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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1971

Death as an event: a commentary on Robert Morison.

1) We have no need to abandon either the concept of death as an event or the efforts to set forth reasonable criteria for determining that a man has indeed died. 2) We need to recover both an attitude that is more accepting of death and a greater concern for the human needs of the dying patient. But we should not contaminate these concerns with the interests of relatives, potential transplant recipients, or "society." To do so would be both wrong and dangerous. 3) We should pause to note some of the heavy costs of technological progress in medicine: the dehumanization of the end of life, both for those who die and for those who live on; and the befogging of the minds of intelligent and moral men with respect to the most important human matters.

Death↗
PubMed1976

Disaster at Buffalo Creek. Family and character change at Buffalo Creek.

Psychiatric evaluation teams used observations of family interaction and psychoanalytically oriented individual interviews to study the psychological aftereffects of the 1972 Buffalo Creek disaster, a tidal wave of sludge and black water released by the collapse of a slag waste dam. Traumatic neurotic reactions were found in 80% of the survivors. Underlying the clinical picture were unresolved grief, survivor shame, and feelings of impotent rage and hopelessness. These clinical findings had persisted for the two years since the flood, and a definite symptom complex labeled the "Buffalo Creek syndrome" was pervasive. The methods used by the survivors to cope with the overwhelming impact of the disaster--first-order defenses, undoing, psychological conservatism, and dehumanization--actually preserved their symptoms and caused disabling character changes.

Character↗
PubMed1982

Current issues in intensive psychotherapy.

Seven current critical areas in intensive psychotherapy are discussed. (1) Social polemics, centering around the conflict between the humanistic and individualizing thrust of intensive psychotherapy, and the dehumanization of our current dark age; (2) training, where the resident is caught in a dilemma between techniques stressing fast relief and the possibilities of longer intensive therapy that stand in stark contrast to these techniques; (3) fundamental philosophical choices on the part of every practitioner that various types of therapy require; (4) delineation of intensive psychotherapy primarily defined as a modified form of psychoanalysis; (5) establishing the methodology of psychoanalysis and its derivative discipline, intensive psychotherapy; (6) use of intensive psychotherapy as the treatment of choice for pre-Oedipal disorders, severe character disorders, borderline patients, and certain others, such as some schizophrenic patients; (7) the collision between certain irreconcilable views such as those of Kohut and Kernberg that forces further choices on the therapist. This latter unresolved area could be placed in perspective by appeal to ego psychology which, as in the work of Blanck and Blanck, and others, is still a viable alternative and forms a critical area of investigation.

Borderline Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1984

Computer-mediated psychotherapy: toward patient-selection guidelines.

The greatest obstacle currently slowing the progress of research in computer-mediated psychotherapy is the fact that unless the physicians using it truly believe in its effectiveness, even the most sophisticated computer technology will fail. The more complex the tasks, the less likely are people, including mental health professionals, willing to believe that computers can successfully carry them out. Many people fear the psychotherapy experience would be dehumanized by the introduction of computer technology. But the medium must not be confused with the message; the computer is simply an extension of the therapist, permitting one therapist to treat not just a few, but thousands of desperate patients. The current state of computer-mediated psychotherapy is such that this medium appears to be best suited to individual psychotherapy of a brief or focused nature, particularly the cognitive-behavioral therapies. The introduction of computer technology into psychotherapy offers the significant advantages of flexibility, consistency, and economy that would make psychotherapy more effective and more readily available to a much broader patient population than the one presently benefiting from such treatment. The preceding discussion has been an attempt to offer some practical guidelines for patient selection for computer-mediated psychotherapy based upon available investigations. As such, it is nevertheless incomplete and open to future revision. Considerable work remains to be done before definitive recommendations can be made, but it is hoped that these suggestions may prove helpful to clinicians working at the frontier of this new and exciting therapeutic medium.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1990

Regressive transferences--a manifestation of primitive personality organization.

