The interaction between cohesive systems and dispersive systems: Creating the trigenerational therapeutic context

The author presents a model for research investigation and clinical use that deals with the interaction between cohesive and dispersive family of origin systems as reflected in marital and family interaction in nuclear families.From a paper presented at the tenth annual meeting of the American Family Therapy Association, June, 1988, Montreal, PQ, Canada.     

Commentary on reviews of “outcome” studies of family and marital psychotherapy

Reviews of the outcome literature in family and marital therapy are critically evaluated. The literature is equivocal in regard to the effectiveness of family therapy, particularly in comparison to alternative forms of treatment, so that statements to the effect that family therapy has demonstrated its general efficacy would not appear to be justified. Problems are identified which require solution before the efficacy of family therapy can be demonstrated.Paper presented at the 45th annual conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Chicago, Illinois, October 31, 1987.     

Intuition in family therapy: A short manual on post-modern witchcraft

Intuition is an important part of a mature clinician's work. Yet, it is a component of clinical work which is looked upon with suspicion, due in part to the Middle-Age's association between intuition and the work of witches. This paper describes a tenuous link between intuition, witches, and Carl Whitaker. Patterns for including intuition in family therapy are discussed.     

The Contribution of Neuroimaging to the Study of Language and Aphasia

New structural and functional imaging methods continue to be developed at a rapid pace. In the last 25 years, advanced imaging techniques have provided insights into how language is represented and processed in the brain and how it can be disrupted by damage to, or dysfunction of, various parts of the brain. Imaging studies have also yielded new information regarding how individuals recover language after stroke. We briefly review the strengths and weaknesses of the various radiological methods currently used to study language and aphasia.     

On the development of the mental number line: more, less, or never holistic with increasing age?

Magnitude is assumed to be represented along a holistic mental number line in adults. However, the authors recently observed a unit-decade compatibility effect for 2-digit numbers that is inconsistent with this "holisticness" assumption (H.-C. Nuerk, U. Weger, & K. Willmes, 2001). This study used the compatibility effect to examine whether the mental number line representation of magnitude changes toward greater or less holisticness in children from Grades 2-5. The results indicate that decades and units of 2-digit numbers are processed separately rather than holistically from Grade 2 on. However, this separate processing seems to develop from a more sequential (left-to-right) to a more parallel processing mode. Moreover, children may use different strategies depending on task demands. The results are interpreted in the framework of Siegler's overlapping waves model.     

Internistische Psychosomatik

Zusammenfassung Die psychische Komorbidität internistischer Patienten im Sinne einer ICD-Diagnose des Kapitels F beträgt mehr als 35%: Neurotische, besonders somatoforme, Schmerz-, affektive Störungen und Suchterkrankungen sind häufig. Die Liegedauer ist bei psychischer Komorbidität deutlich erhöht. Es benötigen 5% der internistischen Patienten ein psychosomatisches Konsil. Neue, komplexe Behandlungsstrategien, wie Transplantationen, Kardioverter-Defibrillatoren, Medikamentenpumpen, erfordern häufig spezifische psychosoziale Interventionen. Ältere Patienten haben Erkrankungen, die zunehmend chronifizieren und komplexer werden. Damit werden Lebensqualität und psychische Komorbidität zu zentralen Outcomevariablen der Volkskrankheiten. Das zweite große Aufgabenfeld internistischer Psychosomatik ist die Untersuchung und die Behandlung psychosomatischer Patienten im engeren Sinne (Essstörungen, Schmerz- und somatoforme Störungen), weil internistische Diagnostik und Therapie erforderlich oder die Motivation der Patienten primär somatisch ist. Organisationsmodelle reichen von Konsil-/Liaisondiensten bis zu integrierten psychosomatischen Abteilungen oder Fachabteilungen an Allgemeinkrankenhäusern. Aussichtsreiche Forschungsstrategien werden neben der Erforschung psychosomatischer Mechanismen in der Entwicklung pragmatischer Behandlungsprogramme, ihrer Überprüfung in klinischen Studien und der Versorgungsforschung gesehen. Darüber hinaus sollte eine Intensivierung nationaler und internationaler Forschungsnetze erfolgen, wenn immer möglich unter Beteiligung anderer Disziplinen, um auch im Bereich der Forschung konkurrenzfähig zu bleiben.Herrn Prof. Dr. Ernst Richard Petzold zum 65. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Triadic transferences of pathological family images

Traditionally, self-object and psychosexual transferences have been thought of as dyadic processes. This paper emphasizes the importance of seeing the triadic transferences that are contained within the more visible dyadic transferences. Triadic transferences are the partial recreation of replicas of pathological family images that were constructed from experiences with father-motherchild triads during childhood. Detecting them lessens the likelihood of therapeutic impasses occurring which resemble family of origin dyadic alliances. Childhood development and developmental arrest are discussed from a triadic perspective. In a healthy psychological family a triadic heterosexual family image is constructed which contains a triadic self and a resolved Oedipus.Revision of a paper presented at the 12th International Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions, Kyoto, Japan, July 20, 1990. A preliminary version, entitled Triadic Transferences, was presented at the 12th Annual Meeting of the American Family Therapy Association, Philadelphia, PA, June 21, 1990.The masculine gender form is used for convenience, but with the recognition that statements apply to both genders.     

Effects of the medical resonance therapy music® on haemodynamic parameter in children with autonomic nervous system disturbances

The present investigation is dedicated to the effects of the Medical Resonance Therapy Music^® (MRT-Music) on basic haemodynamic parameter in children with transient arterial hypertension due to disturbances of the autonomic nervous system with different degrees of initial sympatheticotonia. After the nuclear accident at Chernobyl many children developed blood pressure too high for their age norm. Having already observed a decrease in high blood pressure in pregnant women during Medical Resonance Therapy Music (Gerasimovich, Einysh, 1999; Gerasimovich, Sidorenko, 1995; Sidorenko, Tetiorkina, Korotkov, 1997) we studied the effects of the Medical Resonance Therapy Music^® (MRT-Music) on such children—with very positive results: the treatment with the music preparations demonstrated a clear sympatholythic effect and led the disturbed haemodynamic state back to its healthy age norm.