ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to describe the psychological effects on a man with a mild learning disability who was sexually assaulted whilst in prison, and the treatment which was carried out. J. suffered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as defined in DSM-III-R, combined with associated features of depression and anxiety. Treatment involved imaginal exposure to the assault, followed by systematic desensitization to the traumatic experience of imprisonment preceding the assault. Activities were also carried out to develop J.'s self-esteem, coping strategies and anxiety management. The successful outcome of treatment is discussed in relation to models of emotional processing. Some discrepancies between scores on self-evaluation questionnaires and behavioural observations raise issues concerning the best way of assessing treatment outcome for people with learning disabilities.
Subject(s)
Depression/therapy , Learning Disabilities/psychology , Prisoners/psychology , Rape/psychology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Adult , Depression/etiology , Desensitization, Psychologic , Firesetting Behavior , Humans , Male , Psychotherapy , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/etiologyABSTRACT
Following the observation of an unusually high number of patients presenting with duplex ureter in Dorchester, a prospective study of 1930 autopsies was carried out in nine centres throughout the Wessex region. The prevalence of duplex ureter in Dorchester was 2.5% (5 of 200 autopsies) but did not exceed 0.6% elsewhere. The finding was confirmed by study of intravenous urograms in south-west Dorset carried out between 1982 and 1983, which showed a 6.0% prevalence of urinary tract duplication in radiographs from Dorchester.
