Das Leugnen der Tat bei der Entscheidung über die Aussetzung der Reststrafe

The article is about the question whether or not a convicted person can be released on probation even though they are denying their offence. According to German Criminal Law, release on probation must be considered (by a special chamber of the court, “Chamber of Execution”; same question for any kind of Parole Board in other countries) in every case as soon as two thirds of the sentence are served, regardless the convicted person does or does not confess their offence. Using a case example, the article will show as to how the convict’s denial becomes a meaningful fact in the decision-making process. Besides referring to certain conclusions about criminal prognosis following from denying – which of course is a main issue with the decision about release, often valued by the help of expert testimony –, the focus will be set on the judicial framework around this question: Does the law give provisions on how to deal with denial, and how does the principle “nemo tenetur” (nobody has to charge themselves, harm their defence, nor give evidence against themselves) impact the considerations?     

Die Vielfalt der Persönlichkeit—Gefährdung der Einheit der Person?

Uniformity against manifold faces of a personality are manifest presentations of a supposed underlying person (subjectum) as its synthetic-cohesive potential. The association-psychology of the 19th century brought forward the concept of dissociation, which allows to interpret a broad spectrum of phenomena between adaptive functioning (salutary) and maladaptive, dysfunctional phenomena of psychopathology: it opens a dimensional perspective which includes dissociative identity disorder, dissociative trance disorder, borderline-pathologies and the most severe forms of ego/self-dissociation, -fragmentation in schizophrenic disorders.     

Sándor Ferenczi und der Institutionskonflikt der Psychoanalyse

By the foundation of the International Psychoanalytical Association by Freud, Jung and Ferenczi the “psychoanalytic movement” joined into regulated tracks. Thus, the project “Psychoanalysis”, a project in the spirit of the “Aufklärung”, which had prescribed itself to individualistic autonomy, got into breach. In this contribution the reasons are reflected in regard to the establishment as non-university science and the threat of marginalization. They objected Freud’s pretension of influence and belonging. It is unclear why it was explicitly Sándor Ferenczi who was designated to be the precursor of that foundation. He was initially a critical opponent of Freud’s thoughts. His biography illustrates that the institutionalization of psychoanalysis happened too early and that this brought scientific isolation and personal distress over his life when, at the end of his life, he strived for emanzipation in his relationship to Freud.     

„Krise der Medizin“ – Modelle der Reform

In the 1920s and early 1930s there was a heated debate about the importance of the natural sciences for medicine. Prominent physicians, such as Ferdinand Sauerbruch and Wilhelm His in Germany or Richard Cabot and Charles-Edward Amory Winslow in the USA criticized clinical practices, medical education and research for placing too much focus on the natural sciences and the somatic correlates of human disease and for neglecting the psychological and social dimensions. In spite of a similar diagnosis of the problem, the consequences drawn differed considerably between the German and US contexts: in Germany first steps towards the institutionalization of the new field of psychotherapy and psychosomatic medicine and, in parallel, a consolidation of previously existing approaches of complementary medicine were developed, whereas in the USA the discussions led to the introduction and strengthening of social sciences in medicine, particularly in the field of public health. This article reconstructs the historical debate as well as the proposed models of reform and discusses potential implications for present-day medicine.     

Zwischen der „Physik des Organischen” und der „Organisierung der Physik”: Überlegungen zu Gegenstand und Methode der Biologie

Between Physics of Organism and Organismic Physics: Object and Method of Biology. In the history of biological theory one can observe an oscillation between two tendencies of thinking, namely the biologistic and the physicalistic point of view. Both aim at a general or unified theory of nature that is relevant for scientific research as well as for philosophical reflection. In terms of a pluralistic approach these two ways of theory-formation must be rejected. Biology e.g. as a specific natural science, characterized by its mid-position between ‘nomothetic’ and ‘idiographic’ thinking (Windelband), is much more than a subordinate branch of physical knowledge. This very autonomy of biology does not only result from a special methodology or from a specific theoretical framework. On the contrary, the methodological and functional autonomy of biology is due to the very features of the phenomena investigated. These features include multitude, individuality and wholeness. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

F?rderung der Gesundheit und der psychosozialen Selbstwirksamkeit bei Langzeitarbeitslosen

Background

The development of appropriate preventive measures aimed at the promotion of psychosocial capabilities and health behavior is based on the recognition that unemployment is associated with many physical, psychological and social problems.

