Psychological mindedness refers to a person's ability to perceive relationships among thoughts, feelings, and action with the goal of learning the meanings and causes of his/her experiences and behavior. Psychological mindedness is clinically important because it influences the patient selection for and the efficacy of psychotherapy. Individuals who have difficulty symbolizing and resolving emotional conflict, and verbally expressing their emotions, are considered to lack psychological mindedness and are sometimes labelled "alexithymic." Culture also influences individual styles of emotional expression and the manner and extent to which feelings are labelled as such. Such cultural differences may be interpreted as differences in psychological mindedness. / The present study examined cultural differences in styles of emotional expression and psychological mindedness by comparing two groups: Euro-Canadians and Cree Amerindians--a group that has been characterized as less verbally expressive or taciturn. / In this study, 36 Cree and 36 Euro-Canadian subjects were given a verbal measure of alexithymia, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and a pictorial measure, the Scored Archetypal Test-9 (SAT9), and measures of depressive and somatic symptomatology (the CES-D and SCL-90 Somatization Scale). Twelve subjects also received a standardized, qualitative art therapy measure, the Ulman Personality Assessment Procedure (UPAP). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

A number of studies have indicated that both genetic and environmental factors play significant roles in determining alcohol consumption. Stress is one environmental factor shown to influence the initiation and continuation of heavy drinking. The present study investigates the differences between high risk (HR) and low risk (LR) subjects for the future development of alcoholism, as determined from their family history, in the response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to stress and alcohol. 20 HR and 20 LR male subjects, between 18--25 years old, participated in five separate experimental sessions: (1) a placebo drink; (2) a drink containing 0.5g alcohol/Kg.B.Wt; (3) a placebo drink and 30 minutes later the performance of a stress inducing task; (4) an alcohol containing drink and 30 minutes later the performance of a stress inducing task; and (5) the performance of a stress inducing task and 30 minutes later an alcohol containing drink. The response of the HPA-axis was determined by measuring the changes in the plasma adrenal corticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol contents prior to and for four hours following initiation of the treatment. HR subjects presented a lower stress induced increase of plasma ACTH and cortisol contents and a delayed hormone recovery to basal levels. Alcohol consumption prior to the stress task attenuated the stress induced increase in the plasma hormone contents by both LR and HR subjects, while alcohol consumption after the stress task led to a faster return of the hormone contents to basal levels in the HR subjects. Thus, alcohol alters the response of the HPA axis to stress by both the HR and LR subjects. However, there are differences in both, the response of the HPA-axis to stress, and the influence of alcohol consumption on stress responses, as a function of the family history of alcoholism.

Little is known about the impact of deinstitutionalization on severely and chronically mentally ill older adults. The primary purpose of this study was to describe the adjustment process of 33 adults, aged 65 years and over, with severe and chronic psychiatric disorders, who were transferred from a psychiatric hospital to community housing facilities between 1995 and 1998. Data was collected at five periods in times, twice prior to discharge and three times following relocation. Global functioning, social behaviors, functioning in activities of daily living, cognitive status, perceived quality of life, housing conditions and rehospitalizations rates were assessed. Results showed that participants remained stable over time in general functioning, regardless of baseline functioning. Only five subjects were readmitted for short hospitalizations. Eighty-nine percent preferred to live in the community. Relocating these participants to a smaller supervised community facility did not lead to significant deterioration in their functioning and improved their quality of life.

Pertubations in serotonergic (5-HT) and noradrenergic (NA) function are implicated in the pathophysiology of anxiety and affective disorders. This is strengthened by all antidepressants regardless of targeting these monoamines produce specific alterations in one or both of these systems after a prolonged administration. These alterations are congruent to their delayed onset of action in anxiety and affective disorders and may be of relevance. Using in vivo electrophysiological paradigms in the rat, the present research endeavor was undertaken to investigate whether antidepressant drugs inhibiting one monoaminergic reuptake transporter can induce an alteration in the other system. More specifically, impact of 5-HT and adrenergic receptors on the regulation of monoaminergic and hippocampal activity after acute and sustained antidepressant treatments was assessed. / Long-term, but not subacute administrations of selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) attenuate the spontaneous firing activity of locus coeruleus (LC) NA neurons. On the other hand, subacute and sustained treatment regimens with NA reuptake inhibitors (NRIs) induce a robust and sustained decrease on NA firing without altering that of 5-HT. Interestingly, sustained SSRI and NRI treatments both abolished 5-HT1A receptor augmentations of LC firing, but left inhibitory 5-HT2A receptor responses normal or slightly desensitized. The SSRI induced dampening on LC firing is reversed by 5-HT2A receptors blockade. Thus, an overactivation of 5-HT 2A receptors during chronic SSRI administration results from desensitization of 5-HT1A receptors in the presence of 5-HT transporter reuptake inhibition. / Antagonism of 5-HT1A receptors attenuates LC NA firing, but is completely reversed by 5-HT2A receptors blockade. 5,7-DHT experiments indicate that these receptors in the LC are postsynaptic to 5-HT neurons, but the 5-HT1A effects are dependent on intact 5-HT neurons. This served as the impetus to a proposed neuronal circuitry detailing the mechanism by which these 5-HT receptors, and SSRI induce adaptations thereof, alter the NA system. This complex circuitry implicates other neurotransmitters being supported further by iontophoretic data demonstrating 5-HT1A receptor effects involve alterations in glutamate and 5-HT to mediate 5-HT2A receptor activation and regulate GABA release in the LC. / Given the abovementioned results, it was striking that a subacute treatment with YM992 (SSRI and 5-HT2A antagonist) attenuated NA firing to a similar extent as reported with NRIs. This was concluded to be due to overactivation of presynaptic alpha2-adrenoceptors. In contrast to NRIs, a 21-day treatment with YM992 desensitized this receptor subtype and is responsible for normalization of LC firing. / Reboxetine produces similar effects on 5-HT and NA neuron firing and reuptake blockade on CA3 pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus as the TCA desipramine. Unlike desipramine, reboxetine is able to alter 5-HT reuptake function and 5-HT2A receptors mediated responses by DOI after a prolonged administration and did not induce a sensitization of hippocampal 5-HT1A receptors. Thus, for the first time, experimental evidence supports that this latter effect is due to TCA structure and not NA reuptake blockade. / These results are extrapolated to the beneficial and side effects produced by antidepressants with hopes of expanding upon the former while reducing the latter in the treatment of anxiety and affective disorders.

