Psychoeducation of partners of bipolar-manic patients.

The partners of 14 bipolar-manic patients attending psychoeducation sessions were compared with 12 controls. After the sessions and 6 months later they showed more knowledge of the disease, medication and social strategies. Patient compliance did not change over the next year. The risk of this procedure is the initially increased level of anxiety of the patients.

To what extent does age influence the reporting of life events?

A study of life events reporting was carried out among 64 depressed and 74 non-depressed patients. The results show that age as well as depression can affect the number and type of reported life events. The younger age group (less than 45 years) reported more events than the older group, and the depressed patients reported more events than their non-depressed counterparts. The younger group also listed more desirable events than their elders. There was no evidence of an interaction between diagnosis and age.

Anhedonia, suicide ideation and dexamethasone nonsuppression in depressed patients.

In the search for a valid analysis of a number of operationalised symptoms common to depressive behaviour, a study was performed comprising 46 patients showing depressive symptoms, according to operationalised criteria and as part of which all agreed to undergo the following tests: (a) psychiatric: Present State Examination; (b) psychological: Hamilton Rating Scale, Montgomery-Asberg Rating Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Suicide Ideation Scale, Chapman Anhedonia Scale, Mood Scale, Sleep Quality Scale, Activities Scale, Social Support Scale, Questionnaire on Recently Experienced Events and the Paykel Life Events Interview; and (c) biochemical: Dexamethasone Suppression (DEX) Test. After gathering different depressive subgroups, based on operationalised symptoms, a dichotomy was made in the distributions of the (an)hedonia, suicide ideation and DEX-(non) suppression scores. This study may indicate that anhedonia, suicide ideation and DEX-nonsuppression are the opening to the identification of a subgroup of depressed patients. This symptom complex could not definitely be identified on the basis of existing DSM-III diagnostic entities, because of the known fact that this method of classification is not appropriate for our purposes in revealing pathophysiological processes. It is suggested, therefore, that these symptoms might prove to be the anchor-point from which to reach a better insight into the aetiology and pathogenesis (i.e. the final common pathway) of depression.

Group therapy in addition to lithium therapy in patients with bipolar disorders.

In patients with a bipolar disorder and well regulated lithium prophylaxis many psychological and social problems still remain. These can lead to non-compliance and relapse, which often increases the problems especially in the patient's direct environment. After group therapy, the self-confidence of 20 patients appeared to have improved compared with 14 control patients on the waiting-list for group therapy. The most important discovery for most of the patients was that their condition is not unique. They also gained the insight that they were potentially able to solve some of their problems themselves.

The assessment of life events: self-administered questionnaire versus interview.

Two methods of assessing life events (interview and self-administered questionnaire) were applied in a study attempting to determine the range of application of the 2 procedures. The results obtained in 55 psychiatric in-patients indicate that in a number of categories more events were detected by self-report questionnaire than by interview, while in a few categories more were reported by interview. In the discussion it is delineated that, although both methods have their own importance, the problems of differences of events reported by interview and by self-report are likely to be mainly in the use of self-report methods. It would seem that the sensitivity of both methods differs in relation to the character of the event: acute or process-related.