The Role of Psychology in Journalism: Synoptic
- Anthea Cachia
- Jul 3, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 6, 2022
Task 1 - Part I
Research + Choosing neuropsychology
The chosen topic was found quite at random. Rather than opting to choose a subject and research about it, this time round I decided to let research pave the way for my topic. Nonetheless, originally I was reading and researching the idea of body image the impact of social media on young children, especially when taking into considerind the proposal of another instagram version for children. On the other hand I have also conducted research on how the victimisation of people with disabilities affect this group in society and how.
It was then that I found an old recollection of Chloe Jennings a 61 year old chemist from Salt Lake City, Utah who was identifying herslef as 'transabled' and wanted to live in a wheelchair, despite being completely healthy. In this article it is said that Jennings wears leg braces to make herself feel "paraplegic" after claiming to want this since she was a 9 year old. At that age she has also tried to injure herself by riding her bicycle and aiming to break her back.
This is not an ordinary wish or need but it is recognised as Body Intergrity Identity disorder. Meaning the lack of ownership of a particular body part. BIID is also a neurological disorder.
Neuropsychology is described as the study of the brain and behaviour and their relationship together. This psychological field focuses on the interaction between the structure and function of the brain in addition to thinking skills, emotions, behaviour and overall general everyday functions.
According to Berlucchi (2009) neuropsychology is rather a "new" field. Traditionally it studied the association between brain lesions and psychological defects however, "today neuropsychology is in possession of refined methodologies and theoretical frameworks for understanding both how the mind works and how the brain works."
According to Anna Sedda(2011) stated that McGeoch and his colleauges stated that BIID is rather a neurological disorter than psychological. It was reported from BIID patients that there was a correspondece "in dysfunctional activity of the right parietal lobe strongly supporting the hypothesis that BIID is not simply a paraphilia but rather a neurological syndrome." They believe that xenomelia (translated from Greek to foreign limb) is a better fit rather than apotemnopilia or body integrity identity disorder
Task 1 - Part II
Recorded version of the pitch ^
Task 2 Part I
BIID: An ethical dilemma for doctors and psychologists and an agonizing experience for the mind
Body Integrity Identity Disorder, the need to be paralysed or disabled ... MCAST News explores this disorder with Dr Mark Xuereb, who recounts the rare disease only once in his career.
Have you ever thought about getting plastic surgery to enhance your confidence? Did you ever consider getting lip fillers to make your lips look plumper and bigger? People with Body Integrity Identity Disorder, also known as BIID, desire to do the exact opposite; to remove healthy limbs or organs to make them feel more at peace with themselves.
BIID is an extremely rare studied neuropsychological disorder. People suffering from this disorder have a desire to live as disabled people. A study approved by the University of Luebeck Ethics Committee (Kasten et al., 2014) has indicated that only 2.1% of the world’s population suffer from BIID, and only 7.9% of the global population are aware of this disorder.
MCAST news had a chat with psychoanalyst Dr Mark Xuereb, head of the Crisis Resolution Team Malta, to discuss further this complex disorder, how it differs from transexual individuals and gender re-assignment surgery if he has experienced a case like this and finally, what triggers the need to remove a healthy limb.
‘This disorder is caused primarily by an imbalance in the brain.’
The point of reference for this disorder has evolved with time. According to Money et al. (2021), it was referred to as apotemnophilia. It has the same meaning as BIID; however, it relates to people pretending to be an amputee and sometimes – but not in all cases – accompanied by sexual arousal.
Fast forward to 2011, it was categorised as xenomelia by Mc Geogh et al. meaning foreign body syndrome.
“Before, professionals used to think this disorder fell under paraphilia, meaning someone with an obsession or a fetish, which is unhealthy. Paedophilia is under the cap of paraphilia. Paraphilia also includes sexual arousal when hurting someone. However, BIID is not that. It is not a sexual urge; the wish for amputation is not for sexual gratification, like paedophiles,” stated Xuereb.
“This disorder is caused when there is an imbalance in the brain between the image of the individual and how they see themselves and the actual physical body, of how they look now in reality.”
‘Doctors don’t want to “waste” a healthy limb.’
Dr Xuereb explained that the wish for amputation of healthy limbs or paralysis, in these instances, is so intense that most of the time, these individuals suffer “immense pain.” He explained that they also feel hopeless since no surgeon is willing to “waste” a limb or purposely damage the spinal cord or its nerves to paralyse a fit person, with no reason whatsoever.
He added that this decision creates multiple legal dilemmas. “Cases complex such as these require a lot of professional help from a multidisciplinary team to give consent for whats best for the person,” stated Xuereb, adding that this team needs to consist of a neuropsychologist, general practitioners, psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, lawyers and a supportive system to make sure that the individual knows that such a decision is permanent.
He explained that rare disorders such as this one put professionals on the spot in the medical field. However, these rarely occur.
‘Sometimes medical professionals act as Big Brother, dictating a person’s liberty to make a decision.’
Despite this, Xuereb recalled being approached by a person with BIID when he was overseas. So far, not one case has been reported on the Maltese Islands. When asked what decision he would take in this instance, he said, “we, as specialists, sometimes act like ‘Big Brother’ and dictate on a person and their liberty to take a decision. What precedence; what our obligation to help them or to walk a mile in their shoes and honour their right to be different?”
People with BIID do not feel complete physically and mentally, and sometimes, after being rejected by medical professionals, they take matters into their hands and endanger themselves in the process. He even stated that people with BIID feel that they are living a “double life”. Globally eight people have amputated their legs using dry ice to induce bodily infections leaving the doctors no choice but to amputate.
According to a study conducted by the Medical Ethical Committee of the Academic Medical Centre at the University of Amsterdam, the most common amputated libs were the legs. Most of the people assessed in this study were over 40 years, and the youngest was a 20-year-old. Even though most people did not have other psychological disorders, only one suffered from depression and anxiety.
‘It is crucial not to judge these individuals because they need much support.’
Many neurologists and psychologists tried to study what causes this disorder; however, they have failed to do so even though BIID was frequently associated with OCD and transgender people who do gender re-assignment surgery. When asked about this, Dr Xuereb explained that a person with the body of a man but a desire to be a woman and does gender re-assignment surgery is not a mental disorder. “It all comes down to their perception of their own identity”.
“It is crucial not to judge these individuals because they need a lot of support and help,” concluded Dr Mark Xuereb.
NB: the presentation includes the slides for the first task along with the evaluation with all the slide notes.
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