Al di là del sintomo. Il gruppo psicodinamico nelle dipendenze

Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and Eating Disorders (ED) share some characteristics such as teen or late adolescence onset and greater prevalence respectively between males and females. According to a psychodynamic approach, SUD and ED, together with psychosomatic disorders, can be defined second level disorders, where symptoms cover an underlying psychic suffering. They can also be considered useful but dysfunctional strategies of self-care and emotional self-regulation. Group analytic therapy represents an effective therapeutic tool for these disorders acting on psychological and relational functioning as well as on symptoms. This paper aims at proposing some reflections based on clinical experiences conducted by the Authors during the last few years

Relationship between device acceptance and patient-reported outcomes in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recipients

The number of Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) implanted each year is rising. Nevertheless, there are minimal data on device acceptance after LVAD implant, and on its relationship with patient-reported outcomes. We designed a cross-sectional study to address this knowledge gap and test the hypothesis that low device acceptance is associated with poorer quality of life, depression and anxiety. Self-report questionnaires were administered to assess quality of life (12-item Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire quality of life subscale), level of anxiety (7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder; GAD-7), level of depression (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9) and device acceptance (Florida Patient Acceptance Survey; FPAS) to 101 consecutive patients presenting to LVAD clinic. Regression analysis showed a strong correlation between device acceptance and both psychological distress (p\u2009<\u20090.001) and quality of life (p\u2009<\u20090.001). Analysis of the sub-scales of the FPAS showed that patients had significant body image concerns, but return to function and device-related distress were the main drivers of the observed correlation between device acceptance and patient well-being. Younger age was associated with lower device acceptance (r\u2009=\u20090.36, p\u2009<\u20090.001) and lower quality of life (r\u2009=\u20090.54, p\u2009<\u20090.001). These findings suggest that interventions targeting device acceptance should be explored to improve outcomes in LVAD recipients

Exploring the effect of an augmented reality literacy programme for reading and spelling difficulties for children diagnosed with ADHD

AbstractChildren diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience a variety of difficulties related to three primary symptoms: hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The most common type of ADHD has a combination of all three symptom areas. These core symptoms may negatively impact the academic and social performance of children throughout their school life. The AHA (ADHD-Augmented) project focused specifically on the impact of digital technologies' intervention on literacy skills of children that participated in the pilot study and were diagnosed with ADHD prior to the intervention. Existing research has shown that augmented reality (AR) can improve academic outcomes by stimulating pupils' attention. AHA project aimed at implementing an evidence-based intervention to improve ADHD children's reading and spelling abilities through the enhancement of an existing literacy programme with AR functionality. The present paper reports preliminary findings of the pilot study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the AHA system in promoting the acquisition of literacy skills in a sample of children diagnosed with ADHD compared to the literacy programme as usual. Background information on the main characteristics and difficulties related to the teaching and learning process associated with children diagnosed with ADHD are first introduced; the design and methodology of the AHA project intervention are also described. The preliminary findings have shown that AHA project succeeded in delivering an AR solution within an existing online literacy programme, which integrates a set of specific technologies and supports interactive educational content, services, assessment, and feedback

A Systematic Review of Behavioral Interventions for Elementary School Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties: Contributions from Single-Case Research Studies

Challenges arising from the classroom behavioral management of students with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties are a concern for educational professionals. The purpose of this study is to review common elements of behavior interventions for the disruptive behaviors of children with social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. A systematic review was conducted through an electronic search of studies (from 2000 to 2017) on ERIC, Web of Science, FRANCIS, and MEDLINE databases. The inclusion criteria involved: (i) an intervention improving behaviors at school of children with disruptive behaviors; (ii) elementary school children with the majority of the sample or average age between 6-11 years old; (iii) at least one measurable outcome focusing on social/emotional/behavioral outcomes; (iv) single-case designs. Of the 5339 articles that were identified in the initial screening, 27 met the criteria to be included in the review. Common characteristics of successful interventions are discussed to make recommendations for future implementation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Problematic video game use as an emotional coping strategy: Evidence from a sample of MMORPG gamers.