Regressive transferences are but one manifestation of dynamic infantile and frequently unconscious fantasies seen in patients with a primitive personality organization. Such transference relationships may vary from an apparent profound unrelatedness to intense symbiotic dependencies. These transferences are primarily preoedipal and may include grandiose, persecuting, somatizing and dehumanized object experiences as well as narcissistic idealizing and denigrating selfobject formations. Three types of regressive transferences in patients with primitive personalities are described: primitive libidinal, transference automatism, and somatization. All three demonstrate symbolically meaningful but primarily unconscious primitive transference reenactments. Regressive transferences not only represent impulses seeking gratification but are also restitutive attempts for earlier losses and lack of self-cohesion. Patients with a primitive personality organization often have suffered early deprivations that bring about the formation of unstable internal representations. This makes acceptance of ambivalence and mourning difficult due to fear of ego dissolution caused by the aggression toward the self and others. Identification and exploration of shared intersubjective phenomena may facilitate conscious reconstruction and eventual interpretation of these regressive transferences.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

The therapeutic community: a critical reappraisal.

Any new concept or movement can be understood only when considered in light of the sociopolitical context in which it emerges. The authors critically assess the concept of the therapeutic community in such terms. They assert that the therapeutic community should be viewed as a protest movement itself, or as part of a greater protest against the dehumanizing conditions of mental hospitals in the early 20th century. As a protest movement it has achieved significant success. However, the author say, its therapeutic value has yet to be conclusively demonstrated and its practicability is also highly questionable. The authors suggest that the therapeutic community should be reassessed in light of changed social conditions, and a new and more pragmatic approach to organizing psychiatric hospitals be formulated.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

Oro-facial gangrene (noma/cancrum oris): pathogenetic mechanisms.

Cancrum oris (Noma) is a devastating infectious disease which destroys the soft and hard tissues of the oral and para-oral structures. The dehumanizing oro-facial gangrenous lesion affects predominantly children ages 2 to 16 years, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where the estimated frequency in some communities varies from 1 to 7 cases per 1000 population. The risk factors are poverty, malnutrition, poor oral hygiene, residential proximity to livestock in unsanitary environments, and infectious diseases, particularly measles and those due to the herpesviridae. Infections and malnutrition impair the immune system, and this is the common denominator for the occurrence of noma. Acute necrotizing gingivitis (ANG) and oral herpetic ulcers are considered the antecedent lesions, and ongoing studies suggest that the rapid progression of these precursor lesions to noma requires infection by a consortium of micro-organisms, with Fusobacterium necrophorum (Fn) and Prevotella intermedia (Pi) as the suspected key players. Additional to production of a growth-stimulating factor for Pi, Fn displays a classic endotoxin, a dermonecrotic toxin, a cytoplasmic toxin, and a hemolysin. Without appropriate treatment, the mortality rate from noma is 70-90%. Survivors suffer the two-fold afflictions of oro-facial mutilation and functional impairment, which require a time-consuming, financially prohibitive surgical reconstruction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

"Never again" stories of nurses: dilemmas in nursing practice.

The authors describe significant turning points immanent in "never again" stories that practicing nurses, having participated in previously, vowed not to allow to recur during future, similar situations. Nurses submitted written accounts of critical, "never again" situations. The authors used critical incident technique and employed Colaizzi's approach to reveal the essential structure. Patient outcomes were fatal, close calls, dehumanizing, or isolating. Never again stories incorporated ethical dilemmas, deficits in nurses' knowledge, lack of confidence in clinical abilities, and failure to act correctly. Patients' welfare was the center of accounts. Circumstances threatened patients' and family members' trust in nurses and other providers. Patients' wishes were denied because of haste, providers' arrogance, or providers' desire not to be inconvenienced. Nurses' emotions mirrored a sense of failed responsibility for patients. Regret was tempered by nurses' pledges. Critical incidents revealed dilemmas in which nurses' autonomous clinical practice was constrained by feelings of powerlessness.

Ethics, Nursing↗
PubMed1998

A spiritual response to the challenge of routinization: a dialogue of discourses in a Buddhist-initiated hospice.

