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Abstract Introduction There is a growing need to implement evidence-based psychological treatments for women victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who commonly experience stress-related disorders such as anxiety, depression, or suicide risk, as well as altered cortisol reactivity. Objective 1. To compare the changes in depressive and anxious symptomatology, quality of life, and cortisol reactivity after two different interventions, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, based on psychological flexibility) or Interpersonal Therapy (IPT, based on empowerment) in women exposed to IPV. 2. To compare the changes in relation to the presence of suicide thoughts. Method A clinical sample of 50 women (ages 21-74) randomly assigned to attend ACT or IPT, completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires about intimate partner violence, quality of life, depression, anxiety, and measurements of salivary cortisol reactivity (basal, 15, 30, and 45 minutes after a cognitive challenge). We used Generalized Estimating Equation Models for data analysis. Results There was a significant improvement post-intervention in all variables, regardless of the type of psychotherapy or the presence of suicide thoughts. Before interventions, women that reported suicide thoughts had severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, worse quality of life, and a cortisol hyper-response profile, in contrast to women without suicide thoughts who had moderate symptoms and no cortisol response. Cortisol response to the cognitive test decreased in all women after both therapies. Discussion and conclusion Although different psychological approach, ACT, and IPT effectively improved mental health, quality of life, and changed cortisol reactivity of women exposed to IPV, including women at suicide risk.
Resumen Introducción Son necesarios tratamientos basados en evidencia para mujeres víctimas de violencia de pareja (IPV), con trastornos relacionados con estrés como ansiedad, depresión y riesgo suicida y alteraciones en la reactividad del cortisol. Objetivo Comparar los cambios en la sintomatología depresiva, ansiosa, calidad de vida y reactividad del cortisol después de aplicar Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso (ACT, basada en la flexibilidad psicológica) o Terapia Interpersonal (IPT, basada en el empoderamiento) en mujeres expuestas a IPV y compararlos en función al pensamiento suicida. Método Una muestra clínica de 50 mujeres (entre 21 y 74 años) fueron asignadas aleatoriamente a recibir ACT o IPT, completaron antes y después, cuestionarios sobre IPV, calidad de vida, depresión y ansiedad, y mediciones de cortisol (basal, 15, 30 y 45 minutos después de un reto cognitivo) en saliva en respuesta a un reto cognitivo. Utilizamos modelos de Ecuaciones de Estimación generalizada para analizar los datos. Resultados Mejoraron significativamente todas las variables, independientemente del tipo de psicoterapia y del pensamiento suicida. Antes de la intervención, las mujeres con ideación suicida presentaron depresión y ansiedad severas, peor calidad de vida e hiper-respuesta de cortisol, en contraste con las mujeres sin ideación, quienes presentaron síntomas moderados y una respuesta de cortisol plana. El cortisol disminuyó en todas las mujeres después de ambas terapias. Discusión y conclusión Ambas terapias IPT y ACT mejoraron la salud mental y calidad de vida de las mujeres con IPV y modificaron la reactividad del cortisol, incluyendo a las pacientes que reportaron ideación suicida.
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Nowadays, psychotherapy is regarded as the treatment of choice for patients with Borderline Personality Disorder(BPD). A consensus has yet to be reached, however, despite various controlled studies undertaken to determine the most suitable form of treatment. At both public and private mental health institutions, there is a growing number of BPD patients seeking treatment. These patients pose a challenge for institutional programs because their demands usually exceed the <
En la actualidad se acepta que el tratamiento de elección para los pacientes con Trastorno Límite de la Personalidad (TLP) es la psicoterapia. Sin embargo, a pesar de los diversos estudios controlados que se han realizado con el propósito de determinar cuál es la modalidad de tratamiento más adecuada, no se ha logrado alcanzar consenso. En las instituciones de atención a la salud mental, tanto públicas como privadas, es creciente el volumen de pacientes con TLP que buscan tratamiento. Debido a estas fuertes demandas que operan sobre las instituciones, se han buscado diferentes estrategias para tratar adecuadamente a este tipo de pacientes. Entre ellas se destaca la terapia de grupo breve. La mayoría de los estudios que han respaldado los tratamientos psicoterapéuticos para el TLP derivan de observaciones provenientes de ensayos clínicos individuales. Sin embargo, también existen trabajos entre los que se reseñan algunos que consideramos relevantes y que muestran los beneficios de los tratamientos grupales. En este artículo se presentan los resultados de un estudio clínico controlado comparando dos tipos de conformación de grupos terapéuticos: un grupo homogéneo, constituido únicamente por pacientes limítrofes, y otro heterogéneo en el que se incluyeron además de pacientes con TLP, otros sin patología grave de la personalidad. El objetivo del estudio fue comparar la efectividad del tratamiento en función de la composición de los grupos. El tipo de estudio fue comparativo pre-test post-test. En él se consideraron las variables de sintomatología psiquiátrica, la calidad de vida, la autoestima, la <
