Biomedical subjects

A Paraherakis

Publications and source records attributed to A Paraherakis.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Neuropsychological functioning in substance-dependent patients.

The present study examined neurocognitive functioning in groups of individuals addicted to various psychoactive substances. One hundred ten patients admitted to treatment for substance misuse were assessed using a semistructured clinical interview, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Symptom CheckList-90, the Trail Making A and B tests, and the Shipley Institute of Living Scale. Results revealed that at intake, alcohol- and benzodiazepine-addicted clients exhibited higher levels of cognitive impairment and psychological distress than patients dependent on other drugs. Regression analysis showed that the Shipley vocabulary raw score was a significant predictor of length of stay in treatment.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Reply to Fudin and Lembessis's critique of Malik and Paraherakis's commentary regarding the capacity of the unconscious.

In an earlier paper, we had suggested that the research examining the capacity of the unconscious cannot be interpreted unambiguously to make the claim that the unconscious is limited in scope. Fudin and Lembessis challenged our conclusion, and we address their concerns.

Consciousness↗

PubMed2000

An abstinence-oriented program for substance use disorders: poorer outcome associated with opiate dependence.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the characteristics of patients with various substance-related disorders, and to examine rates of retention in treatment. METHODS: We assessed the demographic characteristics, substance abuse, and psychological distress of 239 men and women at admission. Six-month performance was evaluated, using as criteria length of stay in treatment, abstinence, attendance in therapy sessions, and completion status at discharge. RESULTS: Moderate to severe psychological distress was observed among these individuals. Higher levels of depression were found among women and in individuals with alcohol and sedative use disorders. The primary drug of abuse, frequency of use, and reason for entering treatment were the most significant predictors of retention. CONCLUSIONS: Opiate-addicted clients had the worst prognosis and treatment profiles. Further research is needed to identify factors that would optimize treatment for opiate dependence.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

How limited is the unconscious? A brief commentary.

This report discusses the problems associated with the prevailing view that the province of unconscious influence is highly restricted. It is argued that present empirical data neither strongly support nor argue against a circumscribed notion of the unconscious.

Cognition↗

PubMed1996

The method of subliminal psychodynamic activation: do individual thresholds make a difference?

The present experiment investigated the effects of subliminal psychodynamic stimuli on anxiety as measured by heart rate. Following an anxiety-inducing task, male and female subjects were tachistoscopically shown, at their subjective thresholds, one of five subliminal stimuli, MOMMY AND I ARE ONE, DADDY AND I ARE ONE (symbiotic messages). MOMMY HAS LEFT ME (abandonment message), I AM HAPPY AND CALM (positively toned but nonsymbiotic phrase), or MYMMO NAD I REA ENO (control stimulus). It was hypothesized that men would exhibit a greater decrease in heart rate after exposure to the MOMMY stimulus than the control message. No definitive predictions were made for women. The abandonment phrase was expected to increase heart rate. A positively toned message was included to assess whether its effects would be comparable to those hypothesized for the MOMMY message. The results yielded no significant effects for stimulus or gender and so provided no support for the hypotheses.

Adult↗