Psychiatry Commons^™

Seasonal Affective Disorder: Sad Or Fad?, J. Thomas Pichot, Md, Peter S. Jensen, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and phototherapy have recently been the subject of a great deal of interest in the psychiatric literature. First described in 1984 (I), SAD is now defined as "a cyclic illness characterized by recurrent episodes of fall/winter depression alternating with periods of spring/summer euthymia (normal mood) or hypomania (mild elation and behavioral activation)" (2) . Recent findings indicate that there may be at least two additional patterns of seasonal depressions, one characterized by annual summer depressions with euthyrnic, hypomanic or manic symptoms in the winter, and the other characterized by depressive episodes occurring in both winter and …

Brief Remarks On Some Linguistic Features Of "Empathy" And "Sympathy", Emanuel E. Garcia, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The use of words by an individual or culture is subject to the very same psychological forces that drive man's other activities . Hence, the history of a word's usage becomes a telling record of the mental processes of its creators and users, both conscious and unconscious. Etymology, as Freud has observed in his dreambook (1900), contributes significantly to our understanding of the deeper layers of the psyche . Let us take the word "rival," for example, and see how we may make use of etymological data. It is derived from the Latin "riva lis," I which originally meant "one …

Clonidine In The Treatment Of Tardive Dyskinesia: A Case Review, Vikram Khot, Md, Jean Goodwin, Md, Mph, Geoff Wandry, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Over the past several years, a number of cardiovascular preparations have become widely used in psychiatry. For example, propranolol, introduced for its anti-anginal properties, is now used for stage-fright, lithium tremor and neuroleptic induced akathisia (1,2). Calcium channel blockers are expected to prove useful in the treatment of bipolar affective disorders (3,4). Clonidine exemplifies the rapidity and variety with which a cardiovascular agent has been applied to psychiatric syndromes. Clonidine, a centrally acting anti-hypertensive drug with both alpha-l and alpha-2 adrenergic agonistic properties, has already been used in the treatment of narcotic with drawal, benzodiazepine withdrawal, Tourette's syndrome, akathisia, depression, …

Mechanisms And Therapeutic Implications Of Neuroleptic Atypicality, Daniel C. Javitt, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Neuroleptics have proven effective for the overall treatment of schizophrenia. The neuroleptic therapy of schizophrenia, however, has been limited by tardive dyskinesia and by the relative inability of neuroleptics to ameliorate the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Intensive research has been conducted to identify atypical neuroleptics which would not cause TD and which would have relatively greater efficacy in treating negative symptoms. Based upon animal models of TD and negative symptoms, four neuroleptics have been identified which may have these properties: clozapine, thioridazine, sulpiride, and molindone. Clinical studies of TD suggest that these four potentially atypical agents may have lower dyskinetic …

Countertransference And Inpatient Psychiatry: Theoretical And Clinical Aspects, Edward Kim, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Few aspects of psychiatric training are more troubling to beginning residents than the emerging awareness of their own countertransferences. This is often viewed with a mixture of disgust and embarassment as a sign of incompetence and lack of professionalism. Conflicting views on the origins of, and appropriate responses to countertransference further add to the difficulty and anxiety of psychiatric training. The frustration and sense of helplessness which often accompany these feelings can lead to disillusionment and various degrees of acting out which ultimately compromise patient care and resident education. Ironically, the feeling of being overwhelmed by countertransference can often occur …

The Role Of The Resident On The Psychiatric Inpatient Unit: A Systems Perspective, E. Michael Kahn, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

A resident in psychiatry is customarily assigned to inpatient duty for the first year of training. The resident's tasks in this setting are complex, and he' is rarely prepared to perform all of them well (1,2,3). The stress on the resident in this situation is great. Most often, these challenges and their mastery are discussed in terms of intrapsychic conflicts; the traditional remedy is the assignment of a supervisor. Little consideration has be en given to the interpersonal and systems matrices in which these events occur, and the coping techniques and conceptual tools which the resident may use to meet …

Uses Of Carbamazepine For Psychiatric Disorders: A Review, Edward Kim, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Carbamazepine, first synthesized in 1953, was initially marketed in Europe as an anticonvulsant. In 1971 Dalby reported the drug's psychotropic effects, most notably mood stabilization, in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (1). Other psychiatric applications such as the treatment of affectively and behaviorally labile patients are being explored. These studies are yielding data relevant to the treatment and understanding of the neurobiology of mental illness. For this reason, familiarity with carbamazepine is becoming increasingly important to psychiatrists.

