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Biomedical subjects

S Varvin

Publications and source records attributed to S Varvin.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy with traumatized refugees: integration, symbolization, and mourning.

The author takes as a point of departure that severe trauma, such as torture, is "unresolved" because it is not symbolized and is thus dissociated or existing as warded-off parts of the personality. Depending on the severity and character of the trauma, the depth of the regression experienced, and the age and life-circumstances of the patient at the moment of trauma, this can have more or less severe impact on the personality structure. The consequences may at worst be fragmentation and total lack of trust in others. In psychotherapy these patients often fear retraumatization when narrating and working through their traumatic experiences. This pinpoints the paradoxical nature of psychotherapy, where painful aspects of the healing process are brought into focus. The totality of the psychotherapeutic situation must then explicitly be taken into consideration. The author discusses how different aspects of this address different aspects of the psychopathology of the patient. Clinical vignettes illustrate some salient points.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1998

Looking for "a good doctor": a cultural formulation of the treatment of a First Nations woman using western and First Nations method.

The following paper utilizes the DSM-IV suggested clinical and cultural formulation to present an example of how First Nations and western treatment methods can work together to treat a First Nation's woman with a serious mental disorder. The formulation provides reflections on cultural elements in the diagnosis and what distinct and common elements are present in the First Nations and western explanatory models for etiology and treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[Mental health among refugees. Connection between symptoms, traumatization and exile].

Traumatization and psychiatric symptoms among 346 refugees admitted to the outpatient unit at the Psychosocial Centre for Refugees from 1992 to 1996 were registered and analysed by means of systematic, clinical interviews. More than 50% reported exposure to physical torture, and more than 50% had also been involved in serious war actions. Most patients had experienced many forms of persecution. Approximately 10% of the patients had employment in their host country and 20-30% attended school or participated in language courses. Almost 40% were neither employed nor engaged in any kind of studies. 50% were diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress disorder. The relationship between demographic background, traumatization and exile situation, and symptoms and social dysfunction is illustrated by case histories.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

A retrospective follow-up investigation of a group of schizophrenic patients treated in a psychotherapeutic unit: the Kastanjebakken Study.

Of 27 patients treated in a small psychotherapeutic unit, 26 were diagnosed as schizophrenics, and 1 as suffering from schizoaffective disorder according to DSM-III. One patient committed suicide during the observation period, and follow-up data were obtained for 26. Fourteen patients left the treatment program prematurely, 3 early and 11 in the midphase of the treatment. Nine female patients had good outcome (HSRS score greater than 52), 3 of whom had left the program early while 6 completed it. Seventeen patients showed no marked improvement. Level of functioning before admission was a good predictor of outcome. Therapeutic alliance and continuity of treatment were important for favorable outcome.

Antipsychotic Agents↗