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Biomedical subjects

L Bellak

Publications and source records attributed to L Bellak.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

The Dysphorimeter: an objective analogue for the assessment of depression, anxiety, pain, and other dysphoric states.

This paper describes a newly invented apparatus, the Dysphorimeter. By manipulating a selector-slide, the patient can indicate the levels of depression or anxiety. The Dysphorimeter emits increasingly noxious sounds when moved downward on a scale of 1 to 10. The patient is asked to match the discomfort created by the sound to that of his depression or anxiety. In contrast to current means of measurements, the Dysphorimeter is not dependent on verbal response and factual reporting, and it is responsive to sudden mood changes. With schizophrenics and normal controls, the Dysphorimeter was found to show reliability and validity and better discriminative ability than methods currently in use.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Attention deficit disorder psychosis as a diagnostic category.

The hypothesis is advanced that certain psychoses in adults devolve from attention deficit disorder (ADD), which has a fundamental impact on cognitive and social development and thus affects personality structure and psychodynamics. This 'ADD psychosis' often masquerades as schizophrenia or an affective disorder and hence is frequently misdiagnosed, precluding appropriate clinical intervention. Based upon clinical evidence and empirical research involving phenomenological comparisons, premorbid history, high risk studies, neurodiagnostic evaluations, and pharmacotherapeutic response, it is suggested that ADD psychosis in adults be regarded as a separate diagnostic entity. Distinguishing symptomatology, anamnesis, family history, therapeutics, as well as prognosis, are discussed. The concept of attention deficit disorder (ADD), until recently referred to as minimal brain dysfunction (MBD), has been conceived as a childhood affliction with rather specific and circumscribed manifestations. The diverse features which embrace this syndrome, such as hyperactivity and dyslexia, were first identified and subsumed under the collective banner of MBD about 2 decades ago. The complex hypotheses concerning its possible etiology have been detailed elsewhere and need not be repeated here. Rutter, based on his extensive literature review and seminal studies, has come to regard MBD as a subclinical brain disorder developing from a genetically determined biochemical abnormality, which produces symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention deficit, aggressivity, and conduct disturbance. Indeed, factor analytic studies reviewed by Rutter support the co-occurrence of these pathological features in children, yet the empirical evidence for a distinct syndrome and for a precise etiology has been admittedly weak, with some contending that MBD or ADD is simply a catch-all for disparate neurological symptoms of unknown and variable pathogenesis.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

ADD psychosis as a separate entity.

"Attention deficit disorder (ADD) psychosis" merits delineation as a separate entity. It constitutes the end result of the effects of a certain particular neurological deficit (ADD) on personality organization. It is my belief that about 10 percent of psychoses currently diagnosed most often schizophrenic and sometimes affective psychosis must best be considered a separate organic psychosis, i.e., an ADD psychosis. This ADD psychosis, then, is not merely a subgroup of schizophrenia, as I once thought. It merits a separate designation because its etiology, pathogenesis, and life history are different from those of the schizophrenic syndrome. The family histories are also different, as are the psychological findings. The treatment response is so different that it merits urgent consideration. Prognosis, both short range and long range, also seems different from those of the other psychoses.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1983

Psychoanalysis in the 1980s.

Psychoanalysis has passed through several dialectic steps of development. At present, it appears invigorated by social needs such as accountability and by object-relations theory and self-psychology. As the most rigorous application of causality to the understanding of human behavior, it is likely to endure into new social eras and outlive the various diluted and trendy fads.

Community Psychiatry↗
PubMed1981

Brief psychoanalytic psychotherapy of nonpsychotic depression.

Brief psychoanalytic psychotherapy of depression must be predicated upon a clear conceptualization of the 10 main factors which play the dominant role in all depressions, though in differing rank order for each depression, namely: problems of self-esteem, a severe superego, aggression manifesting itself mostly as intra-aggression, a feeling of loss, a sense of disappointment, feelings of deception, orality and stimulus hunger, dependence on narcissistic nutrients, the use of denial as the outstanding defense mechanism, and disturbances in object relations. Areas of intervention and methods of intervention must be very clearly formulated. By vigorously working through the relevant factors with the appropriate methods of intervention, depression, in my experience, lends itself very well to brief psychotherapy most of the time.

Aggression↗
PubMed1979

Overview: the heuristic need for subgroups of the schizophrenic syndrome.

This article is an editor's introduction to the theme of an issue of the Schizophrenia Bulletin devoted to subgroups of the schizophrenic syndrome. The issue includes articles on subtyping from various points of view: neurological, genetic, biochemical, and descriptive. It is hoped that the wide range of findings being applied in ongoing classificatory efforts will produce subgroups with etiologic, prognostic, and treatment validity.

Humans↗
PubMed1979

Epilogue: subtypes of the schizophrenic syndrome--their current status.

The expectation that important subtypes exist in dementia praecox (schizophrenia) was built into the earliest conceptualizations of this disorder by Kraepelin and Bleuler. Although the traditional subtypes are still used, more recent biological, psychological, and descriptive-clinical data suggest that quite different approaches to subtyping and subtyping categories may be more valid. No definitive answers to the subtyping problem have yet been reached, but the solution may well involve a complex consideration of biologic, psychologic, and social variables.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1979

The therapeutic relationship in brief psychotherapy.

Brief psychotherapy is predicated upon a thorough knowledge of psychodynamics and careful conceptualization of each individual's psychopathology. Areas and methods of intervention must be concisely selected and clearly goal-related. As a modality, I see brief therapy relating to traditional therapy the way a short story relates to a novel. It takes special skill and expertise.

Countertransference↗
PubMed1978

Ego function assessment of the psychoanalytic process.

Pressing needs for objective and rapid clinical assessment of the psychoanalytic process are emerging in the current climate of social and medical change. The Ego Function assessment (EFA) method is presented as an available, valid, and reliable quantitative technique which can be used by clinicians for such objective evaluations. EFA formulations are dynamically highly relevant. They are directly derived from psychoanalytic theory and practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

The broad role of Ego Functions Assessment.

The need for accurate assessment and accountability is of paramount professional concern to psychiatry. The authors state that ego functions assessment (EFA) is reliable and valid quantitative technique, useful for these purposes in a variety of psychiatric settings. They suggest the various uses of EFA in five such areas: Professional Standards Review Organizations (PSRO) and third-party funding, forensic psychiatry and legal responsibility, the monitoring of psychotherapeutic drugs, research and planning in psychotherapy, and psychological testing. The authors condlude the EFA is a dynamically sophisticated and easily learned form of mental status examination and that its refinement by extensive use and simplification is likely.

Adult↗