Hubert Suszek

Relationship Between Emotional Processing, Drinking Severity and Relapse in Adults Treated for Alcohol Dependence in Poland

AIMS Growing data reveals deficits in perception, understanding and regulation of emotions in alcohol dependence (AD). The study objective was to explore the relationships between emotional processing, drinking history and relapse in a clinical sample of alcohol-dependent patients. METHODS A group of 80 inpatients entering an alcohol treatment program in Warsaw, Poland was recruited and assessed at baseline and follow-up after 12 months. Baseline information about demographics, psychopathological symptoms, personality and severity of alcohol problems was obtained. The Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence (EI) Test and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) were utilized for emotional processing assessment. Follow-up information contained data on drinking alcohol during the last month. RESULTS At baseline assessment, the duration of alcohol drinking was associated with lower ability to utilize emotions. Patients reporting more difficulties with describing feelings drank more during their last episode of heavy drinking, and had a longer duration of intensive alcohol use. A longer duration of the last episode of heavy drinking was associated with more problems identifying and regulating emotions. Poor utilization of emotions and high severity of depressive symptoms contributed to higher rates of drinking at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS These results underline the importance of systematic identification of discrete emotional problems and dynamics related to AD. This knowledge has implications for treatment. Psychotherapeutic interventions to improve emotional skills could be utilized in treatment of alcohol-dependent patients.

Group Cognitive‐Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders With Personality Disorders in Day Clinic Setting

PURPOSE Short-term group cognitive-behavioral therapy (GCBT) with weekly homogeneous group sessions for treating specific anxiety disorders is relatively well developed and recognized. However, 12 weeks of intensive daily therapy for mixed anxiety and personality disorders is not. The current article aims to fill this gap by presenting the method of intensive transdiagnostic GCBT for anxiety disorders with comorbid personality disorders in a day hospital setting. Preliminary studies showed that participants exhibited significant improvement during this type of treatment. CONCLUSIONS This article reviews the advantages of group therapy that is transdiagnostic over the homogeneous group and individual therapy formats. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS The detailed description of the current therapeutical program may facilitate the development of similar programs in day clinic settings.

Altered states of consciousness, dissociation, and dream recall.

In a sample of 71 medical students, dream recall frequency was positively correlated with proneness to altered states of consciousness (r = .26) measured by the State of Mind and Consciousness Questionnaire and dissociation (r = .29) measured by the Dissociative Experiences Scale II. A regression analysis, however, yielded neither altered states of consciousness nor dissociation, sex, or age to be significant predictors of dream recall frequency. Among women dream recall frequency was associated with proneness to dissociation; among men it was correlated with proneness to altered states of consciousness.

The Discursive Mind Model

Abstract The paper proposes the model of discursive mind and describes the cognitive architecture of the dialogically structured mind. The model draws on Hermans’ (1999) theory of the dialogical self (DS) and Wertsch’s (1991) vision of mind as a “tool kit” with socio-cultural instruments, and also on the socio-cognitive approach to personality in experimental psychology. An I-position is understood here as an active totality of experience, shaped in a particular social context and represented in a separate representation module. Th ere are many modules in the mind because in the course of socialization, the individual comes across many different social contexts. Th e described model and its preliminary empirical verification not only gives support to the DS theory, but can also be a leverage of its contribution to general theories of mind stemming from other theoretical traditions

Self-pluralism and dissociation.

The study examined the relationships among self-pluralism and dissociative experiences. 100 students were assessed using the Self-pluralism Scale and the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Scores on self-pluralism were positively correlated with others: overall Dissociation (r = .50), Absorption (r = .54), Depersonalization (r = .43) and Amnesia (r = .28).

Interpersonal and intrapersonal emotional processes in individuals treated for alcohol use disorder and non-addicted healthy individuals

INTRODUCTION Prior work largely confirms the presence of various emotional processing deficits among individuals with an alcohol use disorder (AUD); however, their specificity and relevance still warrant investigation. The aim of the current study was to compare selected aspects of emotional processing (i.e., mental state recognition, alexithymia, and emotional intelligence) between individuals treated for an AUD and healthy individuals. METHODS The AUD sample consisted of 92 abstinent men with AUD who were participating in an 8-week inpatient abstinence-based treatment program in Warsaw, Poland. The healthy control (HC) group consisted of 86 men recruited from the Medical University of Warsaw and the Nowowiejski Hospital administrative staff. Baseline information about demographics, psychopathological symptoms, and severity of alcohol problems was obtained. Mental states recognition was assessed using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). Alexithymia was measured with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) was used to measure emotional intelligence (EI). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS After accounting for potentially confounding variables (demographics, severity of depression, anxiety symptoms) in MANCOVA models, patients with AUD presented deficits in identification and description of their own emotional states, as well as lower emotion regulation skills when compared to HCs. No between-group differences were observed in self-reported recognition of other peoples emotions, social skills, and a behavioral measure of mental states recognition. Specific rather than general emotion-processing deficits in participants with AUD were identified, suggesting problems with processing of intrapersonal emotional signals.

