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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

aufsuchen

English translation:

expose oneself to a situation

Added to glossary by Susan Welsh
May 24, 2012 14:53
12 yrs ago
4 viewers *
German term

aufsuchen

German to English Social Sciences Psychology clinical research - panic disorder
This is about avoidance behavior in panic disorders:

Das Ausmaß der Vermeidung kann in zwei Kontexten angegeben werden: wenn sie die Situation allein aufsuchen (MI-A) und wenn sie die Situationen in Begleitung aufsuchen (MI-B).

It seems that aufsuchen (to seek out) is being used here to mean its opposite! Is that possible? This is discussing the Mobility Inventory of Dianne Chambless, in its German version, the AKV (Ehlers and Margraf).

All the German references I find use the same formulation, e.g.,
http://www.unifr.ch/ztd/HTS/inftest/WEB-Informationssystem/d...


But the English-language work makes it clear that the meaning is "avoidance":

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/00057967859...

Thanks!
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 expose ourselves (to the situation)
3 +2 confront (the situation)
3 +1 encountering/facing
4 avoid
3 revisit
3 -4 Agoraphobia

Discussion

Susan Welsh (asker) May 25, 2012:
PM's reply The PM, who has some training in the field but I don't know how much, replied: "I guess it is meant as follows: the patients try to avoid a situation but the extent of the avoidance depends on whether they face the situation alone or in company. So the major reference is the EXTENT - they might avoid a fear situation less, if they are not alone."
I don't find this very helpful in translating the specific sentence, so I am probaably going to leave it as a query when I submit the translation.
Susan Welsh (asker) May 24, 2012:
I think... ...I'd better send the client a query. The more we discuss it the more confusing it seems to get. The reason I did not think it was a typo or similar error in the German text is that, as my original posting showed, I find the same thing elsewhere (in German) on the web--not just the example I gave, but others based on it. If I get any response I will post it here. Thanks, everybody!
Usch Pilz May 24, 2012:
@ Susan In real life I would do the same. But during therapy, people are exposed to those situations and then they may still show avoidance reactions. That's what I was trying to say. :-)
Susanne Schiewe May 24, 2012:
It could mean that a patient who is e. g. afraid of going by bus walks to the bus station (= "Situation aufsuchen"). Then, the question is if he is able to overcome his fear and get on the bus - either alone or in company - or if he avoids the problem.
Susan Welsh (asker) May 24, 2012:
@Usch Well, if I were afraid of snakes (for example), I would not walk up to them and then get frightened and run away. I would avoid them. I would not go anywhere where they might be!
Usch Pilz May 24, 2012:
Could it be ... ... that you have to expose yourself to that threatening situation first, in order to then exhibit symptoms of avoidance? Just wondering ... Like walk into the room (alone or under supervision) but then not look at the eight-legged monster?
philgoddard May 24, 2012:
In English at least, you can't confront AND avoid something. It has to be one or the other.
Horst Huber (X) May 24, 2012:
It would be difficult to replace "aufsuchen" by "vermeiden", especially if it is in company. There has to be a seeking out of the experience before the avoidance can come in?
Susanne Schiewe May 24, 2012:
@phil I see your point and the sentence certainly should be rephrased, but in the end, I think we mean the same thing: avoidance when (confronted) alone.
If you would just replace "aufsuchen" in the German sentence by "vermeiden", you'd probably have to read the sentence twice to get the meaning, because IMO, we'd rather think that 'situation' and 'alone' belong together. So either way, the German sentence is not very clear.

Proposed translations

+1
16 mins
Selected

expose ourselves (to the situation)

A possibility.

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Note added at 17 mins (2012-05-24 15:11:52 GMT)
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Or rather THEMSELVES ...
Note from asker:
Exposure therapy is a big theme in the article, and of course this is what the therapists are describing in this sentence. But the word they use for exposure is "Exposition." I suppose this could be the way the authors make a verb out of it.
Peer comment(s):
agree Johanna Timm, PhD : that was my first thought (as in: CBT exposure therapy); there is therapist-guided ( i.e. accompanied) exposure and therapist-prescribed exposure (not accompanied) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21534651
3 hrs
thanks, Johanna - absolutely!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "You're absolutely right. I don't know why it took me so long to see it. The idea is that they expose themselves to the anxiety-provoking situation, AND THEN the extent of avoidance is assessed. That's where my German and English linked sources didn't quite match, which threw me off the track and made me think too literally. (And my dog ate my homework!) Thanks, everybody!"
-4
6 mins

Agoraphobia

Might be!
Peer comment(s):
disagree Kim Metzger : Quatsch.
5 mins
Doch! Your response is ABSURD!
disagree Cilian O'Tuama : wie bitte!?
33 mins
Wie so möchten Sie!!!
disagree Armorel Young : er, we're looking for a verb here
3 hrs
disagree Cetacea : You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. Unless, of course, you think you're funny, which you are not.
19 hrs
Something went wrong...
+2
10 mins

confront (the situation)

In some cases, the agoraphobic will struggle to function normal and confront the feared situations alone but with considerable dread and great difficulty.
http://www.omnimedicalsearch.com/conditions-diseases/agoraph...



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 Min. (2012-05-24 15:06:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I think you're right - the German is somewhat akward; because it's more about 'Vermeidungsverhalten' than actual avoidance, I think

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 Min. (2012-05-24 15:10:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I. e. it's like a hypothetical or conditional construction - if they had to confront ....
Peer comment(s):
agree BrigitteHilgner : Genauso habe ich das auch verstanden.
7 mins
vielen Dank, Brigitte :-)
agree Thayenga : Ich ebenfalls. Schönen Abend noch, Susanne. :)
1 hr
vielen Dank, Thayenga. Ebenso :-)
neutral philgoddard : For the reasons I've given below, I think this would be a misleading translation. It's not your fault, but the writer's.
1 hr
Something went wrong...
+1
33 mins

encountering/facing

..when encountering situations alone..

or when situations are encountered/faced alone...
Peer comment(s):
agree Melanie Nassar : I would also use encounter as it does not imply intentionally approaching a situation, but a more passive behavior
1 hr
Thanks, Melanie.
Something went wrong...
1 hr

revisit

May not be the professional lingo, apologies, but the German at least suggests something less traumatic than outright confrontation?
Something went wrong...
1 hr

avoid

It's not often that I suggest a deliberately incorrect translation, but I agree with Susan that "confront" makes no sense.

This rating scale is for people with agoraphobia. MI-A and MI-B are the German translations of Avoidance Alone and Avoidance Accompanied in the English version of the scale, where Avoidance Accompanied is a more severe form of agoraphobia (the patient avoids certain places, eg shops, even when accompanuied by someone else).

The A in MI-A stands for Allein, and the B for Begleitung.
In my opinion, "aufsuchen" simply doesn't make sense. It's a mistake, and may be based on a misunderstanding of the English. You should translate it as "avoid".

The link below is to the rating questionnaire.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2012-05-24 16:43:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I would also add a note for the client explaining why you've translated it this way.
Reference:

https://www.outcometracker.org/library/MIA.pdf

Something went wrong...
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