Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The Readiness to Offer Psychotherapy: Its Relationship to Social Background and Formulation of Complaint

The Readiness to Offer Psychotherapy: Its Relationship to Social Background and Formulation of... Abstract Introduction The recent wave of mass immigration from a great number of countries of widely different social and cultural structure presents to Israel's psychotherapists the challenge of having to cope in everyday psychiatric practice with the specific problems arising from the different cultural background of their patients. It also presents them with the opportunity to investigate the impact of a variety of aspects of the patient's social background on the theory and practice of psychotherapy. As a first effort in this direction, an analysis of the social background of a psychiatric OPD population sample has been reported in an earlier communication.10 The social background of 195 consecutive first applicants to the psychiatric OPD of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Hospital in Jerusalem was compared with census data of the city and the relationships between age, sex, marital status, occupational level, time of immigration, country References 1. This issue will be dealt with separately.11 2. Israel-born subjects were also classified according to the ethnic origin of their parents. 3. cf. Moses and Shanan.10 4. This number of significant relationships is slightly better than chance. 5. This seems understandable from a psychological as well as from a historical point of view. Labeling is assumed to be one of the ways of mastery, particularly in situations where mastery is not easily achieved by reality testing. This principle is well known from studies in child development20 and was recently also shown to be used by psychiatric patients in their insistence to define themselves to medical personnel in terms of a rigid set of behavioral manifestations.12 From a historical point of view it is obvious that medicine, often faced through centuries, with inscrutable facts, had to resort to devices which assured the physician a minimal feeling of mastery without which he could not achieve his difficult tasks. 6. cf. this article p. 204. 7. We are indebted to Dr. D. Shakow for this suggestion. 8. Dymond, R.: The Relation of Accuracy of Prediction of the Spouse and Marital Happiness, mimeographed paper. 9. Frank, J. D., and others: Why Patients Leave Therapy , A.M.A. Arch. Neurol. & Psychiat. 77:283-299, 1957. 10. Freud, S.: Analysis Terminable and Unterminable , in Collected Papers , London, Hogarth Press, 1953. 11. Gibby, R. G. and others: Validation of Rorschach Criteria for Predicting Duration of Therapy , J. Consult. Psychol. 18:185-191, 1954. 12. Hollingshead, A. B., and Redlich, F. C.: Social Class and Mental Illness , New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1958. 13. Imber, S. D., and others: Suggestibility, Social Class and the Acceptance of Psychotherapy , J. Clin. Psychol. 12:341-344, 1956. 14. Kirtner, W. L., and Cartwright, D. S.; Success and Failure in Client Centered Therapy As a Function of Initial In-Therapy Behaviour , J. Consult. Psychol. 22:329-333, 1958. 15. Kahn, R. L.; Pollack, M., and Fink, M.: Social Factors in the Selection of Therapy , J. Hillside Hosp. 6:216-228, 1957. 16. Mason, A. S.; Tarpy, E. K.; Sherman, L. J., and Haefner, D. P.: Discharges from a Mental Hospital in Relation to Social Class and Other Variables , A.M.A. Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 2:1-6, 1960. 17. Moses, R., and Shanan, J.: An Analysis of a Psychiatric Outpatient Population Sample , Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 4:60, 1961. 18. Moses, R., and Shanan, J.: The Impact of Social Background and Bias on Patient's Readiness to Engage in Psychotherapy and on Its Course, to be published. 19. Moses, R., and Freeman, D. X.: Trademark Function of Symptoms in a Mental Hospital , J. Nerv. & Ment. Dis. 127:448-457, 1958. 20. Munore, R.: Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought , New York, The Dryden Press, Inc., 1955. 21. Myers, J. K. and Roberts, B. H.: Family and Class Dynamics in Mental Illness , New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1959. 22. Parsons, T.: The Social System , Glencoe, Ill., The Free Press, 1951, chap. 10. 23. Rogers, C. R.: A Process Conception of Psychotherapy , Am. Psychol. 13:142-149, 1958. 24. Rosenbaum, M.; Friedlaender, J., and Kaplan, S. M.: Evaluation of Psychotherapy , Psychosomat. Med. 18:113-132, 1956. 25. Rubinstein, E. A., and Lorr, M.: Patient Types in Outpatient Psychotherapy , J. Clin. Psychol. 13:356-361, 1957. 26. Szondi, L.: Schicksalsanalyse , Basel, Benno Schwabe & Company, 1948. 27. Werner, H.: Comparative Psychology of Mental Development , New York, Internat. Universities Press, Inc., 1957. 28. Winch, R. F.: The Modern Family , New York, Henry Holt & Company, Inc., 1952. 29. Winder, A. E., and Hersko, M.: The Effect of Social Class on the Length and Type of Psychotherapy in a Veterans Administration Clinic , J. Clin. Psychol. 11:77-79, 1955. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of General Psychiatry American Medical Association

The Readiness to Offer Psychotherapy: Its Relationship to Social Background and Formulation of Complaint

Loading next page...
 
