Therapy with greek families living in Australia

Language and cultural differences can pose barriers to effective intervention in migrant families in conflict. Family therapy approaches can provide some useful strategies for overcoming these obstacles. A family therapy approach can (1) emphasize the value of utilizing natural network support systems; (2) provide a model which helps clarify communication problems arising in the relay of information through a third person acting as an interpreter; (3) underline the importance of non-verbal and process aspects of family communication; (4) suggest techniques for negotiating, joining, and finding commonalities of family experience between a therapist and family of different ethnic background. The therapist needs to develop sensitivity to both the universal and specific ethno-cultural structures, norms and problems of families; when this sensitivity is achieved powerful and culturally syntonic healing forces can be released. Examples of successful family therapy interventions in some Greek families in conflict will be given.Originally published inThe Australian Journal of Family Therapy, Vol. 1, No. 2 (January 1980) pp. 62–68. Reprinted here with permission. Title slightly changed from original.     

Deaf signers and serial recall in the visual modality: Memory for signs,fingerspelling, and print

This study investigated serial recall by congenitally, profoundly deaf signers for visually specified linguistic information presented in their primary language, American Sign Language (ASL), and in printed or fingerspelled English. There were three main findings. First, differences in the serial-position curves across these conditions distinguished the changing-state stimuli from the static stimuli. These differences were a recency advantage and a primacy disadvantage for the ASL signs and fingerspelled English words, relative to the printed English words. Second, the deaf subjects, who were college students and graduates, used a sign-based code to recall ASL signs, but not to recall English words; this result suggests that well-educated deaf signers do not translate into their primary language when the information to be recalled is in English. Finally, mean recall of the deaf subjects for ordered lists of ASL signs and fingerspelled and printed English words was significantly less than that of hearing control subjects for the printed words; this difference may be explained by the particular efficacy of a speech-based code used by hearing individuals for retention of ordered linguistic information and by the relatively limited speech experience of congenitally, profoundly deaf individuals.     

The use of interpreters in family therapy with deaf persons

The paper discusses the use of interpreters in family therapy with deaf person families. Issues from the perspective of the therapist, the interpreter, and the family are presented.Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy in San Antonio, TX.     

Remembering in signs

In a short-term memory experiment, signs of American Sign Language in list lengths of three to seven items were presented to deaf college students whose native language is American Sign Language. A comparable short-term memory experiment for words (words representing the English translation-equivalents of the signs) was presented to hearing college students. Recall was written, immediate and ordered. Overall, short-term memory mechanisms in the deaf seem to parallel those found in hearing subjects, even with the modality change. A significant number of multiple intrusion errors made by deaf subjects to signs were based on formational properties of the signs themselves, a result paralleling the phonologically based errors in experiments with hearing subjects.Our results are consistent with a theory that the signs of American Sign Language are actually coded by the deaf in terms of simultaneous formational parameters such as Hand Configuration, Place of Articulation and Movement. Evidence is given that signs are treated by the deaf as consisting of independent parameters — specific to American Sign Language — which are essentially arbitrary in terms of meaning.     

How grammar can cope with limited short-term memory: simultaneity and seriality in sign languages

It is known that in American Sign Language (ASL) span is shorter than in English, but this discrepancy has never been systematically investigated using other pairs of signed and spoken languages. This finding is at odds with results showing that short-term memory (STM) for signs has an internal organization similar to STM for words. Moreover, some methodological questions remain open. Thus, we measured span of deaf and matched hearing participants for Italian Sign Language (LIS) and Italian, respectively, controlling for all the possible variables that might be responsible for the discrepancy: yet, a difference in span between deaf signers and hearing speakers was found. However, the advantage of hearing subjects was removed in a visuo-spatial STM task. We attribute the source of the lower span to the internal structure of signs: indeed, unlike English (or Italian) words, signs contain both simultaneous and sequential components. Nonetheless, sign languages are fully-fledged grammatical systems, probably because the overall architecture of the grammar of signed languages reduces the STM load. Our hypothesis is that the faculty of language is dependent on STM, being however flexible enough to develop even in a relatively hostile environment.     

