The path and price of personal development

Personal development follows an inevitable path. The initial focus is upon social factors which gives way to emphasis on ‘self’, and ultimately enters a spiritual phase. It is a one-way process, and initial social gains may be lost as the process unfolds.     

Group Leader-Recorder Relationship in a State Hospital: A Learning Tool

The process group for staff and trainees in institutional settings has become increasingly unpopular as a resource, although ironically, the need for such a group has grown. The author presents the idea that the process group is not used more often because of a general lack of understanding of the nature of such groups as well as a failure to clearly distinguish process groups from traditional psychotherapy groups. The author goes on to give a clear definition of the task and the boundaries of a process group and, using knowledge of systems thinking, discusses special techniques for running such groups with illustrative examples.     

A Practicum of Group Psychotherapy by Asya L. Kadis,Jack D. Kramer,Charles Winick,and S. H. Foulkes

The dwelling on personally significant past experiences, reminiscence, is a common phenomenon, particularly among the elderly. This paper explores the potential value associated with the use of reminiscence in group psychotherapy, particularly with elderly populations. After reviewing the various functions (both adaptive and maladaptive) that reminiscence could serve in geriatric group therapy, the paper presents specific guidelines toward maximizing its therapeutic value.     

Parents of the Handicapped by Alfred H. Katz

As the sexual abuse of children becomes more widely discussed, clinicians have become increasingly aware of the forgotten group of clients: the adult victim of childhood incestuous abuse. This article presents a group model useful in the treatment of these women. It outlines a time-limited, structured approach based on contextual theory. The selection of group participants is explored with an emphasis on the screening procedure that is used. A profile of the individual who most benefits from this treatment is also included. The various stages of the group are highlighted and the therapists' role during each phase is discussed. Case examples are used to illustrate many of these points.     

Assessing readiness for change in adolescents with eating disorders

The Readiness and Motivation Interview (RMI) is a semistructured interview measure of readiness and motivation to change that can be used for all eating disorder diagnoses. The RMI has demonstrated excellent psychometric properties and has both clinical and predictive utility in adult samples. This study examined the psychometric properties of the RMI in a younger population, namely, 12- to 18-year-old girls with eating disorders. Study participants (N = 65) completed the RMI and measures of convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity. Adolescents with eating disorders were able to conceptualize and articulate their readiness for change and to report the extent to which change efforts were for themselves versus for others. RMI readiness profiles across eating disorder symptom domains in adolescents were comparable to those in adults, with higher reported readiness to change binge eating than to change dietary restriction or compensatory strategies. Differences in internal consistency between adult and adolescent samples are discussed. Interviewing adolescents early in treatment about readiness may assist clinicians in forming an alliance with this difficult-to-engage population, while also providing valuable information for treatment planning.     

Temporal associative processes revealed by intrusions in paired-associate recall

Although much is known about the factors that influence the acquisition and retention of individual paired associates, the existence of temporally defined associations spanning multiple pairs has not been demonstrated. We report two experiments in which subjects studied randomly paired nouns for a subsequent cued recall test. When subjects recalled nontarget items, their intrusions tended to come from nearby pairs. This across-pair contiguity effect was graded, spanning noncontiguously studied word pairs. The existence of such long-range temporally defined associations lends further support to contextual-retrieval models of episodic association.     

Touchscreen-enhanced visual learning in rats.

The efficiency of traditional levers and of modern touchscreen technology for training rats on a computerized visual discrimination was studied in a series of observations. When compared with a lever-based discrimination procedure, the use of touchscreens supported the faster development of signal tracking behavior and acquisition of a two-stimulus simultaneous visual discrimination. It did not affect the final level of accuracy. Factors related to spatial proximity of the responses with the stimuli, sign-tracking, and increased ease of touchscreen motor responses were suggested as possible reasons for the touchscreen training advantage. This increased efficiency allows large numbers of animals to be tested quickly, a necessary requirement for studies involving genetic and physiological interventions.