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Urgency-rash action during strong emotion-is a robust correlate of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). This study tested whether urgency is associated with time between NSSI urges and NSSI, and sought to replicate the finding that urgency is associated with NSSI history. Participants attending a partial hospitalization program (N = 669) completed self-report measures of urgency, NSSI history and latency, and psychiatric symptoms. Consistent with previous research in clinical samples, rates of lifetime engagement in NSSI were high. Using logistic regression to predict short vs. long latency between urges and NSSI, no significant relationship emerged between negative urgency and latency to self-injure. Negative urgency more than doubled the likelihood of NSSI history (p < .001, OR = 2.39). In addition, exploratory analyses revealed several links between NSSI latency and negative urgency. Results confirm that urgency is robustly related to NSSI, yet also suggest that more research is needed to understand how urgency relates to the parameters of NSSI within those who self-injure. Use of retrospective self-report measures may limit the ability to test links between urgency and latency of NSSI.

The effect of early onset frontotemporal dementias (FTD) on spouses and children is profound, requiring different types of support services from pre-existing Alzheimer's disease interventions already in place. This article explores how the needs of families living with FTD resulted in three programme initiatives developed at Baycrest (an academic health sciences centre focused on ageing, in Toronto, Canada) to meet the needs of this population. These included an Internet-based videoconferencing support group for spouses, a website that provides support and counsel for children and their parents, and an adult day programme designed for FTD patients. The strength of these interventions is that services were developed with involvement of stakeholders in FTD care from the start, to deal with gaps in services in a sustainable way.

Primary Objective: To determine (i) the effectiveness of a goal-directed, environment-focused occupational therapy intervention and (ii) to compare rehabilitation gains across a day hospital (outpatient) setting and home setting., Research Design: Repeated measures cross-over design with pre-post test measures and a baseline control period, random allocation to a treatment setting sequence and an independent outcome assessor who was blinded to treatment sequence., Methods and Procedures: Descriptive and non-parametric comparative analyses employed. Fourteen participants with severe traumatic brain injury completed a 12 week outpatient occupational therapy programme. The programme was directed by the participant's chosen goals, which were established using a client-centred, structured, goal-planning process. Outcome measures included Goal attainment scaling, the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, the Sydney Psychosocial Reintegration Scale, the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Index, the Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors and self-rated satisfaction with therapy., Main Outcomes and Results: The therapy programme resulted in significant improvements in goal attainment, occupational performance, psychosocial reintegration and ability and adjustment levels, compared with baseline. Differences in gains made in home vs day hospital settings were not statistically significant, with the exception of higher levels of patient satisfaction with therapy at home., Conclusions: To assist further with decision-making about where to conduct therapy, further research is needed to compare the outcomes and determine the cost effectiveness of therapy at home and in day hospital settings.

Objective: To investigate and compare the treatment effects of psychodynamic group therapy (PGT) and body awareness group therapy (BAGT) as outpatient treatment following day treatment for personality disorders., Materials and Methods: Twenty-one female patients given PGT were compared with 29 female patients receiving BAGT. The average length of outpatient therapy was 24 and 25 months, respectively. The patients were assessed trough the quality assurance system of the Norwegian Network of Psychotherapeutic Day Hospitals, including the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II) for diagnostic purposes. Outcome was assessed using the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Symptom Check List 90-R sum score (Global Severity Index, GSI), Circumplex of Interpersonal Problems (CIP), at admission and at discharge from day treatment, and at the end of outpatient group therapy., Results: Patients undertaking BAGT improved significantly on GAF, GSI and CIP, and reported high ratings of satisfaction with therapy and group climate at the end of outpatient treatment. The magnitude of change on GAF and CIP was significantly higher in the BAGT group compared with the PGT patients who displayed only minor changes after outpatient treatment., Conclusions: BAGT is possibly an effective outpatient continuation therapy for women with severe personality disorders, but because of limitations of this study, these results warrant a larger randomized study.

Recent clinical reports have shown an increasing number of patients afflicted by eating disorders in the western world. There are numerous causes and mechanisms leading to eating disorders that affect the psychoneuroendocrinoimmune system. In this study, we define a novel psychoneuroendocrinoimmune nursing approach for anorexic and bulimic patients' treatment. According to the specific diagnostic items deriving from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases, and clinical guidelines in eating disorders formulated by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, we carried out a qualitative study on the nursing treatment chosen by 210 international centers considered as a sample. This study was based on a no structured interview via e-mail to better understand the nursing approach in anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Thanks to the selected centers' answers, four different levels of nursing care were identified, that include: the nursing role analyzing the spectrum of patients' problems; the nursing intervention in inpatient care; the nursing intervention in outpatient care; the day hospital treatment. All four prove to be especially useful in the nursing practice.

The aim of this paper is to review the level of empirical evidence for four different formats and settings that are available for psychotherapy delivery, i.e., group psychotherapy, out-patient individual psychotherapy, day hospital psychotherapy, and in-patient psychotherapy. The focus is on studies which include a wide range of DSM-IV-TR Axis II personality disorders. The results show that various psychotherapeutic treatments have proven to be efficacious with respect to reducing symptomatology and personality pathology, and improving social functioning in patients with Cluster A, B, C, or not-otherwise-specified personality disorders. This is especially true for cognitive-behaviorally or psychodynamically oriented out-patient individual psychotherapies. However, some evidence indicates that this also applies to (1) long-term, psychodynamically oriented group psychotherapy, (2) short-term, psychodynamically oriented psychotherapy in a day hospital setting, and (3) various duration variants of psychodynamically oriented, in-patient psychotherapy programmes. The available evidence mostly applies to borderline, dependent, avoidant and not-otherwise-specified personality disorder, and perhaps also paranoid, obsessive-compulsive, and schizotypal personality disorder. It is unknown whether these conclusions also apply to schizoid, antisocial, narcissistic, and histrionic personality disorder.

Research evidence indicates that approximately 10 h a week is a sufficient intensity for short-term day treatment programmes for patients with personality disorders. In this article, we discuss which therapeutic components should be included in such a programme. Relevant research and clinical literature are reviewed. The fit between the therapeutic components and the programme as a whole is discussed according to: 1) scientific evidence of the effectiveness of the therapeutic components, 2) a sound theoretical rationale, 3) evidence of user satisfaction among patients, 4) clinical experiences of staff, 5) comprehensiveness and consistency, and 6) available therapeutic skills and resources. We advocate an 11-h treatment programme comprising small group psychotherapy, art group therapy, large group psychotherapy, cognitive group therapy, problem-solving group therapy and optional adjuncts (cognitive behavioural group therapy) for patients with additional anxiety and eating disorders.

In its first year of operation, the Alzheimer's Disease Day Treatment Program has proved beneficial to both patients and families. The program has aided family members in acceptance of the illness through education, in practical problem solving through information, and in reduction of the burden of care through respite. Family members have learned how to manage their feelings and have increased their insight into the determinants of patient behavior. In learning to cope with the illness, they have helped both themselves and the patient.