The importance of reflective functioning to the diagnosis of psychic structure.

Objective: This pilot study examines the connection between the concept of Fonagy and Target's reflective functioning and the structure axis of operationalized psychodynamic diagnostics (OPD) and assesses the potential of both scales to predict therapy success.

Method: In the study, 24 (female) patients of the psychotherapy ward of the Frankfurt University Hospital for psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy aged 18 to 55 were assessed on the basis of a 90-minute, semi-structured interview with regard to their capability for reflective functioning as well as with regard to their structural level according to OPD. In addition, the SCL-90-R was administered at the beginning and end of the 3-month in-patient therapy.

[Depersonalization, social phobia and shame].

Associations between depersonalization (DP) and social phobia (SP) were described in the early scientific literature. This connection, however, has not yet been considered in the recent empirical literature and clinical trials on SP. The aim of this study is to examine these associations.

[The validity of the depersonalisation-derealisation scale of the narcissism--inventory].

The German Narcissism-Inventory contains a 6-item scale for the assessment of depersonalization (DP) and derealization (DR). The validity of this scale (NI-DRP) was examined in comparison to the German version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (FDS) and the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS). The sample consists of 144 psychotherapy patients, of whom showed on the basis of a structured clinical interview n = 51 none, n = 45 mild, n = 28 moderate and n = 20 severe DP-DR.

The core conflictual relationship theme (CCRT) applied to literary works: an analysis of two novels written by authors suffering from anorexia nervosa.

Objective: Two literary works of authors suffering from anorexia nervosa were analyzed with the method of the core conflictual relationship theme (CCRT) to prove that novels and/or personal accounts may reveal the same maladaptive relationship patterns typically revealed in psychotherapy sessions with this nosologic group.

Method: Two novels were selected which promised applicability of the CCRT method due to the completeness of the described relationship episodes.

Results: After several methodologic adjustments, the application of the CCRT method revealed the different courses and developments of the novels.

Depersonalization and social anxiety.

Although the literature on depersonalization (DP) indicates links between DP and anxiety disorders, there has been no systematic investigation of the association of DP with social anxiety. The present study explores a hypothesized connection between DP and social anxiety by using correlative and regression analyses in a sample of 116 psychotherapy inpatients, 54 outpatients with epilepsy, and 31 nonpatients. Corresponding to our hypothesis, we found a connection of medium to large effect size between DP and social fears exceeding the impact of general psychopathologic symptom severity both for the psychotherapy patients and the nonpatients.

[Shame and social anxiety in anorexia and bulimia nervosa].

Objectives: The importance of shame for the understanding of eating disorders has been well-known for a long time, but only few empirical studies exist to date on this aspect. Particularly the sense of self-esteem and external appearance have been attributed a major influence in the emergence of shame. Since social anxiety has increasingly been considered to be a factor in recent discussions related to eating disorders, and shame is a primary symptom of social phobia and of social anxiety in general, the present study focuses on shame and social anxiety in anorexia and bulimia, as compared to other clinical disorders.

[Assessment of the depersonalization-derealization syndrome using the German version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale].

Objectives: The goal of this study is to investigate the applicability of the German adaptation of the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the "Fragebogen zu dissoziativen Symptomen (FDS)", for research on depersonalization (DP) and derealization (DR), and to elucidate the phenomenology of DP / DR.

Methods: 101 consecutively recruited inpatients were diagnosed with the German version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders for depersonalization/derealization. Furthermore, the FDS and the SCL-90-R were administered.

[The measurement of the depersonalisation-derealisation-syndrome with the German version of the Cambridge Depersonalisation Scale (CDS)].

Self-rating scales have proved to be essential in the study of depersonalisation, which regrettably, is still seldom recognised in clinical practice. In recent studies the Cambridge Depersonalisation Scale (CDS) has emerged as an useful instrument for the study of depersonalisation. Here we report a validation study of the authorised German version of the CDS in a sample of 91 inpatients, 43 of whom had pathological depersonalisation and 48 without pathological depersonalisation.

[Convergence of psychotherapeutic and neurobiological outcome measure in a patient with OCD].

We used psychotherapeutic measures and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess the effect of a combined psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral treatment of a patient suffering from a severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The clinical outcome was controlled by a detailed case description and psychometric test instruments. Intensive exploration of the patient made possible the creation of an idiosyncratic imagination paradigm suitable for fMRI.

[Group cohesion and defensive behavior in the course of inpatient group therapies].

This paper examines the connection between the therapy success, group cohesion and defence-formation during an inpatient psychoanalytically oriented group-therapy treatment. Over a period of one year, the Stuttgarter Bogen was given every third week after each therapy group. At the beginning and at the end of the three-month treatment, the patients were examined with the defence-mechanism computer test (Abwehrmechanismus-Computer-Test, ACT) and SCL-90-R.