Psychoterapia 2/2003

Andrew Samuels
Polityka na kozetce?  5
Politics on the couch? 5
Summary: The author's intention is to test out and explore the boundaries that we have been told which exist between therapy and politics, between the inner world and the outer world, between bing and doing, and even between what people still call "feminine" and "masculine" approaches to life - no matter how problematic those words are.

Luigi Zoja
Jedenasty września: transatlantyckie refleksje  17
September 11: transatlantic reflections  17
Summary: The article was written immediately after the events of Sept 11th, 2001. The author - an European living in NY - wrote under the shock of the events, but also under the impression that, after an immediate solidarity, European and American views would diverge. The paper consists on 3 parts: 1. The attacks are interpreted as an attempt - on the part of the terrorists - to revive a myth of "Divine Justice" punishing excessive human arrogance, in this case of the USA. 2. The psychic climate of NY in the aftermath of September 11 is described. Paranoid reactions became normality (i.e. suggestions on the part of the official authorities contained exaggerated, paranoid-like suggestions to mistrust anything) 3. The fear is expressed of a "sound and fury" (see Macbeth) reaction on both parts, leading to irrational, growing destructiveness.

Alfried Längle
Analiza egzystencjalna - poszukiwanie zgody na życie  33
Existential Analysis - the search for an approval of life  33
Summary: This paper presents some modern developments of Existential Analysis - a main school within the range of existential-phenomenological psychotherapies founded by Viktor Frankl. Its history starts with existential philosophy and the battle against anthropological and technical reductionism. It follows an outline of the existential-analytical anthropology with a picture of the forces operating in the individual. This concept describes the human being as being basically directed towards a dialogical exchange with his or her outer and inner world. Existential Analysis has been further developed in the last 15 years mainly by an enlargement of its theory of motivation. Frankl has seen the "will to meaning" as the central motivational power in the person. Three more motivational forces have been found phenomenologically to be in vigour preceding the search for meaning: 1. to overcome in the world with its facts; 2. to relate with one's own life by experiencing its quality and feelings; 3. to find one's own self with identity and authenticity. Together with the search for meaning they form the four fundamental existential motivations

Anna Potoczek
Zespół lęku napadowego a trauma choroby i śmierci  47
Panic disorder and trauma of suffering and death  47
Summary: Panic disorder should be understood not only as a strongly biologically biased disorder and an effect of cognitive distortion, but also as the result of strong trauma of witnessing the suffering and dying of a person close to the patient.

Dominika Łada, Magdalena Gulcz
Podejście poznawczo-behawioralne w leczeniu koszmarów  57
The cognitive-behavioural approach in the treatment of nightmares  57
Summary: Nightmares are the cause of great suffering for the patients either as an isolated symptom or as a part of an anxiety or other mental disorder. As it has been shown recently in a number of studies cognitive-behavioural therapy has proved to be successful in treating patients suffering from nightmares. The article describes cognitive-behavioural protocols used to treat the patients and the studies that confirmed their efficacy.

Janina Czapnik
Propozycja terapii pacjentów z myślami natrętnymi  63
Proposal of therapy for patients with obtrusive thinking  63
Summary: The circumstances, when the idea of therapy for patients with obtrusive thinking was born, have been described. An attempt for the theoretical basis of such a therapy has been made. A hypothesis is presented, that obtrusive thinking has been designed for marking an area, where "defective ideas" functioned.

Barbara Józefik, Małgorzata Wolska, Romualda Ulasińska, Grzegorz Iniewicz
Ocena terapii z perspektywy pacjentów i ich rodzin - opracowanie wyników ankiety  69
Effectiveness of treatment in the Family Therapy Out-Patient Unit of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of CM UJ in the patients' and their family's perspective  69
Summary: The paper presents the result of follow up studies run in the Family Therapy Out-Patient Unit of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of CM UJ in Kraków in 2002. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the treatment. The questionnaires were sent to all family members of 130 families treated between 1992- 1996. They were asked to assess the effectiveness of different forms of psychotherapy used during the treatment. 19% of family members sent the questionnaires back and the qualitative analysis were done. For most of the family members family therapy was perceived as a very useful kind of treatment, which allows for the understanding of the mechanism of the illness, reinforcing coping with the problem, giving emotional support and better understanding of mutual relationships. Same disadvantages of family meetings were also described (e.g. using the one way mirror). The quality of the relationship which occurred between the therapists and the family was an important factor, reinforcing effectiveness of the treatment.