The problem with which this study is concerned is that of ascertaining the effects of intensive Remotivation Techniques on institutionalized geriatric mental patients in terms of their ward behavior, self-concept, and visual-motor perceptions and to compare these with the effects of a similar group experience that does not emphasize patient-staff or patient-patient interactions, and a third group which acts a a control. The investigation is designed to answer or obtain information concerning the following questions: (1) Do institutionalized geriatric mental patients in a state mental hospital manifest measurable changes in terms of their (A) ward behavior as defined as raw scores on the Hospital tment Scale (including interpersonal communication and interpersonal relations; self care and social responsibility; level of participation in ward activities, recreation and work therapy; total score), (B) self-concept as defined as Goodenough raw scores on the Draw-a-Person Test, and (C) awareness of environment as defined as Pascal and Suttell raw scores on the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test, as a result of experiencing the social and verbal interactions of intensive Remotivation Techniques? (2) Is the Remotivation Technique more effective in producing these changes than a similar group experience that does not emphasize social and verbal interactions?

This study compares results of the six major forms of marriage counseling: individual interview, individual group, concurrent interview, concurrent group, conjoint interview, and conjoint group. Data are from five different approaches in research methodology. The first, termed the Pilot Study, reviewed the outcome records of 773 former marriage counseling clients. The second, termed the Experimental Study, assigned 63 couples on a random basis, although balanced for severity, to the three most popular forms of marriage counseling: concurrent interview, conjoint interview, or conjoint group. It included a pre- to post-counseling test comparison involving the MMPI, CPI, Polyfactor Test for Marital Difficulties, and the Marital Adjustment Inventory. The third approach, the Quasi-Experimental Study, compared test results from two groups of couples with serious marital problems: the first group comprised seven couples who had been in three forms of counseling, while the second group included twenty-one couples who had been in only one form. The fourth approach, the Survey Study, used a questionnaire to measure reactions of 200 subjects who had just completed various forms of marriage counseling sessions. The fifth approach, the Poll Study, involved a mail survey of 209 former marriage counseling clients who had been terminated from varying forms of …

The problem of this study concerns the effects of a Parent Education Program upon parents' self-esteem, parental acceptance, and perceived self-concept of children. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of the Parent Education Program upon parents' self-esteem, parental acceptance, and children's perceived self-concept; and to investigate the relationships between parental acceptance, parents' self-esteem, children's perceived self-concept, and parents', teachers' and counselors' perception of children's self-concept.

The problem with which this study is concerned is that of a descriptive analysis of counseling techniques being used by selected child welfare workers. The method determining the counseling techniques being used was a questionnaire. Seven counseling techniques were tested on the questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed through the use of various sources. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were not tested. The findings were inconclusive, based upon the data. The workers tended to show eclectic use of techniques. Psychoanalysis and client-centered therapy did poll the greatest number of positive responses. Z-scores and probability between the counseling techniques were determined. The findings supported the responses received by psychoanalysis and client-centered therapy. No recommendations were made.

This study concerned standardization and refinement of an instrument to measure assertiveness in adolescents, and use of that instrument to compare alternative-school students with each other and with students in a traditional school. Most instruments measuring assertiveness are normed on white adult populations. Of the few designed for adolescents, only the Adolescent Assertiveness Discrimination Test provides a tripartite breakdown of subject responses into aggressive, passive, and assertive responses. The test is unpublished and is in the process of standardization and refinement. Multiple linear regression procedures were used to test the three hypotheses. Each hypothesis was tested four times on different groups (alternative versus traditional school students; dropouts versus disciplinary referrals) and on different instruments (AADT; A Scale). Hypothesis 1, which stated that demographic variables, and their interactions with school group, were related to assertiveness, was not supported. Hypothesis 2, which stated that the demographic variables were related to assertiveness, was not supported. Investigations into which of the demographic variables singly contributed to assertiveness showed that gender was significant. Females scored higher on the AADT and males scored higher on the A Scale. Hypothesis 3, which stated that school group was related to assertiveness, was supported on all comparisons except between …