Objective

A group program ??promotion of health and psychosocial self-efficacy in long-term unemployed?? was developed and investigated with respect to the effectiveness by a study group at the Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine of the University of Rostock. The study was part of a project funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).

Methods

During the period from October 2009 to April 2010 the group program was implemented in 5 different groups and the sample included a total of 35 persons. To examine the effectiveness of the program the participants had to complete standardized questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of the program. Information as to what extent the unemployed suffer from mental stress was collected via the brief symptom inventory (BSI; Franke 2000). The questionnaire on resources and self-management skills (FERUS; Jack 2007) was applied to analyze the capabilities and the self-management skills of the participants.

Results

The unemployed subjects reported lower levels of aggressiveness and paranoid thinking (distrust) after their participation in the program. Regarding the self-management skills the participants improved their coping skills, self-instructions skills and also felt more hopeful with regard to their current environment and the future.

Conclusions

A systematic support of unemployed people regarding coping with the psychosocial problems associated with unemployment seemed to be important. The use of low structured group programs is a good possibility to implement them in different contexts with relatively few resources.     

Perestrojka der Philosophie?

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Belastungen in der Kindheit und in der Jugend Essgestörter

Depending on definition and sample, a minority of varying size of women with eating disorders report to be victims of sexual and/or physical abuse. These stressful experiences are risk factors for mental disorders in general and not specifically for eating disorders. Parental high expectations and pre-morbid negative self-evaluation seem to be specific risk factors for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Probably, patients with bulimia nervosa suffered more childhood adversity than those with restrictive anorexia nervosa. Patients with a history of sexual and/or physical abuse may be more severely ill and more difficult to treat than other patients with eating disorders. Careful questioning about childhood adversity seems advisable. In therapy, maintaining factors—like problems of self-esteem—are more important than predisposing or precipitating factors. For prevention, it is recommended to provide for the safety of children when treating their parents with mental illness—particularly substance use disorders—and to avoid parental high expectations.     

Die ökologische Dimension der Psychoanalyse und das Konzept der inneren Nachhaltigkeit

Zusammenfassung. Der Autor begründet in seiner Arbeit eine „?kologisch-psychoanalytische” Theorieperspektive, in der er die innere Verwandtschaft zwischen dem modernen ?kologiekritischen Denken und den Menschenbildannahmen der freudianischen Psychoanalyse aufzeigt. Die „kritische ?kologie” befasst sich mit der Frage nach einer sinnvollen, „nachhaltigen” Gestaltung der Kultur-Natur-Beziehung, die Psychoanalyse erforscht und behandelt die innere Selbstbeziehung des Menschen zwischen dem kulturgepr?gt-kulturproduktiven „Ich” und den eigengesetzlichen, natural fundierten motivationalen Seiten der Psyche, die bei Freud als „Es” gefasst werden. Auch die modernen objektbeziehungstheoretischen und selbstpsychologischen Weiterentwicklungen der Psychoanalyse k?nnen vor einem ?kologisch-psychoanalytischen Hintergrund so aufgefasst werden, dass Freuds Fragestellung nach der ge- oder misslingenden Balance bzw. Integration zwischen den motivationalen (Interaktions-) Strebungen der „inneren Natur” einerseits und den Anforderungen der „kulturellen Selbsterzeugung” des Menschen andererseits rahmengebendes Grundthema bleibt. Der Autor macht in seinem Artikel deutlich, dass Psychoanalyse und „kritische ?kologie” gegenseitig voneinander profitieren k?nnen.

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The ecological dimension of psychoanalysis and the concept of inner sustainability

Summary. The author develops an ”ecological-psychoanalytical” perspective of theory that shows the inner relationship between the modern eco-critical thinking and the anthropology of Freudian psychoanalysis. ”Critical ecology” engages in the search for a ”sustainable” organisation of the culture-nature-relationship. Psychoanalysis explores and treats the inner self-relation of man among the culture-imprinted/culture-producing ”Ego” and the nature-founded motivational aspects of psychic, that Freud called the ”Id.” The modern developments of object-relation theory and self psychology can be interpreted as reaffirming Freuds thesis of a well balanced or neurotising integration of motivational (interaction-) drives of ”inner nature” at one hand, and the demands of the ”cultural autogenesis” of man on the other. The author suggests that psychoanalysis and human ecology theory can each profit from the other.