Adaptation of the Motive-Oriented Therapeutic Relationship Scale to Group Setting in Dialectical-Behaviour Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

The therapeutic relationship as a process is usually studied in individual therapy, and less in group therapy. One reason for this paucity of research may be the complex methodology necessary to do process research on group therapy. One of the therapeutic approaches using the group as part of the therapy is dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for borderline personality disorder (BPD). The purpose of the present study is to develop a group version of a process measure that has been successfully used in individual therapy, the Motive-Oriented Therapeutic Relationship (MOTR) scale, based on individualized case conceptualizations using the Plan Analysis approach. To do this, 10 sessions of a DBT skills group therapy were analyzed from a comprehensive dataset within a randomized controlled trial. Included were therapy completers: 3 patients and 2 therapists. The therapists were unaware of MOTR. The results revealed that the adaptation of the MOTR to DBT skills group was feasible. Its adaptation showed differences of the therapists in their use of MOTR when comparing the different patients: Therapist presented with higher degrees of MOTR toward 1 patient, compared to another. Overall results suggest that effective therapists in DBT skills training intervene with rather low mean levels of MOTR, and great intrasession variability of MOTR. We conclude that the adaptation of the MOTR-instrument to group therapy is feasible and yields meaningful results. Therefore, this scale may be used in process research in group therapy, in particular when 1 wishes to have an individualized measure of the therapeutic relationship

Defensive responses by a social caterpillar are tailored to different predators and change with larval instar and group size

Gregariousness in animals is widely accepted as a behavioral adaptation for protection from predation. However, predation risk and the effectiveness of a prey’s defense can be a function of several other factors, including predator species and prey size or age. The objective of this study was to determine if the gregarious habit of Malacosoma disstria caterpillars is advantageous against invertebrate natural enemies, and whether it is through dilution or cooperative defenses. We also examined the effects of larval growth and group size on the rate and success of attacks. Caterpillars of M. disstria responded with predator-specific behaviors, which led to increased survival. Evasive behaviors were used against stinkbugs, while thrashing by fourth instar caterpillars and holding on to the silk mat by second instar caterpillars was most efficient against spider attacks. Collective head flicking and biting by groups of both second and fourth instar caterpillars were observed when attacked by parasitoids. Increased larval size decreased the average number of attacks by spiders but increased the number of attacks by both stinkbugs and parasitoids. However, increased body size decreased the success rate of attacks by all three natural enemies and increased handling time for both predators. Larger group sizes did not influence the number of attacks from predators but increased the number of attacks and the number of successful attacks from parasitoids. In all cases, individual risk was lower in larger groups. Caterpillars showed collective defenses against parasitoids but not against the walking predators. These results show that caterpillars use different tactics against different natural enemies. Overall, these tactics are both more diverse and more effective in fourth instar than in second instar caterpillars, confirming that growth reduces predation risk. We also show that grouping benefits caterpillars through dilution of risk, and, in the case of parasitoids, through group defenses. The decreased tendency to aggregate in the last larval instar may therefore be linked to decreasing predation risk

Questions actuelles à propos de la classification des dépressions

Description de différents types de nosographies, formes cliniques de dépressions recensées par le DSM-III-R. dépressions majeures, formes récurrentes et saisonnières, troubles dysthymiques

Les soins psychiatriques à l'épreuve de la crise économique: une expérience lausannoise

Orchidée - CHU