The problem of this study concerns the effects of a parent group counseling procedure and an individual consultation procedure upon (1) the attitude of the parents, (2) the school-related behavior of the children, (3) the academic grades of the children, (4) the peer relations of the children, and (5) self-concept of the children. The results of this investigation indicated no significant differences in procedures for affecting behavior changes on the variables examined. Generally, parent group counseling appeared to generate more pervasive changes affecting multiple behaviors in their children than individual consultation with the parents.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the long-term effects of play therapy on social contacts, self-esteem, school-related behavior patterns, level of academic functioning, attitude toward school, and family relations. There were no significant differences between the group out of play therapy one to six years and the group out of play therapy six to ten years on social contact, self-esteem, school-related behavior patterns, or level of academic functioning. Statistically significant differences occurred at the .05 level of significance concerning the effects of time on home and family relations, with subjects in the six- to ten-year group perceiving more independence while parents in the one to six years group perceived more recreational activity occurring in the family. There were no significant differences between play therapy and non-play therapy children on social contact, self-esteem, school-related behavior patterns, or level of academic functioning. There were statistically significant differences at the .05 level of significance on home and family relations, with subjects one to six years out of play therapy perceiving more organization in their homes than their evaluation-only counterparts, while parents of the group one to six years out of play therapy perceived significantly more cohesion than did parents …

The basic purpose of this study was to investigate if placement in a cottage designated solely for juveniles involved in vocational training significantly improved the institutional adjustment and recidivism rate of institutionalized male juvenile delinquents. An additional purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of an involvement in a vocational training program on institutional and post release adjustment of institutionalized juvenile delinquents. Statistical analysis of the data supported the basic hypothesis that subjects who were involved in the vocational training, regardless of cottage placement, would adjust better to the institution. The two groups of vocational subjects had fewer admissions to the Discipline Cottage and a greater frequency of achievement of privilege-level status than did the group of subjects who did not receive vocational training. The hypothesis that vocational subjects who were housed in a separate cottage would adjust better to the institution than would the vocational subjects who were housed in the regular cottages was also supported. The vocational subjects who were housed separately had fewer escapes, fewer admissions to the Discipline Cottage, and a greater frequency of attainment of privilege-level status than either of the other two groups. The analysis also supported the hypothesis that recidivism rates …

This study investigates the relationship between peer group facilitation and the changes in self-concept, interpersonal relations and school interest of secondary students in an alternative school. To carry out the study, a peer group facilitation program was incorporated into the curriculum of an alternative high school.

This study examined perceived child-parent relationships and child adjustment in families with both adopted and natural children. Of interest was the relationship between these perceptions and the social and emotional adjustment of the children. Perceived parent-child relationships were measured by the Child Parent Relationship Scale developed by Swanson. The California Test of Personality was utilized to measure the children's adjustment.

The purpose of the investigation was to determine the effectiveness of Zen meditation practice in facilitating positive change on the personality variables time competence, inner direction, locus of control, and field independence, as well as to investigate the subjective experiences of novice meditators. Two population groups were included in the study: a student group and a clinical group. The student-population group consisted of forty-six undergraduate college students. The student subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: experimental group (Zen meditation group taught to focus attention on the breath, as well as a formal Zen posture), placebo group (formal Zen posture only), or control group (no treatment). The clinical-population group consisted of thirty-seven in-patient volunteers from the alcoholic-drug unit of a psychiatric state hospital. The clinical subjects were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (Zen meditation group which practiced focused attention on the breath, as well as a formal Zen meditation posture) or a control group (no treatment).

This study examined differences in achievement over Person- Centered Therapy and Rational-Emotive Therapy taught by adjunct computer-assisted instruction tutorials (CAI) and traditional instruction (TI). The Achievement Instrument Over Person-Centered Therapy and Rational-Emotive Therapy was developed by the researcher to measure achievement. Content validity and test-retest reliability were established for the test. Analysis of covariance was utilized to test for differences in achievement gains between the CAI and TI groups. Cumulative university grade point averages and achievement pre-test scores were covariates. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine if the distribution of scores following instruction would be more positively skewed for the CAI group than for the TI group. This effect was expected if CAI was more effective than TI for low ability students.

This study was an evaluation of the effectiveness of a residential treatment program for adolescents and young adults. The purpose of the investigation was to measure the impact of residential treatment with and without family counseling on the variables of work-school adjustment and return to treatment.

This study investigated the effects of a home-based, audio cassette marriage enrichment course on marital communication and marital adjustment. The marriage enrichment course evaluated in this study consisted of two audio cassette tapes, each containing two sessions of approximately 45 minutes in length, and one work booklet. The course contained exercises emphasizing the development of communication skills, encouragement of self-disclosure, learning of empathy skills, and the setting of personal and mutual goals. The unique aspects of the course were the home-based setting in which the couples completed the program, and the self-enclosed audio cassette nature of the course.

