Social norms related to combining drugs and sex ("chemsex") among gay men in South London.

BACKGROUND: 'Chemsex' refers to the combining of sex and illicit drugs, typically mephedrone, GHB/GBL, and crystal methamphetamine. While numerous studies have examined the role of illicit drugs in sexual risk taking, less attention has been paid to the broader social context and structures of their use among gay men. Given their established role in influencing health related behaviour, this study sought to examine the nature and operation of social norms relating to chemsex among gay men residing in South London. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with thirty self-identifying gay men (age range 21-53) who lived in three South London boroughs, and who had used either crystal methamphetamine, mephedrone or GHB/GBL either immediately before or during sex with another man during the previous 12 months. Data were subjected to a thematic analysis. In addition, two focus groups (n=12) were conducted with gay men from the community to explore group-level perceptions of drug use and chemsex. RESULTS: Chemsex was perceived as ubiquitous amongst gay men by a majority of participants, who additionally described a variety of ways it is arranged (including mobile apps) and a variety of settings in which it occurs (including commercial and private settings). Chemsex was associated with unique sexual permissions and expectations, although participants also described having personal boundaries with respect to certain drug and sex practices, suggesting within-group stigmatisation. CONCLUSION: This study clearly documents exaggerated beliefs about the ubiquity of chemsex, shifts in the perceived normativity of certain settings and means to facilitate chemsex, and attitudes revealing stigma against certain types of chemsex and men who engage in it. There is a need for health promotion interventions to challenge social norms relating to drug use generally, and chemsex specifically, and for such interventions to make use of the online settings in which chemsex is often facilitated.

"Chemsex" and harm reduction need among gay men in South London.

BACKGROUND: Chemsex is a colloquial term used by gay men in some parts of the UK to describe the use of psychoactive substances (typically mephedrone, GHB/GBL or crystal methamphetamine) during sex. Use of these drugs by gay men in London appears to have risen sharply from relatively low levels and, as yet, there is little data to inform appropriate harm reduction services. This study sought to understand the personal and social context of chemsex and the nature of harm reduction need. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 self-identifying gay men (age range 21-53) who lived in three South London boroughs, and who had used either crystal methamphetamine, mephedrone or GHB/GBL either immediately before or during sex with another man during the previous 12 months. Data were subjected to a thematic analysis. RESULTS: While around half of participants had utilised a range of drugs over many years, others had only recently been introduced to drugs, often by sexual partners who wished to enhance the sexual session. As relatively new drugs on the gay scene, understanding of appropriate dosing was lacking and a majority described overdoses, particularly in relation to GHB/GBL. Negotiation of sex, especially in group sex environments, was complicated by the effects of the drugs and a small number of men reported concerns relating to sexual consent. While a significant proportion of men had experienced a range of physical and mental health harms, few had accessed professional support for fear of judgement or concern about chemsex expertise. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study indicate a substantial degree of harm in the usage of relatively new psychoactive substances in highly sexual circumstances. Generic drug services, typically designed to address the needs of opiate users, may not be sufficiently resourced to address the specific and acute needs of gay men engaging in chemsex.

Sleep in the Military: Promoting Healthy Sleep Among U.S. Servicemembers.

Sleep disturbances are a common reaction to stress and are linked to a host of physical and mental health problems. Given the unprecedented demands placed on U.S. military forces since 2001, there has been growing concern about the prevalence and consequences of sleep problems for servicemembers. Sleep problems often follow a chronic course, persisting long after servicemembers return home from combat deployments, with consequences for their reintegration and the readiness and resiliency of the force. Therefore, it is critical to understand the role of sleep problems in servicemembers' health and functioning and the policies and programs available to promote healthy sleep. This study provides the first comprehensive review of sleep-related policies and programs across the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), along with a set of actionable recommendations for DoD, commanders, researchers, and medical professionals who treat U.S. servicemembers. The two-year multimethod study also examined the rates and correlates of sleep problems among post-deployed servicemembers, finding negative effects on mental health, daytime impairment, and perceived operational readiness. The research reviewed evidence-based interventions to treat sleep disturbances among servicemembers and veterans and exposed several individual- and system-level barriers to achieving healthy sleep. Implementing evidence-based treatments is just one step toward improving sleep across the force; as the research recommendations highlight, it is equally important that policies and programs also focus on preventing sleep problems and their consequences.

Narcissism and relational representations among psychiatric outpatients.

