Attachment--and loss.

Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism

Objective Impairments in laboratory tasks of metacognition appear to be associated with symptoms, functioning, and neurocognition in schizophrenia We sought to replicate these results in a study of metacognition within personal narratives of self and illness Method Narratives of 61 men with schizophrenia were rated using the Metacognition Assessment Scale and correlated with concurrent assessment of symptoms, quality of life, neurocognition and insight Results Controlling for age and education, understanding of one's own mind was linked with better neurocognition across multiple domains, and lesser emotional withdrawal Greater understanding of other's mind was linked with better verbal memory and less emotional withdrawal Greater metacognition in the context of purposeful problem solving was associated with better verbal memory, insight and social function, and less emotional withdrawal and paranoia Conclusion Deficits in metacognition within the narratives of persons with schizophrenia are linked with symptoms, quality of life, neurocognition and poorer awareness of illness

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Metacognition amidst narratives of self and illness in schizophrenia: associations with neurocognition, symptoms, insight and quality of life.

In this article the authors present a method and a scale for the evaluation of the metacognitive profiles of psychotherapy patients. There will be a description of the metacognitive function and of the alterations that occur to it during treatment. Various hypotheses will then be considered: (1) that the metacognitive function has a modular structure; (2) that for each type of psychopathological condition there is a different metacognitive deficit profile; (3) that to be successful psychotherapy needs to involve an improvement in any deficient metacognitive sub-function. There will then be a presentation of the Metacognition Assessment Scale (MAS) for the assessment of metacognitive deficits during psychotherapy. We shall then describe the first results we have on the application of the scale. Finally there will be an analysis of two patients suffering from Personality Disorders and a demonstration of what metacognitive deficit profile each one has and how it is modified over the course of psychotherapy treatment. The article ends with a discussion of the hypotheses made at the start in the light of the results that have emerged. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

How to evaluate metacognitive functioning in psychotherapy? The metacognition assessment scale and its applications

The very name of this book and its subtitle, "Creative Self-Deception," start a fountain of thoughts going in all directions. Is it useful to deny reality; is it helpful; and, in sickness, or in health? We all have areas of denial, and its import is whether they are vital areas, and whether we can live or function better by denying in seeking to cope with reality. The book is full of generalizations. In some instances there are attempts to validate through citing research, but often the references are unclear and at times run counter to the thesis they are cited to prove. For example, an instance is given of a person seeing a lion on the savannah and thinking either "The lions are back, it must be spring" or "The lions are back—I must run or be killed." Thinking it is spring is a "positive illusion," but there is no

Positive Illusions: Creative Self-Deception and the Healthy Mind

A narcissistic personality can be seen as arising from a number of separate dimensions of mental life: (a) a characteristic set of states of mind; (b) alterations in metacognitive skills—in particular a difficulty in accessing one’s own inner states, desires, and emotions—and a difficulty in understanding another’s mind from a decentrated perspective; (c) the sensation that experiences are not being shared with a relevant other and that one does not belong to real-life groups; (d) characteristic methods of regulating one’s self-image and self-esteem through cognitive biases; (e) the use, in most cases, of values, rather than emotional experience and interpersonal regulation, for regulating behavior; and (f) characteristic dysfunctional interpersonal cycles. In this work the authors propose an integrated model that describes how the disorder perpetuates itself and suggest some hierarchies of importance between the elements portrayed above.

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Metacognition, States of Mind, Cognitive Biases, and Interpersonal Cycles: Proposal for an Integrated Narcissism Model

The authors present the theoretical background, development, and validation of a new psychotherapy process rating tool: Grid of Problematic States (GPS). The GPS is based on Horowitz's states of mind theory, which describes recurrent patterns of experience and behavior. Meaningful changes in the observed states indicate therapeutic change. The GPS is designed for use with transcripts from psychotherapy sessions and focuses on narrative episodes within the patient dialogue. The GPS was applied to a completely transcribed cognitive psychotherapy with a patient diagnosed as mild major depressive. The authors demonstrated that the GPS could reliably assess disorganization and the development of stable construct clusters of thought themes, emotions, and somatic sensations. The interpretation of results is consistent with the patient's clinical assessment.

Assessing problematic States in patients' narratives: the grid of problematic States.

È possibile osservare diversi profili metacognitivi in diversi disturbi di personalità? Come misurare la funzione metacognitiva in psicoterapia

In this paper we present a method to evaluate the change, during the psychotherapeutic treatment, in the ability of patients to understand and regulate their mental states (metacognitive skills).

Maurizio Falcone

Papers

How to evaluate metacognitive functioning in psychotherapy? The metacognition assessment scale and its applications

Metacognition, States of Mind, Cognitive Biases, and Interpersonal Cycles: Proposal for an Integrated Narcissism Model

Assessing problematic States in patients' narratives: the grid of problematic States.

È possibile osservare diversi profili metacognitivi in diversi disturbi di personalità? Come misurare la funzione metacognitiva in psicoterapia

Methodology of the Evaluation of the Metacognitive Functions during Psychotherapy