A prevention-oriented telephone line intended as an intervention program for latchkey children was studied to determine its impact on the self-esteem, anxiety level, and in-school and at-home behavior of these children.

Difficulties developing and maintaining intimate relationships are often attributed to adult children of alcoholics (ACAs). However, the focus of the literature has been on those obtaining psychological treatment and has primarily involved clinical impressions. The purpose of this study was to examine intimacy in the close friendships and love relationships of ACAs. Autonomy and intimacy in respondents' families of origin were also analyzed. Comparisons were made between ACAs currently in (n = 59) and not in (n = 53) therapy, and comparisons who had (n = 48) and had not (n = 77) received therapy. Alcoholics were eliminated. It was hypothesized that ACAs would score significantly lower than comparisons on love and friendship intimacy and autonomy and intimacy in their families of origin. Among the ACAs, those in therapy would score lower than those not in therapy. Hypotheses were tested using MANOVAS. ANOVAs were administered where there were significant differences, and Newman-Keuls contrasts further delineated the divergence. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to obtain explanatory data. The two ACA groups seem to represent distinct populations with those not in therapy failing to report intimacy differences previously ascribed to them. While all of the groups were similar in friendship closeness, only …

This study examines the impact of issues of loss on adolescents. It was hypothesized that adolescents who experienced incidents of loss which were not adequately supported or processed to the point of resolution are much more likely to exhibit more angry and defiant behaviors than those who did not have such life experiences. Three instruments were used to identify loss and related impact. The first is the Interview Process, designed to identify issues of loss and screen for problematic behavior. This tool is used to qualify the participant for the study, and to designate which study group the participant will be assigned. The Family Constellation Exercise is an experiential assessment tool that exemplifies how emotionally close or distant the participant feels in relation to his or her nuclear family members. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Assessment - Adolescent version (MMPI-A) is used to identify behaviors and thought patterns associated with anger and defiance.The study was able to conclude that there is a strong potential for unresolved loss to negatively impact an adolescent. The study also discovered that many teenagers who do not exhibit angry or defiant behaviors have also experienced loss, yet do not act out anger. Suggestions are made as …

Most current grief programs support the children and/or parents of bereaved families rather than the family as a whole. This exploratory study was a quantitative and qualitative investigation of the use of expressive arts therapy with bereaved families during a weekend camp experience and a series of followup sessions. The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of using expressive arts activities in improving the functioning of the bereaved family as a whole as well as individual family members. Participants included eight families who lost a child to a chronic illness between 2 to 36 months months prior to the onset of the study. Children ranged in age from 3 to15, and parents ranged in age from 26 to 66, for a total of 27 participants. The Child Life Department at Children's Medical Center of Dallas, a division of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas recruited the families. Participants received flyers and invitational letters and registered through the mail. Families attended a weekend camp where they experienced a wide variety of expressive arts activities in a combination of group formats: multi-family groups, parents' group, developmental age groups for children, total childrens' group, individual family …

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy training in: (a) increasing immigrant Korean parents' empathic behavior with their children; (b) increasing immigrant Korean parents' acceptance level toward their children; and (c) reducing immigrant Korean parents' stress related to parenting.The experimental group, consisting of 17 immigrant Korean parents in the United States, received 10 weekly 2-hour filial therapy training sessions and participated in weekly 30-minute play sessions with one of their children. The control group, consisting of 15 immigrant Korean parents in the United States, received no treatment during the ten weeks. All the parents were videotaped playing with their child before and after the training as a means of measuring change in empathic behavior. The two written self-report instruments completed for pretesting and posttesting purposes were the Porter Parental Acceptance Scale and the Parenting Stress Index. Analyses of covariance revealed that the immigrant Korean parents in the experimental group had significant changes in 10 of 12 hypotheses, including (a) a significant increase in their level of empathic interactions with their children; (b) a significant increase in their attitude of acceptance toward their children; and (c) a significant reduction in their level of stress related to parenting. …

This study identified the practices and procedures of instruction that is being implemented by group counseling instructors at CACREP-accredited institutions. A survey questionnaire developed by the researcher was used to gather data from 160 CACREP-accredited counseling units across the United States. The survey was designed to collect input from group instructors on how the didactic, practicum, and experiential components of the master's level group course are being implemented. Three assumptions were made in conducting this study: 1.) The majority of master's level group instructors will report that they use a didactic component in preparing students to become effective group leaders, 2.) The majority of master's level group instructors will report that they use an experiential component in preparing students to become effective group leaders, and 3.) The majority of master's level group instructors will report that they use a practicum component in preparing students to become effective group leaders. The survey questionnaire and, consequently, the results were divided into the respective sections of didactic, experiential, and practicum. The results indicated that each of these components were utilized in the instruction of master's level group courses.

