engleski

Cognitive functioning and object relations in psychotic patients treated with psychodynamic group psychotherapy

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate some aspects of cognitive functioning and object relations in patients with psychotic disorder during psychodynamic group psychotherapy process. METHOD: The study included young adult out- patients who participated in the Early Intervention Program for young patients with psychotic disorder, within the “critical period” of their disorder, five years from onset. Upon hospitalization, all patients have completed psycho-educational part of the program and most of them started with group psychodynamic psychotherapy. Patients filled out Revised Beta Examination (measure of nonverbal intellectual ability) at the onset and one and three years after participation in the group psychotherapy and Test of Object Relations (Žvelc, 1998) at the onset and after three years. RESULTS: We found statistically significant improvement of cognitive functioning (F=26.114 ; p=0.000) with significant increase between the first and the third measurament points (p=0.000) as well as between the second and the third (p=0.000). Considering object relations, we found statistically significant decrease of symbiotic merging (t=2.337 ; p=0.025) after three years. CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate significant improvement in cognitive functioning and also desrease of symbiotic merging in patients with psychotic disorders during group psychodynamic therapy within the Early Intervention Program.

cognitive functioning; object relations; psychotic disorders

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