Jack M. Chinsky

An undergraduate practicum in community mental health

This report describes a year-long undergraduate course in community mental health, combining didactic and practicum elements. Following 10 weeks of content, 48 advanced psychology majors spent six months working as group leaders with chronic hospitalized schizophrenics or in after-school programs for primary-grade children experiencing adjustment difficulties. Reactions of installations and participants are reviewed and implications of this type of course model and orientation to training are considered. The goals of developing community mental health programs, research, graduate training in the helping professions, and undergraduate education are seen as mutually supportive and highly complementary, in this area.

The Effect of Group Composition and Duration On Sensitivity Training

Given the increasing use of group procedures in many different settings, focus on variables that maximize the effectiveness of these groups is critical. The vast array of new techniques in both sensitivity training (Bradford et al., 1964; Schein and Bennis, 1965) and group psychotherapy (Yalom, 1970) makes systematic study of variables effecting &dquo;therapeutic&dquo; process and outcome even more important. As Yalom (1970: 384-385) states:

The 1979 Division 27 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Community Psychology and Community Mental Health: Emory L. Cowen.

SummaryThe metaphor of the papers title offers a framework for a brief summary. Effective wooing of primary prevention requires that we take seriously, and adhere to, its clear, sensible defining guidelines; systematize, and further develop, its generative base; use that base to guide the formulation of new primary prevention programs; further develop frameworks to promote informed choices of programs derecions from among many attractive possibilities; and be more hard-nosed as program evaluators. That type of courtship should improve our love life with — and perhaps even, science of — primary prevention in mental health.

Diagnostic and referral reliability in an alcoholism treatment network

Diagnostic and referral reliability were studied throughout an integrated alcoholism referral and treatment network. Diagnosticians included volunteers from an inpatient alcohol program staff, an outpatient referral network, a hospital medical staff, and a hospital administrative staff. Participant category had no influence on diagnostic reliability and only minimal influence on referral reliability. Cases involving only physical addiction to alcohol, particularly withdrawal symptoms, were more reliably diagnosed and referred than were cases involving psychosocial problems alone. Diagnostic practices included consideration of multiple problem areas for each case. Results are related to prior research findings and current directions in the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol disorders.

A Multilevel Behavioral-Preventive School Program

The emerging ecological paradigm is ideally suited for enhancing the social adaptation of children and preventing future behavioral or emotional difficulties. The particular formulation underlying the multilevel behavioral-preventive school program to be discussed is that of Kelly (Mills & Kelly, 1972; Trickett, Kelly, & Todd, 1972). In essence, Kelly recognizes the inseparability of behavior from the many contexts in which it occurs (i.e., social structural, organizational, group, and personal) and believes that the extent to which interventions affect these diverse contexts is proportional to the intensity, extent, and duration of desired effects that will be obtained.

Conducting Behavioral Evaluations in Residential Facilities for Retarded Persons: From Analysis to Action11This research was supported by The University of Connecticut Research Foundation Grant No. 06-0215-35-231. Data analysis was facilitated by National Science Foundation Grant GJ-9 to the University Computer Center.

Publisher Summary Residential care facilities possess four basic characteristics that are common to all bureaucratic organizations. First, there exists a specialization of functions and each individual staff member is expected to perform specific tasks within an orderly routine. Second, a hierarchy of authority exists such that every person is theoretically accountable to an immediate supervisor. A third characteristic of a bureaucracy is the existence of numerous rules and regulations. The final characteristic of a bureaucracy is impersonality. Tradition and routine are the hallmarks of well-functioning bureaucracies. Bureaucracies are sluggish creatures, slow to adapt to new demands, and resistant to change in general. This is true of health care facilities because these organizations are not subject to the competitive pressures of the free market. Critical incidents that might create bad public relations are to be avoided at all costs. On a level of informal interpersonal interaction among staff members within an institution, the formal characteristics of a bureaucracy create difficulties that impede training and rehabilitation efforts.