Page 505 - Understanding Psychology

During regularly scheduled meetings, members of the group come together to discuss their difficulties and to provide one another with support and possible solutions.
Self-help groups have been formed to deal with problems rang- ing from alcoholism, overeating, and drug addiction to child abuse, widowhood, single parenting, adjusting to cancer, and gam- bling. The best-known self-help group is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which was founded in 1935. Far more people find treatment for their drinking problems through AA than in psychotherapy or treatment centers. Many self-help groups have based their organi- zations on the AA model in which individual members can call on other members for help and emotional support.
The purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous is “to carry the AA message to the sick alcoholic who wants it.” According to AA, the only way for alcoholics to change is to admit that they are powerless over alcohol and that their lives have become unmanageable. Alcoholics must come to believe that some power greater than themselves can help them. Those who think they can battle the problem alone will not be suc- cessful. There are also AA-based groups, such as Al-Anon and Alateen, for family members for mutual support.
Members of AA usually meet at least once a week to discuss the meaning of this message, to talk about their experiences with alcohol, and to describe the new hope they have found with AA. Mutual encourage- ment, friendship, and an emphasis on personal responsibility are used to keep an individual sober.
DOES PSYCHOTHERAPY WORK?
In 1952 Hans Eysenck published a review of five studies of the effec- tiveness of psychoanalytic treatment and 19 studies of the effectiveness of eclectic psychotherapy, treatment in which several different therapeutic approaches are combined. Eysenck concluded that psychotherapy was no more effective than no treatment at all. According
to his interpretation of these 24 studies, only 44 per- cent of the psychoanalytic patients improved with treatment, while 64 percent of those given eclectic psychotherapy had improved.
Most startling, Eysenck argued that even this 64 percent improvement rate did not demonstrate the effectiveness of psychotherapy, since it has been reported that 72 percent of a group of hospitalized neurotics improved without treatment. If no treatment at all leads to as much improvement as psychother- apy, the obvious conclusion is that psychotherapy is not effective. Eysenck (1966) vigorously defended his controversial position, which generated a large num- ber of additional reviews and a great many studies of the effectiveness of psychotherapy.
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?Did You Know? Did You Know?
Conducting Therapy There are four areas of concern that a therapist might discuss with the patient.
1) Identify the problem behavior based on the classification scheme for psycho- logical disorders.
2) Propose some ideas about the history and cause of the problem.
3) Explain the details of what is included in the treatment program.
4) Make a time line for the course of
tr
eatment.
Chapter 17 / Therapy and Change 491