scholarly journals The experience of a medical psychologist in a center for treatment of patients with new coronavirus infection (COVID-19)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-107
Author(s):  
R. Yu. Shindrikov ◽  
V. E. Khilov ◽  
E. R. Isaeva ◽  
V. M. Teplov ◽  
E. A. Karpova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
High Anxiety ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
Psychological Assistance ◽  
Severity Of The Disease ◽  
Medical University

Objective. To assess the cognitive and emotional-affective spheres of functioning of patients with a new coronavirus infection who were treated in an infectious COVID hospital and to develop strategies for emergency psychological assistance.Materials and methods. The study sample consisted of patients admitted to the Center for the treatment of patients with new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) of I.P.Pavlov First St.-Petersburg State Medical University, who were assigned a consultation with a medical psychologist.Results. The predictors of more pronounced cognitive decline were determined: older age and severity of the disease, as well as predictors of a higher level of anxiety and depressive symptoms: younger age, previous traumatic situation and more severe course of the disease. Three main problem areas have been identified that require psychological intervention in the treatment of patients with COVID-19: cognitive impairment, high anxiety and depressive symptoms associated with psychological trauma of patients, conflicting or non-adherent patients.

EMDR Versus Treatment-as-Usual in Patients With Chronic Non-Malignant Pain: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 190-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nieves Arias Suárez ◽  
Joana Moreno Pérez ◽  
Diego Redolar-Ripoll ◽  
Bridget M. Hogg ◽  
Itxaso Gardoki-Souto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Pain Intensity ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Treatment As Usual

In recent years, different studies have observed a strong association between chronic pain (CP) and psychological trauma. Therefore, a trauma-focused psychotherapy, such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), could be an innovative treatment option. The aim of this pilot study was to assess whether a specific EMDR protocol for CP leads to (a) a reduction in pain intensity, (b) an improvement in anxiety and depressive symptoms, and (c) an improvement in quality of life. 28 CP patients were randomly assigned to EMDR + treatment as usual (TAU; n = 14) or to TAU alone (n = 14). Patients in the EMDR group received 12 psychotherapeutic sessions of 90 minutes over 3 months. Pain intensity was measured using the Visual Analog Scale and the Pain Disability index, quality of life using the EQ-5D-5L, and anxiety and depressive symptoms using the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale. Measures were taken for both conditions at pre- and post-treatment, and a follow-up in the EMDR condition was taken at 3 months post-treatment. Patients in the EMDR group showed significantly reduced pain intensity and improved quality of life and anxiety and depressive symptoms compared to TAU alone at post-treatment. Improvements were largely maintained at 3-month follow-up. This study suggests that EMDR may be an effective and safe psychological intervention to be used within the multidisciplinary treatment plan of patients with CP.

Vulnerability of medical students and professionals to extreme work stress: A select review of the literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-187
Author(s):  
Maciej Walkiewicz ◽  
Małgorzata Tartas
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Work Stress ◽  
English Language ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Extreme Stress ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
Medical Career ◽  
Medical University ◽  
The Impact

The goal of the paper is to describe the extent to which medical students and professionals are vulnerable to extreme stress. A select review of existing literature on this area has been undertaken, using the English-language online databases EBSCO, Medline and PubMed. The search has identified 36 citations relating to 6324 medical students and 28,285 medical staff (physicians, residents, nurses). The review indicates that merely beginning medical studies is a risk factor for stress, and that medical professionals, who are vulnerable to extreme work stress, say that they do not receive enough support from their co-workers. They are also often notably impulsive, introverted, neurotic and perfectionist, with low emotional intelligence and agreeableness, as well as low and external locus of control. Additionally, from longitudinal studies we have been able to identify psychological factors underpinning admission to a medical university that may be useful for predicting future stress in medical career. The results of this study may be taken into account when organizing psychological intervention programs targeted at educating future medical professionals. It seems that early identification of people at risk could reduce the impact of stress related to medical career and enhance the somatic and mental health of medical professionals.

scholarly journals Psychological processes in the experience of hereditary angioedema in adult patients: an observational study

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Livia Savarese ◽  
Maria Bova ◽  
Assunta Maiello ◽  
Angelica Petraroli ◽  
Ilaria Mormile ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hereditary Angioedema ◽  
Severity Score ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Pathological Condition ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Adult Patients ◽  
Social Impairment ◽  
C1 Inhibitor Deficiency ◽  
Patient Health ◽  
Severity Of The Disease