Group Process and Therapeutic Protocol of Intensive Transdiagnostic Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Personality Disorders in a Day Clinic

ABSTRACT This brief report presents group processes and the treatment protocol of intensive, transdiagnostic group cognitive-behavior therapy for anxiety with comorbid personality disorders in a day clinic. It describes the history of and rationale for the development of this 3-month, 15-hour a week group treatment and the utilization of group processes during this therapy. The authors argue that the group format presented here allows the treatment of personality disorders that are frequently comorbid with anxiety disorders.

Characteristics of therapists working with people experiencing psychosis: A nation-wide survey in Poland

Objective: To characterise how psychotherapy with people who expereince psychosis is conducted in Poland, and by whom. Method: A nation-wide online survey and paper and pencil enquiry comprised of 40 questions and addressed mainly to the members of psychological, psychiatric and psychotherapeutic associations was administered to a sample of 1196 people who provide psychotherapy. Results: Of the 1196 therapists surveyed, 30.8% reported working with people experiencing psychosis. Therapists working with psychotic people were more likely than the rest of the therapists to have graduated in medicine, worked in a psychiatric hospital or public counselling centre and trained in psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy. No difference in gender and age or years of experience was found between the two groups. Conclusions: The percentage of therapists working with psychotic patients in Poland is similar to the international average, but lower than in Austria. Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapists play an important role in the psychological treatment of people experiencing psychosis in Poland.

The association between impulsivity, emotion regulation, and symptoms of alcohol use disorder

Emotion dysregulation and impulsivity are important factors influencing the development and course of alcohol dependence. However, few empirical studies investigate the association between different aspects of impulsivity (cognitive, attentional, behavioral), emotion regulation, and alcohol use disorder symptoms in the same model. The goal of this study was to assess the association between emotion regulation and different facets of impulsivity among patients with an alcohol use disorder and healthy controls. The sample was comprised of 273 individuals: 180 participants with an alcohol use disorder undergoing inpatient alcohol treatment and 93 healthy controls. Emotion regulation was assessed using the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test subscale. Impulsivity was assessed with Barratts Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Statistical models tested both the BIS-11 total score, as well as three secondary factors (non-planning, attentional, and motor impulsivity). Findings indicate that individuals with alcohol use disorder symptoms were characterized by poor emotion regulation and high levels of impulsivity in all analyzed domains. Moreover, path analytic models indicated that after accounting for demographic factors (i.e., biological sex, age, education) there was evidence for a significant indirect effect of alcohol use disorder symptomatology on non-planning and attentional impulsivity via emotion regulation. There was no association between emotion regulation and motor impulsivity. These findings indicate the importance of targeting emotion regulation skills as well as behavioral control when treating patients with alcohol use disorder.

Relationships between components of emotional intelligence and physical pain in alcohol-dependent patients

Purpose Chronic pain is a significant comorbidity in individuals with alcohol dependence (AD). Emotional processing deficits are a substantial component of both AD and chronic pain. The aim of this study was to analyze the interrelations between components of emotional intelligence and self-reported pain severity in AD patients. Patients and methods A sample of 103 participants was recruited from an alcohol treatment center in Warsaw, Poland. Information concerning pain level in the last 4 weeks, demographics, severity of current anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as neuroticism was obtained. The study sample was divided into “mild or no pain” and “moderate or greater pain” groups. Results In the logistic regression model, across a set of sociodemographic, psychological, and clinical factors, higher emotion regulation and higher education predicted lower severity, whereas increased levels of anxiety predicted higher severity of self-reported pain during the previous 4 weeks. When the mediation models looking at the association between current severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms and pain severity with the mediating role of emotion regulation were tested, emotion regulation appeared to fully mediate the relationship between depression severity and pain, and partially the relationship between anxiety severity and pain. Conclusion The current findings extend previous results indicating that emotion regulation deficits are related to self-reported pain in AD subjects. Comprehensive strategies focusing on the improvement of mood regulation skills might be effective in the treatment of AD patients with comorbid pain symptoms.