-speaking world. In this article, some major concepts of phenomenology will be briefly presented and then phenomenological psychopathology in its original meaning will be introduced. Secondly, as an example of its application, symptoms of schizophrenia will be interpreted in terms of phenomenological psychopathology. Finally, the authors will present a neurobiological interpretation of the phenomenological psychopathology of schizophrenia and suggest a possible role of phenomenological psychopathology in mitigating the impasse in psychiatric genetics research.

The Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: The patient with alcohol dependence needs continuing care in an outpatient treatment setting. This naturalistic retrospective study is the first report investigating the long-term follow-up rate and predictors of outcome in outpatient-based alcoholism treatment in Korea. METHODS: We conducted a chart review of patients, who visited a university-affiliated hospital alcohol clinic from 2005 to 2007. All patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence were enrolled. Patients were evaluated using a customized alcoholism evaluation package. Demographic factors, clinical data and self rating scales were included in the evaluation form. RESULTS: Of 109 patients, 27 (24.8%) adhered to our outpatient-based treatment for 30 months. The mean follow-up duration of participants was 11.1 months. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that comorbidity, initial treatment on admission, previous treatment history and family history made a significant difference to follow-up duration. Age, sex, alcohol history, motivation, AUDIT-K, BDI, BAI and RTCQ-TV were not significantly associated with follow-up duration. CONCLUSION: Comparing to outcomes of previous inpatient alcohol treatment in Korea, long term follow-up rate in outpatient treatment was superior, and abstinence/controlled drinking rate is not inferior. This finding suggests that outpatient based alcoholism treatment has sufficient efficacy.

The Effectiveness of School Based Short-Term Social Skills Training in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD)

OBJECTIVES: Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often have difficulties in social behavior. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a short-term training program for improving social skills, selfperception and attention deficits. METHODS: The subjects were nine children diagnosed with ADHD with (or without) other mental disorders using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-ADHD) module. Children were given eight sessions of a social skills training program. Parents of children simultaneously participated in their own training which was designed to support their children's generalization of skills. Assessments included child, parent and teacher ratings of social skills, self-perception and attention deficit at baseline and post-treatment. RESULTS: Social skills training led to significant improvements in child-reported measures of self-esteem, in teacherreported measures of social skills, and in parent-reported measures of attention deficit. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that short-term social skills training programs for children with ADHD may improve their social skills, self-perception and attention deficits.