L’alliance thérapeutique triadique dans une psychothérapie avec un interprète : un concept en quête de validation

The relevance of the use of an interpreter when receiving an allophone patient seems to be more and more accepted among clinicians. However, the influence of this third person on the therapeutic process, and particularly on the establishment of the therapeutic alliance, has received scarce attention so far. The presence of an interpreter inevitably modifies the therapeutic process and makes it more complex. It requires some adjustments of the physical and material setting. It also influences practical arrangements and the very nature of interactions, as well as their content. General concepts about the intercultural approach will first be presented. Subsequently, the issue of the establishment of a triadic therapeutic alliance during a couple and family therapy or mother infant consultations will be discussed from an interactionnist and systemic perspective. The application of these models to a better understanding of patient-therapist-interpreter alliance and its specific components and dimensions will be discussed. Finally, research directions and some clinical considerations to optimize the conduct of a consultation or a psychotherapy with an interpreter will be stressed.     

先天聋人的语音、正字法意识和概念知识结构

先天聋人对书面词语基本没有语音意识。他们主要采用视知觉策略识别书面词语,其词语词法技能发展滞后。由于缺乏语音经验,他们大脑皮层的发育受到严重影响,概念知识结构也呈现不对称性。尽早实施手语教育和正字法教育,不仅有助于提高聋儿童的手语语音意识和书面词语识别技能,也能促进他们的认知能力正常发展     

Lost in translation,found in translation: A case study of working psychodynamically in an interpreter-assisted setting

Effective use of psychotherapeutic treatment in interpreter-assisted settings is well established; however, there has been little discussion of the use of psychodynamically informed treatments in such settings. The literature suggests that therapy facilitated by interpreters is not conducive to psychodynamic approaches due to the presence of a third person, the perceived lack of intimacy, and the difficulties of working with translated material. However, transference, countertransference and other unconscious communications and responses necessarily occur in every therapeutic setting, including triadic therapy using interpreters. This article describes a short-term (12 session) psychodynamically oriented intervention with a 52-year-old Cantonese-speaking man suffering from depression. A female, Chinese-born interpreter assisted in every session. The integral role of supervision in supporting a containing relationship between the therapist and the patient and the difficult emotional responses experienced by the interpreter is highlighted. The article attempts to trace some of the unconscious communications that occurred during the therapy and demonstrates the feasibility of working psychodynamically in an interpreter-assisted setting.     

Short-term recall by deaf signers of American Sign Language: implications of encoding strategy for order recall

Two experiments were conducted on short-term recall of printed English words by deaf signers of American Sign Language (ASL). Compared with hearing subjects, deaf subjects recalled significantly fewer words when ordered recall of words was required, but not when free recall was required. Deaf subjects tended to use a speech-based code in probed recall for order, and the greater the reliance on a speech-based code, the more accurate the recall. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that a speech-based code facilitates the retention of order information.     

Tales of a Therapist

ABSTRACT

Historically, theorists and clinicians from various schools of family therapy have discussed therapist self-disclosure in terms of either helping or inhibiting therapeutic progress. Although postmodern language-based theorists and therapists accept and encourage its use, few clinical examples of therapist self-disclosure exist in the family therapy literature. In this paper, a postmodern family therapist working within the language-based tradition describes the use of self-disclosures with a couple. The therapist then reviews the effects of those self-disclosures through the eyes of husband, wife, and therapist.     

Language specificity in lexical organization: Evidence from deaf signers' lexical organization of American Sign Language and English

A sign decision task, in which deaf signers made a decision about the number of hands required to form a particular sign of American Sign Language (ASL), revealed significant facilitation by repetition among signs that share a base morpheme. A lexical decision task on English words revealed facilitation by repetition among words that share a base morpheme in both English and ASL, but not among those that share a base morpheme in ASL only. This outcome occurred for both deaf and hearing subjects. The results are interpreted as evidence that the morphological principles of lexical organization observed in ASL do not extend to the organization of English for skilled deaf readers.     

Employing the God-Family Relationship in Therapy with Religious Families

In many religious families, God functions as a crucial family member, stabilizing interpersonal relationships and engaging in daily family transactions. In the psychological role of a transitional object, God can be usefully employed by the family therapist in therapeutic interventions, when the therapist keeps the focus upon the interpersonal relationship with God rather than the specific content of religious beliefs. This approach can access a vital resource in the family, particularly when conditions for therapy are otherwise difficult, such as an isolated, enmeshed dyad presenting alone for therapy. Four case examples illustrate how one may use this approach in family therapy.     

