A comparison of Canadian and Israeli separation and divorce

A nonrandom sample of 86 cases of Israel separation and divorce cases is compared with a Canadian sample of 369 having this experience. Impacts of sex-role changes, jobs and careers, children and sexuality are compared in these two national cases which exhibit many similarities and many differences. Sex-role conflicts were more frequent in Israel as were violence in separation and divorce in the Israeli sample. Adultery, though problematic in both cases, was frequently cited as a cause of divorce. Social-structural restraints and freedoms in each case are discussed as well as historical-cultural differences that help explain differing expectations and outcomes in both Israel and Canada.     

Level of Performance and Distribution of Errors in the Progressive Matrices Test: A Comparison of Ethiopian Immigrant and Native Israeli Adolescents

The performance of 250 Ethiopian Jews, ages 14–15, on the Progressive Matrices Standard (PMS) test, was compared to that of 1740 Israeli Jews, ages 9–15. The results showed that the Ethiopians' level of performance was similar to that of the young Israeli children's group (ages 9–10). Moreover, the distribution of errors found for the Ethiopian immigrant adolescents was not similar to that found for Israelis of the same age –- it resembled the distribution of errors found for Israeli 9- and 10-year-olds. It is suggested that the low performance of the Ethiopian immigrants reflects cognitive delay rather than cognitive difference.     

Intensive Gestalt Group Therapy with Schizophrenics

Abstract

Teaching group therapy is an essential aspect of graduate studies within the helping professions. Existing models discuss four basic elements required for such training: experience, observation, supervised practice, and theory. The present paper offers a model for a group therapy seminar based on these four elements and organized along developmental concepts. Clinical observations of 120 psychology students who participated in the seminar were gathered over a five-year period. Teaching techniques included supervised observation, fish-bowl, one-way mirror, and a final paper integrating theory and practice. The seminar enabled students to practice and to theorize about group processes, both as participants and as co-leaders. Seminar outcomes and conclusions are discussed.     

Supervising personality assessment: the integration of intersubjective and psychodynamic elements in the supervisory process

The supervision of personality assessment can be likened to the process of teaching art. Much like artistic training, supervision of personality assessment is a complex process that calls for creative integration of different working processes, some more technical and formal and others broader and more complex. On the surface, compared to psychotherapy supervision, supervision of personality assessment is fairly structured and centered on specific tasks such as scoring, making a diagnosis, or determining personality organization. Nevertheless, principles of psychodynamic psychotherapy such as parallel processes are relevant as well. We discuss the process of integrating intersubjective and psychodynamic elements into personality assessment supervision and argue that this integration helps the supervisory work to proceed effectively. We present the role of knowledge, the institution, and parallel processes in the supervisory work.