The Effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy With Veterans With PTSD: A Pilot Study

The current study is a pilot project conducted at Baltimore VA Medical Center investigating the use of emotionally focused couples therapy (EFT) for couples in which one partner is a veteran who has been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fifteen couples enrolled in the study and seven of these couples completed treatment (26 to 36 weekly sessions of EFT). Both partners were assessed on measures of relationship satisfaction, psychological distress, depression, and quality of life, and veterans were assessed on measures of PTSD symptoms at baseline and 2 weeks after the intervention. Paired t-tests were used to compare scores before and after EFT. In terms of results, the veterans' partners reported significant improvements in relationship and life satisfaction and in decreased depression and a decrease in psychological distress. Veterans demonstrated a significant decrease in self-reported symptoms of PTSD. These results provide preliminary evidence for the usefulness of EFT to help foster improved relationship satisfaction, and psychological well-being for veterans with PTSD and their partners who completed treatment.     

The analysis and treatment of vocal stereotypy in a child with autism

This study examined procedures for the assessment and treatment of automatically reinforced vocal stereotypy of a 6‐year‐old girl with autism. Stimulus assessments were conducted to identify toys that were correlated with higher rates of vocal stereotypy and toys that were not. A concurrent operants assessment identified preferred stimuli (toys that produced auditory stimulation), which were then used as reinforcers for the non‐occurrence of vocal stereotypy. A reversal design was used to compare the effects of a fixed time schedule of reinforcement (FT 1‐min) to differential reinforcement for the non‐occurrence of behavior (DRO) to reduce vocal stereotypy. Implementation of the FT schedule revealed no effect, whereas the DRO schedule led to a reduction in the target behavior during treatment sessions and across the school day. This study adds to the body of literature supporting the identification of matched stimuli to reduce non‐socially mediated problem behavior. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of training on dynamic stereo acuity performancy by males and females.

Dynamic stereo acuity thresholds were obtained for 30 male and female Ss at speeds of rotation of 120 degrees/sec. after pretraining at either O degree, 60 degrees, or 120 degrees/sec. Under conditions of no pretraining females showed significantly larger discrimination errors than males. Pretraining, however, resulted in comparable threshold performance between males and females. Socio-cultural factors responsible for these differences are suggested.