The purpose of this study was to determine if parents trained in the Landreth Filial Therapy Model could demonstrate child-centered play therapy skills as effectively as graduate play therapy students who completed an Introduction to Play Therapy course. The participants in both the parent group and the graduate student group were videotaped in play sessions with children pre- and post-training in order to measure change in adult empathic behavior as defined on the Measurement of Empathy in Adult-Child Interaction (MEACI). The specific skills measured in this study were (a) communicating acceptance to the child, (b) allowing the child to direct his or her own play during the play sessions, (c) demonstrating appropriate levels of involvement in the child's play, and (d) demonstrating empathic behavior toward the child. The Landreth Filial Therapy Model is a training system that utilizes both didactic and dynamic means to train parents and other paraprofessionals to be therapeutic agents of change with children. Parents are taught child-centered play therapy skills to use in weekly home play sessions with their children in order to strengthen the emotional bond between parent and child. The Introduction to Play Therapy course is a graduate-level counseling course at the University of …

The purpose of this study was to determine the core skills/methods and practicum experiences play therapy experts and professors believe to be essential in the education of the beginning play therapist in the specific areas of theory and history, terms, organizations, authors who have contributed to the field, methods, skills, training in special populations, practicum experience, and advanced skills. Two questionnaires were used to obtain opinions from play therapy experts and play therapy instructors. The first questionnaire was sent to twelve play therapy experts to obtain their opinions on the core curriculum and experiences necessary for training a play therapist in an introductory play therapy class, practicum experience, and advanced play therapy training. Frequencies and means were obtained and used to delete and add items for Questionnaire II. Questionnaire II was sent to 180 play therapy professors. Fifty play therapy professors returned the instrument. The ratings on Questionnaire II given by the professors were used to provide curriculum guidelines for developing a play therapy program. This program includes an introduction to play therapy course, play therapy practicum experiences, and advanced skills and advanced practicum experiences.

This research study investigated various characteristics of children in play therapy and their play behaviors during sessions. Specifically, this research investigated how gender, age, ethnicity, household and presenting problem of children impacted the play therapy process. Thirty-two cases of children who received ten or more sessions of play therapy at the Child and Family Resource Clinic, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas between the years of 1998-2002 and met specified criteria were coded and entered into a computer spreadsheet for analysis. The background information provided by the parent/guardian of each child was analyzed using various measures of central tendency to summarize and describe the data sets. The session summary data completed by play therapists at the CFRC was examined using analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of variance. Analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of variance revealed statistical significance between the following variables: a) males and use of dolls (.01), animals (.007) and weapons (.014), and males and expression of happy (.048), confident (.042) curious (.007) and flat (.029) during play therapy sessions; b) young children and use of vehicles (.050) during play therapy sessions; c) Caucasian children and expression of happy (.011), and confident (.008) during play therapy sessions; …

This study examined if there were characteristic differences between play therapy students and non-play therapy students in training. Specifically, this study was designed to explore what, if any, characteristic differences between play therapy students and non-play therapy students in training exist in the following two areas: (a) personality variables, as measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) and (b) attitude toward children, and measured by the Barnett's Liking of Children Scale (BLOCS). Additionally, this study examined whether certain personality traits and the general attitude toward children for the play therapy student group correlated with the play therapy students' effectiveness ratings assigned to them by their play therapy supervisors. This study found statistically significant differences at the .05 alpha level between the play therapy (N=105) and non-play therapy students (N=79) in training in both the Extraversion personality trait on the NEO PI-R assessment and attitude toward children on the BLOCS. Non-play therapy students were in the High range for Extraversion, whereas play therapy students in training were in the Average range. According to this finding, play therapy students are less extraverted than non-play therapy students. Specifically, a statistically significant difference occurred on the Gregariousness scale of the Extraversion domain between …