Dysmorphophobia In A Diastrophic Dwarf: A Psychiatry-Dermatology Liaison Approach, Donald J. Kushon, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

This is a case study of a 30-year-old male diastrophic dwarf who complained of hypertrichosis on his back and nose of 3 years duration. He had no previous psychiatric history, and although the distortion he described on his back was not apparent to others, there was a minimal amount of dark hair growth on his nose. He had unresolved conflicts concerning his disproportionate arms and legs and had sought surgical correction for many years from many orthopedic surgeons to no avail. After a diagnosis of dysmorphophobia was made by a psychiatric consultant, weekly visits with the dermatologist were arranged for …

Transparency And Termination In Group Psychotherapy: A Resident's Perspective, Althea Donovan, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Termination has been seen as a difficult and complex process in group psychotherapy. Although termination of group members has be en explored, little is written on the subject of the therapist's termination; i.e., in the case of a group which continues after the therapist departs. This circumstance must occur frequently, however, especially since 91% of psychiatric programs, (Yalom (1985) citing Pinney) have at least one year of group psychotherapy training. This implies that group therapist termination must occur on a regular basis at some training programs. Even so, there are no specific guidelines or more general exploration of an inexperienced …

Psychotherapy And Mental Retardation: What's The Use?, Jolyn Welsh Wagner, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The lack of adequate treatment opportunities for mentally retarded people with emotional disturbances has been well documented (11,14,9,16,8,2 1,10,19). A high prevalence of psychopathology, estimated at 4- 5 times that of the non-retarded population (8,10) identifies a population extremely vulnerable to emotional problems. Although advocates from many disciplines, including psychiatry, (15) have worked diligently since the early 20th Century to eliminate massive institutionalization, sterilization, and isolation of the retarded from society's defensive arsenal, the mental healthfield, especially psychiatry, has failed to meet current needs with appropriate clinical services.

The Potential Role Of Psychiatry Residents' Councils, J. Thomas Pichot, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

There are numerous books and articles within the scientific literature that deal with issues of training psychiatry residents and the characteristics of that milieu. Those authors that deal primarily with stress usually discuss the sources of the stress and the resultant behavioral changes that are manifested by the trainees. Typically, are relatively small portion of the discussion is devoted to how these problems are, or might be, addressed. This paper, while not itself intended to be an overview of stress in residency; will concentrate on a literature review of some specific aspects of the residency training process, primarily role definition …

The Physical Examination In Psychiatry, Scott Patten, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The physical examination is a neglected aspect of the psychiatric assessment. For example, a survey of ninety-eight practicing psychiatrists, conducted by Patterson (1) in 1978, found that none of them routinely performed physical examinations on their patients. More than one-half of these psychiatrists reported that they no longer felt competent to do so. One situation in which psychiatrists do often perform physicals is while admitting patients to hospital. However, the quality of these examinations is often poor (2 ,3).

An indifferent attitude toward the physical examination has persisted in psychiatry despite numerous publications emphasizing the importance of medical assessment (2-8). …

Some Comments On The Concept Of The Ego-Ideal, Gurmeet Kanwal, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

In a review of the literature on the ego-ideal my impression has been that this concept has been placed in the position of a stepchild of the structural model of the mind, falling somewhere between the ego and the super-ego, and yet remaining loosely linked to both. Authors such as Jacobson (1954), Hartmann and Lowenstein (1962), Sandler (1963), and Schafer (196 7), have regarded the ego-ideal as a substructure of the super-ego. Others like Annie Reich (1953, 1954), Lampl de-Groot (1947), Peter Bios (1972), and Chasseguet-Smirgel (1975), have tended to view the two as being separate structures.

The purpose of …

A Psychiatric Perspective On Erectile Dysfunction, Syed Ahmed, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Erectile impotence is a common family health problem, with exact incidence unknown, that adversely affects both men and their female partners. It is classified as "inhibited sexual excitement" in DSM-III and is defined as the inability to attain or maintain a penile erection until completion of the sexual act. It had been stated formerly, without supporting evidence, that 90% of erectile disorders were "psychogenic. " Today, however, only about one-third are so classified (1). In Kinsey's (2) series, the prevalence of impotence was less than 2% until the age of 40 years; it increased to 6-7% at age 55 …

The Use Of Maintenance Electroconvulsive Therapy For Relapsing Depression, Ted A. Matzen, Md, Ronald L. Martin, Md, Tim J. Watt, Md, Douglas K. Reilly, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

It is generally accepted that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment of major depressive episodes in patients with both unipolar and bipolar affective disorders (1). Yet, repeated relapse of depression occurs in some patients, even with vigorous maintenance therapy on antidepressant drugs (2-4). This often necessitates rehospitalization for ECT. In past decades, several authors suggested that periodic outpatient ECT was efficacious as a maintenance therapy (5-7). Recently, maintenance ECT was recommended by Fink (8), and Maletzky (9), but barely mentioned in two reviews (10,11), and discouraged in another (12) . However, a recent nationwide survey has disclosed that such …

