Psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) in healthcare professionals.

INTRODUCTION: Burnout syndrome (BS) in healthcare professionals (HCP) has been a major concern, and even more so during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The need for adequate tools to assess BS is urgent. The objective of this study was to validate the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) in HCP. METHODS: The sample comprised 1,054 Brazilian HCP. Data were collected for 1 month (May-2020 to June-2020) using an online self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: All three CBI dimensions demonstrated optimal reliability. All consistency measures attained values > 0.90. Split-half correlation values with Spearman-Brown reliability were higher than 0.8. The parallel analysis suggested two factors: personal burnout (PB) and work-related burnout (WB) items were associated with factor 1, and client-related burnout (CB) items were associated with factor 2. CONCLUSION: Our study corroborates the validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the CBI, pointing to a close relation between PB and WB in HCP. A public domain tool with evidence quality to ensure sufficient content validity can aid in burnout evaluation and encourage both expansion of the research field and accurate detection and treatment of this syndrome in Brazilian HCP.

Psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) in healthcare professionals

Abstract Introduction Burnout syndrome (BS) in healthcare professionals (HCP) has been a major concern, and even more so during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The need for adequate tools to assess BS is urgent. The objective of this study was to validate the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) in HCP. Methods The sample comprised 1,054 Brazilian HCP. Data were collected for 1 month (May-2020 to June-2020) using an online self-administered questionnaire. Results All three CBI dimensions demonstrated optimal reliability. All consistency measures attained values > 0.90. Split-half correlation values with Spearman-Brown reliability were higher than 0.8. The parallel analysis suggested two factors: personal burnout (PB) and work-related burnout (WB) items were associated with factor 1, and client-related burnout (CB) items were associated with factor 2. Conclusion Our study corroborates the validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the CBI, pointing to a close relation between PB and WB in HCP. A public domain tool with evidence quality to ensure sufficient content validity can aid in burnout evaluation and encourage both expansion of the research field and accurate detection and treatment of this syndrome in Brazilian HCP.

Narcissism and suicide risk.

We all have narcissism, but in some cases, the perception of narcissism becomes extreme and pathological. Systematic research has shown that there are three subtypes typical of narcissistic personality disorder: the grandiose/oblivious, the vulnerable/hypervigilant, and the high-functioning subtype. Both biological and psychological factors are at work, but the true cause of pathological narcissism has not been established. The psychotherapy of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is complicated and often frustrating because of the difficulty in engaging a person with narcissistic personality disorder in a psychotherapeutic process. Suicide risk is not rare in patients with narcissism, particularly in the context of severe narcissistic injury, where the patient feels shamed and/or vilified. In conclusion, narcissistic patients are difficult to treat, but the risk of suicide makes it imperative for clinicians to stay involved in the treatment and assist the patient in understanding their vulnerabilities.

The "dragons of primeval days": Termination and the persistence of the infantile.

The persistence of the infantile is nowhere more apparent than in the termination process. This dread of termination may interfere with both the patient's capacity to terminate and the analyst's capacity to let patients go. Certain patients have an intense wish to maintain a permanent connection with the analyst. Analysing that wish does not necessarily change the patient's conviction that they are not ready to fully terminate. The love experienced in the transference may be the best love relationship that the patient has ever had. The intensity and pervasiveness of the infantile in our work may best be glimpsed by studying the defences against the infantile. Ultimately, we must respect the patient's limits in some cases, rather than pick them apart and cajole the patient into another view that we prefer. Freud was perhaps uncharacteristically candid in saying that he questioned whether a true transformation was achieved at the time of termination.

Os dragões dos primórdios: o término e a persistência do infantil¹ / The dragons of primeval days termination and the persistence of the infantile / Los dragones del principio: la terminación y la persistencia de lo infantil / Les dragons des commencements: la terminaison et la persistance de l'infantile

Em nenhum outro momento a persistência do infantil é mais evidente do que no processo do término. Freud foi incaracteristicamente sincero ao dizer que questionava se uma verdadeira transformação era alcançada no término. Ele observou: "Às vezes bem se pode duvidar que os dragões dos primordios estejam realmente extintos". A intensidade e a onipresença do infantil em nosso trabalho serão mais bem vislumbradas pelo estudo da defesa contra o infantil.

