[The systematics of psychogenic depressions (reactions of complicated grief)].

OBJECTIVE

Reactive depression provoked by the loss of loved ones is a controversial problem of modern psychiatry based on the diametrically opposite conceptions. The author suggests a clinical typology of these depressions based on a psychopathological analysis of trigger mechanisms and constitutional predisposition.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

Fifty-five patients, aged from 31 to 65 years (mean age 46.9±13.9 years), were examined. The course of depression, including previous psychogenia, was followed up for 5-15 years (mean 11.5±3.6 years).

RESULTS AND

CONCLUSION

Three types of catathymic complexes (affective dissonance, affective resonance and affective imbalance) can be considered as a significant parameter responsible for trigger mechanisms of these psychogenias and their further dynamics. Each type determines not only the psychopathological structure of psychogenic depression but has a predictive validity thus allowing to predict the dynamics of depression and its nosological attribution.