[Methadone therapy--for whom?].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R B Pettersen.
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Two case studies are used to demonstrate the possibility of rehabilitating heroin addicts by means of maintenance treatment with methadone. The subjects had been addicted to heroin for more than 20 years, and had gone through several drug-free programmes of treatment. The subjects were studied using a series of neuropsychological tests. These showed normal neuropsychological status, and the necessary cognitive conditions for attending work and driving a car. Important factors in a successful maintenance treatment are: thorough psychological diagnosis before the treatment is started, close follow-up and frequent urine tests.
Conceptual and methodological shortcomings of research on family and interactional psychopathology are owing mainly to the use of vague and ill-defined concepts of communication. Based on a theory of language use and communication within general social and cognitive psychology (e.g., Heider, Mead, Piaget, Rometvet) Blakar has outlined a methodology by which interaction is analyzed in terms of how and to what extent the participants (families) manage or fail to cope with the various prerequisites for successful communication under varying situational conditions. A study illustrating this program is presented: The interaction of twelve families, six with (Group S) and six without (Group N) a schizophrenic member, is analyzed in Blakar's communication conflict situation with respect to the members' ability to decenter and take the perspective of each other. Group S proved significantly more egocentric, their egocentric attitudes resulting, as would be expected, in very inefficient communication. Moreover, Group S were not able to adapt their pattern of communication to the changing situational requirements. Finally, the subtle interplay between the capacities and behavior of the individual members and the family system is illustrated: the egocentrism of the members resulted in "closed systems," and the closed systems hindered adequate feedback, forcing the members to decenter.