L'alessitimia come disturbo della regolazione affettiva

Alexithymia is a theoretical construct concerning the ability to contact our feelings and the ability to describe them in words. It is very useful in clinical experience and also in empirical research for its operationalization and applicability possibility. After more than 40 years from its original definition, with clinical observation of patients defined “psychosomatics” according a classic definition, alexithymia has become one of the most investigated disease in the last decades. This paper aims to explore etiopathogenetic hypotheses and contemporaneous prospective within which it is possible to understand the relevance of the construct both in clinical experience and in empirical research. Furthermore, the paper examines alexithymia assessment methods to provide a complete and updated description of tools now available for clinical research. We also wish to underline the fundamental limit in a detailed study on alexithymia: the absence of psychometric tools to assess the disease in developmental age. This limit is related to the difficulty of building research tools able to understand the developmental movement in emotional processing capacity during childhood. However, there are recent preliminary studies on children/teens and preteens which pave the way for research in this direction

The Rorschach method for obesity assessment: clinical study on a group of obese women

SUMMARY. Aim. The purpose of this study is to explore through the Rorschach method the psychological and personological profile of the woman with obesity. Methods. The Rorschach test was administered to 10 women with body mass index of 41.86±9.9 kg/m2 at the clinic for obesity surgical treatment at the University Hospital “Paolo Giaccone” of Palermo. Results. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Rorschach responses detected in the study show: limited practical and creative sense in managing daily life situations, rigid control of emotions, affective turmoil, sense of inadequacy; sufficient examination of reality and adaptation social. Conclusion. The Rorschach method can be the privileged instrument for obesity, for its remarkable projective value, because it allows to capture the psychic suffering of the obese person, the representation and the image of the self, to identify the interaction between psycho-physical state and emotional investments

The relationship between knowing sign language and quality of life among Italian people who are deaf : a cross-sectional study

Deafness is a medical condition with important relational implications. This condition could affect well-being and self-esteem and cause social anxiety. Sign language is not only a simple mimic but can be considered as a different kind of communication that could be protective for those who have learned it. However, some people do not use sign language because they think it can be marginalizing. The present study aimed to compare the quality of life (QoL) between people who learned Italian sign language as their first language with those who had never learned it or learned it later. This cross-sectional study involved 182 deaf Italian adults (70.3% females) who were recruited from Ente Nazionale Sordi (ENS) and by the main online deafness groups. The present results suggest that the deaf condition does not seem to significantly affect the dimensions of QoL pertaining to satisfaction and self-esteem, while it could have an effect on preventing high levels of social anxiety and in particular, the group who learned Italian sign language showed significantlyless social anxiety than those who had never learned it

Sturge-Weber syndrome: a report of 14 cases

Sturge-Weber-Krabe syndrome (SWS), also known as encephalotrigeminalangiomatosis and named the forthfacomatosis, recall the names of the authors who first describedit in its basic clinical, radiological andanatomopathological aspects. We report here 14 cases of Sturge-Weber disease. In 6 of these, despite what had been previously described in literature, an extension of the angioma has been noted in other parts of the body. The study of these subjects stresses not only the need for a pharmacological/neuropsychomotor intervention, but alsothe need of a psychotherapeutic approach, for the emotional and affective implications thatcould derive from this syndrome. The reported cases are similar to those presented in literature for their main features. In particular, two elements are interesting: i) the exceptional diffusion of the red nevousto the whole hemicorpo; and ii) the evaluation of the way the patients live the disease, which has not beenpreviously considered in literature. We can conclude that SWS is a multisystem disorder that requires the neurologist to be aware of the possible endocrine, psychiatric, ophthalmological, and other medical issues that can arise and impact on the neurological status of the patients. and neuropsychomotor therapies, but also a psychotherapeutic support to patients. It should be noted that the literature does not take psychotherapeutic support into consideration

Acceptance of non-invasive computed tomography coronary angiography: for a patient-friendly medicine

PURPOSE: This study was done to evaluate the psychological state and anxiety of patients undergoing computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), and assess their acceptance and satisfaction compared to invasive conventional coronary angiography (CCA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 442 consecutive patients (282 male; mean age 57.7 ± 9.5 years) who underwent CTCA for suspected or known coronary artery disease were evaluated with the Endler Multimodality Anxiety Scales (EMAS) before and after the scan, and a questionnaire administered after the scan. Among the 442 patients, 181 had a history of CCA. Two radiologists assessed the image quality of CTCA. RESULTS: Anxiety was more intense prior to the scan (EMAS score 51.7 vs. 46.7, p < 0.01) and in patients with a history of CCA (EMAS score 55.5 vs. 49.1, p < 0.01). Women presented more intense anxiety (EMAS score 59.5 vs. 47.3, p < 0.01), higher mean heart rate (63.5 ± 7.6 vs. 60.7 ± 7.3 beats per minute, p < 0.01) and a lower image quality than men (p < 0.0001). CTCA proved to be more acceptable than CCA because of accurate preparation, lower concern prior to the examination, negligible pain, higher comfort, and greater overall satisfaction (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Computed tomography coronary angiography is a patient-friendly imaging method because of the minimal perceived discomfort. Anxiety may affect CTCA image quality in women

