Effects of Scheduled Waiting for Psychotherapy in Patients With Major Depression.

The role of nonspecific factors in the outcome of psychotherapy is poorly understood. To study the effects of pretreatment expectancy of scheduled psychotherapy, we examined the effects of an agreed waiting time on the outcome of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Thirty-three treatment-naive outpatients with major depressive disorder were randomly selected to start psychotherapy either directly (DG; n = 17) or after waiting for 6 months (WG; n = 16).

Baseline symptom severity predicts serotonin transporter change during psychotherapy in patients with major depression.

Aims: The role of the serotonin transporter (SERT) in the pathophysiology of depression is unclear and only a few follow-up studies exist. Our aim was to measure changes in SERT availability during psychodynamic psychotherapy in patients with major depression over a follow-up time of 12 or 18 months.

Methods: The patients were studied with iodine-123 labelled 2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl) serial single-photon emission tomography imaging and clinical rating scales of symptoms.

Who benefits from clinical supervision and how? The association between clinical supervision and the work-related well-being of female hospital nurses.

Aim And Objectives: The aims of this study were (1) to identify which nurses benefitted most from clinical supervision and (2) to explore whether they were healthier and more satisfied with their work than their peers who did not attend clinical supervision.

Background: To maintain quality nursing, there is currently a social call to improve the well-being of nurses at work. Restoring nurses' well-being is one of the main purposes of clinical supervision.

Does clinical supervision promote medical-surgical nurses' well-being at work? A quasi-experimental 4-year follow-up study.

Aim: The aim of the present paper is to report results of a quasi-experimental study exploring the effects of clinical supervision (CS) on the development of medical-surgical nurses' well-being at work over a 4-year period.

Background: Effective workplace interventions are needed to prevent stress and burnout. More robust scientific evidence is needed to confirm the restorative effects of CS in nursing.

The patient-therapist interaction and the recognition of affects during the process of psychodynamic psychotherapy for depression.

The perceptions of patients (n = 25) and their therapists about psychodynamic psychotherapy for depression were assessed during the first treatment year using 23 scales. Patients and therapists independently evaluated the impact of depression on the therapeutic experience of the patients. The estimations of the impact of depression by the patients and therapists were concordant in the majority of the subjects, reflecting mutual tuning and a working alliance.

Stress relief or practice development: varied reasons for attending clinical supervision.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore the differences in the uptake of clinical supervision on the medical and surgical units of an acute hospital relating to the nurses' background and perceptions of their work and health.

Background: Considering the varied challenges of nursing in different specialities, the reasons for attending clinical supervision may also vary.

Methods: In 2003, a survey on work and health issues was conducted in a Finnish university hospital with a 3-year follow-up of the uptake of clinical supervision by the respondents.

Who attends clinical supervision? The uptake of clinical supervision by hospital nurses.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to identify which nurses decide to participate in clinical supervision (CS) when it is provided for all nursing staff.

Background: Clinical supervision is available today for health care providers in many organisations. However, regardless of evidence showing the benefits of CS, some providers decide not to participate in the sessions.

Serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region polymorphism and serotonin transporter binding in drug-naïve patients with major depression.

Aims: Both the serotonin transporter and its genetic regulation by the serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region have a role in the pathophysiology of depression. Most of the previous studies have found no influence of serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region allelic variation on serotonin transporter binding in healthy controls or patients with major depression. Due to the inconsistency of the previous findings, we compared single photon emission computed tomography imaging with the serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region genotype in patients with major depressive disorder.

Midbrain serotonin and striatum dopamine transporter binding in double depression: a one-year follow-up study.

Data on neurobiological differences between major depression (MD) and double depression (DD) are scarce. We examined the striatum dopamine (DAT) and midbrain serotonin transporter (SERT) binding of [123I] nor-beta-CIT in DD patients (n=8) and compared it to that in MD patients (n=11) and healthy controls (n=19). Drug-naïve patients and controls were imaged by single-photon emission computed tomography at baseline, and the patients also after one year of psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Changes in midbrain serotonin transporter availability in atypically depressed subjects after one year of psychotherapy.

Background: Psychotherapy is an effective treatment method for depression, but no differences in the psychotherapy response have been found between the subtypes of depression. The effect of psychotherapy on neurotransmitter transporter functions has never been recorded in depressed subjects.

Methods: Depressive outpatients (N=19) received psychodynamic psychotherapy for 12 months.

Reduced midbrain serotonin transporter availability in drug-naïve patients with depression measured by SERT-specific [(123)I] nor-beta-CIT SPECT imaging.

Earlier results have indicated that serotonin transporter (SERT) availability is altered in major depression. We examined SERT density with a more serotonin-specific ligand and with a larger number of patients than in previous studies. Twenty-nine antidepressant-naïve patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 19 healthy age- and sex-matched controls were studied with SPECT using [(123)I] nor-beta-CIT as a ligand.

Midbrain binding of [123I]nor-beta-CIT in atypical depression.

Background: Altered serotonin (SERT) and dopamine transporter (DAT) densities have been recorded in major depression. Atypical depression (ATD) has been suggested to be connected to decreased serotonergic transmission, but no studies have been published on the association between brain serotonin transporter density and ATD.

Methods: PATIENTS with depression (n=29) were divided into three groups according to DSM-IV criteria: atypically depressed, melancholic patients, and "undifferentiated" patients.

An outcome of psychodynamic psychotherapy: a case study of the change in serotonin transporter binding and the activation of the dream screen.

We explored the outcome of psychodynamic psychotherapy of a female patient with major depression using clinical evaluation and serotonin transporter (SERT) binding assessed with [123I]nor-beta-CIT SPECT. The psychotherapy process was analyzed with special emphasis on the change that was recognized in the dreaming process. The activation of the dream screen in transference seemed to form a turning point during the psychotherapy.

Elevated midbrain serotonin transporter availability in mixed mania: a case report.

Background: Results obtained from brain imaging studies indicate that serotonin transporter (SERT) and dopamine transporter (DAT) densities are altered in major depression. However, no such studies have been published on current mania or hypomania.

Case Presentation: In this single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) study with [123I]nor-beta-CIT we present a case with simultaneous symptoms of major depression and hypomania.

Dream screen phenomenon in psychotherapy and artistic work.

The aim of this article is to offer a point on the meaning of the dream screen phenomenon in psychotherapy and artistic work. Some current theories of early ego development, the formation of the dream screen and dream imagery seem to match the theories of symbol formation, artistic and literary creativity. In actual dreaming, the dream screen can exist in the form of empty sheets of paper, but also in the form of a landscape, hills or mountains.

Metabolic syndrome in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Our aim was to study the frequency of metabolic syndrome and associated factors in patients with schizophrenia.

Method: The study group consisted of 35 outpatients with long-term schizophrenia defined by DSM-IV criteria. Patients were assessed for the presence of metabolic syndrome, which was defined by the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program.

Partial remission in major depression: a two-phase, 12-month prospective study.

We conducted an interview-based survey to predict the clinical course of major depressive disorder during a follow-up period of 12 months. Altogether 86 patients were investigated. A SCID I interview for DSM-III-R axis-I diagnosis was conducted at baseline and a SCID II interview for personality disorders at the 6-month follow-up.