Strategies of collaboration between general practitioners and psychiatrists: a survey of practitioners' opinions and characteristics.

Background: The description of collaboration models and the key underlying principles provide important information for designing services. However, to apply this broad corpus of information to clinical services and policymaking, we need to know which key principles (or strategies) of collaboration are the most accepted by local physicians.

Method: In this context, we designed a survey that included 2 objectives: 1) to collect the opinions of practising general practitioners (GPs) and psychiatrists in Montreal with respect to strategies for improving collaboration between these 2 groups and 2) to identify demographic and practice characteristics of those physicians associated with the acceptance of such strategies.

Social phobia treated as a problem in social functioning: a controlled comparison of two behavioural group approaches.

Objective: Treatments for social phobia result typically in significant anxiety and avoidance reduction; the repercussions in terms of social functioning, however, are not clear. This controlled study compared two approaches designed to improve the social functioning of social phobics.

Method: Sixty-eight socially phobic patients were randomly assigned to two treatments focused on improving interpersonal relationships either with or without social skills training or a waiting list; 60 completed treatment and 59 a 1-year follow-up.

Anxiety, significant losses, depression, and irrational beliefs in first-offence shoplifters.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship among demographic data, anxiety, significant losses, depression, and irrational beliefs reported by first-offence shoplifters.

Method: One hundred and six adult shoplifters who were first-time offenders completed a self-administered questionnaire.

Results: Men and women were equally likely to be arrested for this offence.

Effect of pre-conceptional external or internal irradiation of N5 male mice and the risk of leukemia in their offspring.

Male mice of the N5 strain were exposed to a unique external X-ray dose of 500 cGy, or to i.p. injections of tritiated water (HTO) over a 30 day period, which resulted in an estimated total internal exposure of 150 cGy.

The treatment of sexually dysfunctional men without partners: a controlled study of three behavioural group approaches.

Background: Models of sex therapy for sexual dysfunction in single men are available, but their value is not well established. This controlled study compared three approaches to the treatment of sexually dysfunctional single men.

Method: Sixty-nine single men diagnosed as sexually dysfunctional were randomly assigned to treatments focusing on either their sexual dysfunction, their interpersonal problems, a combination of both or a waiting list; 51 completed treatment and 50 the one-year follow-up.

Shoplifting and mental illness.

A survey of 1,649 shoplifting convictions at a Montreal area municipal court found that a relatively low percentage (3.2%) of the cases involved mentally ill patients and that there is a comparatively closer link between shoplifting and affective disorders, alcoholism and drug addiction. The survey also showed that shoplifting is related more to mental illness than to the use of psychotropic drugs.

[Research in psychiatry].

The department of psychiatry of the Université de Montréal has now organized a well structured research network in the area of child, adult and forensic psychiatry. The authors summarize the scientific approach according to research in these different sectors and believe that, although research in psychiatry now tends to promote diagnostic and treatment methods based more and more on neuro-sciences, it does not neglect the contribution of psychosocial and clinical aspects without which the human dimensions of mental illness and the objective of improvement of care to patients would be rapidly forgotten on behalf of disembodied research projects completely deprived of the relation with patients.

[Perceptions of mental illness in Quebec residents].

A transverse survey was conducted with 772 Quebecers in September 1992. Its purpose was to evaluate the level of awareness of the general public about mental illness, the general knowledge of these illnesses and their treatments and the attitudes towards mentally ill patients. Results show that half of the interviewed subjects still feel that they are not informed enough about mental illness and even well informed people have a poor general knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments.

[Influence of mass media on mental health].

The author summarizes different research findings which have evaluated the influence of the media on the mental health of children, adolescents and adults. After this review of the literature, strategies are proposed to improve the promotion of mental health in the media. Also the importance of collaboration between health professionals and broadcasters in this process is highlighted.

[Medical marketing in the media].

The mass-media monopolize an important part of the lay public attention and intellectual energy and yet physicians do not seem very convinced that they must implicate themselves socially and participate in the education of the general public. Two reasons explain the lack of physicians' participation in the media. These are: the lack of interest and the lack of experience.

The public image of psychiatrists.

The image of psychiatry is directly related to the knowledge that the public has of psychiatry and to the psychiatrists role as a "public informer". The time has come for psychiatrists to organize and have their opinions on all aspects of the mental health care system and mental illness heard in the media. After a review of different causes of the negative public image of psychiatrists, the reasons for which psychiatrists need to change their public image are outlined with some suggestions for increase public recognition.

[The young homeless of Montreal: a longitudinal study].

A transverse survey conducted in 142 young homeless (age: 18-30) shows that they mainly come from broken families where alcoholism, violence and mental illness hold an important place. Regarding work, the majority of the surveyed homeless have not worked more than 24 months in all their life and have nearly continuously been on welfare; those who had jobs lost them much more because of their alcohol or drug use and their problems of interpersonal relationships than because of unemployment. On a personal level, these young adults are particularly battling against two major problems: alcoholism and drug addiction, and mental illness.

Clinical phobias and avoidant personality disorder among alcoholics admitted to an alcoholism rehabilitation setting.

One hundred seventy-three abstinent patients were screened for phobias and avoidant personality disorder. Ninety-six patients were interviewed and diagnosed by two independent assessors who were in agreement on 74% of the diagnoses. In DSM-III terms, over half of the sample (51.

The use of mass media in mental health.

This paper summarizes the theoretical aspects and the experimental studies on the efficacy of mass media in mental health information campaigns. In theory, most authors agree to give mental health information to the lay public but they caution against the overestimation of the power of mass media. Regarding research on the use of mass media in mental health very few experimental studies have been published and they refer mainly to primary prevention with children.

Private exposure and covert sensitization in the treatment of exhibitionism.

The present report describes the treatment of a long standing exhibitionism case by covert sensitization and private exposure in front of his wife within an A-BC-B-BC-C single case experimental design. The therapeutic phase of the treatment lasted 10 weeks. Results show that the combination of covert sensitization and private exposure seems to be an interesting technique for married exhibitionists and their wives.