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Abstract: The treatment of election for patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), consists on the combination of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Concerning a psychoanalitic and individual focuse, there has been found, that in spite of the differences in orientations and the therapists experience, the manifestations of the disorder tend to decrease. First of all, a decrease in the impulsivity and an increase in the affective stability is seen, whether the identity alterations modify poorly with treatments of a duration of up to two years. Traditionally, patients with BPD have not been considered apt for group therapy, because their disruptive behavior interferes with the development of the groupal cohesion; however, this characteristics are the ones that can be rapidly treated in the group, when putting a slight pressure on the patient so he can modify this maladaptive behavior. The objectives of group therapy, are consistent with the ones in individual therapy. They include stability for patients, management of impulsivity and other symptoms, and management of the reactions in the transference and countertransference. The presence of other patients helps to establish limits between the participants and it also generates an altruistic interaction, in which they can consolídate their changes in the process of helping others. Group therapists suggest that individual therapy can be accelerated if the patient participates in the group in which the primitive fantasies are stimulated and where the group structure provides a support that helps personal growth. One of the most difficult tasks in any therapy is the desertion of the patients. Specially, the group is vulnerable to desertion, in its initial stage, since it has been recorded that there is a 13 to 63% of desertions. The purpose of the present study was to determine the psychological and psychopathological variables in patients with BPD, that influence the compliance in a group therapy. All the candidates in this investigation were patients with a probable diagnose of BPD, that had been sent to the Psychotherapy Department of National Institute of Psychiatry, aged between 18 to 24 years. This diagnose was corroborated with the SCID II. A descriptive study was made with the characteristics of the patients in some different areas: character and temperament, self esteem, quality of life, psychosocial functioning, interpersonal problems, ego strength, and psychiatric symptoms. A total of 24 weekly sessions with a duration of an hour and a half, were conducted under the direction of two psychotherapists and a non active observer. A Spearman correlation was used to correlate the psychological variables with the number of assisted sessions. We included 16 female patients, with an age mean of 20.43 years; the mean of assistance to the group was of 4.5 sessions. None of the subjects assisted to all the 24 sessions and 56% of the patients deserted the group as well as the pharmacological treatment. The findings of the correlations between the number of assisted sessions and the psychological variables, suggested first of all, a positive relation between the persistence scale of the ITC and a negative association with the subscales 1 (preoccupation vs optimism) and 4 (fatigability vs energy). Other findings suggested negative correlations between the psychosis scale of the SCL 90 and the evitative scale. The rest of the scales did not have a significative correlation with the number of assisted sessions. The items mentioned during the sessions by the patients consisted in the extreme dependency to the external criticism, that came from significative figures. The patients also talked about some of the common symptoms of BPD, like frustration, intolerance, suicide, lack of affective stability, self mutilations, rage, ambivalence, poor self concept, feelings of inferiority, and low self esteem. The percentage of desertion in this study was a lot higher than expected, assuming that in a regular group basis, there is 30% to 40% of desertion. It also came to our attention, that groupal phenomena, were not observed. Specially identifications and groupal cohesion, were not developed in this case. The patients collaborated exclusively with the therapists; they did not give any devolutions to other patients. They all waited for their turn, changing the theme, in a way that satisfied their own conflicts. The universality of the experience phenomenon was no seen, since the patients, did not feel that the others had the same problems, conflicts emotions or ideas, feeling supported or relieved by it. In conclusion, the patients with BPD, in our institution have a bad compliance in a group therapy, in which only personality disorders are admitted. These patients did not blend within the environment, because the groupal phenomena that produce the changes were not seen at all. This is probably associated with the intrinsic characteristics of the disorder, and this is why the probable changes in the patients should be evaluated and this technique questioned, as a reliable treatment method for personality disorders. A comparison of this technique with others, such as individual therapy and the combination of both, should be also considered. The Psychobiologic model of Cloninger, used in other investigations to predict the efficacy of pharmacotherapy, can be used to make a prediction of the compliance of BPD with groupal therapy. This data should be considered in the previous evaluation of the patients, with the goal of establishing different strategies, and an adequate treatment, for subjects with these characteristics.
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En este artículo se plantean, en primer lugar, los antecentes de las actuales posturas referidas a la influencia de la estructura y dinámica familiar en la aparición y posterior curso de la esquizofrenia. Se revisan, así, conceptos como doble vínculo, comunicación desviada, pseudo-mutualidad y morfosis forzada. Posteriormente se plantean las actuales formulaciones sobre terapia familiar cuando existe un miembro esquizofrénico, señalándose que actualmente la intervención familiar es concreta y práctica, la educación sobre esquizofrenia se hace de una manera deliberada y, aparentemente, los mejores resultados se obtienen en el curso del primer año después del brote inicial. Se analiza, también, el desarrollo conceptual relativo a las emociones expresadas, que parece ser una de la líneas teóricas más promisorias de la investigación actual, sin dejar de considerar aquellas investigaciones sobre comunicación familiar que han continuado evaluando la influencia de esta variable en el desarrollo y posterior curso de la enfermedad. Se concluye señalando que hasta ahora ninguna variable singular del medio familiar ha sido identificada como factor necesario y suficiente en la etiología de la esquizofrenia y que no existe evidencia de que la terapia familiar por sí sola sea un tratamiento efectivo para ésta