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French to English translations [PRO] Medical - Psychology
French term or phrase:La présentation est un peu rigide
I'm translating another psychiatric report and I'm wondering what the phrase "La présentation est un peu rigide" means. I think it means something like, "the patient appears a bit rigid" or "the patient's movements seem a bit stiff".
The patient has depression and anxiety if that's any help.
Here's the context:
À l’apparence générale, la patiente a l’air un peu plus jeune que son âge. La présentation est un peu rigide. Le poids est proportionnel à la grandeur. L’hygiène est préservée. Elle est habillée correctement. Le contact est bon, il n’y a pas de méfiance, bien que les premières minutes de la rencontre aient été consacrées à discuter du contexte de cette évaluation, afin d’atténuer l’intensité de l’anxiété vécue par la patiente. L’activité psychomotrice est dans les limites de la normale. Le langage est cohérent et logique. Lorsque l’anxiété diminue, la patiente ne présente pas d’irritabilité, mais il y a un fond de tristesse. Vers la fin de la rencontre, la patiente affiche un certain isolement affectif. Elle ne présente pas de troubles perceptuels. Elle est orientée dans le temps, le lieu et les personnes. La concentration est appropriée. Le cours de la pensée est normal : il n’est pas accéléré ou ralenti, il n’y a pas de blocage, de circonstancialité ou de tangentialité. Dans le contenu de la pensée, il n’y a pas d’idées de suicide ni d’idées hétéro-agressives ; il n’y a aucun symptôme de la lignée psychotique, pas d’idées de référence, d’influence, d’idéations paranoïdes, ni de délires paranoïdes ; il n’y a pas d’obsessions ni de compulsions ; il y a de l’anxiété d’anticipation concernant le retour au travail ; l’estime de soi est fragile et sensible à l’opinion d’autrui. La mémoire est correcte à court, moyen et long terme. L’autocritique est juste. Le jugement social est approprié. Le contrôle de l’impulsivité est présent.
Explanation: I think this is about the first impression when the person came into the room or introduced themself. So, it would cover posture and speech (if any).
I would not instinctively have suggested this be shifted into the Pro section. It is possible to understand this without specific knowledge. Nevertheless, but in light of the context, and the above discussion, notions of what clinical observation involves mean that being able to situate the term within the "psy" context and making sense of its implications in that context are certainly helped when informed by specialist knowledge.
Clinical observations psychiatrists and psychologists are trained to look out for will very specifically include appearance and in the context cited here, it is classically something you would start with in a report : first impressions. Someone can be strangely dressed in expensive clothing and perfectly well dressed in stuff from the mall (and thank goodness, considering the cost of living these days)! Here's an article on "rigidité" : https://www.functionalneurology.com/materiale_cic/21_XVI_2/1... Not all rigidity is a sign of Parkinson's disease (see page 2, top right-hand part of the page). It is very much something you would have to note, indeed, failing to do so would be quite an omission on the part of any self-respecting clincian. It is including such signs within a much wider and enriched context that will provide clues to where to start looking. Not everyone who is rigid is in the early stages of Parkinson's, nor is someone who turns up to a psychologist's appointment wearing green short, a yellow wig and pink furry slippers necessarily someone with psychological problems. However, any clinician worth their salt will make a note of it.
Yes, psychiatrists and psychologists are absolutely concerned with a person's appearance. A number of affections, conditions and pathologies include symptoms related to appearance, posture and movement (physical appearance, cleanliness, strangeness, dressing appropriately for the context (season, setting)). Such aspects are part of clinical observations and are not judgments of anything social, religious and cultural. Here's a comparison of some aspects of the DSM-IV and V, for example. Check for key terms such as "appearance" : http://www.psi.uba.ar/academica/carrerasdegrado/psicologia/s... For example someone turn up not fully dressed, it is something you would note as a clinical sign, but it would NEVER be taken in isolation. It would be considered within context, together with a constellation of others signs, before anything vaugley resembling a diagnostic hypothesis would be suggested. (I have little clinical experience, but have a teeny bit none the less, and "clinical" observations are in fact what commonly alert family and friends to encourage a family member to consult their GP, p.e.)
This is neither a report on a job interview nor everyday writing. Some people get their clothes from the Secours Populaire, so they don't have much choice in what they wear and don't have the money to go to a hairdresser.
In any case "un peu rigide" is unlikely to apply to anything other than posture and behaviour. The later comment "Elle est habillée correctement," though about clothes, but would be more about being neat, clean and not dishevelled, dressed inappropriately, wearing odd shoes etc. It wouldn't be a judgement on how fashionable the client was.
"présentation" is often equated in everyday life to what is appropriate (dress, attitude). Cf job offers which state that "bonne présentation" is essential. The applicant has to look the part. Here it's practically about first impressions - she comes over as rather stiff. Hence my agree to BD Finch
Again, a rigid appearance is informed by a COMBINATION of posture, clothing, hairstyle... and IS NOT related to money. this could become an endless discussion; pls just keep in mind french expressions like: "il/elle présente bien", "il s'est présenté à l'entretien..." (which just means that has shown up at the interview), etc...
As a person's clothing and hairstyle can have more to do with how much money they have and their social, religious and cultural associations, it would be inappropriate for a psychologist or psychiatrist to assess a patient on that basis.
However, how a person behaves when they enter a room or meet somebody is certainly a valid element of a clinical assessment. Presentation is also used in a specific way in medicine and psychology, e.g. "When the client presents with clinically significant symptoms, but the symptomology falls short of the diagnostic threshold for a given specifier." https://www.chegg.com/.../would-another-specified-disorder-g...
Of course. Posture + clothing + hairstyle provide information on how the person feels and her mindset, amongst other. Re. "présentation", there might be some cultural misunderstanding here; it doesn't relate to self-introduction. If that would have been meant, it would have been worded/phrased differently.
In this context, "présentation" relates to appearance (clothing, hairstyle, posture). In the S/T, the only reference to movement is in the sentence starting w/ "L'activité psychomotrice...". Hence, your 1st proposal seems more appropriate. Alternatively, could be worded "appearance is a bit rigid".
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Answers
37 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +3
seemed a bit stiff
Explanation: I think this is about the first impression when the person came into the room or introduced themself. So, it would cover posture and speech (if any).
B D Finch France Local time: 15:40 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 15