The hospice vision of providing democratic and humane care of the dying needs to be operationalized in the "real world" of health care bureaucracies. It is at this interface between idealists and the demands of mainstream health care that hospice organizations experience compromise, diversion, and an ongoing threat to their singleness of purpose. This discussion explores this process of routinization through research findings on a hospice organization known as Karuna Hospice Service (KHS). Such findings suggest that, although this hospice inevitably defers to the bureaucratic demands of the system, KHS's spiritual discourse does offer some protection to the formalizing and dehumanizing demands of routinization. Such research findings are provided as a contribution to exploring and documenting the ways in which hospices are negotiating this difficult and important ideological challenge. It is argued that effectively meeting such a challenge is of central importance for the survival of the hospice movement.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities.

Moral agency is manifested in both the power to refrain from behaving inhumanely and the proactive power to behave humanely. Moral agency is embedded in a broader sociocognitive self theory encompassing self-organizing, proactive, self-reflective, and self-regulatory mechanisms rooted in personal standards linked to self-sanctions. The self-regulatory mechanisms governing moral conduct do not come into play unless they are activated, and there are many psychosocial maneuvers by which moral self-sanctions are selectively disengaged from inhumane conduct. The moral disengagement may center on the cognitive restructuring of inhumane conduct into a benign or worthy one by moral justification, sanitizing language, and advantageous comparison; disavowal of a sense of personal agency by diffusion or displacement of responsibility; disregarding or minimizing the injurious effects of one's actions; and attribution of blame to, and dehumanization of, those who are victimized. Many inhumanities operate through a supportive network of legitimate enterprises run by otherwise considerate people who contribute to destructive activities by disconnected subdivision of functions and diffusion of responsibility. Given the many mechanisms for disengaging moral control, civilized life requires, in addition to humane personal standards, safeguards built into social systems that uphold compassionate behavior and renounce cruelty.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

Contributions of engineering to the neurological sciences.

Engineering technology has made several important contributions to the basic and clinical neurological sciences. However, technology has been criticized for dehumanizing patient care and for escalating the cost of medical care. We review several areas where engineering technology has advanced neuroscientific knowledge and improved the care of neurologically ill and impaired and also areas where significant contributions may be expected. Some of the problems of technological innovation such as cost, equipment failure, and standardization are discussed. The importance of focusing on ethical issues raised by technological progress is pointed out. Some suggestions are made for furthering the applications of technology to the neurological sciences.

Biomedical Engineering↗
PubMed1992

Helping Holocaust survivors with the impact of illness and hospitalization: social work role.

Illness and hospitalization can trigger intense reactions for Holocaust survivors and their families which derive from the brutal and dehumanizing experiences they endured during World War II. Some characteristic problems and reactions to illness and hospital care they and their families experience are reviewed, as are indicated social work interventions based on crisis theory.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Recovery and empowerment for people with psychiatric disabilities.

In this paper the concept of recovery from major mental illness and the empowerment process are explored. Subjective experiences from the author's own journey of recovery from mental illness as well as others are explored. The concept of recovery as a journey, not a destination or "cure" is emphasized. It is noted that one must recover not only from mental illness, but also from internalized stigma, low expectations and dehumanizing clinical practices. Suggestions for the clinical practitioner who wishes to support the recovery and empowerment process are also given.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2005

Struggles between the body and machine: the paradox of living with a home haemodialysis machine.

This study explored the life-world of individuals being treated for end stage renal disease with a home haemodialysis machine (HHDM). A phenomenological framework was employed to gain an understanding of the lived-body in relation to the HHDM in order to assist in the planning of future social work interventions. A purposive sample of three participants who had each experienced various lengths of HHDT, were interviewed using two semi-structured in-depth interviews, one week apart. Interviews were conducted at a place of the participant's choice. Participants were asked to speak about their experience of HHDT and how it related to their bodily experience. The findings were interpreted using interpretive phenomenological analytic methods. The central theme that arose from the data was "Struggles between the body and machine". This theme spoke to paradoxical dilemma of living with a life saving machine that you have no control over. Implications suggest that the machine's tendency to be personified, means that it be considered as family member in social assessment. Emotional support to patients should acknowledge the machines dehumanizing tendencies and as well as the issue of its personification. Finally, a patients unmet needs may turn to subversion if not addressed by staff, suggesting that a systematic process to empower patients be established.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2002

Henri Tajfel's 'cognitive aspects of prejudice' and the psychology of bigotry.

