In humanitarian settings, mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) are often delivered in group-based formats. Group interventions enable providers to reach more individuals when resources and technical expertise are limited. Group-based programs also foster social support, empathy, and collective problem-solving among the…

Presents a behavioral technique that permits clients to manage their own depression by coaching clients through self-observation, self-mediation and self-reinforcement activities, counselors can use minimum intervention to achieve a maximum amount of client gain. The program is most effective for moderately depressed clients. (Author/JAC)

Pleasant imagery relieves pain and may account for much of the effectiveness of stress inoculation training. Women who used imagery controlled their pain better; women who did not use imagery had longer tolerance when they heard pain conceptualized as a multistage process. Self-instruction did not affect pain control. (Author)

Recent smoking treatment programs have shifted emphasis from initial cessation rates to long-term abstinence, with aversion therapy and coping response training having had the most success. A smoking cessation treatment consisting of rapid smoking and behavioral counseling was supplemented with two maintenance treatments. After completing the…

Alcohol abuse is a serious problem affecting not only the individual abuser, but also family, friends and society. The effectiveness of contracts as positive tools in the treatment of alcohol abuse was investigated for 15 current abusers randomly assigned to individual therapy sessions. Each subject completed a Personal History Questionnaire, the…

Members of two types of self-help groups assessed the occurence of various helping processes in their groups. Found self-help groups emphasized supportive and expressive processes while avoiding confrontive processes; and behavioral techniques were used more frequently by behavioral control groups than by stress coping groups. (RC)

This annotated bibliography contains abstracts of 99 studies conducted in the area of test anxiety. Evaluations of the studies are presented in a format which allows comparison of the studies to be made. Information about each study includes: (1) a description of subjects; (2) the type of intervention or treatment used; (3) the dependent measures;…

Describes environmental modification, social work's response to the practical needs of clients, which emphasizes "doing for" clients and thus may encourage their dependence on the practitioner. Suggests that helping clients to develop their own skills to modify their environment can promote independence while meeting clients' tangible needs.…