Leonor Irarrázaval leonor.fideliogmail.com Present post: PhD

Leonor Irarrázaval leonor.fidelio< at >gmail.com
Present post:
PhD Student – Doctoral Programme in Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile
Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist, University Clinic, Psychiatric Dept, University of Chile
Affiliations:
University of Chile
Present research: Doctoral thesis entitled:
Study of disorders of the pre-reflective self and of the narratives of first admitted patients with
schizophrenia
Area of the study: Psychopathology
Thesis Committee:
• Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Otto Dörr-Zegers, University of Chile Teaching Unit, Dr. José Horwitz Barak
Psychiatric Institute
• Prof. Dr. Juan Pablo Jiménez de la Jara, Head of the Doctoral Programme in Psychotherapy,
Oriente Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile
• Prof. Dra. Dariela Sharim Kovalskys, Clinical Psychologist, Lecturer in Clinical Psychology and
Psychotherapy, Catholic University of Chile
• Co-supervisor: Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Fuchs, Head of the Section Phenomenological
Psychopathology and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Department, University of Heidelberg
Abstract for Doctoral thesis:
It is a qualitative study of schizophrenia, particularly phenomenological and hermeneutic, with first
admitted patients. Three main themes would be considered: 1) the diagnosis of schizophrenia, 2)
the psychotherapy of schizophrenia, and 3) the methodologies to the study of schizophrenia. First
of all, diagnostic classifications require review in light of approaches aiming for a greater
understanding of the illness and that make it possible to explain aspects that remain unclear with
regard to the trustworthiness of the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Secondly, it should be placed
special consideration towards psychotherapeutic approaches to schizophrenia that focus on
furthering the patients’ self-understanding and on establishing a common communicative basis of
patient and therapist. Thirdly, the use qualitative methodologies for the study of schizophrenia and
psychosis seem highly appropriate. These are just the clinical pictures that have not
been sufficiently tackled from non-objectivising approaches, and there is thus a significant lack of
understanding of these phenomena beyond their apparent symptoms. For this reason, it seems
appropriate to use methods that attempt to characterise patients' own worlds, such as the
phenomenological method and the autobiographical method. The inclusion of an autobiographical
approach (life stories) comes from the interest in recovering in this study the concept of the
“person”.
Research interests:
Psychotherapy, Psychopathology, Psychosis and Schizophrenia, Depression, Personality
Disorders, Mindfulness/Qualitative Methodologies, Phenomenology, Hermeneutic, Life Stories,
Autobiographies
Publications:
Irarrázaval, L. (2010). Psicoterapia Basada en Mindfulness: Un antiguo método para una nueva
psicoterapia. Revista Gaceta de Psiquiatría Universitaria. 6,4, 465-471.
Irarrázaval, L. (2011). Espectro Esquizofrénico: Retrospectivas parael futuro de la psicoterapia.
Revista de Psicoterapia (en prensa).
Papers of interest:
Parnas J., Moeller P., Kircher T., Thalbitzer J., Jansson L., Handest P., Zahavi D. (2011). EASE:
Examen de Anomalías Subjetivas de la Experiencia (desórdenes del self). Traducción Otto Dörr &
Leonor Irarrázaval. Revista Gaceta de Psiquiatría Universitaria (En prensa).