Although a growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of behavioral family therapies for patients with schizophrenia, few studies have been carried out on the effectiveness of such programs for Egyptian patients. The current study translated and culturally adapted the Behavioral Family Psycho-Education Program (BFPEP) and conducted a preliminary efficacy evaluation for outpatients suffering from schizophrenia. Thirty patients received 14 sessions of culturally adapted Program (CA-BFPEP) and 30 received treatment as usual; all were followed up for 6 months. Pre- and post-intervention assessment included primary outcome measures that assessed the clinical, social, quality of life and attitude towards medications. The CA-BFPEP group demonstrated significant treatment effects as they had greater reductions in psychotic symptoms (PANSS), improvement of social function (SFQ), quality of life (QoL), and attitude towards medications (DAI), compared to patients in the control group. These results demonstrate the feasibility of implementing family therapy interventions in different cultural settings with relatively minor modifications. These promising findings invite further efforts to maximize the benefits of family therapy interventions internationally and to encourage mental health policy makers to integrate this mode of therapy in routine care management plans for patients with schizophrenia.

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Background: Rhinoplasty is one of the most common cosmetic surgeries performed on the face; seeking this operation can be influenced by socio-cultural factors, personality factors, and psychiatric morbidity. The purpose of this study is to identify the prevalence and profile of psychiatric morbidities that would present among those individuals seeking rhinoplasty and to recognize the importance of preoperative psychiatric assessment. Results: 50.8% of the study sample fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for Axis I and Axis II psychiatric disorders. The most prevalent diagnosis among the whole group was mixed personality disorder (15.2%) followed by body dysmorphic disorder (10.2%), borderline personality disorder (6.8%), and then anxiety disorders (5%). Data revealed that female non-married subjects who were performed with a previous cosmetic operation suffered significantly from psychiatric morbidity. Subjects with psychiatric morbidity showed significant (P, 0.000) higher scores in MBSRQ health orientation and weight preoccupation than their non-psychiatric counterparts. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a high prevalence of psychiatry morbidity in individuals requesting rhinoplasty. It seems important to screen individuals for mental health problems preoperatively to detect crucial psychiatric problems; thus, we can avoid subsequent risk for both individuals and cosmetic surgeons.

The diagnosis of hyperactive-impulsive subtype may predict the severity of ADHD symptoms.

Background: Patients with major mental illness have an increased risk of victimization. Nevertheless, this topic was not thoroughly studied in Egyptian patients with major mental illness. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to investigate the rates of victimization and understand its profile, psycho-demographic and clinical correlates among a sample of Egyptian patients with major mental illness. Participants and Methods: A total of 300 patients (100 patients with schizophrenia, 100 with bipolar and 100 with major depression) were recruited from the inpatient wards and outpatient clinics at Ain Shams University. They were subjected to a demographic questionnaire, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and a Victimization Questionnaire (VQ). Results: In our study population, 130 (43.3%) of patients were victimized, of them 52 (40%) were diagnosed with major depressive disorder, 48 (36.9%) with bipolar disorder and 30 (23.1%) with schizophrenia. Victimization was more in female, married, unemployed individuals and those living in rural areas. Patients exposed to domestic violence or abuse during childhood had higher rates of victimization. All victimized patients were subjected to emotional victimization, 64.6% were physically victimized and 53.8% were subjected to miscellaneous types of victimization. Patients were victimized mainly by acquaintance followed by family members. The majority of patients did not report their victimization and considered it as a personal issue or not important enough to be reported. Conclusion: Patients with major mental illness are susceptible to significant victimization. Clinicians should explore possible history of abuse or victimization in their patients, empower and support the victimized ones.