<p> This phenomenological study describes the therapeutic potential of change for women who come together in collective creative process to perform their stories. The author examines women, aged 30-72, and their experiences of collective performance, spanning 29 years, in response to their life circumstances, emotional health, personal relationships, professional life, and community connections. Roles inside and outside of the group are explored, as are their group and individual processes. Research on women, collectives, applied theatre, and therapeutic theatre is presented. Perspective is gained through the lenses of feminist theory, social constructivism, and psychodramatic role theory. Comparisons are made between applied theatre and drama therapy, and the mutual exclusion of group versus individual, socio-political versus therapy, is questioned. Implications for the use of socio-political community drama in a therapeutic theatre format in drama therapy are formulated.</p>

A specialized day care program was developed for community-residing individuals diagnosed with Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (SDAT). Eighteen subjects with SDAT who were categorized at stages 3 and 4 of the Global Deterioration Scale participated in the day care program once a week for 12 weeks. Activities for the program were selected so as to stimulate cognitive processes as well as promote independence in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Emphasis was placed on habilitation. The Mini-Mental State Examination, the Hierarchic Dementia Scale, and the Rapid Disability Rating Scale-2 were used to assess the performance of the subjects. Cognitive and functional performances were measured before the program began, throughout the 12 weeks of intervention, at completion, and one-month post-intervention. The Burden Interview was used to measure the burden expressed by the family caregivers. There were no significant changes in the group's functional and cognitive performance as measured on the three tests, but performance did remain stable over the 16-week period and did not deteriorate. Scores on the Burden Interview also remained stable.

Exposure to prolonged stress is associated with an increased risk for mood disorders. However, only a small portion of those who experience such distress go on to develop these disorders, suggesting that individual and stress-related variables may increase the vulnerability to the damaging effects of chronic stress. Accordingly, the present series of experiments assess the influence of three factors on vulnerability to long-term exposure to chronic variable stress (CVS) in rats. In particular, we investigated the influence of gender, chronic fluoxetine treatment and early life maternal care on the behavioral and neuroendocrine response to CVS. The results from study 1 suggested that the direction of the behavioral and neuroendocrine response to CVS was in the opposite direction in male and female rats. Studies 2 and 3 revealed that fluoxetine treatment had a gender-dependent ability to reverse some of the effects of CVS, and this was mediated by increasing the rate of habituation to novel, acute stressors. Studies 4 and 5 demonstrated a gender-dependent effect of maternal care on behavior and the neuroendocrine response to an acute stress. In addition, maternal care influenced the impact of CVS exposure in a gender-dependent manner. The results suggested that maternal care affected coping processes in males and females that were expressed in different behavioral tests. Studies 5, 6 and 7 revealed that maternal care influenced the strength of associative fear conditioning to a context associated with shock administration, but did not influence conditioning to a discrete conditioned stimulus associated with shock. These results suggest that maternal care influences the strength of learned associations on a hippocampal-dependent task. Exposure to CVS eliminated the effect of maternal care on the strength of contextual fear conditioning. Thus, conditions in the post-weaning environment, such as CVS exposure, may reverse the effects of maternal

Patients with schizophrenia and related psychoses frequently use, abuse and become dependent on psychoactive substances. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to document substance abuse in 207 successive outpatients with schizophrenia and related psychoses presenting to a psychiatric continuing care facility in a large Canadian city. Nicotine, alcohol and cannabis were the most frequently abused substances. Excluding nicotine, 44.9% met criteria for lifetime and 14.0% for current abuse/dependence. Current dual diagnosis (DD) patients had significantly more positive psychotic and depressive symptoms, higher rates of medication non-compliance, as well as higher rates of tobacco smoking and significantly longer smoking histories compared to single diagnosis (SD) patients. The smoking behavior of the DD population is discussed in terms of enhanced risk for alcohol abuse, as well as effects on antipsychotic blood levels and metabolism. / In the second phase of the study, the starting sample was reassessed at 4 month intervals out to 12-months of follow-up. The follow-up study was designed to test the hypothesis that current-DD patients would fare significantly worse than SD patients. This study found that during the course of standard psychiatric outpatient treatment there was little decrease in substance use or abuse over time among the DD group. However, DD subjects experienced a greater reduction in positive psychotic symptoms compared to SD patients. The follow up study demonstrated that DD patients in treatment for schizophrenia and related psychoses did reasonably well in terms of reduced psychosis; however they continued to use substances of abuse and remained more depressed than SD.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2402. Adviser: Janis G. Chadsey. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-196) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1990. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: B, page: 1731. Chair: Sean Sammon.