History of Psychotherapy in Slovakia

Authors present the history of psychotherapy in Slovakia. The first section refers to the social requirements for psychology and psychotherapy development. The history of psychotherapy alone is analysed in three stages of development. The first stage includes the years 1918–1945, where, related to the activities of the Clinic of Psychiatry and Neurology of the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava, we come across the first attempts at applying psychothera - peutic approaches in medical practice and in the training of physicians. The second developmental stage (1945–1989) introduces individuals that significantly influenced the development of psychotherapeutic theories and their application in individual fields of clinical practice. They simultaneously show the contribution of the training school SUR to the development of psychotherapy in Slovakia. The most significant changes in the aspect of domestication and development of psychotherapy in Slovakia happened in the last characterised stage, in the period following the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The previously almost unavailable psychotherapeutic literature became available and psychotherapy was gradually introduced into the undergraduate and postgraduate education of physicians and other professionals. The first Slovak Society of Psychotherapy was founded and became a common ground for professionals in this field. In the final section of this paper, the authors present current questions and problems of the development, research and application of psychotherapy in Slovakia and briefly characterise the influence of legislation changes and reforms in healthcare on the position of psychotherapy

THEORY OF MIND - NOT EMOTION RECOGNITION - MEDIATES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONING IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

Background: Dysfunction of social-cognitive abilities is one of the hallmark features of schizophrenia and is associated with neurocognition and social functioning. The Green and Nuechterlein model proposed that social cognition mediates the relationship between neurocognition and functional outcome. We tested this hypothesis in schizophrenia patients in the everyday clinical setting. Subjects and methods: Social cognition, executive function and social functioning were assessed in a group of 43 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder using a range of measures. Results: Theory of mind was associated with executive functions and social functioning. Results of our mediation analysis suggested that the relationship between executive functions and social functioning was mediated by theory of mind. No relationships between emotion recognition and the domains of social functioning were found. Conclusions: In line with prior research, zero-order associations were found between theory of mind and social functioning. Theory of mind was a mediator of the relationships between neurocognition and social functioning. Our results suggest that theory of mind should be a potential target of interventions to improve social functioning

Strategies, processes, outcomes, and costs of implementing experience sampling-based monitoring in routine mental health care in four European countries:study protocol for the IMMERSE effectiveness-implementation study

BACKGROUND: Recent years have seen a growing interest in the use of digital tools for delivering person-centred mental health care. Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM), a structured diary technique for capturing moment-to-moment variation in experience and behaviour in service users' daily life, reflects a particularly promising avenue for implementing a person-centred approach. While there is evidence on the effectiveness of ESM-based monitoring, uptake in routine mental health care remains limited. The overarching aim of this hybrid effectiveness-implementation study is to investigate, in detail, reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance as well as contextual factors, processes, and costs of implementing ESM-based monitoring, reporting, and feedback into routine mental health care in four European countries (i.e., Belgium, Germany, Scotland, Slovakia).METHODS: In this hybrid effectiveness-implementation study, a parallel-group, assessor-blind, multi-centre cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) will be conducted, combined with a process and economic evaluation. In the cRCT, 24 clinical units (as the cluster and unit of randomization) at eight sites in four European countries will be randomly allocated using an unbalanced 2:1 ratio to one of two conditions: (a) the experimental condition, in which participants receive a Digital Mobile Mental Health intervention (DMMH) and other implementation strategies in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) or (b) the control condition, in which service users are provided with TAU. Outcome data in service users and clinicians will be collected at four time points: at baseline (t0), 2-month post-baseline (t1), 6-month post-baseline (t2), and 12-month post-baseline (t3). The primary outcome will be patient-reported service engagement assessed with the service attachment questionnaire at 2-month post-baseline. The process and economic evaluation will provide in-depth insights into in-vivo context-mechanism-outcome configurations and economic costs of the DMMH and other implementation strategies in routine care, respectively.DISCUSSION: If this trial provides evidence on reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance of implementing ESM-based monitoring, reporting, and feedback, it will form the basis for establishing its public health impact and has significant potential to bridge the research-to-practice gap and contribute to swifter ecological translation of digital innovations to real-world delivery in routine mental health care.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN15109760 (ISRCTN registry, date: 03/08/2022).</p

