Browsing by Author "Dirks, Bryan Larry"

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    A follow up study of alcohol dependent patients following in patient treatment at the Avalon Treatment Centre
    (1989) Dirks, Bryan Larry; Ben-Arie, O
    This is a report of an investigation assessing outcome in a consecutive series of alcohol dependent patients admitted to the Avalon Treatment Centre from 21 October 1985 to 14 April 1986. Although extensive work has been done on the epidemiology of alcoholism among "coloured" people * [classified in terms of the population registration Act]. A direct result of the original field survey by Gillis, Keet and Slabbert was the establishment of this centre. A follow up study of people identified as having drinking problems in the original field survey showed that few people stopped drinking on their own account. Little is known about treatment outcome of patients hospitalized at this centre. Treatment at The Avalon Treatment Centre is based on therapeutic community principles, group therapy, family and social case work as well as the use of antabuse. Contact with Alcoholics Anonymous is encouraged during and after hospitalisation. In addition patients are also followed up by a community sister.
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    Repetition of parasuicide : personality disorder, personality and adversity
    (1996) Dirks, Bryan Larry
    This study aims to describe the relationship of personality disorders to the repetition of parasuicide whilst taking cognizance of recent developments in the classification of and assessment for personality disorders. This study also aims to determine whether risk factors described by other authors for further suicidal behavior are characteristic of these patients locally. This study also aims to describe the contribution of newly described personality dimensions to repetition of parasuicide. This study also describes suicidal behavior in the follow-up period of a cohort of parasuicide patients who were seen in the emergency psychiatric service during follow-up. This study also examines the comorbidity between the personality disorders categories defined by the clinical criteria of the Tenth International Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders or ICD-10, (World Health organization, 1992). This study compares the co-occurence of these new personality disorder categories with the comorbidity which has been observed in older classification systems (American Psychiatric Association; 1980, 1987) in order to determine whether this new classification system has led to less comorbidity among the personality disorders. This study also examines aspects of the relationship between informant based diagnoses of personality disorder and personality dimensions described by Cloninger et al (1994).