Il Piacere Tossico.Tossicofilie, tossicomanie, tossicodipendenze: dalla psicopatologia individuale alla psicologia collettiva

Tema principale è l'analisi della dipendenza tossicomanica, secondo una prospettiva psicoanalitic

Le Famiglie e le Disabilità

Il vertice di osservazione dal quale descriveremo gli elementi dei paragrafi a seguire che, a nostro parere, fondano e sostanziano la psicodinamica delle disabilità, è il vertice psicoanalitico. Secondo l’orientamento psicoanalitico, il sintomo è fondamentale, non perché vada subito silenziato tentando così di eliminare la sofferenza che ne deriva, ma perché come un reperto archeologico, ne va ricercato pazientemente il senso, riconnettendo legami perduti all’interno della vita del soggetto, allargando lo spazio di pensiero, per incrementare la padronanza della vita psichica e il piacere relativo al funzionamento della mente. Il sintomo – di per sé fisso, denso, immutabile, ignorante - va incluso nel continuum vitale della persona, pensandolo come una forma di comunicazione con potenzialità trasformative, una sorta di falla temporale che consente al passato, presente e futuro di prendere contatto tra di loro in entrambe le direzioni (Corrao, 1992). Quindi non si tratta di far corrispondere il sintomo ad una affezione, ma l’interesse centrale diventa la persona intesa nella sua globalità. La sofferenza genera sintomi, frammenti di storia, schegge slegate di sensazioni, emozioni, rappresentazioni; terminali, default che occorre continuamente rinarrare, riraccontare, ricontestualizzare, riproporzionare, per riprodurre e rigenerare nuovi testi narrativi (Corrao, 1987)In questa prospettiva, le condizioni di disabilità più che attrarre concetti di difficoltà, marginalità, esclusione, vanno poste in relazione con la ricerca di una nuova e originale (magari faticosa) adattività. In effetti, le disabilità non rappresentano la specialità di qualcuno (“particolarmente sfortunato”); possono incrociare, in un qualsiasi momento inaspettato, la vita di ognuno, quando un trauma irrompe e contemporaneamente l’ambiente non riesce a contenerne e ripararne, a sufficienza, gli effetti. È cruciale, così, trasmettere una cultura del legame a vantaggio della narrazione del trauma reincluso dentro una rete di relazioni. Fondamentale spostamento d’ottica è la cultura del legame: una visione dove le persone di fronte alle frustrazioni, alle limitazioni, reagiscono da attori, utilizzando le proprie capacità, le proprie qualità, qualsiasi esse siano, per dimostrare le proprie ragioni, anche se ciò comporta una maggior dose di fatica e sofferenza, che costituisce però il vademecum indispensabile per la maturità psichica. Quanto detto diventa ulteriormente significativo quando ad incontrarsi sono due dimensioni di per sè complesse: le famiglie, per comprendere le quali occorre uno ascolto basato sui vertici multipli e reversibili, e le disabilità, che per essere prese in carico necessitano come detto di una cultura del legame e dell’inclusione

Parenting stress and impact of illness in parents of children with coeliac disease

Coeliac disease (CD) is a chronic disease which could stress patients and their family. Although, poor attention has been paid to the quality of life in CD children and to the functioning of families with CD children. The study aims to evaluate the parenting perception of the CD impact and the parenting distress level. A group of 74 parents of CD children compiled the Impact Childhood Illness Scale and the Parenting Stress Index which is also compiled by 74 parents of health children. The assessment does not reveal a significant impact of CD on patient’s personal life although some critical areas emerged. Results evidenced an higher level of parenting stress in parents of CD children than parents of healthy children. CD, if suitably managed, has not a critical impact on parenting perception. Although, CD certainly put parents through an higher risk of a distress related to parenting role than parents with health children. A early identification of parenting distress in a pediatric chronic illness could facilitate the adjustment to pathology

Disregolazione affettiva, qualità degli stili di attaccamento e malattie somatiche: uno studio su campioni indipendenti,

scopo generale dello studio è l'esplorazione della presenza di tratti alessitimici in tre gruppi indipendenti di pazienti affetti da malattia organica. viene sviluppata l'ipotesi secondo cui l'alessitimia sia correlata ad uno stile di attaccamento di tipo evitante