The significance of William James' ideas for modern psychotherapy

The functional psychology first developed by William James in 1890 exerts a strong but unrecognized influence on the thinking of most modern psychotherapists. Indeed, in many ways, clinical functionalism is the hidden philosophy which holds together the mainstream of eclectic psychotherapy. This article considers the general impact of James' point of view on modern psychotherapy and the specific relevance of James' ideas about emotions and consciousness.     

Brainwashing and the persecution of “cults”

While the presence of authoritarian cults in our midst raises a number of social control and law and order issues, current controversies over cults contain substantial elements of mystification. Brainwashing is an inherently subjective metaphor that is used as a rationale for persecuting unpopular movements and defining religious converts as nonautonomous zombies who can be coerced for therapeutic purposes. While coercive persuasion models do have some heuristic value for the analysis of indoctrination in some authoritarian groups, assumptions regarding the alleged destruction of the free will of converts and the status of authoritarian religiosity as a medical pathology are not warranted.     

Counselor values—Client freedom

A framework for an approach to counseling which respects the freedom of clients and yet leaves them open to the consideration of different value systems is presented. The framework is based upon values shared by many counselors and a stage model of counseling compatible with different theoretical approaches. It is hoped that consciousness of shared values and continuing dialogue will lead to a greater commonality of values.Michael J. O'Brien is Professor of Psychology at Loyola University of Chicago. He is active in the undergraduate Applied Psychology Program where there is a dual emphasis on theory and practice. For eleven years he was director of the M.A. program in Counseling Psychology for religious workers. (It is now a part of the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola.) His thinking on values has developed through the realization of the central part values in counseling. This article strives to synthesize devergent approaches to the question of values.     

A modest/immodest proposal: Reciprocal foster families

In this article we describe the concept of reciprocal foster families a strength-based approach to helping families in poverty. This approach focuses on the resources that all families have to offer each other. The goal of reciprocal foster families approach is to restrict the role of professionals and develop trust in the intuitive wisdom of natural networks of people and families as they help each other succeed in times of difficulty.     

Systemic insight in family therapy

Systemic epistemology calls for a concept of Systemic Insight, a restructuring insight that has to do with truly grasping systemic reality. Systemic Insight is action and change-oriented, grounded in the direct systemic experience of the client, and based on the how instead of the why of the relationship problem. Its results affect the whole system. The author elucidates the definition and therapeutic application of this concept, expanding on five major ingredients and illustrating in a verbatim case and commentary specific guidelines for designing interventions which procure Systemic Insight.The concept of Systemic Insight was first presented by the author as a workshop at the European Family Therapy Association International Congress: Feelings and Systems, Sorrento, Italy, November, 1992. I would like to thank Ms. Sara Iwanir, Dr. Haviva Ayal, my co-directors, and especially my husband Ron for his unending support and the helpful out of the profession fresh views.     

Long-Term successful Marriages in Israel

Long-Term Marriages (LTM) in Israel is part of a larger on-going international research. Our study focuses on two related questions: Are all long term marriages successful and satisfying? Similar studies have been undertaken in the United States, Sweden, Germany, and Chile. This paper focuses on the Israeli results with a few cross-cultural comparisons. Israel adds several unique features to the research: the people to whom LTM applies have emigrated to Israel from 112 different countries, with different cultures and nationalities; how Holocaust survivors are distributed in comparison to the rest of the population; Israel has the lowest divorce rate in the west; family life being a highly valued norm among Jewish people, it will be interesting to determine what keeps couples together and whether the motives and ingredients for satisfying marriages are similar or different from other countries.     

Narratives of escape: A hermeneutic study of resiliency

This study examines the structure of narratives told by well-functioning adults who were at-risk as children. Participants told stories of their childhood based on pictures they selected from the TAT test (Thematic Apperception Test). Analysis of their narratives resulted in a set of hermeneutic rules which may be useful in interpreting the structure of narratives and in understanding the relationship between internalized images, reality construction, and resiliency. Two types of images were identified: negative images of stress and darkness and more positive images of escape and hope. Implications for helping clients develop images of strength and competence are discussed.The authors wish to thank an anonymous reviewer for his or her very helpful suggestions.     

A validity study of existential/dialectical marital questionnaire [EDMQ]: A psychometric questionnaire for assessing marital interaction

This paper reports the successful development of a psychometric questionnaire for analyzing marital functioning and interaction based on an existential/dialectical model originally presented by Charny as the basis for a clinical model for rating couples,Existential/Dialectical Marital Profile [EDMP]. The clinical model and psychometric questionnaire address five main areas of functioning in marriage: family management, companionship, relationship and communication, attraction and sexuality, and parenting; as well as five main dimensions of marital relationship: competence, commitment, respect, power, and closeness.Presented at the Conference of the International Family Therapy Association, Amsterdam, May, 1993. This study was completed as a master's thesis by Shlomit Asineli in collaboration with and under the supervision of Professor Israel Charny at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University.     

The personal well-being of single-parent family heads rearing their children by themselves: A comparative study

This article summarizes a study comparing the sense of well-being of divorced maternal and paternal single parents rearing their children by themselves with that of two-parent family heads. There were differences between the family's sense of well-being only in terms of the two extremes of their economic situation. In a good economic situation, single-parent families have a higher sense of well-being than the two-parent families; in a poor economic situation, the reverse is true. When the economic situation is average, their sense of well-being is similar. The concept of an androgynous sex role and a croblem-focused coping style (in that order) were important. Recommendations for other studies and directions for future thought about therapy procedures are included.This article is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted under the supervision of Professor M. Loewenberg at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, 1992.