Biomedical subjects

Ilan Treves

Publications and source records attributed to Ilan Treves.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Ethical dilemmas in psychotherapy: comparison between patients, therapists and laypersons.

BACKGROUND: The attitudes of patients towards ethical dilemmas in psychotherapy have been reported in only a few studies. AIMS OF THE STUDY: We investigated whether the attitudes of patients undergoing psychotherapy to confidentiality and boundaries are different from those of therapists and laypersons. METHODS: Clinical vignettes describing ethical dilemmas of confidentiality and boundaries were presented to 103 patients undergoing psychotherapy (patient group), 93 psychotherapists of different professional backgrounds (professional group), and 55 staff and students from the fields of law and the humanities (lay group). Patients were asked how they think therapists should act in the situations presented and therapists were asked how they should behave in such situations. RESULTS: In general, the patient group showed a greater tendency to view their therapists as breaching confidentiality than the professional and lay groups. Regarding boundaries, the majority of psychotherapists were against initiating any sexual relationship with current patients, former patients, students or supervisees, whereas both patients and laypersons showed a less stringent attitude; these differences were statistically significant. The vast majority of therapists (96.7%) disapproved of accepting money in advance compared to only 31.1% in the patients group and 54.4% of the lay group. Analysis of the patients group by gender did not reveal any significant relationships. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Patients have different ethical codes from therapists and laypersons regarding the issues of confidentiality. (2) Patients and lay persons are less strict than therapists regarding issues of boundaries.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Are psychotherapists consistent in their ethical attitude to patient confidentiality?

BACKGROUND: The issue of confidentiality often causes an ethical dilemma for the psychotherapist. AIMS OF THE STUDY: We investigated if therapists are consistent in their attitude to confidentiality or judge each case on its own merit. METHODS: A questionnaire consisting of a series of clinical vignettes representing different ethical dilemmas in confidentiality in psychotherapy was completed by 93 therapists of different professional backgrounds and by a control group of 55 students from the fields of law and the humanities. RESULTS: Subjects in both groups were inconsistent in their attitude to confidentiality in two-thirds of cases, and most of the participants based their decisions on the particular history and circumstances of each case. CONCLUSION: The rules guiding psychotherapists for the disclosure of confidential information are unclear. These findings failed to pinpoint a common denominator to explain the manner in which professionals handle information that may demand a break of confidentiality.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2003

Effect of L-tryptophan on memory in patients with schizophrenia.

SUMMARY: ABSTRACT It has been well established that patients with schizophrenia have impaired cognitive abilities on neuropsychological tasks related to memory. Previous studies also suggest a central role for serotonin in memory. This double-blind crossover study aimed to explore the effect of l-tryptophan, a serotonin precursor, on a variety of memory tasks in schizophrenic patients. Antipsychotic-treated schizophrenic patients in remission (N = 21) were randomly treated with l-tryptophan or placebo and then evaluated at three consecutive points on clinical measures (including Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for Schizophrenia, Clinical Global Impression, and Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale) and by neuropsychological tests (including Digit-Span, Paired Association, Rey-Osterich Complex Figure Test, Digit Symbol, Number Facility Test, and the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Tests. Compared with placebo, l-tryptophan had a beneficial effect on memory functions but not on the patients' psychotic state or on the side effects of medications. These preliminary results suggest the possibility of using serotonin precursor to enhance memory function in schizophrenia.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Everyday memory and laboratory memory tests: general function predictors in schizophrenia and remitted depression.

This study was designed to compare neuropsychological memory measures ("laboratory memory tests") and an everyday memory measure in patients with schizophrenia, patients with major depression, and normal controls. Patients with schizophrenia ( N= 68) treated with typical (N = 33) or atypical ( N= 35) neuroleptics, patients with major depression (N = 30), and a control group (N = 36) were evaluated with clinical measures (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale), laboratory memory tests (Digit-Span, Paired-Associates, Rey Complex Figure Test, and Digit-Symbol), everyday memory test (RMBT), and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). The schizophrenia group had a significantly lower level of performance in everyday memory and general function but not in laboratory memory tests. Verbal and everyday memory measures were correlated with general function. The diagnosis rather than current symptoms (in remission) contributed to test variance and was correlated with performance on everyday memory and general function tests. Everyday memory and verbal memory were good predictors of general function in schizophrenic and depressive patients in the remitted phase. However, the advantages of these tests over laboratory memory tests need to be further investigated in larger and more representative samples.

Adolescent↗