Aim. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most severe chronic diseases. In many cases it leads to disability and results in a decreased quality of life and increased levels of anxiety and depression. The problem that needs to be addressed is the following: which mental processes lead to increased levels of depression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis? Methods. 210 patients with rheumatoid arthritis hospitalized in rheumatology wards took part in the research. They filled in illness perception questionnaires (IPQ-R) and questionnaires for testing strategies of handling stress (Mini-COPE) and the level of depression (CES-D). Results. The observed correlation coefficients indicate that several elements of the perception of one's disease moderately contribute to a high level of depression. Moreover, frequent use of dysfunctional coping strategies contributed to high levels of depression. Dysfunctional coping was moderately linked to depression. Conclusion. The conducted analyses confirmed the links between the beliefs about the disease and levels of depression and showed that the use of dysfunctional coping strategies mediates the relationship between the following elements of the representation of the disease: illness coherence, emotional representation, psychological attribution, risk factors, and the level of depression.

The main aim of the study was to analyze and compare attention and memory performance in pediatric patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and in healthy controls. 28 patients with CF, 30 patients with IBD and 30 healthy subjects took part in the study (all in age range of 7-17). All subjects were in intellectual norm. To analyze the functioning of attention, the d2 Test of Attention by Brickenkamp (d2 test) was applied. Memory performance was assessed using the Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT) and the Trial of 10 words. The CF and IBD groups committed significantly more errors in the d2 test than the healthy controls. The CF group also had significantly higher fluctuation rates and received significantly lower scores in overall concentration performance than the control group. Patients with CF made more mistakes and had fewer correct memory projections in BVRT than the healthy controls. Patients with IBD committed significantly more errors in BVRT than the control group. Patients with CF and IBD also got significantly lower scores in the Trial of 10 words than the control group. Pediatric patients with CF and IBD performed more poorly than the healthy controls on attention and memory tests. More distinct cognitive impairments were observed in the CF group. Further research is needed to find the underlying mechanisms and clinical and/or functional significance of observed cognitive deficits.

Neuropsychological deficits in depression are a significant therapeutic challenge. Their occurrence means poor therapeutic prospects, worse social and professional functioning after therapy, as well as a higher risk of relapse. Despite clinical improvement, they often remain even in a state of complete remission. Beck’s model of depression does not include interventions directed at neuropsychological processes leading to neurocognitive mechanisms responsible for the development and maintenance of depression. More recent trends in cognitive-behavioral therapy seem to involve neuropsychological processes to a greater extent. This applies to Well’s metacognitive model, which focuses on the meta-level of thinking. Therapeutic process involves various aspects of attention, as well as detached mindfulness. Available empirical studies indicate that this therapy model is more effective in reducing neuropsychological deficits than Beck’s model. Acceptance and commitment therapy as well as mindfulness-based cognitivetherapy both focus on the development of skills that are related to the efficiency of executive functions and flexibility of attention, i.e. the cognitive processes whose deficits are characteristic of depression. However, research is needed to confirm their effectiveness in reducing neuropsychological deficiencies compared to other therapeutic models. Interventions in the field of cognitive remediationcan be used to enrich cognitive-behavioral therapies and increase their effectiveness. Until now, they have been used as a separate form of therapy, for example in anorexia.

The project will enable the use of the Tomatis therapy for children with central auditory processing disorders and the introduction of a proprietary curriculum preparing children to learn English in primary school – based on the method that streamlines the auditory analysis, on the proprietary language integration CDs used in the Tomatis method and on individual educational and therapeutic lessons with the teacher. The curriculum will be developed in the course of research under the guidance of prof. UM dr hab. Ewa Mojs from the Poznan University of Medical Sciences. The leader of the consortium implementing the project is the Foundation for Local Activity. The innovation has a high potential for implementation. Applicants to begin with estimate ultimately the ability to implement the program in the first year in 350 schools with the right equipment.