This paper pays tribute to Tajfel's classic article 'Cognitive aspects of prejudice' and re-examines its central arguments. Tajfel's paper is important for outlining a social cognitive approach to the study of prejudice and also for refuting of what Tajfel called the 'blood-and-guts' approach. Taking Tajfel's proposition that social psychology is not value-free, the current paper examines the moral and political view of 'Cognitive aspects' and also the gaps in its approach to the study of prejudice. It is suggested that this cognitive approach has difficulty in accounting for extreme bigotry, at least without recourse to the motivational themes that the approach seeks to exclude. In particular, there would be limitations in applying this approach in order to understand the Holocaust. Indeed, Tajfel did not attempt to do so, for reasons that are discussed. Tajfel's Social Identity Theory (SIT) has similar limitations. The paper also examines Tajfel's use of the term 'depersonalization', which he described as a 'milder' form of dehumanization of out-groups. Later social identity theorists have tended to use 'depersonalization' differently, shifting their attention to in-groups. Their perspective moves away from understanding the topic of prejudice in the way that can be found in Tajfel's 'Cognitive aspects of prejudice'. Finally, the present paper suggests how extreme prejudice might be studied without returning to the motivational 'blood-and-guts' approach that Tajfel so cogently criticized.

Cognition↗
PubMed1999

Protecting the social body: use of the organism metaphor in fighting the "menace of the feebleminded".

Although persons with developmental disabilities living in the United States have been treated in a pejorative manner at various times throughout the nation's history, the eugenics era (1900-1930) stands out as a time when such individuals-then referred to as "feebleminded"--were subject to particularly extreme indignities. Numerous methods of dehumanizing such persons were employed during this era. Of special significance was the use of the organism metaphor, whereby the "unfit" members of society were compared to a parasite, cancer, virus, or plague infecting the social body. The use of rhetoric advancing the organism metaphor in eugenic writing is described in this paper as is the effect that such rhetoric had on the societal response to such persons.

Eugenics↗
PubMed1999

The origins and evolution of bioethics: some personal reflections.

Bioethics was officially baptized in 1972, but its birth took place a decade or so before that date. Since its birth, what is known today as bioethics has undergone a complex conceptual metamorphosis. This essay loosely divides that metamorphosis into three stages: an educational, an ethical, and a global stage. In the educational era, bioethics focused on a perceived "dehumanization" of medicine by the rising power of science and technology. Remedies were sought by introducing humanities, ethics, and human "values" into the medical curriculum. Ethics was one among the humanistic disciplines, but not the dominant one. In the second era, ethics assumed a dominant role as ever more complex dilemmas emerged from the rapid pace of biological research. As such dilemmas were applied to medical practice, the need for a more rigorous and more formal analysis of their moral status was clear. Philosophically-trained ethicists had an obvious role. They began to teach, write, and profoundly influence medical education and practice. In the third -- and present -- period, the breadth of problems has become so broad that ethicists must, themselves, draw on disciplines well beyond their expertise -- e.g., law, religion, anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and the like. The era of bioethics as a global enterprise is upon us. The original hope for humanizing medicine has not been overtly successful; however, much has been accomplished of value to patients, the profession, and society. Medical morality has been transformed into a formal, systematic study of a whole range of issues of the greatest significance to humanity. Now the major challenge is one of identity, or inter-relationships and connections between the theoretical and the practical. Bioethics has outgrown its beginnings.

Academies and Institutes↗
PubMed2003

Sanctioned social violence: a psychoanalytic view. Part II.

This paper is the second in a series of two papers. In Part I, the first paper, the author reviewed the influence on the development of socially sanctioned violence of psychodynamics of group psychology and mass psychology, the regressive pull of ideologies, personality features of social and political leadership, and historical trauma and social crises. In this Part II, the author explores, from a psychoanalytic perspective, the dehumanization processes related to fundamentalist ideologies and terrorism.

Culture↗