Using learning objectives for psychotherapy supervision.

Although learning objectives, often in the form of competencies, are now standard for training mental health professionals, they are not generally used to guide psychotherapy supervision. Nevertheless, when learning objectives are not used to guide supervision, supervisors and supervisees often remain uncertain about the goals of supervision, how those goals should be attained, and how they should be assessed. In this paper we review the literature on learning objectives for psychotherapy training and supervision, outline reasons for using learning objectives in psychotherapy supervision, and suggest ways to use learning objectives in training.

Religious delusions in an evangelical Christian woman with anorexia nervosa.

This case report describes the history and hospital course of a 42-year-old devout evangelical Christian woman with a long standing history of anorexia nervosa, binge/purge type, who developed religious delusions, including the conviction that God was prohibiting her from eating. The discussion emphasizes the difficulties of diagnosing and treating psychosis in devout individuals, and the interplay between anorexia, psychosis, and religion.

Glutamate receptor subunit 3 (GluR3) immunoreactivity delineates a subpopulation of parvalbumin-containing interneurons in the rat hippocampus.

Rasmussen's encephalitis is a childhood disease resulting in intractable seizures associated with hippocampal and neocortical inflammation. An autoantibody against the GluR3 subunit of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors is implicated in the pathophysiology of Rasmussen's encephalitis. AMPA receptors mediate excitatory neurotransmission in the brain and contain combinations of four subunits (GluR1-4). Although the distributions of GluR1, GluR2, and GluR4 are known in some detail, the cellular distribution of GluR3 in the mammalian brain remains to be described. We developed and characterized a GluR3-specific monoclonal antibody and quantified the cellular distribution of GluR3 in CA1 of the rat hippocampus. GluR3 immunoreactivity was detected in all pyramidal neurons and astrocytes and in most interneurons. We quantified the intensity of GluR3 immunoreactivity in interneuron subtypes defined by their calcium-binding protein content. GluR3 immunofluorescence, but not GluR1 or GluR2 immunofluorescence, was significantly elevated in somata of parvalbumin-containing interneurons compared to pyramidal somata. Strikingly, increased GluR3 immunofluorescence was not observed in calbindin- and calretinin-containing interneurons. Furthermore, 24% of parvalbumin-containing interneurons could be distinguished from surrounding neurons based on their intense GluR3 immunoreactivity. This subpopulation had significantly elevated GluR3 immunoreactivity compared to the rest of parvalbumin-containing interneurons. Electron microscopy revealed enriched GluR3 immunoreactivity in parvalbumin-containing perikarya at cytoplasmic and postsynaptic sites. Parvalbumin-containing interneurons, potent inhibitors of cortical pyramidal neurons, are vulnerable in the brains of epileptic patients. Our findings suggest that the somata of these interneurons are enriched in GluR3, which may render them vulnerable to pathological states such as epilepsy and Rasmussen's encephalitis.