Biomedical subjects

P G AuBuchon

Publications and source records attributed to P G AuBuchon.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

Obsessive compulsive patients with comorbid personality disorder: associated problems and response to a comprehensive behavior therapy.

BACKGROUND: The present study examined a group of patients who have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and certain comorbid personality disorders to provide data on types of clinical problems that complicate treatment. Data are presented on patient response to a comprehensive behavior therapy. METHOD: Forty-one consecutively referred, adult, nonpsychotic patients with OCD were evaluated independently by their attending psychiatrist and a consulting psychologist for presence of DSM-III-R personality disorder. Thirty-one of these patients, for whom there was 100% agreement on presence or absence of a comorbid personality disorder, participated in a course of comprehensive behavior therapy. OCD patients with comorbid personality disorder (OCD+PD) were compared with a group of OCD patients without comorbid personality disorder (nonPD OCD) on pretreatment and treatment-related variables. RESULTS: There was significantly high interrater reliability between psychiatrist and psychologist on diagnosis of personality disorder (p < .001). OCD+PD patients demonstrated poorer response to prior psychiatric treatments and greater psychosocial and psychiatric impairment at pretreatment than did nonPD OCD patients. The OCD+PD patients demonstrated a moderate response to comprehensive behavior therapy, but below that of nonPD OCD patients. OCD+PD patients were also rated as more difficult to treat, required more psychiatric hospitalizations during treatment, and were more likely to terminate behavior therapy prematurely than were nonPD OCD patients. CONCLUSION: In modest samples of OCD+PD patients (N = 26), and nonPD OCD patients (N = 5), this study found that OCD patients with personality disorder had greater psychopathology, fewer coping and living skills, and were more resistant to psychiatric treatment than the nonPD OCD patients. In addition, when treated with a comprehensive behavior therapy that focuses on other clinical problems in addition to the OCD symptoms, the OCD+PD patients had an enhanced response to treatment.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1993

Formulation-based treatment of a complex phobia.

This case study describes the treatment of a 22-year-old woman presenting with a complex balloon phobia. She was first treated by the empirically proven method of in vivo exposure and then by a course of behavior therapy based upon the case formulation. Although the exposure resulted in some decrease in phobic symptoms, the formulation-based treatment produced significantly greater clinical improvement in the phobia and also impacted other problem areas. Three-year follow-up data are provided.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Hospital-based behavior therapy services.

Behavior therapy has been underutilized in the private psychiatric hospital setting. A recent survey of member hospitals of the National Association of Private Psychiatric Hospitals (NAPPH) found that fewer than 25 percent of those surveyed provided behavior-therapy consultation for inpatients and fewer than 40 percent had a behavior therapist on staff (1). This situation is unfortunate because behavior therapy has made significant contributions to the mental health field, and the approach offers a research-based system of accountability and cost-efficiency. Moreover, behavior therapy is applicable to a wide range of psychiatric problems, and its methods and procedures provide a practical and effective complement or alternative to a patient's pharmacotherapy and insight-oriented psychotherapy. Clearly, behavior therapy has much to offer the private psychiatric hospital, and this contribution is gradually being recognized. This paper describes the development and growth of a behavioral-consultation and treatment program in a private psychiatric hospital.

Behavior Therapy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Menstrual cycle symptomatology: the role of social expectancy and experimental demand characteristics.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of experimental demand characteristics and social expectancies on the report and experience of presumed menstrual cycle-related moods and symptoms. Participating in the study were 18 healthy women with regular menstrual cycles who were randomly assigned to either a group told that menstrual cycle symptomatology was the focus of the study or a group to which no interest in menstrual cycle symptoms was communicated. Nine males were also included as a control group. Results indicated that women who were informed of the interest in menstrual cycle symptomatology reported significantly more negative psychologic and somatic symptoms at the premenstrual and menstrual phases than did the women and men not so informed. It appears, therefore, that the report of stereotypic menstrual cycle symptomatology is influenced by social expectancy and experimental demand characteristics.

Adolescent↗