Background: In this paper we tested the hypothesis that persons with eating disorders (EDs) are affected by disturbances of the way they experience their own body (embodiment) and shape their personal identity, assuming that the various kinds of anomalies of eating behavior are consequences thereof. Sampling and Methods: We developed and validated a new self-reported questionnaire named IDEA (IDentity and EAting disorders), which was administered to 147 ED patients and 187 healthy controls. Test-retest reliability, internal consistency, psychopathological correlates, and concurrent validity were evaluated. A factor analysis was performed to verify the distribution of items into subscales. Results: The questionnaire showed good test-retest reliability, and internal consistency. IDEA scores were specifically associated with ED psychopathology, and they did not show any correlation with sociodemographic and general clinical variables. Four factors were extracted, which were related to the following phenomena: ‘feeling oneself only through the gaze of the other and defining oneself only through the evaluation of the other’, ‘feeling oneself only through objective measures’, ‘feeling extraneous from one’s own body’, and ‘feeling oneself through starvation’. Conclusions: IDEA represents a multidimensional, brief, versatile, easy-to-perform instrument for clinical evaluation, assessing abnormalities in lived corporeality, and of personal identity, which appeared to be specifically associated with the core features of ED psychopathology. The main limitations of the study are the cross-sectional design. Also, it is impossible to ascertain whether the domains we assessed are specific traits of patients with EDs, or state-related features. To answer this question, a longitudinal study is needed.

Background: Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) having a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) could be very difficult to treat with standard psychotherapeutic approaches. Some children diagnosed with ADHD may have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or have had experienced a significant traumatic event. Trauma and PTSD could exacerbate ADHD core symptoms and be a risk factor of poor outcome response. Objective: to report for the first time the history of a patient with ADHD and ACE successfully treated with an EMDR approach. Conclusion: EMDR could be a promising treatment for ADHD children with a history of traumatic experiences in addition to pharmacological treatments.

Negative life events, trauma and adverse childhood experiences (Bernstein and Fink, 1994) are considered non-specific risk factors for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as well as influencing its course and worsening the prognosis. This chapter attempts to frame a dialogue between phenomenological, neurobiological and Jungian aspects in understanding the particular configuration of the dynamics of the psyche in PTSD. In particular, we would like to focus on how PTSD can be understood through the lens of the theory of complexes and the theories of selfhood from a phenomenological perspective. As we know, in Jungian theory the psyche is thought as structurally dissociable, composed of a set of functional units aggregated according to the specific affective tone (the so-called feeling-toned complexes) and coordinated by a main complex, the ego-complex. When there is a traumatic experience, especially in the presence of a particular vulnerability of the subject, the ego-complex fails in its function of psychic integration. The affect by trauma draws in the current and following past representations of self by creating an independent complex that is activated spontaneously establishing the symptoms of PTSD. We consider that the lack of integration for the ego-complex can be better understood as a lack of unitary self-experience with the “basic or minimal self”. This is also known as “mineness” or ipseity (Fuchs, 2021). We suggest that the psychic energy that leads the complexes to affective tonality can be better understood if we see it as a stream of consciousness of unitary self-awareness. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may be associated with alterations in eye movements, which in turn may reflect dysfunctions in executive functions and sensorimotor integration processes. This review analyzed the pattern of oculomotor findings of pediatric populations diagnosed with ADHD with or without methylphenidate (MPH) treatment, with the aim of systematically describing the oculomotor abnormalities observed in affected children. A total of 24 studies were analyzed. The results showed that children with ADHD exhibit increased latency, a higher number of directional errors in prosaccade and antisaccade tasks, as well as intrusions during fixation and a higher frequency of microsaccades and involuntary blinks. Furthermore, studies involving the administration of MPH showed an improvement in oculomotor control, with a reduction in errors and a modulation of latency and oculomotor inhibition. These findings confirmed the potential role of oculomotor parameters as objective and non-invasive biomarkers for exploring the neurofunctional correlates of ADHD and for evaluating the effects of pharmacological treatment.