Pathological narcissism is associated with maladaptive interpersonal behavior, although less is known regarding the internal relational representations of narcissistic patients. The authors examined the relationship between pathological narcissism and two constructs that reflect internal representations of relational patterns: quality of object relations and attachment style. Patients attending a psychiatric day treatment program (N = 218) completed measures of narcissism, general psychiatric distress, and attachment style in terms of attachment avoidance and anxiety. A semistructured interview was used to assess quality of object relations. Multiple regression analysis was conducted, controlling for general psychiatric distress. Pathological narcissism was associated with anxious attachment, but not with avoidant attachment. Narcissism was also associated with lower levels of quality of object relations. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of internal representations of self-other relations.

Integration of psychoanalytic concepts in the formulation and management of hospitalized psychiatric patients.

Although psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy have flourished theoretically and in practice for an increasingly widespread population of patients, the mental health professions have in recent decades experienced a hegemony of managed care, a preoccupation with pharmacological approaches at the expense of psychological approaches, and a predilection for brief symptom-focused, more easily researchable manualized psychotherapies, in spite of literature demonstrating the effective contribution of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic thought to the practice of the mental health professions. In this article a psychiatric inpatient is considered from the point of view of what psychodynamic theory can offer practically to understanding and managing her. It is not suggested that this patient might necessarily benefit from formal psychodynamic psychotherapy, but rather that incorporation of a psychodynamic understanding of her can lead to a more effective management approach, especially regarding dealing with staff reactions to disturbing patients. Consideration of the patient's personality and recognition of the patient's having a comorbid personality disorder appeared important in her management, and have practical implications regarding staff members' understanding of the patient and the consequent identification and handling of transference and countertransference manifestations. Problems that are likely to occur as enactments on the inpatient unit can more readily be anticipated or identified earlier and a consistent staff approach prepared. A psychodynamically informed management approach on the inpatient unit can help to anticipate challenging interpersonal experiences such as enactments. Psychodynamic thought has developed in a manner so as to be applicable in an increasingly wide range of clinical situations, not only in terms of the varieties of patients who are deemed to be able to benefit from psychodynamic treatment per se, but also regarding the clinical venues in which psychodynamic concepts can be usefully applied.

Running the HIV risk.

A report from the Health Protection Agency last month revealed that 3,010 men who have sex with men (MSM) were diagnosed with HIV in 2011 - the highest number in any year since the AIDS epidemic began in 1981.

Predicting response to day treatment for personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Efforts to improve the effectiveness of day treatment should attend to factors that influence treatment response. Our prospective study identified predictors of response to day treatment for personality disorder (PD). METHOD: Patients with a PD, consecutively admitted to a day treatment program, were assessed with self-report and interview measures. Predictors included personality characteristic, demographic, initial disturbance, and PD variables. Patients' overall response to treatment was classified as better, same, or worse, based on change in multiple outcome measures. A comprehensive approach to multivariate modelling was used. RESULTS: The likelihood of being classified as better significantly increased if the patient was more psychologically minded, used avoidance-oriented coping strategies, and had a high level of baseline symptom severity. Probability of being classified as better decreased if the patient had a substance use disorder and a history of high service use. CONCLUSIONS: Identifying factors that affect response to day treatment can help clinicians make better selection decisions or take measures to modify treatment.

Interpersonal problems associated with narcissism among psychiatric outpatients.

Narcissistic personality disorder is the subject of extensive discussion in the literature. Yet, the validity of this diagnostic category remains questionable. This is owed, in large part, to the relative absence of empirical work that has examined narcissism in clinical samples. Descriptions and findings from studies involving non-clinical samples suggest that narcissism is associated with considerable interpersonal impairment. The objective of the present study was to examine this possibility in a sample of psychiatric outpatients. Consecutively admitted patients (N=240) to a day treatment program completed measures of narcissism, interpersonal problems, and general psychiatric distress. Patients were categorized into high, moderate, and low narcissism groups. The groups were compared on overall interpersonal impairment, as well as on particular domains of interpersonal behavior. Treatment duration and discharge status were also compared among the three groups. Analysis of covariance and chi-square analyses were used. At baseline, higher levels of narcissism were significantly associated with greater interpersonal impairment. The interpersonal style of the more narcissistic patients was particularly characterized by domineering, vindictive, and intrusive behavior. At post-treatment, only the association between narcissism and intrusive behavior remained significant. Change in interpersonal difficulties following treatment did not differ significantly among the groups. However, failure to complete treatment was associated with narcissism. The results underscore the interpersonal impairment associated with narcissism and support the notion of narcissistic personality disorder as a valid diagnostic category.

