Object representation quality, therapeutic alliance, and psychotherapy process.

This is the first study to demonstrate the existence of a relationship between patient pretreatment object relations functioning as measured by the Mutuality of Autonomy (MOA) Scale and patient-rated therapeutic alliance. Specifically, MOA scores were related to a patient-rated alliance Bond score (lower, more adaptive object-relations representations were associated with a stronger alliance). In addition, higher MOA scores indicating more malevolent object relations were related to a greater use of psychodynamic techniques.

The family roles of siblings of people diagnosed with a mental disorder: heroes and lost children.

In order to cope with the diagnosis of mental illness in a family member, siblings may be forced to adjust their roles in the family. Taking into account the crucial role that some siblings play in caregiving for the mentally ill especially when the parents are no longer available, it is imperative to develop awareness of their unique needs and address them. Thirty-three adult siblings of people diagnosed with a mental disorder completed the Role Behaviour Inventory (RBI) and a general questionnaire including open-ended questions regarding the roles they played in their families of origin.

Therapeutic interaction with an older personality disordered patient.

This study reflects an assessment of the relationship between change in defensive functioning and change in the therapeutic interaction during an eight-year treatment episode of an older personality disordered woman. The patient, Ms. Q, possessed schizoid, avoidant, and depressive personality disorders as well as major depression as assessed by the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III).

Siblings of people diagnosed with a mental disorder and posttraumatic growth.

This study examines the potential for posttraumatic growth (PTG) for siblings of persons diagnosed with a mental disorder. Using the posttraumatic growth Inventory we compared siblings (N = 33) with a comparison group of participants who did not experience trauma (N = 30). Our group of participants who had a sibling diagnosed with a mental disorder by a mental health professional (N = 33) reported higher PTG scores with mostly large effect sizes on most of the inventory subscales.