Clinical psychology in Britain.

"Clinical psychology in Britain is a postwar development." Clinical psychology in the National Health Service is discussed in a major section of the article. "The past decade has… seen a rapid growth of clinical psychology in Britain from small beginnings. In 1945, 77 members of the British Psychological Society were identified as a group of professional psychologists in the field of mental health. Today some 400 are members of this group. "Psychologists in Britain have been vigorous in shaping their professional status. Training facilities are being extended and efforts made to extend them further. Higher degrees are encouraged. The structure of the psychological service is flexible, and adjustments have been made in response to new demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bakan and behaviorism.

Comments on D. Bakan's article "Clinical Psychology and Logic" (see record 1958-01108-001). In the aforementioned article, that part of Bakan's argument which leads him to conclude that the method of science may not be relevant to the study of human behavior, in addition to containing certain errors of reasoning, seems to reflect an essential misunderstanding of what is meant by the method of science. In addition to rejecting the method of science solely on the untenable basis of its fallacious equation with what he takes to be the behaviorist position in psychology, Bakan adduces as evidence in further support of his criticism certain observations made by Tolman, Rogers, and Hebb regarding the methods they employ in arriving at what they hope to be fruitful hypotheses in their respective areas of endeavor. This evidence is, of course, entirely irrelevant to the issue of the applicability of the scientific method to psychology. The method of science does not prescribe, proscribe, or in any way legislate the procedure to be adopted in arriving at a fruitful hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reinforcement of affect responses of schizophrenics during the clinical interview.

Using 20 hospitalized schizophrenics in an experimental group and 16 in a control group it was shown that "conditioning of the response of self-referred affect statements was found to be possible with schizophrenics during an otherwise usual clinical interview. The relationship between number of reinforcements and number of responses in extinction was described by means of a straight line, i.e., the greater the number of reinforcements, the greater the number of extinction responses." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA approved doctoral programs in clinical and in counseling psychology, 1962.

"On recommendation of the Committee on Evaluation, the Education and Training Board, with the concurrence of the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association has approved the doctoral programs in clinical psychology and in counseling psychology that are conducted by the institutions listed." 60 institutions are in the clinical psychology list; 8 of these have received interim approval while the others have full approval. 25 institutions are in the counseling psychology list; 2 of these have interim approval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On Setting for Clinical Training.

Comments on "A postdoctoral residency program in clinical psychology" by J. Matarazzo (see record 1965-13326-001). Matarazzo describes an interesting postdoctoral training program in clinical psychology in a medical school setting. A major feature of this program is the intent to train young psychologists to assume "full professional responsibility for patients and clients." The assumption of "full professional responsibility" is incompatible with an extension of the professional's formal training period into the postdoctoral years. The multiple-consultant and highly institutionalized approach characteristic of the medical setting actually attenuates the degree of responsibility that any one professional is required and able to assume, rather than to intensify it. A final objection could be directed at the basic concept of the desirability of one person's assuming "full responsibility" for another. It would seem to me that the use of this concept in Matarazzo's report may in itself be an indication of how a medically based idea can inadvertently infiltrate the thinking of those who had been exposed for years to such a setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Birth order and hospitalization for schizophrenia.

Among female schizophrenics admitted to Spring Grove State Hospital, Catonsville, Maryland, between 1942 and 1949 there were significantly more last-born than 1st-born individuals. Compared to 1st-born, last-born females also showed a lower degree of social competence and a higher incidence of bizarre and self-destructive behavior, raising the question of whether the differences found between the birth ranks are the result of differences in incidence of the disease process or in the prevalence of forms of symptomatology likely to lead to hospitalization. Male patients showed no overall differences in birth rank. However, when the effects of social class of origin were examined, significantly more of the 1st-born and 1st-half male patients came from working-class and last-born and last-half patients from middle-class families. The study was seen as providing firm support for the previously reported relationship between birth order and schizophrenia, especially among women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA-approved doctoral programs in clinical, counseling, and school psychology: 1977.

Lists the doctoral training programs in clinical, counseling, and school psychology that were approved by the American Psychological Association Committee on Accreditation for the year 1977. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social Learning and Clinical Psychology.

Reviews the book "Social learning and clinical psychology," by Julian B. Rotter (see record 2005-06617-000). The stated purpose of this book is to arrive at a systematic theory from which may be drawn specific principles for actual clinical practice, and to illustrate some of the more important applications of the theory to the practice. The first three chapters represent for the most part a clear and incisive introduction to the major purpose of the book, chapters which can be read with profit by all clinical psychologists. The next four chapters, which represent the bulk of the book, contain the aims and concepts of Rotter's social learning position as well as the ways in which it differs from other approaches. Rotter's discussion and evaluation of psychoanalytic theory is amazingly superficial and, to the unwary graduate student, misleading. First, it represents one of the few attempts to formulate and apply a learning theory to clinical phenomena and problems-the more such courageous attempts we have, the better will we be able to evaluate the adequacy of such theories. Second, Rotter's formulations have generated a relatively large number of studies at The Ohio State University-a tribute not only to Rotter's effectiveness as a teacher but a reflection of the fruitfulness of the formulations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA-approved doctoral programs in clinical and in counseling psychology: 1964.

"On the recommendation of the Committee on Evaluation, the Education and Training Board has recommended, and the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association has approved the doctoral programs in clinical psychology and in counseling psychology that are conducted by the institutions listed." 64 institutions are listed under clinical psychology, 23 under counseling psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biochemical Implications.

Discusses the use of experimental animals, particularly rats, in research exploring the effectiveness of compounds such as painkillers. The author describes an experiment testing the effectiveness of a pain killer, Pentazockine. In past clinical trials, if the drug failed to produce the desired analgesic effect with the rats, further experimentation was terminated. In one particular instance, the investigators in a clinical study chose to ignore past failure of the drug on rats and tested the effect of the drug with humans--and it worked. The implications of these unexpected results on further experimentation with rats is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)