Fatores associados à percepção de aliança terapêutica por pacientes em psicoterapia psicanalítica / Factors associated with patient's perception of therapeutic alliance in psychoanalytic psychotherapy

A percepção do paciente sobre a relação com seu psicoterapeuta é determinante para a sua permanência em tratamento e para o sucesso da psicoterapia. Estabelecer preditores de aliança terapêutica pode ter o potencial de auxiliar os psicoterapeutas a utilizar formas de intervenção durante as fases iniciais do tratamento. O objetivo do estudo foi investigar a associação entre fatores sócio-demográficos e clínicos do paciente e do terapeuta e a forma como o paciente percebe a aliança terapêutica. Trata-se de um estudo transversal que avaliou a qualidade da aliança em pacientes adultos atendidos em psicoterapia psicanalítica em um ambulatório de saúde mental. A amostra foi constituída por 118 pacientes que chegaram até a quarta sessão de psicoterapia psicanalítica. Os resultados apontam para a influência da intensidade dos sintomas de psicoticismo e do gênero do paciente na percepção da aliança terapêutica.(AU)

The patient's perception of the relationship with their therapist is determinant for their treatment adherence and for the success of psychotherapy. Establishing predictors of therapeutic alliance may potentially help psychotherapists to use forms of intervention during the early stages of treatment. This study aimed to investigate the association between socio-demographic and clinical factors of both patient and therapist and the way in which the patient perceives the therapeutic alliance. It is a cross-sectional study that evaluated the quality of the alliance in adult patients attended in psychoanalytic psychotherapy in a mental health outpatient clinic. The sample consisted of 118 patients who reached the fourth session of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The results suggest that the intensity of psychoticism symptoms and patient gender influence the perception of the therapeutic alliance.(AU)

The factors influencing nocturnal blood pressure drop in essential hypertensives

BACKGROUND: Blood pressure is normally lower during night times than in day times. But in some people, this nocturnal blood pressure drop is decreased or absent. In essential hypertensives, absence of nocturnal blood pressure drop (the 'nondipping' pattern) has been associated with increased target organ damage and cardiovascular morbidity. Present study was intended to describe the proportion of 'nondippers' among untreated essential hypertensives in Korea and to investigate the influences of independent clinical factors on the nocturnal fall of blood pressure. METHODS: We studied 50 untreated Korean essential hypertensives who underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Subjects with a nocturnal drop in systolic or diastolic blood pressure, or both, 10% were defined as 'dippers', the others as 'nondippers'. Their demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained through medical record and questionnaire. Above characteristics were considered to be independent variables and the dipping status, dependent. RESULTS: Thirty four percent of essential hypertensives were 'nondippers'. Nocturnal bloGd pressure drop decreased with reporting of family history of hypertension and higher 24-hour ambulatory mean b1ood pressure. Previous studies insisted on the influence of age on the dipping status, but in our study, age showed no impact on nocturnal blood pressure drop. CONCLUSION: About one third of untreated subjects with essential hypertension were observed to be nondippers. Family history of hypertension and high 24-hour ambulatory mean blood pressure significantly decreased nocturnal blood pressure drop in our study. According to the previous studies, above factors might work through affecting the normally decreased sympathetic activity during sleep time. Longitudinal studies of the influence of nondipping on the long term prognosis of hypertension and large scale studies to establish the factors influencing nocturnal blood pressure drop and their mechanisms are further needed.