Abstract Background Hereditary angioedema associated to C1 inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE) is a pathological condition characterized by episodes of subcutaneous swelling and it is frequently associated with discomfort and social impairment of the patients, due to the anxiety experienced for an unpreventable manifestation of an attack during daily life. In children increased level of stress and alexithymia have been associated to C1-INH-HAE, and the latter correlated also with the severity of the disease. We hypothesized that the involvement of psychological issues may impact on the severity of C1-INH-HAE in adult patients as well, interfering with their ability to engage with the management of the disease. Methods 28 adult patients with C1-INH-HAE were evaluated for clinical (C1-INH-HAE Severity Score) and psychological factors (alexithymia, emotion regulation, stress, patient health engagement, general severity index) by means of validated questionnaires. Results Mean age (standard deviation [SD]) was 45 (11) years and time from diagnosis was 20 (12) years. The mean C1-INH-HAE severity score was 6.4. Alexithymia was absent in 22 (78%) patients. Moderate and high stress levels were present in 17 (61%) and 4 (14%) patients, respectively. Moderate-high discomfort was experienced by 9 (36%) patients and a discomfort beyond the clinical attention threshold was shown by 3 (12%) patients. Stress correlated with patient health engagement and with psychological discomfort. Conclusions In C1-INH-HAE, patients health engagement and moderate-high psychological discomfort are linked with stress but not with the severity of the disease or alexithymia. A better patient health engagement may be a target for psychological intervention in clinics to ameliorate the stress perceived by C1-INH-HAE patients.

scholarly journals Prevalence and Covariates of Elevated Depressive Symptoms in Rural Memory Clinic Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie G. Kosteniuk ◽  
Debra G. Morgan ◽  
Megan E. O'Connell ◽  
Margaret Crossley ◽  
Andrew Kirk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Memory Clinic

Disruptive Vocalization and Depression in Older Nursing Home Residents

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Dwyer ◽  
Gerard J. A. Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Mini Mental State Examination ◽  
Mmse Score ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Confounding Variables ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
State Examination ◽  
Age And Sex

Screaming and other types of disruptive vocalization are commonly observed among nursing home residents. Depressive symptoms are also frequently seen in this group, although the relationship between disruptive vocalization and depressive symptoms is unclear. Accordingly, we sought to examine this relationship in older nursing home residents. We undertook a controlled comparison of 41 vocally disruptive nursing home residents and 43 non-vocally-disruptive nursing home residents. All participants were selected to have Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores of at least 10. Participants had a mean age of 81.0 years (range 63-97 years) and had a mean MMSE score of 17.8 (range 10-29). Nurse ratings of disruptive vocalization according to a semioperationalized definition were validated against the noisy behavior subscale of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. Subjects were independently rated for depressive symptoms by a psychiatrist using the Dementia Mood Assessment Scale, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, and the Depressive Signs Scale. Vocally disruptive nursing home residents scored significantly higher than controls on each of these three depresion-in-dementia scales. These differences remained significant when the effects of possible confounding variables of cognitive impairment, age, and sex were removed. We conclude that depressive symptoms are associated with disruptive vocalization and may have an etiological role in the generation of disruptive vocalization behaviors in elderly nursing home residents.

One-week prevalence of depressive symptoms and psychotropic drug treatments among old people with different levels of cognitive impairment living in institutional care: changes between 1982 and 2000

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1154-1160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Lövheim ◽  
Ellinor Bergdahl ◽  
Per-Olof Sandman ◽  
Stig Karlsson ◽  
Yngve Gustafson
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Antidepressant Drug ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Old People ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Moderate Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Drug Treatments

ABSTRACTBackground: Dementia and depression are common in advanced age, and often co-exist. There are indications of a decreased prevalence of depressive symptoms among old people in recent years, supposedly because of the manifold increase in antidepressant treatment. Whether the prevalence of depressive symptoms has decreased among people in different stages of dementia disorders has not yet been investigated.Methods: A comparison was undertaken of two cross-sectional studies, conducted in 1982 and 2000, comprising 6864 participants living in geriatric care units in the county of Västerbotten, Sweden. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Multi-Dimensional Dementia Assessment Scale (MDDAS), and the cognitive score was measured with Gottfries’ cognitive scale. Drug data were obtained from prescription records.Results: There was a significant decrease in depressive symptom score between 1982 and 2000 in all cognitive function groups except for the group with moderate cognitive impairment. Antidepressant drug use increased in all cognitive function groups.Conclusion: The prevalence of depressive symptoms decreased between 1982 and 2000, in all levels of cognitive impairment except moderate cognitive impairment. This might possibly be explained by the depressive symptoms having different etiologies in different stages of a dementia disorder, which in turn might not be equally susceptible to antidepressant treatment.

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