Women Mental Health in the North of Fars Province, IRAN

Abstract: The women mental health state among the khorambid and Bavanat cities in the north of Fars province is investigated in this research. Ss consisted of 200  women (100 females from each city) that selected by cluster sampling method.  Women mental health was measured by scl-90-R checklist. The most important results are as following: 1). marital status was effective on women’s mental health, so that somatization, obsessive- compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, phobia, aggression, paranoia, psychosis and total scale of mental health had been significantly high among single females. 2). Age was effective on woman’s mental health and mental health indices, except expression, had been significantly high among over 40 years group-age. 3). SES was effective on all of mental health indices, except depression, among women and this topic had been obvious among low SES class. 4). Education level were effective on anxiety and OCD of females, so that under- diploma educational level had been linked with OCD increasing. 5). Residence city was effective on women’s mental health and all of mental health disorders had been significantly higher among khorambidian women than Bavanat partners.

Leadership Style And Job Satisfaction Among Education Offices in the North of Fars Province,  Iran

12th Congress on Work and Organizational Psychology.12th -15th May 2005. Istanbul

ABSTRACT: Leadership style and job satisfaction among employee of Abadeh, Eghlid, Bavanat and Khorambid education offices investigated in this project. Ss included 130 employee (116 M & 14 F) that selected by ratio sampling method. Leadership style measured by Burdne,e & Mmetzcus and Warnerbark scales. Job satisfaction is measured by job descriptive index (JDI). Positive correlation between job satisfaction and leadership style, the effects of city and employment type on job satisfaction and roles of marital status & job income on job satisfaction are demonstrated in present study.

Ethnicity, Personality, Depression and Marital Adjustment among   Married   Couples of Khuzestan Province, Iran

Sixth National Conference on Family and Community Violence Prevention, April 6-9, 2005 .Honolulu, Hawaii

 ABSTRACT: The effects of ethnicity, personality and depression on marital adjustment have been examined in this project. With using of criterion in – group research design, 1200 Ss (600 couples) selected by random sampling method, which is, 150 couples from each ethnic group. In this study marital adjustment, personality and depression of ethnic groups measured by FAD, EPQR-A and BDI, respectively. Findings indicated that ethnicity is an important factor on marital adjustment, personality dimensions and depression of different ethnic groups in Khuzestan province of Iran as an eastern country. A relation was also found between personality and marital adjustment between males and females. Finally, depression was related negatively with marital adjustment in males and females.

        Psychotherapy: Psychoanalysis Approach

  Short-term or long-term psychotherapy can help patient to better understand you and strengthen his or her to cope more effectively with the stress and experiencing from issues that are trying to deal with. Therapy frequency varies for individuals. Generally, patient may be in therapy one to five times per week. Therefore psychoanalytic psychotherapy has many indications for various psychological disorders. Furthermore, psychoanalytical therapy varies in individual, familial and group modes but each of them has specific indications and counterindications. There are common themes in various classical psychoanalysis, Jungian analytic therapy, faith therapy, ego psychological therapy and object relation psychoanalysis. But these are different on emphasis on the dynamic and motivational forces of human beings, focus of personality structure, the importance province of socio cultural factors on human behaviors, clinical methods for data gathering and interpretation and psychotherapy duration.

Like all disciplines, the field of psychotherapy and CBT is evolving, in response to conceptual developments both internal to psychology, and in broader culture, Present article discussed various theoretical approaches on contemporary CBT, and highlight their techniques in clinical settings. As a whole, I argued about resistance in CBT and providing appropriate procedures for increasing of CBT outcomes for patients with different disorders or problems.

