PSZICHOTERÁPIA
A professional journal of practice based on psychotherapeutic methods
A quarterly publication
33rd year, issue 4, November 2024.
Table of contents
Editorial
Dániel Eörsi, Lili Valkó
STUDIES
Theoretical study
Tamás Halmai: Finding the focus: the role of attention in mental disorders
Theoretical study
László Bokor: Freedom and happiness: therapeutic relationship in the social universe
Theoretical study
Kinga Farkas, Gábor Csukly, Peter Fonagy: Is the Balint Group an opportunity to mentalize? Translated by Ádám Czinege
Comment
Judit Béres, Beáta Berta, Anita G. Tóth: Comment on Kitti Jakobovits’s study entitled The situation and dilemmas of bibliotherapy in Hungary
WORKSHOP
Preliminary research study
Petronella Nagy, Kinga Farkas: Following professional personality development – preliminary study about the ‘Pályagörbe’ (Career Trajectory) research
Reading circle
Henrietta Benkő, Zsanett Kepics: Meeting of the Pszichoterápia journal and the professional associations
Around the table
What I have learned today from the patient
PROFESSIONAL LIFE
Back to school
The Debrecen University’s Training in Psychotherapy – Zsanett Kepics, Krisztina Pál
Editorial statement
Debate
Does Hungary need a service provision network in psychotherapy, and if so, why is it not included in public funding? – Anikó Égerházi ♦ Anna Kiss ♦ Enikő Váradi
News
In memoriam: Ferenc Süle – Gabriella Narancsik
Awards
Reviews
Report on the Psychotherapy Council Association’s delegates’ meeting
Conferences – Dániel Eörsi
Literary column: I dreamt a group – Dorottya Csurgai
Book reviews – Zsuzsanna Benyus ♦ István Tiringer
List of professional books and periodicals
Professional programs
Editorial announcements
STUDIES
THEORETICAL STUDY
Tamás Halmai
Finding the focus: the role of attention in mental disorders
Globalisation and digitalisation affect us in a number of ways. One important consequence of these processes is that a vast amount of information becomes available to us very easily. The filters used in the different media seem to be working less and less efficiently. All of this poses a significant challenge to our attention. Attention may be conceived as a complex network or as the combined functioning of bottom-up and top-down processes. It also functions as the primary interface between us and the outside world. Recent research shows a dramatic decline in the average attention span across Western cultures. In mental disorders, however, we encounter more specific attention problems. Early-life deficiencies of the orienting as well as the executive systems weaken overall cognitive control as well as self-regulation over time. Due to their transdiagnostic nature, these deficiencies may serve as the basis for a number of different mental disorders. Current research on attention suggests that diminished vigilance response is characteristic for externalizing, while a marked problem of disengagement is characteristic for internalizing disorders in children. The two different types of attention problems are, thus, connected to different cognitive and, as a result, emotional problems in later life. There is significant evidence, however, that executive attention may be trained and improved. Computerised, game-like methods can work better for children, while adults may benefit from various forms of meditative techniques to train their „mental muscle”. It is an intriguing question how the psychotherapeutic process may impact on our attention – this shall be discussed in the second part of the study.
Key words: attention problem – focus – transdiagnostic – internalizing vs externalizing disorders
THEORETICAL STUDY
László Bokor
Freedom and happiness: therapeutic relationship in the social universe
The study tries to show how social frameworks and history affect individual mental processes and how the work of the patient-therapist relationship unveils the approach to a socially relevant but not yet socially processed topic. Our life is defined by our values. We create internal representations of family, national, social, cultural and professional values. We align ourselves with them, which means that we are guided from within. Successful alignment is accompanied by high self-esteem, joy and freedom. We are thus confronted with the paradox of command and freedom, which poses the important question of how to handle the experience of happiness and freedom in a therapeutic situation. The question of happiness and freedom is a determinant of the life of the individual and society. The inner representations of our guiding values, ideals, prescriptions, and ideals are only partially reflected in commands of the culture, the fulfillment of which is accompanied by the experience of freedom, joy and happiness. That is, there are commands whose fulfillment is accompanied by the experience of freedom. A common joy with a cohesive force accompanies the fulfillment of common values and ideals. This can be called the freedom of attachment. Civilisation owes its existence to this because attachment is an organizing force at the social level. A crisis of values undermines the interconnectedness of attachments. It can therefore lead to critical processes and traumas at the societal level and create a crisis for the individual.
We can assume that the lack of fulfillable self-ideal commands leads to unhappiness and the experience of loss of freedom, i.e. the state of constriction and deprivation of freedom that characterizes the crisis. Therefore, in a therapeutic situation, both extremes – freedom and deprivation from freedom – raise dilemmas that require reflection and understanding in our therapeutic work.
Keywords: freedom – attachment – values – self-ideal commands – self-harm
THEORETICAL STUDY
Kinga Farkas, Gábor Csukly, Peter Fonagy
Is the Balint Group an opportunity to mentalize?
Translated by Ádám Czinege
The Balint group, a time-tested and effective resource to fortify resilience among helping professionals, is explored in depth in this article through a case vignette. Despite its demonstrated efficacy in assisting professionals handling challenging cases, the Balint method’s application in practice remains inexplicably limited. We hypothesize that this restraint is due to a deficient understanding of the method’s mechanisms of functioning and outcomes. In response, we offer a contemporary interpretation anchored in the theoretical framework of mentalization, aligning with current psychotherapeutic standards. The article underscores the Balint group’s remarkable utility, akin to other mentalization-based therapeutic methods, in navigating intricate cases, emotionally demanding situations and circumstances that exceed the expertise and experience of the professional. By highlighting this, we hope to broaden the acceptance of the method, enable systematic assessment of its effectiveness and augment training for group leaders and participant commitment. This endeavour represents both a nod to the research-centric approach originally espoused by Mihály Bálint and an embrace of the growing emphasis on evidence-based methodology in medicine and psychotherapy. Ultimately, we aim to illuminate the potential of the Balint group and promote its extensive application in support of helping professionals.
COMMENT
Judit Béres, Beáta Berta, Anita G. Tóth
Comment on Kitti Jakobovits’s study entitled The situation and dilemmas of bibliotherapy in Hungary
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