Countertransference in Activity Group Therapy

A controlled, clinical trial investigation of short-term psychoanalytically oriented group psychotherapy (STG) was conducted which included eight psychotherapy groups led by experienced therapists. Patient psychological mindedness (PM) was investigated as a selection criterion and prognostic variable. Seventy-nine psychiatric outpatients experiencing prolonged or delayed grief reactions were matched for level of PM and then randomly assigned to STG or a wait list. There was repeated measurement of several areas and sources of outcome. Results indicated a strong main effect for STG but not for PM on outcome, and minimal evidence for an interaction effect. Benefits were maintained at six-month follow-up. Psychological mindedness emerged as highly predictive of attrition. A clinical discussion is presented wherein the efficacy of STG is considered as reflecting a good patient—treatment match.     

The Group Psychotherapy Literature 1958

This study applies Kohut's self-psychology toward an understanding of the self-functions that membership in a religious cult group (Divine Light Mission) provides for the narcissistic personality. It is proposed that there exists a psychosocial fit between the appeal of the cult group's structure and process and the needs of the narcissistic personality. The cult group offers reparative and substitutive functions to the follower who seeks an idealized selfobject to stabilize a defective sense of self. The special relationship of the follower to the Guru bears a close resemblance to the “idealizing transference” which arises between certain narcissistic patients and their group therapist. The therapeutic use and misuse of the “idealizing transference” in group therapy is explored and suggestions are made for its appropriate clinical management.     

Experimenter Modeling Effects as Determinants of Subject's Responses

Abstract

Ames, Louise Bates, Metraux, Ruth W., Walker, Richard N. Adolescent Rorschach Responses. New York: Paul B. Hoeber, 1959, xi plus 313. $8.50. Reviewed by Mortimer M. Meyer

Bass, B. F. and Berg, I. A. Objective Approaches to Personality Assessment. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1959, pp. x-233. $4.95. Reviewed by Wilson H. Guertin

Bellak, L. (Ed.), Ostow, M., Pumpian-Mindlin, E., Stanton, A. H., and Szasz, T. S. Conceptual and methodological problems in psychoanalysis. New York: Annals of the N. Y. Academy of Sciences, 1959, p. 973–1134. Reviewed by A. I. Rabin

Buros, Oscar K. (Ed.) The fifth mental measurements yearbook. Highland Park, N.J.: Gryphon Press, 1959. Reviewed by Bertram R. Forer

Caligor, Leopold. A New Approach to Figure Drawing. Springfield, III.: Charles Thomas, Publisher, 1957, pp. 148, $4.50. Reviewed by Emanuel F. Hammer, Ph.D.

Hallower, Molly. Personality Change and Development. New York and London: Grune &; Stratton. 1958. 383 pp. $10.00. Reviewed by Theodore H. Blau

Ledwith, Nettie H. Rorschach responses of elementary school children. Pittsburgh: Univ. Pittsburgh Press, 1959. Reviewed by Mortimer M. Meyer

Tomkins, Silvan S. and Miner, John B. PAT Interpretation. Springer Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1959. 184 pp. Reviewed by Leonard P. Ullmann     

Patient Perspectives on the Learning Health System: The Importance of Trust and Shared Decision Making

We conducted focus groups to assess patient attitudes toward research on medical practices in the context of usual care. We found that patients focus on the implications of this research for their relationship with and trust in their physicians. Patients view research on medical practices as separate from usual care, demanding dissemination of information and in most cases, individual consent. Patients expect information about this research to come through their physician, whom they rely on to identify and filter associated risks. In general, patients support this research, but worry that participation in research involving randomization may undermine individualized care that acknowledges their unique medical histories. These findings suggest the need for public education on variation in practice among physicians and the need for a collaborative approach to the governance of research on medical practices that addresses core values of trust, transparency, and partnership.     

Lineup administrator influences on eyewitness identification and eyewitness confidence

Lineup administrators were trained to respond to witnesses in such a way as to redirect them from making non-identifications or foil identification responses toward making identifications of the suspect. Compared to a no-influence control condition, suspect identification rates in the influence condition increased substantially and proportionally for guilty and innocent suspects. Administrators steered witnesses more specifically toward the suspect when the suspect was guilty than when the suspect was innocent. Post-identification confidence for correct identifications of the guilty suspect did not differ significantly across the influence and no-influence groups. However, post-identification confidence for false identifications of the innocent suspect was significantly lower for the influence group than for the no-influence group because witnesses who were influenced to make false identifications tended to be those who were less confident prior to the lineup, and also because those witnesses became less confident from pre- to post-identification.     

Examining attitudes,beliefs, and intentions regarding the use of exercise as punishment in physical education and sport: an application of the theory of reasoned action

Although the use of exercise as punishment appears to be pervasive among physical education teachers and coaches, it has not been systematically examined. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences, attitudes, intentions, and beliefs of college physical education majors regarding the use of exercise as punishment, using the framework of the theory of reasoned action. Surveys were completed by 345 students enrolled in 35 physical education classes. More than 90% of the study participants reported that their coaches used exercise as punishment, and 43% indicated their physical education teachers used exercise to punish or manage behavior. The constructs of the theory of reasoned action explained nearly 70% of the variance in participants' intentions to use exercise as punishment.     

Job applicants and preemployment agreements: what employment counselors need to know

U.S. society is becoming increasingly litigious. Nowhere is this more evident than in the employment process, where preemployment agreements for job applicants are becoming more common. Preemployment agreements require applicants to accept certain terms or provisions before they are offered a position. In this article, the authors describe types of preemployment contracts and legal issues associated with them and present attorney‐selected sample cases to assist employment counselors to better prepare their clients for addressing this legal phenomenon.     

Silenced by Betrayal: The Path from Childhood Trauma to Diminished Sexual Communication in Adulthood

Betrayal traumas (Freyd, 1996), abuses that violate trust or dependency, predict numerous negative outcomes, including dissociation and revictimization (DePrince & Freyd, 2007; Gobin & Freyd, 2009; Goldsmith, Freyd, & DePrince, 2012). No previous empirical research examines the relation between betrayal and sexual health, including dissociation during sex. This article addresses this gap with 2 studies, which provide support for a multiple mediation model where high betrayal in childhood predicts worsened sexual communication in adulthood through trait dissociation and sexual dissociation in serial. In both studies, the direct path between betrayal and sexual communication was nonsignificant; only when accounting for trait dissociation overall and sexual dissociation in particular does childhood betrayal predict diminished communication with sex partners in adulthood.