Dream about integration, integration in dream

Integrácia v psychoterapii nie je novým fenoménom, ktorý sa objavil až v 80. a 90. rokoch dvadsiateho storočia. Od počiatku vývinu psychoterapie ako vedy, ktorý možno datovať do r. 1900, kedy vyšiel Freudov Výklad snov ako prvá monografia o psychoterapeutickej metóde, možno pozorovať integratívne tendencie. Každá nová osobnosť, každý nový smer (vrátane Freuda a jeho psychoanalýzy) viac-menej integroval vytvorené teórie a nahromadené klinické skúsenosti. Zreteľné je to už v samotnom Freudovom diele o snoch. V článku chceme ilustrovať integratívne tendencie v psychoterapeutickej práci so snami – interpretačnej, fenomenologickej, kognitívnej i experienciálnej. Budeme preto, čisto hypoteticky, uvažovať otom, akoby so slávnym Freudovým snom o Irme mohli pracovať osobnosti ako Jung, Boss, Hall, Perls a Mindell.Integration in psychotherapy is not a new phenomenon, which came out in 80th and 90th years of last century. From the beginning of development of psychotherapy as a science, from 1900 – when Interpretation of dreams written by Freud was published – we can observe integrative tendencies. Every new personality, every new approach (including Freud and his psychoanalysis) more or less integrated older theories and accumulated clinical experiences. In present article we try to illustrate integrative tendencies in psychotherapeutic work with dreams – interpretative, phenomenological, cognitive and experiential. We will, purely hypothetically, imagine how personalities as Jung, Boss, Hall, Perls and Mindell could work with famous Freud´s dream about Irma

Humor in psychodiagnostic and psychotherapy – possibilities and limits

Téme humoru sa venovali najväčší filozofi od antiky až po súčasnosť. Čiastkových psychologických teórií humoru je tak veľa, že Raskin aAttardo ich rozdelili do 3 skupín - metateórií: 1/ psychoanalytické, 2/ kognitívne-percepčné, 3/ sociálne-behaviorálne. Autori vúvode referujú o možnostiach ako využiť humor - jeho pochopenie aemočnéprežívanie - vdiferenciálnej diagnostike psychických porúch. S Testom vtipov sa vyšetrovali skupiny pacientov so schizofrénnymi adepresívnymi poruchami, závislosťami ako aj skupiny zdravých ľudí. Humor ako terapeutický prostriedok sa využíva vrôznych psychoterapeutických smeroch. Spoločnými účinnými faktormi humoru vpsychoterapii sú vplyv na „atmosféru“ vterapeutickom vzťahu, podpora kognitívnych faktorov (vhľad, prerámcovanie, reštrukturalizovanie), facilitácia abreakcia napätia aúzkosti, zlepšenie sociálnych zručností (asertivita, sociálna atraktivita) klienta. Humor je zároveň prostriedkom udržania duševného zdravia apohody terapeuta. Základnými princípmi použitia humorných stimulov, napr. vtipov, sú načasovanie, primeranosť situácie avnímavosť klienta. Limity použitia humoru vpsychoterapii sú, ako na strane klienta (kognitívne aafektívne poruchy), tak aj na strane terapeuta (kognitívny štýl, terapeutické metazručnosti aosobný zmysel pre humor).The greatest philosophers from antiquity to present werefocused on the topic of humor. There are so many partial psychological theories of humor, that they weresplited by Raskin and Attardo to the 3 groups – metatheories :1/ psychoanalytical, 2/ cognitive-perceptional, 3) social-behavioral. Theauthors report possibilities how to use humor – its comprehension and emotional experiencing – in the differential diagnostics of psychiatric disorders. The Test of Jokes was used by groups of patients with schizophrenia, affective disorders, dependences and by healthy participants as well. Humor as atherapeutic tool is used in different psychotherapeutic approaches. Common effective therapeutic factors of humor are: influence on “atmosphere“ of therapeutic relationship, support of cognitive factors (insight, reframing, restructuralization), facilitation of abreaction of tension and anxiety, improvement of socialskills (assertiveness, social attractiveness) of the client. Humor is also atool for saving a mental health and wellbeing of the therapist. The basic principles of the use of humorous stimulus (e.g.verbal jokes) are timing, adequacy to situation aperceptiveness of the client. The limits of use of humor in the psychotherapy are on the both sides – by client (cognitive andaffective disorders), on the side of therapist his cognitive style, therapeutic metaskills and personal sense of humor. Anton Heretik, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovak Republic e-mail: [email protected] Heretiková-Marsalová, Psychiatric Clinic UNB Ružinov in Bratislava, Slovak Republic e-mail: [email protected]

