Counseling Juvenile Offenders: A Program Evaluation

This article reviews the results of the effectiveness of counseling services provided by the Juvenile Counseling and Assessment Program (JCAP) of the Juvenile Court of Clarke County, Georgia. Individual and group counseling services were provided for 55 male and female adjudicated delinquent youths, ages 9 to 17, over a period of 4 to 6 months. The recidivism rates of the youths who had received counseling services were compared to the recidivism rates of a control group that had not received counseling services.     

Hypnotherapy: a possible alternative for treating pupils affected with attention deficit disorder

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in treating attention-deficit-hyperactivity by certified psychologist and physicians. The 7 boys and 4 girls were enrolled in a Special Day classroom for hyperkinesis and behavior problems and were being given methylphenidate (Ritalin). Three attempts were made to hypnotize these subjects; however, the group had to be reduced from 11 to 3 and finally, from 3 to a single child to be successful. A significant improvement from pre- and post-hypnotic sessions was noted.     

WISC-IV and WISC-III profiles in children with ADHD

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd and 4th editions (WISC-III n = 586 and WISC-IV n = 118), profiles were compared for children with ADHD and normal intelligence. Mean Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Organization/Perceptual Reasoning Index (POI/PRI) scores were significantly higher than Freedom From Distractibility/Working Memory Index (FDI/WMI) and Processing Speed Index (PSI), and Symbol Search was higher than Coding. FDI/WMI and PSI scores were similar on both tests, but VCI and POI/PRI were higher on the WISC-IV than on the WISC-III. Therefore, index discrepancies were greater for the WISC-IV, suggesting that the WISC-IV might be better than the WISC-III in delineating the strengths and weaknesses of children with ADHD. All children in the WISC-IV sample scored lowest on WMI or PSI, whereas only 88% of the WISC-III children scored lowest on FDI or PSI. Thus, the WISC-IV may be more helpful in diagnosing ADHD than the WISC-III.     

The relation between hand movements and intellectual activity in a skilled task

The experiment continues an investigation (Vince, 1953) into the relation between intellectual processes and hand movements in a sensori-motor task. Subjects were required to trace a repeating pattern of circles which appeared one, two or three at a time in a slit. Only one circle at a time could be hit and subjects were instructed to discover for themselves a good path for joining the maximum possible number of circles. The experimental situation thus allowed for various levels of response: pursuit movements, predictive movements, choice and a change of plan. At the end of the experiment subjects were asked to draw their idea of the pattern.

The results support others obtained earlier in showing that in this situation the subject's idea of the pattern he is tracing is determined by his total (motor, as well as visual) response to it. In addition, there was evidence that in some cases improvements occurred in the sensori-motor performance which were not reflected immediately in the subjects' idea of the pattern.     

Decomposing the brain: components and modes, networks and nodes

Smith and colleagues recently presented a temporal independent component analysis (tICA) decomposition of resting-state functional MRI data. Compared to the widely used spatial ICA (sICA), tICA better allows for a brain region to engage in multiple, independent interactions with other regions and will potentially offer new insights into brain function.