BACKGROUND: A positive relationship between problematic gaming and escapism motivation to play video games has been well established, suggesting that problematic gaming may result from attempts to deal with negative emotions. However, to date, no study has examined how emotion dysregulation affects both escapism motives and problematic gaming patterns. METHODS: Difficulties in emotion regulation, escapism, and problematic involvement with video games were assessed in a sample of 390 World of Warcraft players. A structural equation modeling framework was used to test the hypothesis that escapism mediates the relationship between emotion dysregulation and problematic gaming. RESULTS: Statistical analyses showed that difficulties in emotion regulation predicted both escapism motives and problematic gaming, and that escapism partially mediated this relationship. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the view that problematic players are likely to escape in online games as a maladaptive coping strategy for dealing with adverse emotional experiences

The ARETE Ecosystem for the Creation and Delivery of Open Augmented Reality Educational Resources: The PBIS Case Study

Augmented reality (AR) is rapidly emerging as an increasingly useful technology in educational settings. In the ARETE (Augmented Reality Interactive Educational System) H2020 project, consortium members designed and implemented an ecosystem aimed at supporting teachers in building a collaborative learning environment through the use of AR in order to improve educational experiences. In particular, one of the pilot projects aims to introduce AR into school behavior lessons for the first time, leveraging the Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (PBIS) methodology. Specifically, in this paper we will discuss the proposed architecture within the ARETE project that incorporates AR technology into the learning process of behavior lessons to support the teaching, practice and reinforcement phases of expected behaviors. Through the combination of different technologies and systems, it is possible to create an example of a technological and innovative ecosystem designed for creating behavioral lessons in AR

I fattori terapeutici nella psicoterapia di gruppo per disturbi da uso di sostanze. Considerazioni cliniche a partire da un contributo empirico

L'articolo propone alcune riflessioni sui gruppi psicoterapeutici ad orientamento psicodinamico con pazienti tossicodipendenti a partire da una ricerca focalizzata sull'analisi del processo e sui fattori terapeutici. Viene anche presentata l'analisi degli elementi processuali che la letteratura ritiene rilevanti nel favorire i processi di cambiamento psicologic

Terapia di gruppo in setting comunitario per pazienti con disturbo da uso di sostanze (DUS): un contributo di ricerca

La terapia di gruppo è considerata uno dei trattamenti elettivi per i DUS, trovando ampio utilizzo nei setting ambulatoriali e residenziali statunitensi e anglosassoni. Nonostante ciò si registrano significative lacune rispetto alla valutazione dell’efficacia delle psicoterapie di gruppo, soprattutto di matrice psicodinamica. Il presente contributo di ricerca propone un’analisi dell’andamento della coesione e dei fattori terapeutici nell’arco di un anno all’interno di un gruppo psicoterapeutico slow-open in setting comunitario per pazienti DUS. Il gruppo di matrice fenomenologico-esistenziale ha coinvolto 28 pazienti che si sono alternati in funzione dei nuovi ingressi e delle uscite (completamento o drop out). Gli strumenti utilizzati sono la Group/Leader Cohesion Scale (GLCS) e la Therapeutic Group Interaction Factors Scale (TGIF); la cadenza delle somministrazioni è stata la seguente: sedute alternate per il GLMCS e ogni seduta per il TGIF. I risultati indicano livelli elevati di coesione rispetto al gruppo e al terapeuta malgrado le turbolenze istituzionali che attraversano la matrice gruppale (drop out, nuovi ingressi, interruzioni); rispetto ai fattori terapeutici, quelli maggiormente attivi sembrano essere Informazione, Fattori Esistenziali, Universalità, Apprendimento Interpersonale. I risultati appaiono in linea con la ricerca empirica che considera la coesione un costrutto particolarmente rilevante nel predire l’esito positivo delle terapie di gruppo