Predictors of premature termination of day treatment for personality disorder.

BACKGROUND: Premature termination is a common problem in the treatment of personality disorder. Efforts to improve compliance should begin by recognising risk factors for premature termination. This prospective study identified predictors of premature termination from a day treatment program for personality disorder. METHODS: Consecutively admitted patients with a personality disorder (n = 197) were assessed with self-report and interview measures. Patient personality characteristics were the primary predictors. Others were demographic, initial disturbance, and personality disorder variables. Cox proportional hazards regression was used. RESULTS: Risk of terminating prematurely significantly increased if the patient had been previously hospitalised for psychiatric difficulties, was younger, had fewer prior contacts with health and social services, and had more severe borderline personality disorder traits. CONCLUSIONS: Information about which patients are at high risk for premature termination can help clinicians take measures to modify the risk. This might involve selection decisions, pre-treatment preparation, close monitoring during treatment, or addition of adjunctive interventions.

Threats of violence to third parties in group psychotherapy.

This article considers threats of violence toward third parties during group therapy. An approach to preserve the group work, protect the threatened individuals, maintain the threatening patient's treatment, and protect the group leader medicolegally is described. Obtaining expert legal advice is very important. Reluctance to seek legal advice and inform third parties needs to be resolved. Knowledge of jurisdictional laws pertaining to disclosure is essential.

The psychodynamic psychiatry service of the University of Alberta Hospital: a thirty year history.

This paper describes the Psychodynamic Psychiatry Service (PPS) of the University of Alberta Hospital over its 30 years of development. This psychiatric organization consists of three clinical programs-an outpatient clinic and intensive day and evening programs-and an integral evaluation and research unit. The PPS is unique in its group therapy clinical orientation, its psychodynamic theoretical orientation, and its integration of an ongoing research program that establishes empirical validation of its clinical work. The productivity and longevity of this psychiatric organization appear to derive from several strengths, including cooperation between leaders of the clinical and research programs; the institution of staff relations groups in the three clinical programs; the operation of the fully integrated evaluation and research program that serves to provide empirical support for the treatments offered; and a unifying ideology characterized by the valuing of both psychodynamic and group oriented work. Other important factors to the success of the PPS include the strengths of the founder of the service and financial and other support of the academic department in which it is housed. This paper describes the historical development and present structure and functioning of the PPS, the challenges it has been confronted with, and the responses to those challenges. We conclude with factors contributing to its survival and productivity and with thoughts about the future.

Threats of violence in group-oriented day treatment.

Threats of violence in a group-oriented day treatment program are examined regarding the patient's motivation to make threats, and what occurs among patients and staff that fosters threats. Effects of threats on other patients, the program, and therapists are considered. Management of the threatening patient, the group, and staff reactions are described. Safety of group members is a sine qua non for the groups to function effectively.

Arnold-Chiari malformation in a pregnant woman.

BACKGROUND: The Arnold-Chiari malformation type I is characterized by the prolapse of the cerebellar tonsils below the foramen magnum. There is a lack of literature on the management of a pregnancy in a woman affected by an Arnold-Chiari malformation. CASE: A young primipara with severe headaches underwent an elective primary cesarean delivery under general anesthesia successfully. Five years earlier, she had undergone neurosurgical resection for filum terminale syndrome shortly after her first pregnancy (term vaginal delivery) and decompression of a type I Arnold-Chiari malformation 4 months later. CONCLUSION: Careful selection of anesthetic technique for the delivery of a woman with an Arnold-Chiari malformation is of paramount importance.

Effects of seasonal allergic rhinitis on fatigue levels and mood.

OBJECTIVE: Many allergy patients complain of fatigue, moodiness, and dysphoria during their allergy seasons. This study evaluated the effect of symptomatic allergic rhinitis on both fatigue level and mood. METHOD: Symptomatic ragweed allergic rhinitis patients on no medications and healthy control subjects completed the Multi-Dimensional Fatigue Inventory and the Positive Affect-Negative Affect mood rating scales in an in-out-in ragweed season research design. RESULTS: During ragweed seasons, allergic patients reported higher levels of general fatigue and mental fatigue, but not physical fatigue, as well as reduced motivation. Patients described experiencing feelings of greater sadness and reduced pleasurable engagement. Increased anxiety or emotional distress was not reported. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that having allergic reactions to ragweed pollen causes significant fatigue and mood changes in at least a subgroup of patients. Psychoneuroimmunology and medical genetics research suggests that allergic reactions engender biochemical changes that directly affect the central nervous system.