scholarly journals EXPLORING ALEXITHYMIA IN SOMATIZATION USING RORSCHACH PSYCHODIAGNOSTICS

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 402-426
Author(s):  
Chitrankana Bandyopadhyay ◽  
Akash Kumar Mahato
Keyword(s):  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Interpersonal Perception ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Somatization Disorder ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Exner's Comprehensive System ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
Completion Test ◽  
Resistant Patient ◽  
Personality Patterns

It has been classically postulated that alexithymia is related to a pervasive inability of emotional recognition and expression. This leaves some individuals little choice but to somatise unprocessed emotions commonly caused by internal conflicts. The present study thus aimed to explore the nature of conflicts, controls and stress tolerance, affect, self-perception, and interpersonal perception and behavior in somatization patients with alexithymia. 30 individuals of both sexes and of the age range 20-50 years, diagnosed with somatization disorder and alexithymia, were purposively undertaken for the study. Toronto Alexithymia Scale 20, Sack’s Sentence Completion Test and the Rorschach Test – Exner’s Comprehensive System were used to screen for alexithymia, to measure conflicts and the other aforementioned domains respectively. Results revealed that conflicts related to self-concept, sex, and family were primarily present in this sample. Characteristic patterns of underlying vulnerabilities seemed to account for poor stress tolerance, affective complications, negative self-perception, and maladaptive interpersonal functioning. It is suggested that alexithymia and a tendency to develop conflicts in somatization are based on the foundation of certain fundamental personality predispositions. Identifying said personality patterns could aid in appropriate and effective goal-setting in psychotherapy, specific to this otherwise treatment-resistant patient population.

scholarly journals Moral Dilemmas and Existential Issues Encountered Both in Psychotherapy and Philosophical Counseling Practices

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice A. Popescu
Keyword(s):  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Face Validity ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Completion Test ◽  
Therapy Room ◽  
Axis I ◽  
Existential Issues

This paper stems from clinical observations and empirical data collected in the therapy room over six years. It investigates the relationship between psychotherapy and philosophical counseling, proposing an integrative model of counseling. During cognitive behavior therapy sessions with clients who turn to therapy in order to solve their clinical issues, the author noticed that behind most of the invalidating symptoms classified by the DSM-5 as depression, anxiety, hypochondriac and phobic complaints, usually lies a lack of existential meaning or existential scope and clients are also tormented by moral dilemmas. Following the anamnestic interview and the psychological evaluation, rarely the depression or anxiety diagnosed on Axis I is purely just a sum of invalidating symptoms, which may disappear if treated symptomatically. When applying the Sentence Completion Test, an 80 items test of psychodynamic origin and high-face validity, most of the clients report an entire plethora of conscious or unconscious motivations, distorted cognitions or irrational thinking but also grave existential themes such as scope or meaning of life, professional identity, fear of death, solitude and loneliness, freedom of choice and liberty. Same issues are approached in the philosophical counseling practice, but no systematic research has been done yet in the field. Future research and investigation is needed in order to assess the importance of moral dilemmas and existential issues in both practices.

scholarly journals A meningitis carcinomatosa komplex megjelenése

2021 ◽  
Vol 162 (43) ◽  
pp. 1744-1748
Author(s):  
Boglárka Orbán-Szigeti ◽  
Anikó Papp ◽  
Anita Kamondi ◽  
György Tibor Szekeres
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Cooperation ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Somatization Disorder ◽  
Carcinomatous Meningitis ◽  
Past Medical History ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
Diagnostic Work ◽  
Personality Features ◽  
Work Up ◽  
Diagnostic Work Up