Using the Model Statement to Elicit Information and Cues to Deceit from Native Speakers,Non‐native Speakers and Those Talking Through an Interpreter

We examined how the presence of an interpreter during an interview affects eliciting information and cues to deceit, whilst using a method that encourages interviewees to provide more detail (model statement, MS). Sixty native English speakers were interviewed in English, and 186 non‐native English speakers were interviewed in English or through an interpreter. Interviewees either lied or told the truth about a mock security meeting, which they reported twice: in an initial free recall and after listening to the MS. The MS resulted in the native English speakers and those interviewed with an interpreter providing more reminiscences (additional detail) than the non‐native English speakers interviewed without an interpreter. As a result, those interviewed through an interpreter provided more detail than the non‐native English speakers, but only after the MS. Native English participants were most detailed in both recalls. No difference was found in the amount of reminiscences provided by liars and truth tellers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effectiveness of Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD With Refugees in a Community Setting

Opinions vary on the generalizability of empirically supported treatments to diverse populations in naturalistic settings and on the relative merits of delivering treatments through interpreters. The authors present statistical analyses of outcome data from a community mental health program that served foreign-born refugees resettled in the U.S. The program used a manualized, empirically supported treatment, Cognitive Processing Therapy, to address symptoms of PTSD in this population. Participants received psychological treatment in native languages either with a therapist who spoke their language or with a therapist who used an interpreter. Results demonstrated that treatment of PTSD was highly effective whether delivered directly or through an interpreter.     

On the witness stand:

Abstract

The family therapist is frequently called upon to testify as an expert witness. For many family therapists, the courtroom is an unfamiliar environment with different ground rules and basic assumptions. Testifying can be a difficult experience as the mental health professional faces different situational role demands than those encountered in usual therapeutic settings. If the family therapist can transfer to the court context the art of influencing interpersonal situations, the effectiveness of his/her testimony will be enhanced. This paper describes predictable legal behaviors and suggests to the family therapist strategic responses to improve skills as an expert witness.     

Memory for Faces and Objects by Deaf and Hearing Signers and Hearing Nonsigners

The memory of 11 deaf and 11 hearing British Sign Language users and 11 hearing nonsigners for pictures of faces of and verbalizable objects was measured using the game Concentration. The three groups performed at the same level for the objects. In contrast the deaf signers were better for faces than the hearing signers, who in turn were superior to the hearing nonsigners, who were the worst. Three hypotheses were made: That there would be no significant difference in terms of the number of attempts between the three groups on the verbalizable object task, that the hearing and deaf signers would demonstrate superior performance to that of the hearing nonsigners on the matching faces task, and that the hearing and deaf signers would exhibit similar performance levels on the matching faces task. The first two hypotheses were supported, but the third was not. Deaf signers were found to be superior for memory for faces to hearing signers and hearing nonsigners. Possible explanations for the findings are discussed, including the possibility that deafness and the long use of sign language have additive effects.     

Narrative Child Family Therapy

In this article, child family therapy is presented as a hermeneutic activity shaped by an interest in the evolving narrative. Over brief, analytic play interviews, the therapist documents a child's narrative understanding of the presenting family problem. This allows psychological meaning to be jointly constructed in therapeutic conversation with the child and family. The idea of play as narrative integrates child psychotherapy into recent social constructionist thinking in family therapy. The article also discusses how narrative therapists can use prior theory and training.     

Culture and empowerment in the Deaf community: An analysis of internet weblogs

Although deafness is traditionally conceptualized as a medical problem or disability, about 500 000 deaf people in the United States identify as members of an ethno‐linguistic minority that takes pride in being Deaf. This study examined 416 Internet weblog posts authored by nine Deaf bloggers to describe aspects of Deaf culture and individual and community level empowerment strategies expressed in weblogs. Results highlight aspects of American Deaf culture, such as the value placed on American Sign Language and equal treatment of D/deaf and hearing people. Findings also provide evidence of expressions of Deaf culture such as the use of humour and supporting the community that have been less emphasized in previous literature. Community level empowerment strategies evident in posts included disseminating information, rallying the involvement of members and advocating for social justice. Overlap between expressions of Deaf culture and empowerment strategies were also found. Present results inform a growing literature on empowerment strategies that occur without intervention by professionals. Implications of the study for community research and action are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transfer of signed responses in American Sign Language from vocal English stimuli to physical object stimuli by a chimpanzee (Pan)

A chimpanzee was taught 10 signs of Ameslan (American Sign Language) using only vocal English words as stimuli. The corresponding physical objects were items found in the subject's home environment, and which he frequently encountered during daily activities. Reference was not made to these items during teaching sessions. Each teaching session was followed by a test session in which the objects were silently presented to the subject and the question What that? was signed to him. The subject acquired all 10 signs in response to the English word stimuli and then successfully transferred these signs to their physical object referents during testing.