RESUMO
While some countries are moving toward legalization, euthanasia is still criticized on various fronts. Most importantly, it is considered a violation of the medical ethics principle of non-maleficence, because it actively seeks a patient's death. But, medical ethicists should consider an ethical alternative to euthanasia. In this article, we defend cryocide as one such alternative. Under this procedure, with the consent of terminally-ill patients, their clinical death is induced, in order to prevent the further advance of their brain's deterioration. Their body is then cryogenically preserved, in the hope that in the future, there will be a technology to reanimate it. This prospect is ethically distinct from euthanasia if a different criterion of death is assumed. In the information-theoretic criterion of death, a person is not considered dead when brain and cardiopulmonary functions cease, but rather, when information constituting psychology and memory is lost.
RESUMO
Perceived ethnic discrimination is known to be associated with anxiety and depression, and in turn, anxiety and depression are known to be associated with nightmare frequency and distress. This elicits a question: is perceived ethnic discrimination associated with nightmare frequency and distress? In this study, 179 female university students from the United Arab Emirates were assessed to answer that question. Results showed that while anxiety and depression were related to nightmare experiences, perceived ethnic discrimination was a stronger predictor of nightmare experiences. We posit two explanations for this finding: one based on psychoanalytical insights, and the other based on the Disposition-Stress model with neurobiological correlates. No significant differences were found across ethnicity when it comes to nightmare experiences or perceived ethnic discrimination. This is an encouraging sign of optimal societal integration in the United Arab Emirates.
RESUMO
Resumen El objetivo de esta investigación fue describir, cualitativamente y en profundidad, la concepción de la práctica de la psicoterapia en psicólogos venezolanos. Sobre la base de la teoría fundamentada, se procesaron las entrevistas realizadas a siete psicólogos con una experiencia profesional de al menos un lustro, con diversos enfoques terapéuticos en sus prácticas clínicas. Los resultados revelan que los entrevistados conciben la psicoterapia como un proceso basado en una relación que conduce al crecimiento personal, tanto del paciente como del terapeuta, por lo que la dimensión intersubjetiva y relacional -aunque asimétrica- está implícita en su práctica clínica. Se determinó que, de acuerdo con sus experiencias, el éxito del proceso psicoterapéutico depende del establecimiento de una positiva relación terapéutica, porque esta favorece el surgimiento de aspectos íntimos y subjetivos del paciente en el proceso terapéutico. Se concluye que la dimensión intersubjetiva en el proceso psicoterapéutico es esencial y debe estar presente en la conceptualización de la psicoterapia.
Abstract The main objective of this research was to qualitatively and indepth characterize the concept of psychotherapy of Venezuelan clinical psychologists. Based on the grounded theory, seven psychologists with different approaches and with at least 5 years of professional experience were interviewed. The results reveal that the interviewees conceive psychotherapy as a process based on a relationship that leads to personal growth, both for the patient and for the therapist, implying the intersubjective (but asymmetric) and relational dimension. It was determined that the success of the psychotherapeutic process depends on the establishment of a positive therapeutic relationship because it favors the appearance of intimate and subjective aspects of the patient in the therapeutic process. As a conclusion, the intersubjective dimension in psychotherapy is highlighted and should be incorporated into the conceptualization of psychotherapy.
