Medical Psychology and Ethics

5 credits

Winter semester: 3 hours of lectures/1 hour of practicals per week, concluded by a credit

Summer semester: 0 hours of lectures/1 hour of practicals per week, concluded by a credit and a final exam

Conditions for credit:

Attendance at the practicals (1absence in the semester allowed), submitting of 2 essays (1 essay in the winter semester, 1essay in the summer semester)

Annotation:

Psychological aspects of medicine. Communication skills. Crisis intervention. Conveying the diagnosis of a serious disease. Chronic and old patient in medical care. Family issues, family therapy. Nonverbal communication. Psychotherapy, supportive psychotherapy. Ethical aspects of medicine. Troubles and conflicts in doctor - patients communication.

Syllabus:

1. A complex view of a patient:the biopsycholosocial model of disease.

Psychotherapy and medicine:the integration of psychotherapy into medicine.

The psychotherapeutic approach: a targeted use of communication skills and doctor – patient relationship in clinical practice.

2. The relationship between the doctor and the patient : contribution of M. Balint

to understanding problems in the doctor – patient relationship.

3. Basic communication skills: listening,empathy,understanding,interpretation,interest and

support advice and counselling.Integration of communication skills.

4. Nonverbal communication between doctor and patient : verbal,nonverbal and paraverbal

components of communication. Description and classification of nonverbal behaviour. Application of the study of nonverbal bahaviour in doctor-patient interaction.

5. Anamnesis (a case history ) aimed at patient’s psychological problems:examples of forms of specific anamnestic question (e.g.open introductory question, „ yes – no“ questions, questions about patient’s opinion etc.)

6. Doctor - patient interview: history taking versus doctor – patient interview ( dialogue),

defining the framework of the interview, specially oriented interview

(e.g. crisis intervertion, conveying the diagnosis of a serious disease,approach to depressive patiens etc.)

7. Supportive psychotherapy : introduction, definition, basic characteristics of supportive

psychotherapy.

8. Supportive psychotherapy as an independent method of treatment: e.g. in problem situations of life, in a crisis of life values etc.

9. Psychogical aspects of pharmacotherapy: psychological factors on the side of the doctor

and on the side of the patient, psychotherapy and psycho – pharmacotherapy.Placebo effect.

10. Problem situations ( complications) in communication between the doctor and the patient: factors on the side of the doctor, patient and his /her family.

11. Lifespan approach to human development: newborn,long term effects of early experience, maternal deprivation, hospitalisation of children . Adolescence,development tasks, development of identity,sex roles. Ageing,development tasks, adjustment to losses associated with old age , abnormal ageing.

12.Personality: definition,personality development, introversion /extraversion,personality disorders.

Inteligence: definition, IQ , mental retardation.

13. Pain : psychogenic pain, gate – control theory, endorphins ,assessment methods, chronic pain managment.

14. Sleep : stages of sleep, functions of sleep,dreaming, sleep disorders ,sleep hygiene.

15. Social psychology: relevance of social priciples to medicine,behaviour in groups , sick role. Mental health programmes.

16. Psychotherapy : definition ( e.g. dynamic, behavioural,cognitive).

17. Family issues : parenting, violence and sexual abuse, family therapy.

18. Sexual function and dysfunction : psychological influences, cultural influences, therapeutic interventions.

19. Addition : alcoholism and drug addiction, sociocultural and psychological factors, treatment and prevention programmes.

20. Normal versus abnormal behaviour : classification of abnormal behaviour ( anxiety,somatoform disorder,dissociative disorder,depression, obsessive – compulsive disoreder, psychosis,dementia ).

Summary

Object Medical psychology and communication is included into the programme of third year.In the winter semester there are two hours of lectures in two weeeks and two hours of practice training ( seminars)during the same priod (30 hours of lectures and 30 hours of training).Each study group has separate time for practice training.

One of the criterions for the credit is the written work ( literary review or essay). The topic is the matter of students choice.In the summer semester are two hours of lectures in two weeks and two hours of practice training in each week.One of the criterions for the credit is again the written work ( review or essay). The oral examination ends the programme.

Lectures and practice training (seminars) are elaborating topics according syllabus. Practice training is based on specific problems from the clinical medicine e.g. informing, psychological quidance, counselling, communication with handicapped etc. During practice training we use role playing, video feedback and small goups dynamics. Students are sharing their experiences from clinical training and from literature dealing with psychology topics.

The goal of this teaching programme is support of humanisation of medicine, sensibilisation of students to psychological aspects of clinical medicine and training of communication in specific situations of medical practice.

Basic literature:

Introduction to medical psychology. Doctor - patient communication, Beran. J.,Praha, Universita Karlova 2005.

Medical Humanities, An introduction. Cambridge University Press, 2015. Thomas R. Cole, Nathan Carlin, Ronald A. Carson

Psychology for medicine, SAGE 2011, Susan Ayers, Richard de Visser