Family therapy and outcome: Relationships between therapist and family styles

This study examined therapeutic outcome for a group of 175 clinic families divided into levels of family competence and style, and, later, into seven clinical groupings. The division into these groups was based on the level of rated Competence and Style determined by using the Beavers Systems Model. Therapists also rated their level of Openness/Sharing Strategy, Power Differential, and Partnership with the family at the third session. Results indicate that more competent families who fared well in therapy had therapists who formed a partnership, disclosed strategy, and employed a minimal power differential with the family. The most disturbed families, and those with a Centrifugal style, did better with therapists employing a high power differential and lower levels of openness and partnership. The study also presented the distribution of individual diagnoses by family groups. Implications for family therapists, including the value of family assessment, are provided.     

The role of blood pressure, cortisol, and prolactine among soldiers injured in the 1991–1993 war in Croatia

Ninety soldiers with at least three months of combat exposure—60 injured soldiers (30 with permanent disabling and 30 with nondisabling injuries), 30 noninjured soldiers and 30 healthy controls—were interviewed and investigated with physiological (Prolactine, Cortisol, BP, Hb) and psychological tests (MMPI), IES-15 (Impact of Event Scale), PTSS (Post-Traumatic Symptom Scale). Their was related injuries had a different effect on the physiological stress response of the soldiers as reflected in the levels of prolactine, cortisol, hemoglobin and blood pressure. In a report of personality characteristics of the same soldiers, we demonstrated that the experience of posttraumatic stress was not dependent upon physical injury, but rather on the psychological appraisal of the situation. The results of the present article confirm earlier findings that the relationship between physiological and psychological consequences of trauma are complex, and that the perception of an event and the social context within which the traumatized soldier exists is as important as the event itself. The physiological response to the trauma varied greatly among the soldiers regarding the psychosocial impact of the consequence of the injury. So the anticipation of future possible trauma among less severely wounded soldiers (expected to go back to war) was followed by pathological stress responses. Trauma seems to operate somewhat independently from the overt conscious appraisal of the situation and relationship between psychological, psychosocial, and physiological aspects are interrelated in a multifactorial way. An integrative approach is therefore of great importance in assessment as well as in treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Editorial Note This historical article is being published for the first time. It is based on the Ph.D. thesis of Dr. Harry A. Teitelbaum for which he was awarded a doctorate by the University of Maryland in College Park in 1936. The dissertation was stored prior to publication and was not rediscovered until 1997. Teitelbaum’s work was performed during the early days of the development of knowledge regarding the mechanisms that regulate endocrine function. The understanding of the broad capability of interactions among endocrine glands was evolving. It was a field that Teitelbaum contributed to for several years, many of which were spent in collaboration with Horsley Gantt in his laboratory at Johns Hopkins. Although some of the experimental strategies and some of the wording of the report seem quaint today, the contribution of Teitelbaum’s research was solid and highly relevant to questions being asked at the time.     

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.     

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.     

Risk Factors of a Suicide Reattempt by Seasonality and the Method of a Previous Suicide Attempt: A Cohort Study in a Japanese Primary Care Hospital

Suicide has a great impact on the individual whose life is lost and the bereaved family members. The risk of a suicide reattempt is particularly high during the first 12 months after a suicide attempt. In this cohort study, risk factors for a suicide reattempt were explored among 291 patients at suicide risk. Clinical and demographic data were collected from a Japanese primary care hospital. Past psychiatric history and multiple diagnoses were associated with suicide reattempts in both genders. Drug overdose, past psychiatric history, and the summer season were linked to suicide reattempts among males. Past psychiatric history and multiple diagnoses were linked to suicide reattempts among females. Appropriate assessment of past psychiatric history, season and method of suicide attempt, gender, and diagnosis may play a role in preventing suicide.     

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.     

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.     

A Cross‐National Comparison of Suicide Attempts,Drug Use,and Depressed Mood Among Dominican Youth

We compared suicide attempts, depressed mood, and drug use of 1,710 Dominican public high school students in New York City (NYC) and 9,573 in the Dominican Republic (DR) in 2009. Compared to DR Dominicans, NYC Dominicans were more likely to have reported lifetime marijuana use (27.6% vs. 1.5%), lifetime inhalant use (11.0% vs. 7.6%), lifetime other drug use (9.9% vs. 3.0%), depressed mood (31.3% vs. 27.2%), and suicide attempt (13.8% vs. 8.8%). The results of this study supported the hypothesis that substantial increases in illicit drug use, especially cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and methamphetamines, among NYC Dominican youth account for their increased risk for suicide attempts compared to their DR Dominican counterparts. It also identified suicide attempts as a public health problem among NYC Dominicans, the largest NYC Latino immigrant population.