Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis in Thailand.

The authors provide an overview of psychiatry and psychodynamic psychotherapy in Thailand, including a discussion of practice patterns, trends, and the cultural context of the delivery of psychotherapy services in this Southeast Asian country. They discuss a way forward in psychodynamic psychotherapy training that is collaborative, self-sustaining, and leads to competence. They address how to culturally adapt psychodynamic psychotherapy and suggest areas of research that would advance the field. Lastly, they discuss psychodynamic pedagogical strategies that may be acceptable and effective in underserved areas.

International University Students' Pre-Travel Preparation, Knowledge and Practices towards Travel Health in Thailand: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

International university students are vulnerable travellers due to their unpredictable schedules and lifestyles. As Thailand continues to see an increase in international students, evaluating their pre-travel preparation and preventive behaviours is crucial to identify areas for improvement. For this purpose, an online survey focusing on pre-travel preparation, knowledge and preventive practices related to travel health was distributed to 324 eligible international students from 14 Thai universities, with the majority being from Asia and Oceania (79.0%; n = 256). The results showed that half of the respondents (53.7%; n = 175) received professional pre-travel advice, mainly because of the mandatory health examination and vaccination requirements of the host university. The study also revealed inadequate knowledge about infectious and non-infectious health risks, with only one-third being aware that Japanese encephalitis is transmitted by mosquito bites, and less than half of the students recognising Thailand's emergency services number. Poor preventive practices were also observed, with less than half of those with new sexual partners consistently using condoms and less than half of those riding motorcycles always wearing helmets. These findings highlight the need for a new strategy to improve the standard of travel health preparation among this group of young adult travellers, particularly those from resource-limited countries.

Sources of suicide methods: A survey in undergraduate students of a Northern Thai university with history of suicidal thoughts.

OBJECTIVE: to understand how undergraduate students with history of suicidal thoughts retrieve information on suicide method. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study using custom self-rated questionnaires consisting of demographic data, history of previous suicidal thoughts or attempts, current suicidal risks via 8q questionnaires, known methods of suicide and history of suicidal attempt or planning and information on sources of suicide method. Participants were Thai undergraduate students of Mae Fah Luang University who were visiting psychiatric outpatient clinic of the university hospital and had history of suicidal thoughts. RESULTS: Out of 39 participants, 25 participants reported intentionally searching for information on suicide methods while 31 participants reported unintentionally acquiring information on suicide methods. 19 participants reported that they both intentionally searching for the information and unintentionally acquiring it. The internet was used by all 25 participants who intentionally searched for information on suicide methods, with the second most common way was retrieving information from other suicidal attempters (reported by 11 participants). The most common websites/applications that were purposefully used to search for suicide methods were Google, a local web board and Facebook respectively. SUMMARY: The internet is the most commonly used method to intentionally search for information on suicide methods by undergraduate students of a Northern Thai university who have history of suicidal thoughts. Google and a local web board were the most frequently used websites/applications.

Predictive factors for suicidal attempts: A case-control study.

PURPOSE: To identify predictors for 12-month suicide attempt from general psychiatric outpatients. DESIGN AND METHODS: A case-control study compared 55 cases of suicide attempt within the previous 12 months matched for age and sex with 55 nonsuicidal cases. All were interviewed for psychiatric and personality disorder (PD) diagnoses using a DSM-IV-TR diagnostic interview. FINDINGS: Factors associated with suicide attempt included depressive disorders (odds ratio [OR] = 4.62) and borderline PD (OR = 8.99). PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: More attention should be paid to identifying PD especially borderline PD in suicidal attempters, and further study of modifiable factors associated with depression and borderline PD is encouraged.