The persistence of the infantile is nowhere more apparent than in the termination process. Freud was uncharacteristically candid in saying that he questioned whether a true transformation was achieved at termination. He noted: "One feels inclined to doubt sometimes whether the dragons of primeval days are really extinct". The intensity and pervasiveness of the infantile in our work may best be glimpsed by studying the defense against the infantile.

En ningún otro momento la persistencia de lo infantil es tan evidente como en el proceso de la terminación. Freud fue inusualmente sincero al decir que se preguntaba si una verdadera transformación era alcanzada en la terminación. Él observó: "Una persona se siente inclinada, a veces, a dudar si los dragones del principio realmente fueron extinguidos". La intensidad y la omnipresencia de lo infantil en nuestro trabajo se pueden vislumbrar mejor por medio del estudio de la defensa contra lo infantil.

Nulle part la persistance de l'infantile n'est plus apparente que dans le processus de terminaison. Freud était étrangement sincère lorsqu'il mettait en question si une vraie transformation était atteinte dans la terminaison. Il a remarqué : « Parfois, on se sent incliné à douter que les dragons des jours primitifs seraient vraiment disparus ¼. L'intensité et la diffusion de l'infantile dans notre travail peuvent être mieux aperçues, lorsque l'on étudie la défense contre l'infantile.

Principles of Psychodynamic Treatment for Patients With Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Narcissistic personality disorder is a pleomorphic entity that requires the psychodynamically oriented therapist to tailor the approach to the characteristics of the individual patient. Psychodynamic principles encompass a broad range of interventions depending on the patient's specific characteristics. The therapist's interventions range from interpretation of the transference to supportive approaches that emphasize empathic validation and direct advice. In the absence of systematic data on these variations, this article attempts to offer clinically based principles. Several themes are emphasized: the experience of shame, the predictable transference-countertransference developments, the role of comorbidity with other personality disorders and traits, and the approach to resistances.

Preserving the Person in Contemporary Psychiatry.

Psychodynamic psychiatry is a way of thinking that places the person at the heart of diagnostic understanding and treatment. This emphasis on unique characteristics of an individual is at odds with much of contemporary psychiatric thought, which is geared to identifying a set of criteria designed to identify discrete diagnostic categories with biological underpinnings. This article addresses component parts of the person that are linked to psychodynamic constructs and lie at the heart of diagnostic understanding and treatment in psychodynamic psychiatry.

Does Therapists' Disengaged Feelings Influence the Effect of Transference Work? A Study on Countertransference.

Exploration of the patient-therapist relationship (transference work) is considered a core active ingredient in dynamic psychotherapy. However, there are contradictory findings as for whom and under what circumstances these interventions are beneficial. This study investigates long-term effects of transference work in the context of patients' quality of object relations (QOR) and therapists' self-reported disengaged feelings. Therapists' disengaged feelings may negatively influence the therapeutic process, especially while working explicitly with the transference since discussing feelings that are present in the session is an essential aspect of transference work. One hundred outpatients seeking psychotherapy for depression, anxiety and personality disorders were randomly assigned to one year of dynamic psychotherapy with transference work or to the same type and duration of treatment, but without transference work. Patients' QOR-lifelong pattern was evaluated before treatment and therapists' feelings were assessed using the Feeling Word Checklist-58 after each session. Outcome was measured with self-reports and interviews at pre-treatment, mid-treatment, post-treatment, one year and three years after treatment termination. A significant interaction of treatment group (transference work versus no transference work) by QOR by disengaged therapist feelings was present, indicating that disengaged feelings, even small amounts, were associated with negative long-term effects of transference work, depending on QOR Scale scores. The strengths of the negative association increased significantly with lower levels of QOR. The negative association between even a small increase in disengaged therapist feelings and long-term effects of transference interpretation was substantial for patients with poor QOR, but small among patients with good QOR. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: Therapists' emotional reactions to their patients (countertransference) seem to have a significant impact on both the treatment process and outcome of psychotherapy. Therapists' heightened level of disengaged feelings over a treatment period shows an adverse impact on the effect of transference work for all patients, and especially so for patients with a history of poor, non-mutual and complicated relationships. For patients with a history of reciprocal, sound relationships the negative influence of therapists' disengaged countertransference is minimal. Higher therapist disengagement is strongly related to inferior therapists' skill for patients with a history of poor relationships and/or more personality disorder pathology. Training and supervision should provide direct feedback and focus on therapists' internal thought processes and emotional reactions. Therapists need to recognize and understand their feelings and attitudes in order to use the countertransference as a tool to understand the interpersonal process in therapy.