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Biomedical subjects

A Frances

Publications and source records attributed to A Frances.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Behavior therapy for panic disorder.

Eleven patients who met DSM-III criteria for panic disorder were treated with behavior therapy techniques. Seven patients had mixed phobic avoidance and none were agoraphobic; three had no phobic symptoms. Mean duration of symptoms was 3.4 years. Treatment lasted a mean of 14 weeks and consisted of 1) education about physiology and management of panic symptoms; 2) relaxation, abdominal breathing, and cognitive anxiety management skills; and 3) imaginal and in vivo exposure. Upon termination of treatment, 10 of 11 patients were panic-free and six of seven mixed phobics showed complete remission or significant improvement of phobias. Follow-up data revealed excellent stability of remission. Clinical implications for the use of behavior therapy for panic disorder and directions for future research are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Stability and distinctness of borderline personality disorder.

In a 3-year follow-up study the authors examined the diagnostic stability of borderline personality disorder over time, its relation to affective disorder, and the severity of functional impairment. The data support the usefulness of borderline personality disorder as a diagnostic construct.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Do psychotherapies have specific effects?

The authors provide a critical review of the evidence from psychotherapy outcome research for and against the assumption that specific techniques produce specific effects. They describe the refinement in research and methodology that will be necessary to document specific effects.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1985

Axis II personality disorders: diagnostic and treatment issues.

The placement of personality disorders on a separate axis in DSM-III reflects increased interest in their diagnosis and treatment and encourages clinicians to consider the effects of personality style on axis I clinical syndromes. In this review of axis II personality disorders, the authors discuss methodological issues related to the diagnosis of all personality disorders, review the use of various treatment modalities, and present current issues and controversies related to specific personality disorders. They urge that any revision of DSM-III incorporate more reliable and clinically meaningful criteria, perhaps substituting a multidimensional classification system for the current categorical model.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1985

Discriminant validity of the MMPI for borderline personality disorder.

This study explores the discriminant validity of the MMPI in relationship to the DSM-III and the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB) constructs of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). A two-way analysis of variance model assessed differences between inpatients (n = 42) and outpatients (n = 42) and between BPD and nonBPD patients. We compare the best discriminant model for the current samples with previous BPD discriminant functions. The present study assesses a wider range of psychopathology in which the MMPI appears to be relatively insensitive to the BPD construct while retaining the high specificity reported in previous studies. Implications for the use of the MMPI as a diagnostic instrument are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The MCMI as a measure of DSM-III.

The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) has been interpreted as a measure of DSM-III disorders. However, the MCMI was constructed and validated primarily as a measure of Millon's (1969, 1981) taxonomy, not DSM-III. Comparison of the two taxonomies and examination of the MCMI's content validity for two of the MCMI scales indicate only a partial congruence between the Millon and DSM-III taxonomies. There has been no published empirical research concerning the relationship between the MCMI and DSM-III, and the derivation and cross-validation research for the MCMI scales employed Millon's taxonomy and not DSM-III. It is suggested that until such data have been presented one should be cautious in one's interpretation of the MCMI as a measure of DSM-III disorders.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1985

Peripheral edema associated with trazodone: a report of ten cases.

Ten depressed patients treated with trazodone developed edema and weight gain that was promptly reversed by reduction or discontinuation of trazodone. This suggests a dose-dependent effect. None of the patients had an active medical problem that might predispose to edema formation. Summary data on all 10 cases and three case histories are presented to alert physicians to this side effect.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Diagnostic efficiency and DSM-III.

This study critiques and extends the DSM-III use of fixed and explicit criteria by applying principles and statistics common within actuarial decision theory (eg, conditional probabilities). The value and limitations of sensitivity and specificity rates are discussed and compared with an interesting but rarely used statistic, positive predictive power. The statistics and analyses provided herein also provide an empirical method for developing diagnostic criteria and determining when and how the DSM-III cutoff points might be adjusted, recognize the importance of base rates and utilities to efficient diagnosis, and provide an explicit, quantitative means by which to make optimal differential diagnoses and to make use of the overlap among psychiatric diagnoses. The issues are illustrated in the differential diagnosis of the Borderline Personality Disorder, but they have a relevance to the development and application of the other DSM-III diagnoses.

Borderline Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1984

The structural interview method for diagnosing borderline disorders: a critique.

The authors discuss difficulties in the assumptions that underlie Kernberg's Structural Interview method for diagnosing borderline personality organization and demonstrate methodological limitations in the studies that have reported results from its use. Further data analysis leads to the conclusion that, in the population studied, the Structural Interview diagnosis of borderline personality disorders is essentially equivalent to the clinical diagnosis of the presence of any personality disorder. A predictive formula to determine the presence or absence of clinically diagnosed personality disorder is derived using logistic regression.

Borderline Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1984

Countertransference in focal psychotherapy.

The authors discuss the role and development of countertransference in brief psychotherapy. Factors inherent to the goals, setting and techniques of brief therapy appear to undercut the development of a regressive countertransference. The countertransference phenomena that seem to be more prevalent in brief treatment are those stemming from the reality-based response of the therapist to the patient. The impact of these factors on patient selection and treatment outcome in brief therapy are discussed.

Countertransference↗
PubMed1984

Involutional melancholia revisited.

In this study, 31 patients with involutional-onset major depression had significantly more somatization and hypochondriasis and less loss of libido, guilt, suicidal intent, and family history of depression than 60 patients with an earlier onset. Regardless of age at onset, patients over age 50 had more agitation, initial insomnia, and hypochondriasis than those under 50. These findings suggest that clinical characteristics of patients with unipolar endogenous depression may be influenced by age at both onset and time of current episode. Although there is insufficient evidence to view involutional melancholia as a separate clinical entity, further research into the genetic and biochemical basis of late-onset depression is warranted.

Adult↗