An interview with parents of a child with cerebral palsy recount their struggles to find a diagnosis and treatment for their daughter and express their anger over the lack of information and help they were given by professionals. They emphasize the need for honesty and straightforwardness in professionals dealing with parents. (CL)

Examined the effectiveness of a new orientation program designed to prepare low-income White and ethnic minority outpatients (N=173) for psychotherapy. Results indicated that patients who were oriented were more knowledgeable about psychotherapy and more positive in their attitudes toward psychotherapy than were patients who had not been oriented.…

Studied predictor variables related to the outcome of spouse-aided therapy in 28 married patients with persisting psychiatric disorders. Results showed significant, sustained improvement in couples' ratings of personal and target problems after therapy. Poor response was linked to extrapunitiveness, denial, and adherence to an illness model of…

Examined factors influencing the evaluation of a patient contemplating suicide, in a study of 138 health care professionals. Results showed subjects' evaluations, acceptance, and behavior were affected by their belief that the patient had cancer and/or was dying, and by their own degree of death anxiety. (JAC)

Examined the applicability of the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ-30) to clinical populations to identify and measure frequency of ideation associated with depression. Findings showed significant differences between clinically depressed treatment-seeking clients and nondepressed samples and significant correlation with other widely used…

The sources and elements of a model for teaching persons with diabetes the importance of adhering to a prescribed regimen are discussed, including perceived threat of the disease, benefits of therapy, barriers to compliance, personal variables, individual state of health, and social pressures. (MC)

The changing social milieu has removed the charity patient but not the need for a teaching population. The University Hospital's program is described, in which patients prepaid a fixed, single fee for all obstetrics-related care through the third post partum day. (LBH)

This paper describes how to teach speakers of English as a Second Language (ESL) to advocate for themselves regarding their health. It offers two stories about young immigrants who appear to be having a negative physical and emotional response to their lives in the United States. It presents a list of questions to determine students' comprehension…

This first Report of the Surgeon General on Mental Health represents the initial step in advancing the notion that mental health is fundamental to general health. It states that a review of research on mental health revealed two findings. First, the efficacy of treatment is well documented, and second, a range of treatment exists for most mental…

This report compares the research methods, provider and patient characteristics, and outcome results from four large-scale followup studies of drug treatment during the 1990s: (1) the California Drug and Alcohol Treatment Assessment (CALDATA); (2) Services Research Outcomes Study (SROS); (3) National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES);…

Female department store workers evaluated a female confederate unfavorably when she was tense, but that she had been mentally ill made no difference to them. Male hospital employees rejected a male confederate both when he was tense and when he had a history of mental illness. Thus, either the sex of the subjects or of the patient (or both) seems…

Repeated ratings of therapeutic facilitativeness in each recorded session revealed (a) that while high and low-facilitative therapists generally tended to function at high and low levels, respectively, both groups were variable in their functioning across sessions and particularly within sessions with their patients; and (b) that therapeutic…

Students viewed three films to determine if (a) authoritarian clients would dislike psychotherapy more than nonauthoritarian clients, and (b) authoritarian clients would prefer a directive therapist whereas nonauthoritarian clients would prefer a nondirective therapist. The results did not support the first hypothesis, but they significantly…

This study compared more than 3400 MMPIs obtained from pschiatric in-patients in public mental health facilities with mental status and preadmission descriptor ratings to derive empirical correlates of profiles clustered primarily by two-point high codes. (Author)

After discharge from the hospital, many mental patients go back to the kind of environment that contributed to their breakdown. In the belief that new options should be available to mental patients when discharged, a hospital in New York City developed--with marked success--a plan for group living. (Author)