Characteristics of consultants and consultees and success in mental health consultation

Selected attitudinal and value characteristics of high and low successful consultants were considered. Twelve consultants and 15 consultees completed six measures. Consultants were categorized as high or low success consultants based on the coding of consultants' logs. Results indicate high and low success consultants do not differ on the selected characteristics. Also, the results indicate that more successful consultants have consultees who are more authoritarian and dogmatic and are more dissimilar to their consultees in level of dogmatism and reported need for assistance. Future investigations will indicate whether the results can be replicated on a more representative consultee sample.     

Some guidelines for school consultants

School consultation and its purposes are defined, the expansion of the school psychologist's traditional diagnostic role is explored; and some guidelines from research and theory which will assist the school psychologist to maximize the effect of consultative efforts are presented.     

The Family Rorschach with families of schizophrenics: replication and extension

Using a modified version of procedures outlined by Shapiro and Wild (9), this study evaluates the use of a Family Rorschach technique as a means of distinguishing families of schizophrenic patients from those of psychiatrically hospitalized, nonschizophrenic individuals. The patients were diagnosed using Research Diagnostic Criteria, and families were matched for age, intelligence, and socioeconomic characteristics. Results showed that the families with schizophrenic offspring scored significantly lower (that is, they had more communication and attentional difficulties) than those with nonschizophrenic offspring; offspring gender and family constellation had little effect on scores. Subsequent analyses indicated that lower scores were not simply a reflection of the psychoticism of the patient. These findings suggest that families of schizophrenics have interpersonal communication difficulties that compromise their ability to maintain a shared focus of attention. The findings are consistent with the suggestion that deviant patterns of family communication in interaction with genetic vulnerability in an offspring may result in the development of a schizophrenic disorder.     

Perceiver and poser asymmetries in processing facial emotion

This study examined both perceiver and poser asymmetries in processing facial emotion. Posers were left brain-damaged (LBD), right brain-damaged (RBD), and normal control (NC) right-handed males videotaped while expressing happiness and anger. Perceivers rated the facial expressions for asymmetry in original and reversed orientations. Overall, expressions viewed in the reversed orientation were rated as more left-sided than in the original orientation. In the reversed orientation, the more extensive left hemiface of the NCs and LBDs fell in the perceiver's left hemispace. This finding is consistent with previous research demonstrating a left hemispace bias for free-field viewing of emotional faces. Expressions were produced significantly more intensely on the left than the right hemiface by NCs and LBDs; expressions of RBDs were not significantly lateralized.     

Loss of Humanness: The Ultimate Trauma

This paper is about chronic illness and its impact on the chronically ill and their loved ones who live through the illness and the eventual death. A new concept is introduced, the concept of "passing": physically ill people may pass as healthy even though they are physically ill. In addition to a discussion about why people choose to pass, two major paradoxes are considered. One concerns the paradox that results from "passing." The paradox is that while the falseness of "passing" keeps the self alive, it also deadens it before death. Specifically, "passing" enables the person with a physical illness to keep his well self alive with others, but results in one feeling dead, disconnected, detached, and inauthentic, before death. The second paradox involves the pressure on the chronically ill person to be heroically agentic in fighting the illness and overcoming it and, also, the pressure for this same person to be totally submissive and compliant with treatment. While in analytic treatment, the ill person can be helped to access authentic emotions and aliveness and to feel the power of authenticity.