Discrimination tests of visually influenced syllables

In the McGurk effect, perception of audiovisually discrepant syllables can depend on auditory, visual, or a combination of audiovisual information. Undersome conditions, Vi8Ual information can override auditory information to the extent that identification judgments of a-visually influenced syllable can be as consistent as for an analogous audiovisually compatible syllable. This might indicate that visually influenced and analogous audiuvisually-compatible syllables-are-phictnetically equivalent. Experiments were designed to test this issue using a compelling visually influenced syllable in an AXB matching paradigm. Subjects were asked tomatch an audio syllable /val either to an audiovisually consistent syllable (audio /val-video /fa/) or an audiovisually discrepant syllable (audio /bs/-video ifa!). It was hypothesized that if the two audiovisual syllables were phonetically equivalent, then subjects should choose them equally often in the matching task. Results show, however, that subjects are more likely to match the audio /va/ to the audiovisually consistent /va/, suggesting differences in phonetic convincingness. Additional experiments further suggest that this preference is not based on a phonetically extraneous dimension or on noticeable relative audiovisual discrepancies.     

Why families are not like swamps,solar systems,or thermostats: Some limits of systems theory as applied to family therapy

Family systems theory presents an answer to the riddles of mental disorder and human functioning that stands in marked contrast to other prevailing views based on linearity and traditional science. At this stage of its development, the family systems view does not provide an internally coherent, predictive, or unifying theory about humans and their problems. Further, it tends to both undercontextualize and overcontextualize behavior, substitutes blaming the family for blaming the victim, reifies and anthropomorhizes the systems metaphor, dismisses such concepts as power and responsibility, and discourages research. As one theoretical and clinical perspective among many, however, it can be helpful and eye-opening.Based on a paper presented at the Forty-fifth Annual Conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Chicago, 1987.     

Tigers are something else: A case for family play

This paper is an attempt to bridge the two worlds of family therapy and filial play therapy, introducing the complementary idea of play in therapy. Family play therapy challenges the idea that play is only useful in the treatment of children. Clinical examples are given and uses of play are discussed, including evaluation, play as a therapeutic tool, and the development of themes. The authors believe that therapists who are willing to be playful offer their clients a new world of therapeutic experiences.     

Single parenting: Interventions in the transitional stage

Following divorce or separation, many mother-headed families need to mourn losses, including reduced economic resources. They need to reestablish family rituals, confront such issues as time management and structural changes that can result in scapegoating or over-reliance on a parental child. Normalizing difficulties associated with parenting is important because single parents tend to internalize societal attribution of family difficulties to inadequate family structure rather than developmental stages, limited economic resources, and negative expectations about the capacity of women to head families.     

Beyond home-based family intervention: A multi-family approach toward change

A growing specialty area in the mental health field involves working with emotionally disturbed youth and families-at-risk by providing services in the context of the home environment. A review of the literature provides documentation for family systems, social learning, and ecological interventions with at-risk families receiving home-based intervention but there is an absence of material on the use of multi-family groups with this population. The purpose of this article is to outline the implementation of a multi-family therapy (MFT) component for home-based programs serving at-risk families. Advantages and disadvantages when using MFT are also addressed.The authors are grateful to Linda Pannell for her helpful comments on drafts of this article.     

The role of network therapy in the treatment of relational disorders: Cults and folie a deux

This article discusses the successful outcome of a network intervention in a case of cult-involvement andfolie a deux. The intervention, specifically designed to help a family in which one member had become involved with an individual who claimed to be the Messiah—an involvement that entailed the exclusion and alienation of all other family members—used a team of network specialists and consisted of a pre-network planning meeting, the network meeting itself which included approximately 70 persons over four hours, and several follow-up meetings with network subgroups.     

What's in a therapist's name?

For some years there has been interest in and research on the psychological and sociological influences of names. Little attention has been given to the influence of the names given to mental health professionals. The author describes some of the influence his own name has had on his personal and professional development as well as some of the effects names have had on students and colleagues. A rationale for the exploration of therapists' and clients' names is provided.Except for the name of the author and the names of his family members and those of public figures, all other names used in this article are pseudonyms designed to maintain anonymity and preserve individuals' privacy.     

The language of feelings

The acquisition of a language of feelings is similar to the acquisition of other language and can be conceptualized within a Piagetian framework. The acquisition of this language of feelings is subject to certain pitfalls that are reflective of various emotional problems. The linguistic poverty for affect that is concomitant with being unable to label feelings points to the need for parents and therapists to be involved in helping the child or patient develop an affective schema. The development of a differentiated, accurate, and flexible language of emotion to both express personal feelings and evoke responses in others is a schematic gift which parents provide. We find that when parents have not provided this, a reparative language developmental task is part of a psychotherapy. A grasp of the interplay of the concepts ofassimilation andaccommodation in Piaget (1952) appears essential to encouraging a healthy language of feelings. Related concepts drawn from Schacter (1965), Laing (1967), Krystal (1979), Kelly (1955) and Malerstein and Ahern (1979) are interwoven in a Piagetian structure for a language of feelings.     

Training mildly retarded individuals to control their anger through the use of cognitive-behavior therapy techniques

Four mildly retarded adults with chronic anger problems were treated with a cognitive-behavioral approach similar to stress-inoculation training. The treatment techniques included a simplified version of rational-emotive therapy (RET), coping self-statements, relaxation training, biofeedback, coping imagery, behavioral rehearsal, and assertiveness training. The treatment techniques varied in each case so as to meet the needs of the individual clients. The emphasis was on the development of self-control as opposed to control through external contingencies, such as rewards and punishments. There were decreases in the frequency of anger outbursts in all four clients. Violent behavior, such as hitting and kicking others, and destruction of property, was totally eliminated. In addition, the clients reported decreases in anxiety and stress-related symptoms. Although experimental research is needed in this area, these preliminary findings suggest that at least some mildly retarded individuals can be taught self-control through a cognitive-behavioral approach.