The availability and importance of Denominational Support Services as perceived by Clergy Husbands and their wives

Previous research by Morris and Blanton (1994b) used the Denominational Support Service Checklist (DSSC) to determine whether or not denominations were providing support services in any organized/systematic way to the clergy and their wives in their denomination. The DSSC has a yes/no format containing 21 support services that are divided into four areas of support. The four areas of support services included psychological services (3), career development services (6), family oriented services (7), and financial services (5). As a follow-up to the previous study, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of clergy husbands and their wives regarding the availability and importance of support services provided by their sponsoring denomination. The sample of the study included 136 ordained married clergy males and their non-clergy spouses (n=272) randomly selected from six denominations in the United States. The six denominations included the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); Lutheran Missouri Synod (LMS); Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee (COG); Seventhday Adventists (SDA); the American Baptist Church (ABC); and the Episcopal Church (EC). Each husband and wife completed The Perceived Availability of Denominational Support Services (PADSS) and The Perceived Importance of the Denominational Support Service (PIDSS). The PADSS has a yes/no format and the PIDSS is a 3 point Likert-type questionnaire that corresponds identically (e.g., 21 items divided into four support areas) with the DSSC. Findings from the study indicated that a majority of clergy and their wives perceived that their sponsoring denominations were not making available those services that they perceived were important. Additionally, gender differences in reports of availability and importance were found indicating that some denominations may not be providing support services that enhance the quality tof life for the entire clergy family system. Recommendations and suggestions are made to encourage and guide denominations in providing support services for clergy families.     

Cognitive ego psychology and the psychotherapy of learning disorders

The single most common referral problem in middle childhood and adolescence is academic underachievement and learning failure. Yet, the term “learning disorder” lacks specificity as a diagnostic entity and offers no guidelines for psychotherapy. An appreciation of the developmental processes by which the undifferentiated, unstructured, self-less and objectless newborn becomes a more fully developed, self-sufficient individual, capable of adaptive functioning and formal academic learning is encompassed in contemporary psychoanalytic conceptions of the separation-individuation process. This theory provides an organizing, theoretical base for diagnosis and treatment of learning disorders. Based on these conceptions, we discuss therapeutic techniques which are appropriate to the level of developmental arrest at each of the phases of the separation-individuation process.     

Incomplete mourning,betrayal, and revenge in The Prince of Tides: Erotic countertransference in the cinema

The Prince of Tidesis the characterological study of and interaction between two families, that of Savannah, the patient and Dr. Susan Lowenstein, the psychiatrist. In order to treat Savannah, recovering from a suicide attempt, fraternal twin Tom (Savannah's memory) comes to New York to assist in his sister's treatment. Tom becomes the patient relating the family dynamics in six cinematic flashbacks. These show the parental disharmony, Tom's strong Oedipal attachment, maternal betrayal and Tom's wish for revenge, his incomplete mourning for his older brother Luke, and its effects on his life. The relationship between Susan, her husband and son, Bernard, and how each interacts with Tom is also described. Susan's erotic countertransference is analyzed, and the role of the woman therapist in the cinema discussed.     

The ego in diagnosis

This article highlights the salient issues in ego psychological assessment, and offers detailed suggestions on the conduct of such clinical procedures. The article emphasizes the importance of the anamnesis (or detailed, meaningful history), the patient's ego structure, the kind of trauma and its duration, the symptoms presented as well as the dynamic, genetic, and adaptive implications of the patient's symptoms and complaints. The determination of the ego's state is viewed as critical for adequate preparation for therapy and the evolution of the therapeutic relationship.     

Acting out in the treatment situation

More and more frequently the deficiencies and deprivations of early life are seen in the inability of patients to utilize psychic process to ameliorate conflict and painful affect. As a result, the tendency to act out anger and violent feelings in the external world in ways that are destructive and damaging is a prominent symptom. In the course of therapy, this somatic expression enters the treatment situation itself, often directed to the person of the analyst as the transference object. Understanding dynamics of what is actually being reenacted and using this information to convert somatic language to psychic process is the central focus of this paper. Acting out is defined and what places it apart from other pathological symptoms is described, along with associated ego functions, triggering mechanisms, affects, narcissistic and preoedipal factors, speech and symbolization, and stability and quality of mental representations. Acting out has been linked to somatization in recent years, and is understood as a defense against hostile wishes and impulses in an attempt to eliminate internal dangers from awareness. Treatment focuses on moving acting out into the realm of talking out, free association, dream interpretation, and interpretation in general with the proper timing in assessing the patient's ability to transfer experiences with early objects onto the analyst.     

The addiction to negativity.

In this paper, we have described a type of resistance that has attracted increasing psychoanalytic attention in recent years. Patients exposed to intense negativity during early life may develop an addiction to negative experience as adolescents and adults, and this may constitute a central organizing feature of their personality. In almost all patients, however, some moments of negativity may be observed. We have traced the developmental origins of an attachment to negativity, drawing especially on psychoanalytic investigations of preoedipal pathology. Manifestations and derivatives of early negativity include anhedonia, attachment to physical pain, fear of success, masochism, deprivation of self and others, and negative voyeurism. In discussing the dynamic functions of negativity, we place particular emphasis on two motives: the patient's desires for revenge against early objects that have been a source of deprivation and frustration; and the defensive function of negativity in helping to express as well as ward off dangerous wishes to merge with the object. Deviant forms of autoerotism are likely to be used by these patients to deal with the reactivation of early experiences of neglect and rejection. When negativity is used as a defense or method of relating to others it can lead to a severe disruption of the psychotherapeutic relationship. We have reviewed suggestions for the management of extreme negativity in treatment. Resolution of the therapist's countertransference reactions, especially induced feelings of frustration, rage, and helplessness, is crucial. Emphasis also has been placed on the patient's desires for revenge against self and object, and the manner in which these may be understood and eventually resolved. Only when patient and therapist begin to investigate the adaptive functions of extreme negativity can this pathological symptom be resolved and the patient's awareness of self and sense of autonomy be enhanced.     

Time congruity in the organization: A proposed quality-of-life framework

The present paper examines the importance of matching thetime styles of individuals with thetime styles established by organizations. The authors introduce the notion oftime congruity to represent such a matching process. While time use has been studied in both organizational and individual contexts, lesser attention has been given to such multi-level analysis. When the individual's self time preferences are matched to the time use methods of the organization, a fit is thought to exist, potentially leading to satisfactory performance and enhancement of quality of work and general life. A framework is proposed for identifying and exploring such congruity, leading to several research propositions. Managerial implications are developed for human resource issues and business combinations, such as joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions.     

The Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics

The Rice Virtual Laboratory in Statistics is an integrated combination of an electronic textbook, simulations/demonstrations, and case studies. The electronic textbook covers basic concepts in statistics and data analysis and contains links to data analysis tools, instructional demonstrations/simulations, and other on-line texts. The simulations and demonstrations help make abstract concepts concrete and allow students to investigate various aspects of statistical tests and distributions. Case studies demonstrate the real-world applicability of statistical methods. Materials are available on the World-Wide Web.