Nonadherence with homework assignments and, by implication, "barriers" to homework assignments are a frequent occurrence in the practice of standard cognitive therapy (Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., Emery, G. (1979). "Cognitive therapy of depression." New York: The Guilford Press). The clinical examples in this article illustrate some of…

Attempts to identify the root causes of individual stress have been made for centuries. The result has been the development of a myriad of approaches and explanations as to the cause of stress by psychologists, educators, researchers, and self-help authors. Each approach carries a degree of validity in the context that individuals experience…

Based upon empirically supported cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches, this paper aims to outline the use of homework to enhance the therapeutic relationship, patient motivation, and skills for managing delusions, hallucinations, and negative symptoms. The nature and timing of homework is outlined for the different phases of treatment.…

Consumer health publishers in mid-2007 recall those elliptical machine addicts--they have fallen into a safe holding pattern that should maintain their weight in the market. In other words, mind-body books and recovery memoirs are back, as are a bevy of diet and fitness manuals. People buy into the health and medicine genre--"Library Journal's"…

Discusses the "hidden illness" of compulsive gambling. Describes course of the disease, theories of compulsive gambling, effects of compulsive gambling on gambler's wife and children, the organization Gam-Anon, and human service agencies' staff training and counseling intake procedures. Recommends self-help groups for all family members.…

Methods of successful weight loss and factors affecting dieting are discussed. Eating hints are given with the characteristics of an exercise program which has cumulative effects on weight loss. (CM)

An urban renewal program in preunification Berlin involved self-help projects and a community school. The program demonstrated a holistic approach to urban regeneration and showed that the success of participatory community processes depends on community education. (SK)

Emphasizing that the family unit is the primary force in coping with asthma, the Lungs Unlimited program provides education and counseling and teaches self-management procedures to children and families. The program is described and its effectiveness is indicated. (RH)

Debtors Anonymous, a support group begun by the National Council of Negro Women, helps members to educate themselves about credit, consumer protection, and budgeting, and to set long-term goals for money management. Chapters have been organized in cities throughout the country. (SK)

Describes the use of a self-administered desensitization program as a teaching device and fear reduction procedure with graduate students in counseling psychology. (Author)

The article describes VISION Foundation, a self-help program providing work opportunities for both paid and volunteer persons who are newly blind or have progressive eye diseases. (Author/DLS)

California school districts have generated an immediate 20 percent administrative saving by self-insuring Workers' Compensation. (Author/MLF)

Traces one program's history in facilitating grassroots community development. Focuses specifically on group methods by which indigenous peoples can carry out their own developments to relieve the effects of poverty. Discusses effective social, economic, and cultural development. (Author/NB)

Notes that widowed persons in the United States have little support following funeral. Describes Widowed Persons Service (WPS), service which offers one-to-one outreach to newly widowed by persons previously widowed and trained to help the newly widowed; and Talk Group, ongoing, open-ended support group for newly widowed formed by the WPS in…

Describes Project HELP, an innovative community self-help program in Nashville, Tennessee which was developed in response to the inability of certain populations to pay their utility bills, and which is staffed primarily with volunteers and funded exclusively through contributions. Reports on the program's first five years of operation, and…