A crisis-oriented approach to the rehabilitation of myocardial infarction patients
Myocardial infarction is introduced as a medical syndrome in which psychosocial factors are thought to have significant bearing on the etiology and outcome of the disease. An outline of the epidemiology, pathophysiological process, etiology and prognosis is provided in order to highlight the many psychological implications in each of these areas. The study aims at proposing a model for psychological intervention with myocardial infarction patients that is both economical and effective. Crisis intervention has been chosen as the theoretical basis, as it is felt that many of its concepts apply in this case. Myocardial infarction is seen primarily as a "shock" type crisis as described by Korner (1973) followed by a succession of vulnerable points at which certain individuals descend into crisis.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations