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.     

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.     

Detection of stimulus change: The hypothetical roles of visual transient responses

Two random-dot patterns (D1 and D2) were displayed briefly in close temporal succession, separated by an interstimulus interval (ISI). The two patterns were identical except that D2 could contain one more element (addition) or one less element (subtraction) than D1. Observers were required to detect the addition or subtraction using a two-alternative forced-choice method. Three experiments were designed to examine Phillips and Singer’s (1974) suggestion that detection of additions and subtractions can be explained in terms of neural ON and OFF responses. Experiment 1 replicated Phillips and Singer’s finding that performance is progressively impaired as the ISI is increased. In Experiment 2, sudden shifts in luminance between D1 and D2 were combined with several durations of ISI to produce transient responses in a novel manner. Experiment 3 explored the roles of transient neural responses and of configurational changes as determinants of performance. Most predictions based on Phillips and Singer’s model were confirmed by the experimental outcomes. Some discrepancies between theory and data are noted, and directions for further research are suggested.     

损毁下丘脑弓状核、中缝背核和蓝斑对大鼠应激镇痛的影响

本文用不能躲避的间歇脚底电刺激引起大鼠应激,用电刺激鼠尾-嘶叫法测定镇痛效应,研究下丘脑弓状核(脑内β-内啡肽能神经元胞体集中的部位)、中缝背核(脑内5-羟色胺能神经元胞体主要集中的部位之一)和蓝斑(脑内去甲肾上腺素能神经元胞体主要集中的部位之一)与应激镇痛的关系。 用新生大鼠腹腔注射谷氨酸-钠的方法损毁弓状核后,用海人酸和电解两种方法损毁中缝背核或蓝斑后,应激镇痛效应均明显减弱。由于谷氨酸-钠和海人酸只选择性地损毁神经元胞体,故认为脑内的β-内啡肽能神经元、5-羟色胺能神经元和去甲肾上腺素能神经元均参与应激的行为镇痛。