The Effect Of Acute And Chronic Ethanol On Dopamine Turnover In The Caudate Nucleus Of The Rat, Rif S. El-Mallakh, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

It is generally believed that acute and chronic ethanol (EtOH) administration alters the activity of catecholamines in the brain, however, the specific effects of EtOH on the dopaminergic system are disputed (I). Acute EtOH administration has been variously reported to decrease (2,3), increase (4,5), and cause no change (6 ,7) in dopamine (DA) synthesis and turnover. Likewise, chronic EtOH treatments have been reported to decrease (2,8) and increase (9, 10) DA synthesis and turnover. Many of these apparently conflicting results are explained by the use of different animal models (rat (2, 3,6,7,10), rabbit (6), and mouse (4,5,9)), different methods of …

Bioethical Issues In The Management Of Gender Dysphoria, George R. Brown, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The term "gender dysphoria" ( I) describes a heterogeneous group of individuals who express varying degrees of dissatisfaction with their anatomic gender (hence "gender dysphoria"), and the desire to possess the secondary sexual characteristics of the opposite sex. Only a minority o f these patients can be considered on the extreme end of a spectrum of subjective dissatisfaction with assigned anatomy and societally sanctioned gender role (i.e., "transsexual"). The number of such patients presenting to psychiatric clinics has greatly increased subsequent to the 1966 publication of Harry Benjamin's seminal work, The Transsexual Phenomenon (2), and extensive media coverage of individual …

Presentation And Differential Diagnosis Of Hyponatremia In A Schizophrenic Adult Male, Michael J. Sedlacek, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The diagnosis o f hyponatremia can prove to be a challenging task since initial symptomatology may mimic psychiatric illness. Accurate diagnosis and subsequent treatment is essential as this disorder can progress to seizures, coma and death if not recognized. Neither the true incidence nor the etiology of hyponatremia in the schizophrenic population has been established, but a definite association has been shown to exist. A recent retrospective study involving over 20,000 hospital admissions found a 5.8% incidence of hyponatremia in the schizophrenic population as compared with a 0.36% incidence for all admissions (1). The following case illustrates the features of …

Accepting Dependence, Julia Zawatsky, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

There is an increasing emphasis on short term treatment in Psychiatry. Short term treatment may not provide the time necessary to permit the regression and foster the dependence necessary for successful treatment.

Supervising Residents Treating Multiproblem Patients: Transformations Of Therapeutic Narcissism, Susan J. Olson, Md, Valerie A. Westhead, Md, Jean M. Goodwin, Md, Mph

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

While much of the literature on psychotherapy supervision focuses on teaching psychotherapeutic techniques, most residents and supervisors realize that there is another agenda: making the often drained and narcissistically injured therapist feel better. The beginning therapist's self-esteem is especially vulnerable to injury because most psychiatric residents have "heavily committed themselves to a field of endeavor for which ... they are relatively untested" (I). Coupled with this, they are often assigned the most difficult and demanding patients, those with narcissistic disorders who are unable to soothe themselves. Both Searles (2) and Balint (3) describe the barrage of counter transferences usually experienced …

Developmental Stages Of Learning Psychotherapy, Duncan B. Clark, Phd, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The contradictory philosophies of the major schools of psychotherapy present a dizzying array of alternative approaches for the psychiatry resident. The academic efforts that have been made to synthesize differing approaches to psychotherapy have not met with widespread acceptance. Part of the reason why such a synthesis has been slow in coming may be found in the stages of development the practitioner goes through in learning psychotherapy. The concepts of developmental psychology discussed by Chandler (7) in describing the adolescent's confrontation with relativism and "epistemological loneliness" can help us understand some of the cognitive problems faced by the psychiatry resident. …

A Brief Note On A Psychotherapeutic Technique Described By Glover And Its Application During Psychiatric Residency, Emanuel E. Garcia, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Few would dispute the existence of a general tendency to blame psychological ailments on physical problems. For example, we often attribute changes in mood to the somatic effects of the weather, irritability to diet, apathy to physical exhaustion, etc. How many of us can deny at some time having attempted to explain to our spouses that an outburst of temper was really the fault of our indigestion, let us say? Of course, our spouses are rather skeptical. And as psychiatrists we too preserve a skepticism towards the explanations of this kind which our patients so often provide. This is not …

The Ideal Psychiatry Training Program: A Resident's Viewpoint, James E. Deming, Jr., Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The journey between medical school graduation and specialty board certification in one's chosen field of medicine may comprise the most challenging, exciting and important times of a young professional's life. This journey is called residency education. While the most obvious objectives are cognitive education and practice in the field, trainees also face fundamental life challenges such as developing identity, intimacy and a direction for their own generative goals in the world.