        GROUP THERAPY:  FOUNDATIONS, TECHNIQUES AND EFFECTIVENESS

The role of groups in mental health delivery is increasing in prominence, fueled both by controlled empirical studies on effectiveness and by economic considerations such as those driving the managed care system. As much research attests, and recent meta-analyses demonstrate, group therapy can be a potent intervention for various age, social, educational, and diagnostic cohorts^. Similarly, the ameliorative power of support groups for people who share common crises, life transitions, or chronic medical conditions is also highly publicized. However, just as it is well documented that under specific circumstances beneficial medical treatments (e.g., X-ray and medications) are capable of doing harm, it is also generally accepted that there are iatrogenic effects in psychosocial treatments. (Mays & Frank, 1985). In the group therapies, there has been a dearth of scientific studies on negative outcomes. Recent findings about iatrogenic effects in peer-group interventions with acting-out adolescents (Dishion, McCord & Poulin, 1999) ^and women with breast cancer have highlighted the importance of determining factors that may jeopardize treatment safety. Concerns about the potential for harm in group interventions (Mays & Frank, 1985) have led to questions such as: Does the benefit outweigh the risk to participants? What is the extent of negative outcomes? What kinds of adverse effects occur? Which individuals are at risk to be harmed? Do certain leaders present greater risk for participants? What group factors are likely to prove damaging to participants? How can the number of casualties be reduced? This article provided a comprehensive report on the factors contributing to adverse events in multiperson outpatient interventions with adults. Because the lines between therapy groups, growth groups, and self-help groups are not always clear, papers on all three types of interventions are included. Research on family therapy is not. The article argued about historical background, incidence, definitions, and characteristics of negative outcomes. The focus then changes to the major clinical and research findings pertinent to the singular contributions that therapist, group (as an entity), and patient factors make to poor outcome. The importance of researching how interactions of these factors might affect treatment outcome is discussed. In addition, means available to group therapists for reducing adverse outcomes and recommendations for future research are presented. Researches group forms of therapy have been growing at a rapid rate, in part because of their documented effectiveness and economic considerations such as managed care. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to assess the psychological risks of these interventions. The article provided an overview of the published literature and conference presentations on negative effects in adult outpatient groups. Although much of the literature on adverse outcomes in group therapy focuses on single risk factors (e.g., negative leader, group process, or patient characteristics) but the best choice for increasing of group therapy effectiveness in clinical settings is moving toward an integrative and eclectic models  of group therapies.

Anxiety and Psychological Hardiness among University Students in the North of Fars Province

9th European Congress of Psychology - Grenada, Spain
July 3rd -8th, 2005

Abstract: Anxiety and psychological interrelatedness among university students in the north of Fars province are investigated in present study. Ss included 500 university students  from Eghlid  Islamic Azad university, Abadeh Islamic Azad university, Abadeh -Bavanat and Safashahr Payam Noor universities (359 F & 151 M) that selected by ratio sampling method. Anxiety measured by Spealberger,s manifest-latent anxiety test and psychological hardiness measured  by Ahwaz hardiness inventory (AHI).The effects of gender and marital status on  anxiety, the role of marital status on psychological hardiness and negative correlations between anxiety and psychological hardiness  demonstrated in this project  

The study of Worriness & wishes among adolescents in the north of Fars province

28th International Congress of Psychology.8- 13 Aug 2004. Beijing, China

 Abstract: According to the importance of adolescence period, this study investigated the Worriness & whishes among teenagers in the north of Fars province in Iran. Worriness measured by AWI & whishes by WMS scales. Ss were 300 adolescents (150f & 150m) that selected by ratio sampling method. The main results are as following: (1) Worriness and whishes are positively correlated constructs. (2) Worriness and Whishes are multifactorial phenomenon,(3)Girls whishes in comparison with boys are significantly higher on cognitive-emotional, moral-philosophical factors and total WMS scale,(4)Girls Worriness in self-esteem, job, relations with others, insecurity, detail problems factors and total AWI scale are significantly higher than boys.

University students’ mental health in the North of Fars Province, Iran

28th International Congress of Psychology.8- 13 Aug 2004. Beijing, China

Abstract: The mental health of university students are investigated in Abadeh Payamnoor University, Bavanat Payamnoor University & Eghlid Islamic Azad University in the North of Fars Province in IRAN. Ss consisted of 300 students (94 b & 206 G). Mental health measured by SCL90-R checklist. The most important results are as following: (1) University type were been effective on students mental health and aggression, anxiety, depression, phobia, paranoia, psychosis & somatization scales significantly had been higher among Eghlid Islamic Azad University students than others two groups, (2) Gender, birth order, discipline, immigration from others provinces, years of education in university and marital status were not effective on their mental health, (3) SES was been effective on students mental health.

The Effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy on PersonalityStructure among Outpatients with Anxiety Disorders

26^th International Congress of Applied Psychology.July 16-21, 2006, Athens, Greece.

Abstract: Present research investigated the effects of psychotherapy on personality structures among outpatients with anxiety disorders. Theoretical approaches, diagnostic criteria, explanations and contemporary treatments of anxiety disorders were reviewed in the first chapter. Then with regard to scientific-practitioner model on clinical psychology field with emphasis on clinical method and single-case clinical research therapeutic interventions for patients outlined. In present  dissertation personality structure included: psychological hardiness, ego-strength, ego-boundary, defense mechanisms, coping styles, wishes, worry, and five-factor personality model. Psychotherapy model was cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for 16 sessions per case. Main CBT techniques for all cases were correction of cognitive distortions, relaxation, breath control, visualization, desensitization and eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR). Ss included five outpatients, each of them with specific phobia, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and general anxiety disorder (GAD) respectively. All of subjects were female. Present findings indicate the psychotherapy effectiveness on specific phobia, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Marriage and Family    Therapy: Approaches, effectiveness, techniques and clinical applications

Research studies repeatedly demonstrate the effectiveness of marriage and family therapy in treating the broad range of mental and emotional disorders and health problems. Adolescent drug abuse, depression, alcoholism, obesity and dementia in the elderly -- as well as marital distress and conflict -- are just some of the conditions Marriage and Family Therapists effectively treat. Studies also show that clients are highly satisfied with services of Marriage and Family Therapists. Clients report marked improvement in work productivity, co-worker relationships, family relationships, partner relationships, emotional health, overall health, social life, and community involvement After receiving treatment, almost 90% of clients report an improvement in their emotional health, and nearly two-thirds report an improvement in their overall physical health. A majority of clients report an improvement in their functioning at work, and over three-fourths of those receiving marital/couples or family therapy reports an improvement in the couple relationship. When a child is the identified patient, parents report that their child's behavior improved in 73.7% of the cases, their ability to get along with other children significantly improved and there was improved performance in school.Marriage and family therapy's prominence in the mental health field has increased its family-centered approach, and its demonstrated effectiveness. Marriage and family therapists are licensed or certified in 40 states and are recognized by the federal government as members of a distinct mental health discipline in U.S.A. Today more than 50,000 marriage and family therapists treat individuals, couples, and family’s nation wide. Membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) has grown from 237 members in 1960 to more than 23,000 in 1996. This growth is a result, in part, of renewed public awareness of the value of family life and concern about the increased stresses on families in a rapidly changing world. (AAMF,2004).There is now much research proving that family therapy works, especially in operationally defined conditions such as anorexia, anxiety disorders, depression and schizophrenia. Leff, Vearnels, Brewin, et al. (2000) showed in a large and well designed study of depression that couple therapy was more acceptable than antidepressant medication, and at least as effective. With regard to schizophrenia, Thorneycroft and Sesser (2001) point out: One of the most striking aspects of the treatment of schizophrenia is the disjunction between what is known of the efficacy of family psychosocial and psycho educational methods of treatment, and the poor availability of these in ordinary clinical settings. A similar problem exists across the entire spectrum of family therapy, but especially in the treatment of children, where it is compounded by the use of therapies that are not always appropriate (Graham, 2000): here is no longer any room for clinicians who are guided by only one theory and who are only prepared to apply one type of treatment to all the problems they see (415). Why does this extraordinary situation exist, and what may be done to rectify it? How active should family therapists be in this area? How ethical is it for us to apply treatments of unproven effectiveness when other treatments have been shown to work? How concerned should we be about the failure, which is widespread throughout Australia, of adequate public mental health funding to be provided for family (including couple) therapy programs for treating psychiatric disorder? Should family therapists embrace the move towards evidence based practice that has recently gathered so much momentum? The matter of evidence based practice is a crucial one which must be addressed. The view is sometimes expressed by devotees of a particular approach to family therapy that research into its effectiveness is unnecessary. They base this view on what to them is the obvious efficacy of their efforts: why bother to test something when we know it works? Often they add that it would be impossible to assess the effectiveness of their approach, because the measures would interfere with the therapy process, or would be unacceptable to clients. Such views were never acceptable. In reality, family therapists are in a very strong position with regard to evidence based practice. As noted above, there is a huge amount of evidence for the value of family therapy in many disorders. It is mainly a matter of regularly reviewing this body of knowledge, and applying it rigorously to clinical practice. Yet in the current issue of this journal, mention of evidence based practice appears largely absent. Most of the authors compare models, but the comparisons are on theoretical or ethical grounds, rather than focused on effectiveness. To consider theoretical and ethical perspectives without first being adequately informed about the relative value of the therapies is surely putting the cart before the horse. For those who have struggled with the issues outlined above, and who have, like the writer of this editorial, almost given up hope that reason (rather than politics, professional turf, and practice convenience) will come to govern the distribution of resources, there may be a new avenue to explore, namely that of primary care. There is much impetus toward training general practitioners to deliver cognitive behavior therapy. The Federal Government is actively supporting such programs for two main reasons. First, it is cheaper for general practitioners to carry out cognitive behavior therapy than it is for mental health specialists such as psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, although the main focus is on psychiatrists because of the direct effect they have on health service funding through the Medicare rebate. Second, it makes sense for psychiatrists to deal mainly with severe, persisting psychiatric disorders, rather than the less severe conditions that prevail in general practice, which, although they require psychiatric treatment, can be successfully dealt with by properly trained general practitioners in a familiar setting.These arguments in favor of cognitive behavior therapy can just as well be applied to family therapy, although this does not appear to have occurred. In reality, the demand for family therapy is greatly in excess of supply. One of the most frequent complaints voiced by general practitioners throughout Australia concerns timely access to suitable child and family therapy services. Training interested general practitioners in family therapy should be no more challenging that training them in cognitive behavior therapy. Adding a behavioral family therapy component to cognitive behavior therapy training programs would represent an important start. Family therapists will, of course, have a crucial role in such programs, the results of which should be of great benefit to them: if general practitioners treated many of the less complex cases, family therapists would be able to use their skills in the more challenging cases that remained. There is every reason, therefore, for family therapists to support such developments, even to the extent of approaching local general practitioners and offering training and support.

