Qualifications for Membership in the A.G.P.A.

A model of the development of group therapists is presented. It is proposed that student group therapists proceed through a sequence of stages, each of which is marked by characteristic therapist behavior. During the initial Group shock phase, the student reacts to the novelty of group therapy stimuli with individual therapy or content-oriented approaches. Reappraisal is a period of some therapist inhibition, frustration, or self-doubt. One step behind is a phase characterized by a gradual recognition of the process level of analysis, despite difficulty supplying the interventions autonomously. Using the here-and-now is a period of active intervention about interpersonal phenomena among group members. The techniques for highlighting this material are refined in the Polishing skills phase. The usefulness of models in training is discussed.     

A. G. P. A. News

Therapist interventions in group therapy are not usually considered in terms of criteria for their validity. Such criteria hinge on the theoretical orientation of the therapist. In a psychoanalytic group context, 10 validating criteria are presented in broad areas relevant to affect, effective communication, and group cohesion. Other issues, such as timing, are considered, and illustrative clinical material is presented. Ongoing clinical hypothesis testing in the work of therapy is encouraged.     

A.G.P.A. News

Clinical observations regarding themes and roles that are characteristic of short-term, psychoanalytically oriented therapy groups for loss patients are presented. They reflect aspects of both the therapy and the patients. Themes refer to the content of a recurrent conflict in the group. They include trust, survivor guilt, mortality, and termination. Roles refer to a set of patient behaviors that represent a shared conflict. They include the apparition, monk, professor, professional nurturer, emotional conductor, and cruise director. Challenges that the themes and roles present to the therapist and clinical guidelines for addressing them are offered. Awareness of characteristic themes and roles and possible therapist responses are regarded as important parts of the preparation and training of therapists who plan to conduct short-term loss groups.     

Program of the 18th Annual Institute and the 31st Annual Conference of the A.G.P.A.

Exercise groups form an integral part of an insight-oriented, psychodynamic evening treatment program for a patient population characterized predominantly by mood and personality disorders. Clinical examples illustrate how the exercise groups are integrated with other therapy groups in the program. Therapists, who lead and participate in the exercise groups, attempt to maintain professional boundaries while they facilitate permissive activities where enactment of patient conflicts can occur. Events from the exercise groups frequently provide material for work in the more traditional psychodynamic groups of the program. A number of benefits of exercise groups are highlighted.     

Culture and the organization of infant sleep: A study in the Netherlands and the U.S.A.

This study investigates differences in the amount and structure of infant sleep in two cultural places with previously documented, divergent parental beliefs and practices. Eight-month-old infants (n = 24 per site) were recruited from towns in the Netherlands and the eastern U.S.A. To evaluate sleep, infants’ physical activity was recorded at home for 24 h using a miniature actigraph, while parents kept a diary of infant activities. Measures derived from actigraphy include total sleep, longest sleep episode, longest wake episode, number of sleep episodes, and percent of sleep during nighttime, as well as time in the stages of Quiet and Active Sleep. Measures based on the parental diaries include most of these aspects as well, except those related to sleep stages. Results based on the more precise actigraphy method indicate that (1) the Dutch infants averaged 13.65 h of sleep per 24 h, 1.67 h more than the U.S. infants; this difference was mostly due to daytime sleep; (2) The Dutch infants’ longest wake episode averaged less than that of the U.S. infants, while their longest sleep episode appeared slightly longer. (3) The Dutch infants, compared to the U.S. sample, spent more time in the Quiet, rather than the Active phase of sleep; (4) They began their Quiet sleep earlier in the evening than did their U.S. counterparts. Measures derived from parental diaries are largely in agreement with the actigraph findings. These results are consistent with reported and observed practices and beliefs in the two communities. The pattern of differences – less apparent maturity among the Dutch in the amount of sleep, but greater apparent maturity in the structure of sleep -- illustrates that behavioral and neurological maturity can be assessed only in the context of the developing child’s adaptation to the specific demands and affordances of the culturally structured developmental niche.     

美国华人基督教会研究:以大波士顿地区为例

美国华人基督教的历史与华人移民美国的历史几乎一样长。大波士顿地区的华人基督徒出现较早,但华人基督教会直到1946年才出现。该地区现有华人基督教会近30家,信徒5000多人,约占当地华人总人口的5%。华人新移民加入基督教会的主要原因有:近代以来中国社会和文化变迁;寻求族群归属和文化认同;寻求物质与精神帮助;华人教会的主动宣传。华人基督教会的特点有:组织独立,神学保守;华人新移民是华人基督教会的生力军;普通话、英语和粤语三种语言并存;尽量少谈或不谈政治。华人基督教会的功能有:解决华人信仰问题;团结华人;服务华人,教育华人,帮助华人新移民融入美国社会,同时保持中国传统文化。华人基督教会是华人社团的重要组成部分,与华文报刊和中文学校一起构成美国华人文化社区的核心内容。