Chapter 3 Integrative Short-Term Treatment of the Borderline Patient

Abstract

The realities of current practice necessitate that clinicians engage in briefer forms of treatment with borderline patients despite the fact that long-term treatment has been considered the treatment of choice because of their entrenched and pervasive personality difficulties, severe developmental arrests, and history of trauma. Most short-term treatment models are ill-suited for work with the borderline population because they favor highly motivated and well-functioning patients who have circumscribed problems. Nevertheless, there is a considerable body of practice principles that can be adapted to brief treatment with borderlines. This paper reviews the clinical features of borderline disorders and current views on their origins and treatment and then describes the components of an integrative short-term treatment framework.     

Deception,Catholicism, and Hope: Understanding Problems in the Communication of Unfavorable Prognoses in Traditionally-Catholic Countries

The doctor's use of deception in appropriate circumstances has commonly been considered a necessity of the medical art. Resistance to full and frank communication is typical of many traditionally Catholic countries, and particularly of Italy, a western country where Catholicism remains particularly influential. The Catholic teaching on truth and lies, and the problem of telling the truth to a severely ill patient is discussed. It is suggested that the contemporary Catholic model of gradually telling a terminal patient the truth, which looks reasonable and feasible in theory, is rarely followed in practice, as in the majority of cases the truth is not told tout court. Problems stem from the way in which medicine is currently practiced in Italy; from the synergism between Catholicism and the medical tradition's grounded paternalism; and from the ambiguity of the term ‘hope’. Catholic ethics in fact recommends that the truth must be told without destroying hope, but the Catholic meaning of ‘hope’ is very different from its meaning in current language.     

Meta-analysis of CBT for Bulimia Nervosa: Investigating the Effects Using DSM-III-R and DSM-IV Criteria

This meta-analysis reports the effects of cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) on bulimia nervosa as defined by the DSM-III-R or DSM-IV criteria. In a previous meta-analysis, 26 studies were included using less strict diagnostic criteria for inclusion. The present meta-analysis only included randomized controlled studies fulfilling the DSM-III-R or DSM-IV criteria. Computer searches in MedLine, PsychLIT and references cited herein resulted in a large number articles, of which only seven fulfilled the criteria for inclusion. Effect sizes for binge eating and purging frequency were estimated using both between-group (treatment vs control) and within-group (pre- vs post-treatment) comparisons. The combined within-group effect size for binge eating was r = 0.55 ( d = 1.32) and for purging r = 0.61 ( d = 1.54). The corresponding combined effects for the between-group comparisons were r = 0.23 ( d = 0.47) and r = 0.28 ( d = 0.58), respectively. The combined probabilities for frequency of purging in between- and within-group comparisons were p = 0.00001 and p = 0.00000001, respectively. Although the number of studies included in the meta-analysis was limited, the obtained results are in line with the findings of the previous meta-analysis, and support the efficacy of CBT for the treatment of bulimia nervosa. This suggestion is also supported by the fact that in all the studies except one, comparison groups had received other active treatments.     

From Standardization to Adaptation: Clinical Trials and the Moral Economy of Anticipation

Hailed as the gold standard, the randomized controlled trial (RCT) occupies a hegemonic position at the top of evidence-based medicine’s hierarchy of knowledge. It is testament to the methodology’s capacity for standardization that it can so readily be spoken of in the singular: the RCT. Under what conditions, then, is it possible to speak of change in the gold standard? Since the 1950s, alternative versions of the RCT have been advocated for under the banner of ‘adaptive design’. Adaptive designs allow investigators to make pre-planned changes to a trial on the basis of accruing information while the experiment is ongoing. Initially a niche topic of methodological debate among biostatisticians, the approach is becoming widespread in mainstream drug development. A genealogical analysis exposes the discursive moves used to justify and popularize adaptation, from a focus on patient well-being and the greater good in the 1960s and 1970s, to efficiency and virtualism in the 1990s and 2000s. Changing discourses of time and patienthood have facilitated a move away from standardization as the singular logic of trials towards an appreciation of flexibility, undergirded by probabilistic methodologies. Adams et al.’s [(2009). Anticipation: Technoscience, life, affect, temporality, Subjectivity, 28, pp. 246–265] conceptual framework of anticipation illuminates this evolving moral economy of medical research, in which modes of knowledge production which claim to know the future are supplanting the traditional certainties of fixed and standardized experimental designs. Predictable uncertainty is the currency of this emerging economy, which capitalizes on computer simulation and ever more sophisticated tools of prediction to leverage credibility.     

老年结直肠癌的治疗

老年患者占结直肠癌患者的70%,因此老年人是结直肠癌的主要患病人群。为了提高结直肠癌治疗的总体疗效,我们应当特别关注老年性结直肠癌的治疗。以往,手术治疗和化疗的应用随着年龄的增高而明显减少。我们一直以为老年人手术和化疗的效果不令人满意。近期的研究改变了这一认识。证据表明辅助化疗和姑息性化疗对一般情况良好的老年人是有效而安全的。即使存在一些与年龄相关的基础疾病的老年结直肠癌患者仍然能从合理的治疗方案中获益。所以我们尚有许多工作需做,以提高老年性结直肠癌患者的疗效。腹腔镜下结肠癌根治术是对老年人安全有效的手术技术。我们期待随着经腔道的内窥镜手术技术的发展,将来会使老年性结直肠癌患者受益。     

医院规模扩大后的医患关系思考

将3个城市4所医院2002～2004年间医院规模扩展前后的床位增加、患者反映及医疗纠纷等情况进行对比分析.4所医院后床位费、护理费较前均有所增加;医患纠纷4年间平均增长21.8%.医院规模扩大为医院的发展带来机遇的同时也隐含了一些实际问题,应尽早作出系统发展规划,寻找科学化、和谐化发展的医院管理新路径.     

从循证医学的角度探索建立新型医患关系的新途径

分析医患纠纷产生的原因,主要是患者的高质量的医疗水平、高质量的医疗服务、合理的医疗消费三个需求得不到满足.循证医学为满足广大患者三个方面需求,建立新型医患关系,提供了最佳途径.     

我们时代的境遇——临床诊疗行为中的医患文化冲突

就临床诊疗工作中的医患文化冲突问题,从何谓文化冲突、它的行为表现、文化冲突的原因等方面进行了探讨,从认知、情感、社会心理、环境变迁、价值观多元等社会文化的层面来认识和分析医患之间的复杂关系,并就正确看待和弱化医患文化冲突提出了意见。     

知情同意对危重病患者心理影响的现状研究

探讨知情同意对危重病患者的心理影响。根据知情同意实施现状,将患者分为患者知情组、家属知情组,采用问卷调查和访谈相结合的方法对两组知情同意前、后的心理状况进行评估和比较。采取自愿方式及适宜的告知方法由患者本人知情同意,患者的心理状况与选择家属知情同意的患者无明显区别。     

社会工作视野下构建和谐医患关系的策略分析

和谐的医患关系是一切医疗活动的基础。面对当前医患关系中的不和谐现象,不同学者对其形成的原因及其对策进行了多学科的探索。作为一种以利他主义为指导的专业助人服务活动,社会工作则提供了一种介入医疗纠纷问题的崭新视角。在协调医患关系的过程中,医务社会工作需要面向病患及其家属、医护人员、医院管理层、社会及大众媒体、政府公共卫生管理部门等不同的主体,发展出不同的工作策略,扮演不同的服务角色。