 PSYCHOPATHOLOGY: ANXIETY DISORDERS

Psychopathology research continues to advance our scientific understanding of the conceptualization, diagnosis, etiology, and pathology of mental disorders. This overview of ongoing issues and controversies will, we hope, be helpful in stimulating further progress. Studies that might be of particular value were noted explicitly and implicitly throughout the review, including (but certainly not limited to) research concerning the demarcation of clinically significant (or pathological) from clinically insignificant (or nonpathological) impairments, the pathology of purportedly normal functioning, the impact of cultural values on the conceptualization and validation of psychopathology, the integration and contrast of neurophysiological and psychological models of etiology and pathology, the validation or refutation of diagnostic boundaries, and the further development of dimensional models of psychopathology across the entire diagnostic nomenclature.

Suicidal Tendency among Adolescents and Youth in Shiraz City, IRAN

Siamak Khodarahimi & Sousan Sahami

Abstract: From an integrated sociological and psychological approach, adolescents and youth suicidal tendency investigated in Shiraz city of Iran in present study. Ss included 600 adolescent and youth that were selected by a classified random sampling method as part of the survey design. Results indicated gender, religiosity, problem solving skills, need satisfaction, social support, goal attainment, ethnicity, immigration, socio-economic status, and familial history of suicide and mental disorders all have a significant effect on suicidal tendency rates among adolescents and youth. Multiple stepwise regressions indicated that problem solving skills, needs satisfaction, goal attainments and gender explained thirty-one percent of variation for suicidal tendency. These factors correlated with suicidal tendency negatively. Gender is a large determination factor when considering suicidal propensity, and females are significantly more vulnerable than males. Ultimately religiosity, needs satisfaction, problem solving and goal attainment have a buffer effect in suicidal tendency prevention.