Skrátená verzia škály reziliencie – psychometrická analýza prostredníctvom IRT

Škála reziliencie (Wagnild, Young, 1993) patrí v súčasnosti medzi najčastejšie používané metódy na skúmanie reziliencie ako osobnostnej črty. Výsledky výskumov poukazujú na veľmi dobré psychometrické charakteristiky škály. Cronbachovo α sa pohybuje od .72 do .94. Výsledky zahraničných aj lokálnych výskumov potvrdzujú dobrú konštruktovú validitu škály. Pôvodná verzia obsahuje 25 položiek. Autori vytvorili aj skrátenú verziu, ktorá pozostáva zo 14 položiek. Cieľom výskumu bolo overiť psychometrické vlastnosti skrátenej verzie škály. Výskumný súbor tvorilo 609 uchádzačov o štúdium na Katedre psychológie na FiF UK, ktorí vyplnili kompletnú 25 položkovú verziu. Pri analýze sme porovnávali psychometrické ukazovatele klasickej teórie testov a taktiež sme pri analýzach aplikovali aj Teóriu odpovede na položku (IRT). Na odhad parametrov položiek sme použili Samejimovej model. Priemerná bodovo-biseriálna korelácia skrátenej verzie škály bola r = .513. Odhad úrovne reziliencie (prostredníctvom IRT) zo skrátenej verzie škály bol takmer identický ako pri použití 25 položkovej verzie (R2 = .932). Obidve verzie škály merajú dostatočne presne na pomerne širokom intervale úrovne reziliencie a prinášajú najviac informácií o ľuďoch s podpriemernou až priemernou úrovňou reziliencie. Pôvodná 25 položková verzia meria trochu presnejšie, čo je spôsobené väčším počtom položiek. Z výsledkov vyplýva, že skrátená verzia Škály reziliencie je vhodný a dostatočne reliabilný nástroj, ktorý je časovo menej náročný ako pôvodná plná verzia Škály reziliencie. Resilience Scale (Wagnild, Young, 1993) is currently one of the most frequently used questionnaire for research about resilience as a personality traits. The research findings have showed very good psychometric characteristics of the scale. Cronbach's α ranging from .72 to .94. The results of foreign and local studies confirmed good construct validity. The original version contains 25 items. The authors have developed a shortened version consisting only of 14 items. The aim of the research was to investigate the psychometric properties of shortened version of the scale.  Sample consisted of 609 applicants for study at the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts UK, who filled the entire 25 item version. In the analysis, we compared the psychometric properties of Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory (IRT). We used Samejima`s model. The average point-biserial correlation of shortened version scale was r = .513. Estimated level of resilience (through IRT) with a shortened version of the scale was almost identical to estimate from 25 item version (R2 = .932). Both scales measure with sufficient accuracy on relatively wide range level of resilience. Both scales bring the most information about people with below-average to average level of resilience. The original 25 item version measured more accurately, due to a larger number of items. Shortened version of Resilience Scale is truly suitable and sufficiently reliable tool to measure resilience, which is less time consuming than the original full version scale

Neuropsy

Standardization of a group of neuropsychological tests in Slovak language tested in adult Slovakian population (18+). The purpose of the project is to stimulate and accelerate the development of neuropsychological diagnostics in Slovakia, to deal with improving diagnostic procedures and tools to detect deficits in cognition mostly by inventing complex neuropsychological battery which is sensitive to early and differential diagnostics of various neurological and psychiatric diseases with cognitive impairment symptomatology

Metóda vývinovej diagnostiky: Skríning psychomotorického vývinu S-PMV. Informácie o projekte

Prinášame informáciu o tvorbe novej metódy vývinovej diagnostiky (S-PMV) určenej pre pediatrov, ale aj odborníkov, ktorí pracujú v oblasti včasnej diagnostiky detí do 3 rokov. Ide o pôvodnú slovenskú metódu, ktorá vzniká na základe potreby aktualizovať a štandardizovať postupy vyšetrení na odhaľovanie rizika oneskoreného vývinu a vývinových porúch. Metóda pozostáva zo súboru dotazníkov určených na vyplnenie rodičmi, ktorých položky prešli viacstupňovým výberom a boli konfrontované s anamnézou a s posúdením dieťaťa pediatrom. S-PMV bol overovaný na vzorke 2710 detí, ktorú sme získali v spolupráci so 45 pediatrami v rámci celého Slovenska. The contribution provides information about creating a new method of developmental diagnostics (S-PMV) designed for pediatricians, as well as professionals working in the field of early diagnostics of children under 3 years. This is the original Slovak method which arises from the need to update and standardize procedures for examinations to detect the risk of delayed development and developmental disorders. The method consists of a set of questionnaires designed to be filled by parents, whose items have gone through a multi-stage selection and were confronted with a history and with assessment of a child by pediatrician. S-PMV was tested on a sample of 2,710 children, which we acquired in cooperation with 45 pediatricians within Slovakia