The psychological consequences of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) for the family system: A systematic review.

The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a tragic and difficult experience for families. It involves not only the death of the baby but also the loss of a future as a parent, sibling or grandparent. The subsequent grief is multifaceted and each family member has different needs and resources. Through a systematic review of literature, we identified 24 studies between 1982 and 2021: they dealt with individual, family and couple experience when a SIDS occurs; in addition, some studies compared perinatal loss and neonatal loss with SIDS loss. Our results point out the need for an intervention that focuses on the needs of each family member and tailored around the specifics of SIDS loss rather than general grief.

State of Mind Assessment in Relation to Adult Attachment and Text Analysis of Adult Attachment Interviews in a Sample of Patients with Anorexia Nervosa.

BACKGROUND: Attachment theory represents one of the most important references for the study of the development of an individual throughout their life cycle and provides the clinician with a profound key for the purposes of understanding the suffering that underlies severe psychopathologies such as eating disorders. As such, we conducted a cross-sectional study with a mixed-methods analysis on a sample of 32 young women with anorexia nervosa (AN); this study was embedded in the utilized theoretical framework with the following aims: 1. to evaluate the state of mind (SoM) in relation to adult attachment, assuming a prevalence of the dismissing (DS) SoM and 2. to analyze the linguistic attachment profile emerging from the transcripts of the AAIs. METHODS: Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed using the linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC) method. RESULTS: The results were observed to be consistent with the referenced literature. The prevalence of a DS SoM (68.75%) is observed in the study sample, whereas the results of the lexical analysis of the stories deviate from expectations. Notably, the lexical results indicate the coexistence of the dismissing and entangled aspects at the representational level. CONCLUSIONS: The study results suggest a high level of specificity in the emotional functioning of patients with AN, with a focusing on a pervasive control of emotions that is well illustrated by the avoidant/ambivalent (A/C) strategy described in Crittenden's dynamic-maturational model. These findings and considerations have important implications for clinical work and treatment, which we believe must be structured on the basis of starting from a reappraisal of emotional content.

Infra-Low Frequency Neurofeedback: A Systematic Mixed Studies Review.

Introduction: Neurofeedback training is increasingly applied as a therapeutic tool in a variety of disorders, with growing scientific and clinical interest in the last two decades. Different Neurofeedback approaches have been developed over time, so it is now important to be able to distinguish between them and investigate the effectiveness and efficiency characteristics of each specific protocol. In this study we intend to examine the effects of Neurofeedback based on slow brain activity, the so-called Infra-Low Frequency (ILF) training a recently developed methodology that seems promising for the regulation of the central nervous system. Aims: With this review we intend to summarize the currently existing literature on ILF-Neurofeedback, examine its quality and formulate indications about the clinical effectiveness of ILF-Neurofeedback. Methods: Literature search was first conducted according to PRISMA principles, described, and then assessed using the MMAT appraisal tool. 18 well-documented studies of ILF-Neurofeedback training in human subjects were picked up and analyzed. Reports include group interventions as well as single case studies. Results: Research data indicates good potential for ILF-Neurofeedback to influence brain activity and neurovegetative parameters. From the clinical profile, a salient common observation is a high level of individualization as a specific characteristic of ILF-Training: this feature seems to correlate with effectiveness of ILF-Neurofeedback, but also poses a challenge for researchers in terms of producing controlled and comparable findings; according to this point, some recommendation for future research on ILF-Neurofeedback are proposed. In conclusion, ILF-neurofeedback shows great potential for application for all those conditions in which the regulation of brain activity and neurophysiological processes are crucial. Further research will make it possible to complete the available data and to have a broader overview of its possible applications.

Narrative and Bodily Identity in Eating Disorders: Toward an Integrated Theoretical-Clinical Approach.

Eating disorders (EDs) can be viewed as "embodied acts" that help to cope with internal and external demands that are perceived as overwhelming. The maintenance of EDs affects the entire identity of the person; the lack of a defined; or valid sense of self is expressed in terms of both physical body and personal identity. According to attachment theory, primary relationships characterized by insecurity, traumatic experiences, poor mirroring, and emotional attunement lead to the development of dysfunctional regulatory strategies. Although the literature shows an association between attachment style or states of mind, trauma, behavioral strategies, and various EDs, the debate is still ongoing and the results are still conflicting. Therefore, we believe it is important to examine and treat EDs by understanding which narrative trajectory intercepts distress in relation to narrative and embodied self-concept. Drawing on clinical observation and a narrative review of the literature, we focus on the construction and organization of bodily and narrative identity. Because bodily representations are the primary tools for generating meaning, organizing experience, and shaping social identity from the earliest stages of life, we focus on the role that bodily interactions and sensorimotor and proprioceptive patterns have played in the development of EDs. We consider the role that lack of attunement, insecure attachment, and relational trauma play in mentalizing, affecting self-representation and emotion regulation strategies. The paper also considers a semantic mode of trauma in EDs that involves a top-down pathway through beliefs and narratives about oneself based on lack of amiability, on devaluation, and on humiliation memories. Finally, we would like to highlight the proposal of an integrated model with multiple access model to psychotherapy that takes into account the complexity of ED patients in whom aspects related to dysregulation, body image disintegration, and post-traumatic symptoms are associated with a suffering sense of self and a retraumatizing narrative.