Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for seasonal affective disorder: a pilot study.

Background: The best available treatment for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is light therapy. Yet, this treatment does not prevent recurrence of depression in subsequent seasons. The aim of the study is to gain preliminary insight in the efficacy of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in the prevention of SAD recurrence.

Children's opinions about organ donation: a first step to assent?

Background: Parents have to decide about organ donation after the death of their child. Although most parents probably would like to respect their child's intentions, parents often are not aware of their child's wishes. This requires insight into children's opinions about donation.

Ethological approaches to psychiatric disorders: focus on depression and schizophrenia.

Behavioural observation of psychiatric patient groups using ethological methodology has never been a mainstream approach in psychiatry. In the present review article it is argued that the assessment of non-verbal behaviour in psychiatric disorders has much to offer to clinicians. Based on a Medline survey, the literature on ethological observation of patients with depression and schizophrenia was reviewed.

Nonverbal communication sets the conditions for the relationship between parental bonding and the short-term treatment response in depression.

The role of parental bonding and nonverbal communication in the short-term treatment response was investigated in 104 depressed outpatients. At baseline patients completed the Parental Bonding Instrument. We registered the nonverbal involvement behaviour of patients and interviewers from video recordings of baseline clinical interviews and calculated the convergence between patient-interviewer behaviour over the interview.

Explaining inconsistent results in cancer quality of life studies: the role of the stress-response system.

This study tests the hypothesis that avoidance and intrusion play different roles in health-related quality of life (QoL) in women who have undergone breast cancer surgery. We assessed QoL (RAND-36), avoidance, intrusion, and total cancer-related distress (Impact of Event Scale) in 83 women at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after mastectomy. Social functioning and role limitations improved over time; physical functioning, general health, and mental health did not change; vitality initially improved followed by a decrease to a below initial level; physical pain initially improved followed by a decrease to an above initial level.

Stressful life events as a link between problems in nonverbal communication and recurrence of depression.

Background: Interpersonal difficulties and stressful life events are important etiological factors in (recurrence of) depression. This study examines whether stressful life events mediate the influence of problems in nonverbal communication on recurrence of depression.

Methods: We registered nonverbal expressions of involvement from videotaped behavior of 101 remitted outpatients and their interviewers.

Lack of association between conversation partners' nonverbal behavior predicts recurrence of depression, independently of personality.

High neuroticism and low extraversion are related to depression and its recurrence. We investigated whether nonverbal involvement behavior during social interaction is one of the factors via which these relations are effectuated. We measured nonverbal expressions of involvement from videotaped behavior of remitted depressed outpatients (n=101) and their conversation partners, and assessed self-reported neuroticism and extraversion scores.

Nonverbal behavioral similarity between patients with depression in remission and interviewers in relation to satisfaction and recurrence of depression.

Unsatisfying interpersonal relationships are involved in the onset and course of depression. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. In this study we investigated the nonverbal communication between 101 patients with remitted depression and interviewers.

Cognitive, physiological, and personality correlates of recurrence of depression.

Background: The risk of recurrence in depressive disorder is high and increases with the number of episodes. We investigated whether individuals with a history of recurrent depression deviate from individuals with a single episode, as regards risk-related variables in 3 different domains of depression research.

Methods: Participants were 102 outpatients with major depressive disorder remitted from an episode (60 recurrent, 42 nonrecurrent).

Non-verbal interaction involvement as an indicator of prognosis in remitted depressed subjects.

Fifty-one remitted depressed inpatients and their interviewers were observed during a conversation. We investigated whether non-verbal behavioral elements indicative of involvement displayed by the remitted patients and/or their interviewers were predictive of depressive symptoms 6 months later. Involvement behavior of the patients appeared to be related to future complaints; the lower the level of involvement displayed, the more unfavorable the outcome.