Összefoglaló. Az emlőtumor miatt kezelt, majd gondozott beteget – több tünetmentes év után – fejfájás, szédülés, ataxia, megváltozott, furcsa viselkedés, emlékezetzavar és dezorientáció miatt neurológiai, majd belgyógyászati osztályokon vizsgálták. Az alapos kivizsgálás ellenére a tüneteit magyarázó organikus eltérést nem igazoltak, ugyanakkor már a kezdetektől felmerült a szomatizációs tünetképzés lehetősége, ezért pszichiátriai osztályos felvételére került sor. Az elvégzett vizsgálatok, illetve a klinikai kép regresszív állapotot valószínűsítettek. Terápiás próbálkozásaink ellenére a páciens állapota romlott, végül a megismételt neurológiai vizsgálatok meningitis carcinomatosát igazoltak. Az esettel szemléltetni kívánjuk, hogy a beteg premorbid működési nívója, személyiségstruktúrája hogyan képes befolyásolni az ellátószemélyzetet, milyen külső és belső konfliktusokat válthat ki. A diagnózishoz vezető folyamat bemutatásával fel kívánjuk hívni a figyelmet az interdiszciplináris együttműködés fontosságára. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(43): 1744–1748. Summary. Our patient with known breast cancer in her past medical history was hospitalized – after several asymptomatic years – for headache, dizziness, ataxia, changed behaviour and disorientation. Thorough internal and neurologic investigations did not find any disease underlying her symptoms, therefore the possibility of somatization disorder was raised. Despite lege artis therapeutic interventions carried out on the psychiatry ward, the patient’s condition deteriorated and repeated neurological examinations eventually revealed carcinomatous meningitis. With this case, we would like to illustrate how the patient’s premorbid function level and personality features might influence the attitude and opinion of the health care personnel, and what kind of external and internal conflicts might be triggered. By presenting the complexity of the diagnostic work-up, we would like to emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation in the interest of our patients. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(43): 1744–1748.

scholarly journals Developmental themes in women's emotional experiences of motherhood

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUNIYA S. LUTHAR ◽  
KIMBERLY DOYLE ◽  
NANCY E. SUCHMAN ◽  
LINDA MAYES
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Ego Development ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Maternal Role ◽  
Adjustment Problems ◽  
Completion Test ◽  
Psychological Difficulties ◽  
Self Examination ◽  
Washington University

In this study, women's levels of ego development and their psychological difficulties were examined in relation to feelings in the maternal role. The sample consisted of 91 mothers from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Ego development was assessed by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test, and psychological difficulties were operationalized by self-reported global symptomatology, maternal substance abuse, and expressed anger. Outcome variables included feelings of satisfaction, distress, and support in the maternal role, as well as the degree to which negative and positive emotions were integrated in response to hypothetical vignettes of challenging everyday child-rearing experiences. Hypotheses were that women at high levels of ego development would show greater deterioration in the presence versus absence of self-reported adjustment problems than would those at lower levels. A series of interaction effects each indicated trends consistent with the hypotheses. These results add to accumulating evidence that tendencies toward self-examination, characteristic of high developmental levels, do not inevitably serve protective functions but may be linked with heightened reactivity to negative intrapsychic forces.

Adolescent Ego Development within the Family: Family Styles and Family Sequences

1991 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart T. Hauser ◽  
John Houlihan ◽  
Sally I. Powers ◽  
Alan M. Jacobson ◽  
Gil G. Noam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Member ◽  
Ego Development ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Family Interactions ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Patient Status ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Style ◽  
Completion Test

We describe a series of analyses that were carried out using the Constraining and Enabling Coding System (CECS). This scheme was specially constructed to identify family interactions conceptually relevant to adolescent ego development. We present results based on the application of these scales to observations of 80 families, consisting of two parents and an adolescent drawn from closely matched high school and psychiatric populations. The families are predominantly upper middle and middle class. Each family member completed the Loevinger Sentence Completion Test and then participated in a revealed-differences task, using responses to Kohlberg Moral Dilemmas as discussion stimuli. Transcripts of these audiorecorded discussions form the database for our family analyses. The family analyses were of two general types. First, we examined relations between family style and the ego development of each family member. The style analyses were based on aggregate scores for each of the enabling or constraining behaviours. After controlling for patient status, adolescent age, and family social class, adolescent and parent ego development scores contributed to explained variance in these family style behaviours. Parental style behaviours, especially of mothers, were also significantly associated with parent ego development as well as adolescent ego development. We then examined family sequences in terms of their links with adolescent ego development. Through these process-oriented analyses, we discovered that the intensity of turn taking and reciprocal enabling (mutual enabling) interactions between mothers and adolescents were significantly enhanced by the ego development of the mother. Such associations between reciprocal interactions and parental ego development were not present for mutual enabling pairings between fathers and adolescents. In our discussion we consider the importance of adding these sequence analyses to our studies, as one more way of exploring relations between family factors and adolescent development.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document