Research supported by Rehabilitation Services Administration Grant RD-906 and Social and Rehabilitation Services Grant RT-13.

Investigated historical trends in the assertion training literature by content analyzing documents published between 1942 and 1977. Revealed that although the assertion training literature has shown a very rapid acceleration of growth, empirical documentation of the effects of important parameters of training and treatment is lacking. (Author)

Reviews early attempts to classify the field of family therapy, including Haley's caricatures, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry's classification, and others. The new paradigmatic model proposes a classification of the field of family therapy in terms of three therapeutic paradigms: the historical, the structure/process, and the…

Compared physiological effects of progressive relaxation, alpha feedback, and a no-treatment condition. Nonpatients showed more psychophysiological habituation than patients in response to hearing very loud tones and to reaction time tasks. Patients showed greater physiological response to relaxation than nonpatients. After relaxation, autonomic…

Suggesting that creativity is a useful frame of reference for some aspects of counseling and psychotherapy, the author considers situational and internal blockages to creative activity and discusses psychologically oriented conditions which favor creativity. (CL)

The uses and effects of group therapy with elderly blind people are discussed and some ideas are offered for overcoming clients' resistance to mental health services and for facilitating their emotional adjustment to visual loss by using nontraditional group therapy techniques. (Author/DLS)

Racial resentment can affect the treatment relationship between client and therapist, especially if they are of different races. All psychotherapists must recognize anger in Black clients as a healthy response to oppression and help them to find constructive outlets for these feelings. (Author/GC)

Argues that in the past few decades, it has become increasingly evident that psychotherapy, generally speaking, is ineffective. The present paper suggests three major respects in which much (perhaps most) psychotherapy and counseling is being "misdirected or misapplied." As corollaries, alternative types of remedial endeavor are suggested. (Author)

Believes the therapeutic situation that offers the greatest awareness with the least amount of dehumanization is a synthesis of the gestalt and the existential humanistic (EH) orientations. Considers the relationship and possible synthesis of the existential and gestalt positions. (Author/RK)

Establishes a conceptual approach to the etiology of psychological trauma. Reviews the literature and includes a case study to exemplify how the disruption of social relationships can interfere with the normal functioning of personality in the posttraumatic state until an appropriate therapeutic intervention or experience occurs. (RJM)

Discusses the clinical use of story, and examines the therapeutic use of interactive bibliotherapy as a catalyst for healing and empowering an emotionally abused woman. Offers a case history of the adult woman, discussing the use of dialog journals and a particular children's book in her therapy. (SR)

Points out challenges of a contextual worldview for career counseling and psychotherapy. Presents a metaperspetive for counseling practice that includes a conception of major life contexts and a developmental process goal of effective functioning in these contexts. (Contains 99 references.) (SK)

Examined differences between more and less effective trainee psychotherapists. Found less effective therapists had lower levels of empathic understanding, rated patients as more involved in treatment, and rated themselves as more supportive than did more effective therapists. Less effective therapists valued comfort and stimulation significantly…

Reviews research on six theoretical propositions central to psychodynamic psychotherapy: (1) establish an alliance; (2) patient displays central relationship theme (transference); (3) transference interpretations are helpful; (4) therapist interprets transference; (5) patient gains self-understanding; and (6) patient's improvement is reflected in…