/lp/american-medical-association/the-readiness-to-offer-psychotherapy-its-relationship-to-social-if4mINqxxy

References (15)

Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1961 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0003-990X
eISSN
1598-3636
DOI
10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710080098014
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The recent wave of mass immigration from a great number of countries of widely different social and cultural structure presents to Israel's psychotherapists the challenge of having to cope in everyday psychiatric practice with the specific problems arising from the different cultural background of their patients. It also presents them with the opportunity to investigate the impact of a variety of aspects of the patient's social background on the theory and practice of psychotherapy. As a first effort in this direction, an analysis of the social background of a psychiatric OPD population sample has been reported in an earlier communication.10 The social background of 195 consecutive first applicants to the psychiatric OPD of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Hospital in Jerusalem was compared with census data of the city and the relationships between age, sex, marital status, occupational level, time of immigration, country References 1. This issue will be dealt with separately.11 2. Israel-born subjects were also classified according to the ethnic origin of their parents. 3. cf. Moses and Shanan.10 4. This number of significant relationships is slightly better than chance. 5. This seems understandable from a psychological as well as from a historical point of view. Labeling is assumed to be one of the ways of mastery, particularly in situations where mastery is not easily achieved by reality testing. This principle is well known from studies in child development20 and was recently also shown to be used by psychiatric patients in their insistence to define themselves to medical personnel in terms of a rigid set of behavioral manifestations.12 From a historical point of view it is obvious that medicine, often faced through centuries, with inscrutable facts, had to resort to devices which assured the physician a minimal feeling of mastery without which he could not achieve his difficult tasks. 6. cf. this article p. 204. 7. We are indebted to Dr. D. Shakow for this suggestion. 8. Dymond, R.: The Relation of Accuracy of Prediction of the Spouse and Marital Happiness, mimeographed paper. 9. Frank, J. D., and others: Why Patients Leave Therapy , A.M.A. Arch. Neurol. & Psychiat. 77:283-299, 1957. 10. Freud, S.: Analysis Terminable and Unterminable , in Collected Papers , London, Hogarth Press, 1953. 11. Gibby, R. G. and others: Validation of Rorschach Criteria for Predicting Duration of Therapy , J. Consult. Psychol. 18:185-191, 1954. 12. Hollingshead, A. B., and Redlich, F. C.: Social Class and Mental Illness , New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1958. 13. Imber, S. D., and others: Suggestibility, Social Class and the Acceptance of Psychotherapy , J. Clin. Psychol. 12:341-344, 1956. 14. Kirtner, W. L., and Cartwright, D. S.; Success and Failure in Client Centered Therapy As a Function of Initial In-Therapy Behaviour , J. Consult. Psychol. 22:329-333, 1958. 15. Kahn, R. L.; Pollack, M., and Fink, M.: Social Factors in the Selection of Therapy , J. Hillside Hosp. 6:216-228, 1957. 16. Mason, A. S.; Tarpy, E. K.; Sherman, L. J., and Haefner, D. P.: Discharges from a Mental Hospital in Relation to Social Class and Other Variables , A.M.A. Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 2:1-6, 1960. 17. Moses, R., and Shanan, J.: An Analysis of a Psychiatric Outpatient Population Sample , Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 4:60, 1961. 18. Moses, R., and Shanan, J.: The Impact of Social Background and Bias on Patient's Readiness to Engage in Psychotherapy and on Its Course, to be published. 19. Moses, R., and Freeman, D. X.: Trademark Function of Symptoms in a Mental Hospital , J. Nerv. & Ment. Dis. 127:448-457, 1958. 20. Munore, R.: Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought , New York, The Dryden Press, Inc., 1955. 21. Myers, J. K. and Roberts, B. H.: Family and Class Dynamics in Mental Illness , New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1959. 22. Parsons, T.: The Social System , Glencoe, Ill., The Free Press, 1951, chap. 10. 23. Rogers, C. R.: A Process Conception of Psychotherapy , Am. Psychol. 13:142-149, 1958. 24. Rosenbaum, M.; Friedlaender, J., and Kaplan, S. M.: Evaluation of Psychotherapy , Psychosomat. Med. 18:113-132, 1956. 25. Rubinstein, E. A., and Lorr, M.: Patient Types in Outpatient Psychotherapy , J. Clin. Psychol. 13:356-361, 1957. 26. Szondi, L.: Schicksalsanalyse , Basel, Benno Schwabe & Company, 1948. 27. Werner, H.: Comparative Psychology of Mental Development , New York, Internat. Universities Press, Inc., 1957. 28. Winch, R. F.: The Modern Family , New York, Henry Holt & Company, Inc., 1952. 29. Winder, A. E., and Hersko, M.: The Effect of Social Class on the Length and Type of Psychotherapy in a Veterans Administration Clinic , J. Clin. Psychol. 11:77-79, 1955.

Journal

Archives of General PsychiatryAmerican Medical Association

Published: Feb 1, 1961

There are no references for this article.