Numerous research studies have documented that for patients coping with chronic illness, social support is extremely important in facilitating adjustment to the illness. The support may come from organized therapy and self-help groups or from interpersonal relationships outside a group. However, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a…

Antidepressant medications are the most popular treatment for depression in the United States, despite the fact that there may be more effective and safer alternatives. This paper discusses alternative, effective psychological interventions for unipolar depression. Studies that compare and contrast psychological and pharmacological treatments for…

Current theoretical approaches to understanding emotional difficulties are dominated by the medical model of mental illness, which assumes that emotional dysfunction can be viewed the same way as physical dysfunction. To examine the relationship between psychotherapy clients' beliefs about the medical model of psychotherapy and their behavior…

A sample of prominent psychotherapists were asked to fill out the A-B therapist "type" scale and comment on their possible differential effectiveness in treating schizoid/schizophrenic versus neurotic patients. The data suggest that B therapists desire and seek more complex and exciting sensory-cognitive inputs during therapy hours than A…

Two previous reports have specified the empirical structure of patients' and therapists' experiences in psychotherapeutic sessions. The present report explores the structure of experience within the therapeutic dyad--conjoint experience. (Author/RC)

Yalom's Q-sort questionnaire was administered to 13 groups and then item analized. Factor analysis identified seven major "curative" factors. Analysis of variance and correlation techniques showed that part of the variation in curative factor perception is related to characteristics of groups and/or their participants. (SE)

This study investigated the effectiveness of a psychotherapeutic technique, logotherapy, with terminally ill patients. (Author)

A linear relationship in psychotherapeutic groups between verbal behavior, defined as the level of communication, and experienced anxiety is hypothesized. A curvilinear relationship was discovered. Maximum level of anxiety occurred on border of communication of private and unknown-self material. When communication increased above these levels, the…

The study investigated the relationships between student-therapists' tolerance for ambiguity in visual perception tasks and (a)the positive affect displayed toward them by their clients, (b)measures of improvement in clients' self self-reference statements, and (c)measures of improvement in clients'"adjustment". (Author)

Twenty-six mildly distressed college student clients were assigned randomly to a nondirective or directive group. Internally oriented persons were more therapeutically responsive to the nondirective than to the directive approach, whereas the reverse tended to be the case among those more externally oriented. (Author)

This document notes that it is commonly recognized that empathic attunement is vital if psychotherapy is to be truly therapeutic. It goes on to explain that, in spite of this recognition, therapists and clients alike will frequently demonstrate an anti-empathic attitude that indicates a basic opposition to understanding and being understood.…

In an increasingly cost-conscious health care environment, average length of hospital stay has decreased. Although psychiatric inpatient treatment is largely exempt from the constraints of the Medicare diagnosis related groups (DRG's), length of stay for geropsychiatric hospital services has decreased also. A trend toward higher rates of early…

This paper describes the implementation of an inpatient treatment program for Vietnam combat veterans exhibiting symptoms related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, at the North Chicago Veterans Administration Medical Center. Issues related to organizational and staff problems encountered during the program are outlined, and unique problems…

The presentation focuses on forms of therapeutic tutoring (particularly in reading) with children and adolescents. Developments in educational therapy at the Tavistock Clinic in London are cited along with efforts in the United States. Educational therapy approaches to deal with the school dropout program in Holland are also described. The…

Psychotherapists of different theoretical persuasions use systematically different profiles of verbal response modes. However, clients tend to use very similar profiles, regardless of what their therapist does. Disclosure comprises the largest part of this common client profile, and it distinguishes the client role from other roles. Higher levels…