Psychiatry residency should be viewed as a personal as well as professional developmental process (1). It contains all of the turbulence of adolescence revisited (2), where "normative crises" (3) …

War Of The Worlds Revisited: The Effect Of Watching "The Day After" On Mood State, David G. Daniel, Md, Frances Wolff, M.Ed., Maribeth Smith, Ma

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

In the fall of 1983, "The Day After," a fictional account of a nuclear attack on a civilian population, was broadcast on television in the United States and viewed by I00 million Americans . "The Day After" was said to differ from previous movie treatments of nuclear war by the vividness with which it forced its audience to experience the ground zero effects of a nuclear blast on human beings (I) . In what was described as "the most horrifically searing footage ever to pass a network censor,"the audience was shown "group immolation, a carnage of mass vaporization" and "graphic …

Beastly Beatitudes (1): The Case Of A Patient With Severe Borderline Personality Disorder, Paul D. Zislis, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The newspapers, tabloids, and novels are filled with it. So are the television shows and movies. Sensationalism. The public can' t get enough of it. A crazed killer stalks an innocent victim who is alone, isolated and helpless, and he brutally tortures her to death. Sound familiar? The case at hand is a fascinating one which, though perhaps surrounded by the trappings of such sensationalism, provides us with some insight into the inner workings of one patient 's tortured mind.

L-Deprenyl, A Selective Mao-B Inhibitor, Raymond W. Lam, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are now recognized as effective medications in the treatment of major depression (1). However, their clinical use has been limited by the risk of severe hypertensive reactions to oral tyramine challenge. Prevention of this so-called "cheese effect " requires adherence to diet restrictions that can lead to problems with patient compliance to MAOIs.

L-deprenyl is a selective MAO-B inhibitor that is reportedly free of the "cheese effect" (2). This review will discuss the clinical and theoretical importance of this interesting drug.

Treatment Of The Negative Symptoms Of Schizophrenia With Verapamil, William A. Price, Md, Dawn Heil

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

The illness of schizophrenia, as it is understood today, appears to consist of a heterogeneous group of disorders which share several common features, such as partial response to medications, poor long-term prognosis, and the presence of psychotic symptoms. These psychotic symptoms have been arbitrarily divided into two subgroups, positive and negative, in an attempt to better understand this disease process (1,2). The positive symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, generally have an acute onset with frequent exacerbations and remissions and a favorable long-term prognosis and response to medications. The negative symptoms, which include affective blunting , social withdrawal, apathy, and …

Masson's Assault On Truth: A Critique, Emmanuel E. Garcia, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

In his book, The Assault on Truth, j. M. Masson (I) proposes to challenge the very foundations of psychoanalysis by showing how Freud 's abandonment of the so-called seduction theory of the etiology of neurosis was erroneously predicated.

Masson's argument, in essence, may be summarized as follows. Freud, while studying with the eminent neurologist Charcot in Paris (from October 1885 to February 1886), found himself exposed to the prevalent horrors of ch ild abuse, which were copiously detailed in the French medical literature at the time, and which were very probably demonstrated to him at the …

A Review Of Ethnopsychiatric Studies Of Depression, Nancy E. Wilson, Ab, Daniel R. Wilson, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

One of the common goals in medical anthropology is to elucidate the significance of culture in determining health and thus clarify the complex biopsychosocial model to provide better, more appropriate care (I). Prominent among environmental influences is the society in which a person develops: and it is his position in this constellation of people, with their shared ethos and world view, which molds experience, cognition, and affect (2). Cultural meanings, norms, and power arrangements shape illness to a great degree by defining the sick role and consequent illness behaviors. Medical anthropology, as a discipline, has among its concerns the cultural …

Reflections On The Psychotherapy Of A Patient With Multiple Personality Disorder, David Fink, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Historically, the diagnosis of Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) has generated curiosity, fascination, skepticism, and disbelief. From the first reported cases in the early nineteenth century, controversy has abounded about the plausibility of the many dramatic manifestations of the illness, its pathogenesis, and appropriate approaches to its treatment (I). From the midst of scientific controversy and debate, a more refined conceptualization of the illness is being developed, particularly since the recent inclusion of the diagnosis in DSM-III (2). Noteworthy among these advances are the theories of pathogenesis described by Kluft (3), and Braun and Sachs (4) which …