Psychopathology
2011
Martin Bürgy
The phenomena which were grouped together by Kurt Schneider to constitute the ego disturbances have always been of particular diagnostic relevance for schizophrenia. The manner in which these symptoms are described and distinguished from other psychopathological symptoms has generally been rather imprecise. The introduction of phenomenological methods into the field of psychiatry led to...
Psychopathology
2011
Giovanni Stanghellini, Massimo Ballerini
This is a critical review of research on the subjective experience of social dysfunction in persons with schizophrenia. Studies from the phenomenological and cognitive paradigms are examined, and significant outcomes and shortcomings are pointed out. Clinical phenomenologists have mainly interpreted schizophrenic dissociality as an anomaly of prereflexive attunement. The main shortcoming of...
Psychopathology
August 25, 2010
Mads G Henriksen, Borut Škodlar, Louis Sass et al.
Background: Autistic traits and perplexity are considered core features of schizophrenia in phenomenological psychiatry. They express a fundamental disturbance of the self-world relation (including disturbances of self and intersubjectivity). The aim of our study was to examine this disturbance by exploring in detail how autism and perplexity are experienced subjectively. Methods: It is a...
Psychopathology
February 10, 2010
Frances Klemperer
Intrusive, uncontrollable and bizarre thoughts occur in both obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and psychosis. The origin of these mental phenomena and the relationship between them is unclear. A case is described in which long-standing compulsions and the associated resistance temporarily developed the characteristics of command hallucinations, in the absence of any other psychotic symptoms....
Psychopathology
February 9, 2010
Bernd Frank, Erich Lorenzoni
21 citations
Phantom limb sensations in the waking state and in dreams were examined in 84 limb-amputated patients. These phenomena were divided into complete, reduced, intermittent and nonexisting phantom limb. Common features as well as differences between the phantom limb in the waking state and in dreams were characterized and illustrated by casuistics and dream reports. Thus it was shown that nearly...
Psychopathology
February 9, 2010
S.B. Unnithan, J.C. Cutting
Eighteen patients admitted to a drug dependency unit for opiate detoxification and who had recently used cocaine were asked to describe the experience based on a questionnaire. A comparison was made with 18 schizophrenic patients who completed the same questionnaire. Results showed a qualitative difference in the subjective phenomena described by the two groups. There appeared to be certain...
Psychopathology
2010
Thomas Fuchs
The establishment of criteriological diagnostic systems since the 1980s has increased the reliability of psychiatric diagnosis. On the other hand, the limits of this approach for clinicians and researchers are becoming increasingly apparent. In particular, the assessment of subjective experience is nearly excluded on the theoretical level and undervalued on the pragmatic level, with detrimental...
Psychopathology
May 16, 2009
Erika Szily, Szabolcs Kéri
Background: Help-seeking young people often display depressive symptoms. In some patients, these symptoms may co-exist with clinically high-risk mental states for psychosis. The aim of this study was to determine differences in subjective experience and social perception in young depressed patients with and without psychosis risk. Methods: Participants were 68 young persons with major...
Psychopathology
2009
Barnaby Nelson, Louis Sass, Borut Škodlar
The early intervention movement for treatment of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders has extended to include pharmacological and psychological treatment of putatively prodromal (or 'ultra-high risk') patients. The psychotherapy that has been trialed to date is cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT), due to its apparent success with patients with established psychotic disorder and its current...
Psychopathology
2008
Barnaby Nelson, Louis Sass
24 citations
While considerable research attention has been devoted to the causal relationship between substance use and psychosis, the phenomenology of the association between the two has largely been ignored. This is a significant shortcoming, because it blinds researchers to the possibility that there may be elements of the subjective experience of substance use and psychosis that contribute to their...
Psychopathology
2008
Roland Zahn, Jochen Talazko, Dieter Ebert
Philosophers define the 'minimal self' as the immediate awareness of being the agent and owner of one's actions and perceptions. Here, we describe a patient with a selective loss of one part of this 'minimal self', namely the immediate sense of self-ownership for perceptions of objects. In contrast, his sense of self-ownership for body perceptions and for self-agency during actions remained...
Psychopathology
2006
E.J. Barkus, J. Stirling, R.S. Hopkins et al.
