Treatment recommendations for mentally disordered offenders: More than roulette?

Clinical judgments on the treatability and prognosis of mentally disordered offeenders (MDO) may strongly influence legal dispositions and the availability of treatment resources. This study examined 1,238 discharge summaries for MDOs referred for court assessments. Psychiatrists evidenced marked variability in how often they recommended treatment and how frequently they judged patients to have a poor prognosis. Two logit analyses suggested that diagnosis and consultation by other clinicians were associated with (a) treatment recommendations (i.e., Axis I diagnosis and social work consultations) and (b) prognosis (i.e., Axis II diagnosis and psychology consultations).     

Procedural Justice and Culture

The past fifteen years have seen the development of a considerable research literature on the social psychology of procedural justice (see Lind & Tyler, 1988, for a review). Procedural justice research reveals some serious shortcomings in the exchange theories that have traditionally dominated Western analyses of the social psychology of groups, and in so doing, the procedural justice literature has important ramifications for cross-cultural psychology. Results from a number of studies conducted in the United States and Western Europe show that individualistic, self-interest based models of human behaviour are insufficient to explain procedural justice phenomena. Instead, procedural justice effects frequently reveal strong group-oriented concerns and motivations even in cultural contexts generally thought to be characterized by individualistic orientations. The research literature also shows that if a group's procedures are judged to be fair, people are more likely to show group-oriented behaviour and to hold more favourable attitudes toward the group and its leaders. These findings have led to the development of a theory of justice judgments—the Lind and Tyler group-value theory—which is based on group norms and relations rather than on social exchange theory. We describe a general model of social behaviour that integrates group- and individually-oriented behaviour, and we discuss the implications of the model for social and cross-cultural psychology.     

Journal Reviews

Astor , J. (London). ‘A conversation with Dr Michael Fordham.’Journal of Child Psychotherapy Astor , J. (London). ‘Adolescent states of mind found in patients of different ages seen in analysis.’Journal of Child Psychotherapy Blomeyer , R. (Berlin) ‘Der Umgang des Analytikers mit der Analyse’ (The interrelationship between the analyst and the analysis). Analytische Psychologie Blomeyer , Rudolf (Berlin). ‘Analytische Psychologie und Ich-Psychologie’. (Analytical Psychology and Ego-Psychology). Analytical Psychology Rudolf Blomeyer . ‘Anmerkungen zur Typologie’ (Comment on typology). Analytische Psychologie Corbett , L. Kugler , P. ‘The self in Jung and Kohut’ in Progress in self Psychology Dehing , J. ‘Jung aus der Sicht der anderen: anlässlich einiger Kritiken von Seiten der Freudianer.’ (Jung as others see him: some Freudian criticisms.) Analytische Psychologie Erlenmeyer , A. ‘Das kannabalische Phantasma—eine Annäherung’ (Cannibalistic fantasy—an appraisal). Analytische Psychologie Giera -Krapp , Margitta (Berlin). ‘Constellation of the good/bad mother archetype in the treatment of early disturbances.’Analytische Psychologie Lyard , D. (Paris). ‘Le corps et la “redonne” archetypique de l'adolescence.’ (The body and archetypal rebirth in adolescence) in Cahiers jungiens de psychanalyse Noschis , K. (Geneva). ‘La maison du jour et de la nuit’ (The house by day and by night). Le Journal des Psychologues “Le langage de notre intérieur” (The language of our interior). Les Cahiers Médicosociaux Erenest L. Rossi . ‘Mind Body Therapy: methods of ideodynamic healing in hypnosis.’ Norton Professional Books. New York. Samuels , A. (London). ‘Pluralism and the post-Jungians: A reply to Peter Bishop.’ Spring. Samuels , Andrew . (London). ‘A relation called father—Part I: The father in depth psychology.’British Journal of Psychotherapy Steinberg , Warren . (New York). ‘The Fear of Success’. Quadrant Thibaudier , Vivane (Paris). ‘La notion de Grande Mère dans l'optique Jungienne’Cahiers Jungiens de Psychanalyse     

A beginner's guide to the problem-oriented first family interview

The large volume and diversity of family therapy resources can often confuse trainees who are in need of more abbreviated guidelines for managing their clinical responsibilities. This paper presents a structured outline of a problem-oriented first family interview for the family therapy supervisor and the beginning family therapist. We view the first interview as an integrated process including the important tasks preceding and following the initial family meeting. After the goals that shape the work of the first interview are described, a step-by-step guide to the twelve phases of the interview is presented: telephoning; forming hypotheses; the greeting; the social phase; identifying the problem; observing family patterns; defining goals; contracting; checklist; revising hypotheses; contacting the referral person; and gathering records. This approach to the first interview integrates a variety of structural and strategic procedures. The guide, intended for use in conjunction with close supervision, may serve as a foundation on which beginning therapists can build their unique styles.     

A reappraisal of Teresa of Avila's supposed hysteria

This essay offers a reassessment of Teresa's severe seizures which were such a characteristic feature of her mysticism. The diagnosis of hysteria is no longer viable, at the very least given its abandonment by clinicians. An alternative analysis is developed by phenomenologically comparing Teresa's seizures to parallel experiences of subjects in LSD-assisted psychotherapy. Using Stanislav Grof's categories, it is argued that Teresa's seizures are perinatal symptoms. As such, they represent the emergence and reintegration of extremely primitive psychological systems and might be described as the growing pains of transpersonal consciousness. They reflect not degenerative psychopathology but progressive movement toward higher states of consciousness.He has published articles in the fields of metaphor and the psychology of mysticism. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the national meeting of the American Academy of Religion in New York in 1982.     

Reflex responses of human lip muscles to mechanical stimulation during speech

The role played by reflex pathways in the production of movement has been a significant issue for motor control theorists interested in a wide variety of motor behaviors. From studies of locomotion and chewing, it appears that gains in reflex pathways can be altered so that activity in these pathways does not produce destabilizing responses during movement. In speech production, recent experimental evidence has been interpreted to suggest that autogenetic lip reflexes (perioral reflexes) are suppressed during sustained phonation or speech production. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of phonation, direction of movement, and ongoing speech production on reflex responses of lip muscles. The present results suggest, in contrast to earlier work, that this reflex pathway is not suppressed or absent because the amplitude of the observed response depends upon the activation levels of the various muscles of the lower lip and, therefore, indirectly on the nature of the gesture the subject is instructed to produce.     

Infant hypotonia, obesity, hypogenitalism and oligophrenia--new viewpoints on the etiology and symptoms of Prader-Willi syndrome

We present four cases of Prader-Willi syndrome. Two of them have an abnormality of a chromosome 15, the other both show different chromosomal abnormalities. Translocations or deletions were found recently in the bands 15q11/12 in about 60% of the cases of Prader-Willi syndrome. The consequences for diagnosis, symptomatology and genetic counselling of the syndrome are discussed.