JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Year:2010 | Volume:2 | Issue:2 (6)|Papers Count:10

Introduction: The main Aim of the present research was to identify the factor structure of Postive and negative syndrome scale in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.Method: One hundred fifty patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (84 schizophrenics, 66 schizoaffective) in Fatemi and Eisar hospitals in Ardabil were selected by available sampling method and were asked to answer the Positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS). The raw data were analyzed by factor analysis, and discriminate analysis statistical tests.Results: In schizophrenia group, factor analysis of PANSS showed six factors, which included high tension, Poor rapport, delusion, Blunted affect, Conceptual disorganization and avolition, in the schizoaffective group six factors were identified namely: Blunted affect, distractibility, disintegration, high tension, Excitation and delusion. Result of discriminate analysis showed that 47.1% of disorders were correctly classified by PANSS.Conclusion: The results suggest that exploratory factor structure of positive and negative symptoms scale (PANSS) in the two groups of patients with schizophrenia disorders and schizoaffective disorder are different. Therefore, this instrument has acceptable construct validity in the diagnosis and clinical research.

Introduction: Paranoia and anxiety have cognitive similarities that have led to the development of a brief treatment for paranoia that is modeled on treatments for anxiety.Method: Two patients with paranoid schizophrenia were selected non randomly. SCID, IS and Psychiatric diagnosis was applied. Participants were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 45 days follow up by using Insight Scale (IS), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Daily Rating Paranoid Belief and Persecutory Delusion. A multiple based-across-subjects design was used. Data was inspected by figures.Results: Results indicated reduction of paranoid ideations, persecutory delusions, anxiety, and depression by Patient "A", and in paranoid ideations and anxiety by Patient "B".In 45 days follow up assessment Patient "A" continued the reduction of paranoid ideations, persecutory delusions and anxiety.Conclusion: Anxiety-reduction techniques in cognitive behavioral therapy is affective in reduction of paranoid ideations, persecutory delusions and anxiety associated with them.

Introduction: Currently, several approaches have been presented for treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of Holistic Multidimensional Treatment Model (HMTM) with Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) in the improvement of clinical symptoms of children with autism spectrum disorder.Method: The present study had a Quasi experimental design. The sample included 20 children who were assigned with convenience sampling and randomly divided to 2 groups of ABA (8 boys and 2 girls) and HMTM (7 boys and 3 girls).The diagnosis was made by a child psychiatrist based on DSM-IV-TR criteria and using Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADIR) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). Then the children were referred to Noore Hedayat center for the treatment. Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Bender Gestalt Test, Draw-A-Man Test Good enough, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices Test for children, Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) and performance charts of children based on their videotaped behaviors were used. Data analysis was done using ANCOVA test.Results: Findings showed that in spite of more effectiveness of HMTM compared to ABA, the differences of standard tests except Bender Gestalt Test and performance charts were not significant (P>0.05).Conclusion: In conclusion, HMTM at least had the equal effectiveness to ABA in the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Further researches are needed to compare the effectiveness of these 2 methods without limitations which occurred in this research.

Introduction: Drug abuse is a critical problem in the world and our country. There are various approaches that tries to study this problem. One of the important and useful approaches in this field is addiction as a brain disease. In this field, Gray, s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory argues that brain systems has an important role in peoples tendency toward drugs. The aim of this study is investigating the role of behavioral activation system (BAS) and behavioral inhibition system (BIS) in people’s tendency toward opioids.Method: In this descriptive-correlational Study our sample included 43 male opioid abusers and 43 male controls without any history of drug use, as control group which completed BIS/BAS (Carver & white, 1994) Questionnaire.Results: Logestic regression analysis of data shows that there are significant differences in BAS scores and Fun seeking scores between opioid users and control group.BAS with B=0/12 and Fun seeking with B=0/31 are two variables that can predict tendency toward opioids. That is High scores in this variables increases possibility of opioid abuse.Conclusion: The findings of this study shows that BAS and one of its subsystems (Fun seeking), can predict peoples tendency toward drug abuse. About behavioral inhibition system (BIS) there was no significant difference between opioid users and our control group.

Introduction: Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by developmentally inappropriate and excessive anxiety concerning separation from home or those to whom the individual is attached. Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a treatment approach that integrates traditional and behavioral techniques in the treatment of behavior problems in young children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) in reducing of the separation anxiety of children.Method: This study was carried out as semi experimental and pretest-posttest doing with a comparison group. The Sampling was made using in available method. At first three regions (1, 2 & 6) out of 12 regions in Mashad was chosen from which 11 kindergartens were randomly selected. According to CSI-4 the children that had the symptoms of separation anxiety was 83. At the end, two groups of 12 children randomly selected and the mothers were also randomly assigned to two groups of experiment and comparison group. The experimental group had 5intervention sessions of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT). The comparison group had no PCIT. At the end of treatment, a post test was taken from both groups.Results: The results of covariance analysis showed significant reduction in symptoms of separation anxiety in experimental group compared with control group (p<0.001). The effect size was 54%, which shows that 54% of variance or individual differences in separation anxiety symptoms, between experimental and control groups was due to PCIT.Conclusion: Parent-child interaction therapy on mothers can reduce the symptoms of separation anxiety in children.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cognitive and metacognitive therapy on patients with obsessive compulsive disorder.Method: In this study a quasi-experimental design with pre-post test and two experimental groups were used. The experimental groups were behavioural cognitive (n=18), and behavioural metacognitive (n=11) groups.Interventions were administrated to both experimental groups. Then patients were evaluated by Maudsley Obsessional- Compulsive Inventory (MOCI).Results: The effect size of behavioral- cognitive treatment was equivalent to 1.6 and for behavioral metacognitive treatment was 1.4 that indicate high effect of treatment for both group. However, there was no significant difference between two groups according to ANCOVA.Conclusion: According to the findings when the treatment focused on the cognitive distortions and metacognitive beliefs compulsive both methods effectively decreased obsessive-compulsive symptoms, However there was no significant difference between cognitive- behaviour and metacognitive behaviour treatment methods.

Introduction: Recently one of the most interesting topics in cognitive psychology is the metaphor. Because of their cognitive properties, metaphors were applied in psychological therapy. For the reason that metaphors in different languages are relative to their culture, this research compares application of first and second language metaphors through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (C.B.T) in depressed bilinguals.Method: 19 depressed bilingual (Iranian Azary Turkish) patients from 3 psychological clinics in Tehran were selected by accessible sampling and according to subjects’ characteristics. Beck Depression Inventory, Raven’s progressive matrices test, linguistic applied competences inventory and demographic inventory were conduct to gathering basic level data. The subjects were divided into two groups and the complete cognitive therapy protocol conducted but first group (n=8) received Persian metaphors and second one (n=11) received Turkish metaphors. The value of Beck Depression Inventory after therapy period was compared with basic level through covariance analysis.Results: Findings showed reduction in participants’ scores of Beck Depression Inventory of two groups, in compare of before therapy. Also covariance analysis showed a significant difference between tow groups at posttest.Conclusion: The implications of these results are discussed with respect to the utility of applying cultural congruent metaphors in cognitive therapy for depression.