Objective: Recent studies have suggested that cannabis use is a risk factor for developing schizophrenia. We tested the hypothesis that cannabis use increases the likelihood of psychosis-like experiences in non-clinical participants who scored highly on a measure of schizotypy. Method: The psychological effects of cannabis were assessed in 137 healthy individuals (76% female, mean age 22 years)...
Psychopathology
2005
Benedetto Farina, Maurizio Ceccarelli, Massimo Di Giannantonio
The French psychiatrist Henri Ey developed his organo-dynamic theory of the mind function and consciousness 50 years ago incorporating Hughling Jackson's thinking, along with psychiatric and philosophical theorizations by Janet and Bergson. This model has not received the attention it deserved, but recent advances in neuroscience rekindled interest for Ey's theory. By overcoming the Cartesian...
Psychopathology
2005
Josef Parnas, Peter Handest, Lennart Jansson et al.
Our research group has for several years conducted philosophically informed, phenomenological-empirical studies of morbid alterations of conscious experience (subjectivity) in schizophrenia (Sz) and its spectrum of disorders. Some of these experiential alterations constitute, in our view, the vulnerability markers to Sz – indicators that are intrinsic to this disorder and which were...
Psychopathology
2004
Carlo Maggini, Andrea Raballo
Abnormal neuropsychological and cognitive functions in nonpsychotic relatives of schizophrenics are currently the subject of intense interest, mainly because of attention being focused again on the theoretical construct of schizotaxia. Contextually, in recent years the issues of subjective experiences have once again become central and respectable topics in psychopathological research. Among...
Psychopathology
2002
Carlo Maggini, Andrea Raballo, Paola Salvatore
The purpose of this study is to examine the classic psychopathologic notion of depersonalization in the light of the Basic Symptom paradigm. A sample of 57 chronic schizophrenics was cross-sectionally assessed with the Bonn Scale for the Assessment of Basic Symptoms (BSABS) and contextually with specific scales testing positive, negative, depressive and alexithymic dimensions. In order to...
Psychopathology
2002
Thomas Fuchs
The paper illustrates the present role of phenomenological psychopathology by outlining its methods and focusing on some of its major issues: embodiment or body scheme, intentionality, time consciousness and intersubjectivity. The application of these categories to the analysis of psychotic disorders is demonstrated. Special emphasis is given to the relationship between phenomenology and...
Psychopathology
January 2001
P Møller
Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) might affect the course and treatment outcome in schizophrenia significantly. Looking for potential determinants of DUP, researchers have mostly assessed the initial untreated psychosis in terms of plain duration, not developmental content. The present study provides empirical contributions to the discussion of phenomenal continuity throughout the entire...
Psychopathology
1997
Nimrod Grisaru, Danny Budowski, Eliezer Witztum
The article describes a cultural pattern related to altered states of consciousness, observed amongst new immigrants from Ethiopia to Israel. The belief in possession by Zar spirits is one of the most common possession phenomena in Africa and in other continents. Possession by Zar is expressed by a wide range of behaviors, such as involuntary movements, mutism and incomprehensible language....
Psychopathology
1996
M J Cuesta, V Peralta, I Irigoyen
The Frankfurt Complaint Questionnaire (FCQ) is a self-assessment instrument designed to evaluate the subjective experiences (SE) of psychotic patients. It is composed of 98 yes-no items grouped in ten phenomenological subscales. The original validation of the FCQ included a factor analysis with a four-factor structure. No further studies of factor validity have been carried out. The present...
Psychopathology
1995
W E Platz, F A Oberlaender, M L Seidel
In a qualified detoxication, states of anxiety caused by hallucinations can be specifically assimilated and psychologically reduced. Knowledge of the hallucinations experienced promotes the subsequent motivation phase. A semistandardized investigation of 64 patients with alcohol-induced delirium tremens was carried out over a period of 14 months in order to establish the nature of their...
Psychopathology
1978
Moises Lemlij
2 citations
Although it has been known for many years that hallucinogenic drugs are used by witch doctors in the Peruvian jungles for therapeutic purposes, there have been no descriptions of their use. We studied one type of treatment carried out in groups of about 10 to 12 ‘patients’, where the healer makes a magical diagnosis and provides a potion, usually ayahuasca (active hallucinogenic agent: harmine)...