Outpatient Geriatric Psychiatry in an Urban Ghetto with Nonprofessional WorkersZIMBERG, SHELDON
doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.125.12.1697pmid: 5770189
SHELDON ZIMBERG M.D. 1 1 Chief, division of community psychiatry, Harlem Hospital Center, 136th St. and Lenox Ave., New York, N. Y. 10037, instructor in psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Columbia University School of Public Health and Administrative Medicine After establishing a group therapy program for geriatric outpatients, the author found that: 1) relatively brief socialization opportunities can provide these patients with a significant degree of support; 2) small doses of medication can provide rapid and effective control of psychotic symptoms; 3) an intensive case-finding approach is necessary to reach many elderly patients; and 4) non-professional workers can provide a great deal of meaningful service.
The Dreams of Benjamin RushBINGER, CARL A. L.
doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.125.12.1653pmid: 4890291
CARL A. L. BINGER M.D. 1 1 Honorary psychiatric consultant, Harvard University Health Services Although Benjamin Rush disclaimed any tendency toward superstitious belief in dreams, he seems in fact often to have fallen under the spell of his own dreams and to have been quite affected by them. A common theme in Rush's dreams was the attempt to reconcile a conflict he was then experiencing: the struggle between his humanitarian sentiments and his need to earn a living, for example, and the frequent incompatibility of his personal political ambitions with his role as a doctor.
Treatment of the Acute Alcohol Withdrawal State: A Comparison of Four DrugsKAIM, S. C.; KLETT, C. J.; ROTHFELD, BENJAMIN
doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.125.12.1640pmid: 4890289
S. C. KAIM M.D. 1 , C. J. KLETT PH.D. 2 , , and BENJAMIN ROTHFELD M.D. 3 1 Director, staff for alcoholism and related disorders, Veterans Administration Central Office. Washington, D. C. 20420 2 Chief, Central Neuropsychiatric Research Laboratory, Veterans Administration Hospital, Perry Point, Md. 3 Associate chief of staff, Veterans Administration Hospital, Perry Point, Md. A double-blind study of 537 patients evaluated the relative efficacy of four drugs—chlordiazepoxide, chlorpromazine, hydroxyzine, and thiamine—commonly used in treating alcohol withdrawal symptoms, specifically to prevent delirium tremens and convulsions. Of the 55 patients who developed these symptoms, two percent were in the chlordiazepoxide group; the incidence ranged from ten to 16 percent in the other treatment groups. The authors conclude that chlordiazepoxide appears to be the drug of choice among those tested.
The Dynamic Formulation--A Critique of a Psychiatric RitualGOLDSMITH, STEPHEN R.; MANDELL, ARNOLD J.
doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.125.12.1738pmid: 5770199
STEPHEN R. GOLDSMITH M.D. 1 , and ARNOLD J. MANDELL M.D. 2 1 Resident in psychiatry, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024 2 Associate professor of psychiatry, University of California at Irvine The authors, studying predictions of psychological state formed solely from dynamic formulations, found no correlation between correct predictions and length of professional psychiatric experience. They question the misuse of deductive reasoning and selection of statements in the formulations used in formal psychiatric examinations and suggest that the dynamic formulation may not be a useful predictor of diagnostic entities.
Mourning in JapanYAMAMOTO, JOE; OKONOGI, KEIGO; IWASAKI, TETSUYA; YOSHIMURA, SABURO
doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.125.12.1660pmid: 5770184
JOE YAMAMOTO M.D. 1 , KEIGO OKONOGI M.D. 2 , TETSUYA IWASAKI M.D. 3 , , and SABURO YOSHIMURA M.D. 4 1 Associate professor of psychiatry, University of Southern California School of Medicine, 2025 Zonal Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90033 2 Ikyokucho , Keio Gijuku University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan 3 Instructor, Keio Gijuku University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan 4 Chief medical examiner, Tokyo The authors examine the process of mourning in a culture whose religions sanction the implied presence of the deceased through ancestor worship, as compared to a culture where this is not acceptable or encouraged. Most of 20 Japanese widows interviewed during the acute grief phase of mourning adhered to the cultural beliefs and were less depressed and anxious and had less difficulty accepting the loss than those who did not. The authors suggest that the almost universal Japanese custom of ancestor worship serves an important adaptive function in the work of mourning.
A Correctiondoi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.125.12.1747-apmid: N/A
On page 1363 of the April issue, in "Family History Studies: V. The Genetics of Mania," by Dr. Theodore Reich and associates, the captions of figures 1 and 2 have been reversed. The caption for figure 1 should read, "The Calvert Family Tree, Showing Affective Disorder and Deutan Color Blindness" and for figure 2, "Paternal Side of Alger Family Tree, Showing Affective Disorder and Protan Color Blindness."