- Email: [email protected]
Skills of living—a complete course in you and what you can do about yourself
94
BOOK
REVlEWS
there will sttii be a need “to prevent abuses and custodial practices from takmg hold m newer forms 01. long-term CXC’~ (p. 249). Qverall. this is an informative but somewhat heavy-going book. It essentially concerns itself with the Amertcan situation, but ought to find a place in all British Mental Handicap libraries.
Yet another theory of autism! This time the notion seems to be that much autistic behaviour represents separittion reactions that have been reinforced u~~~tentionaliy by parents. Low IQ scores are explamed on the basis of Xupttlity as role behavior” (p. 129); seizures represent self-induced altered consciousness as a means of controlling parental behaviour (p. 239); compuisive behaviour and rituals are produced by speech training (p. 194). The author’s attempt to analyse the phenomena of autism in terms of distortions of normal social development is laudable but the lack of critical thinking and the highly selective use of empirical findings make the whole enterprise more than a little speculative. The imaginative blend of analogy and anecdote led James Anthony to assert (in the foreword) that the book “has made more sense of the autistic state than any other text that I know”. Unfortunately, that sense has been achieved at the cost of a certain disregard for accuracy. Lorna Wing may be surprised to find herself quoted as cl.+iming that uutisttc children wouid develop normaiiy if provided with adequate caretaking experiences. Certainly. this reviewer was astonished to note that he is supposed to have argued that “no psychological theory advanced in the future could be vahd” (p. 5) when in fact he had been rather scathing about such claims by others.
R.
k&LZACK
(Ed.): Pain Measurement and Assessment. Raven Press, New York (1983). xvi + 293 pages. SJO.00.
Melzack and Torgerson’s study of the ‘language of pain’ (1971) was followed by the publication of an instrument. the McGill Pain Questionnaire (1975) which enabled pain communication to be expressed basically in terms of three dimensions. This was really an extension of semantic differential theory, although Osgood er al. now seem to be neglected by those who use the pain questionnaire. Almost all the 33 papers in this book are directly concerned with the ?&Gill. With 26 PhDs and only 9 MDs contributing, we might expect some sophistication of psychological theory here. but many of the clinical psychologists seem to be operating from within a psychiatric corral. The favoured research instrument. in addition to the McGill, is the MMPI (and even the Rorschach gets a mention) and this psychiatric instrument has no under~yjng theory of psychological function. The &ief aspect of individual differences that is considered is whether patients are ‘medicai’ or ‘psychiatric’ referrals. Rack in the 1950s individual differences in pain experience began to be studied in terms of the au~~ntation-reduction dimension. and this work has been recently confirmed in the study of evoked potentials. This is hard& mentioned in this book-a pity, as it leaves much of what is discussed barren of psychological theory. Only a few of the contributors consider the wider background of pain research, and the controversy between those who do and do not appreciate the relevance of laboratory research to clinical practice. The book has six sections. but they are largely overlapping in content, and can roughly be divided between those concerned with pain measurement by verbal report (the McGill and offshaots), and laboratory work of a more fundamental nature (the minority). While a great amount of useful material is offered. it should be mentioned that the baok i.. almost wholly concerned with American work. and most of the contributors appear to be dommated by day-to-day clinical considerations. While the book will be valuable, it does not cover the whole field implied by its title.
W. L. MXULAS: Skiifs uf tbStg---a CampCte Course in Y5u and America, Lanham, Md. (1983). X-I- 229 pages. $10.75 (paperback).
what
You
Cm
Lb
About
Yourse(f
Univ.
Press of
This is an interesting publication It is meant for the general reader, as well as for the practitioner in the helping professions. The main theme of the book is self-control, in the wider sense of the word, and general strategies rrs well as their applications to specific problem areas (such as smoking, eating problems. alcoholism and fears) are discussed. General techniques dealt with include: relaxation, stimulus change. motivation, organization, habit control and mental rehearsal. Nutrition and exercise are also discussed, making the range of topics comprehensive. Each of these is discussed clearly. with practical guidelines. and selected short bibliographies. The book a@ contains a more general section on how to attain ‘effective and happy living’. This is an adventurous exercise, dealing with such topics as inner peace and love. not usually discussed by psychologists. On the whole, the author has done remarkably well m dealing waith these. The chapter on mindfulness covers ground not normafly covered in psychology texts. and does it very well.
95
BOOK REVIEWS
What is the use of such a book as this for a practising behaviour therapist? I can see several. One is as a useful overview of some basic topics-and some new ones. Secondly, it provides a model for instructing clients and client groups in self-administered therapeutic activities. Thirdly, the book can be used as an adjunct to therapy-a patient enlightened in what the therapist tries to do for him is always a better patient. This book will perform all of these roles without boring any class of reader and-more importantly-without misinforming him. P. DE SILVA
W. LAUTERBACH:
Sovier fsychofherapy.
Pergamon
Press,
Oxford
(1984).
241 pages.
f 13.50.
I have already reviewed this book when it was published in German, and the present review is mainly intended to draw the attention of readers to its appearance in an English translation. Approximately 50 pages are devoted to a study of behaviour-oriented therapy which is a rather recent development in the Soviet Union. Altogether the book is practically the only one to give the reader an introduction to Soviet psychotherapy. both its practice and the theory on which it is based: as such should be read by anyone interested in the topic. H. J. EYSENCK
M. C. JONES: Behaoiour Problems in Handicapped
Souvenir
Press.
London
(1983).
ix + 240 pages.
Children: f5.95.
the Beach Tree House Approach (Human
Horizon
Series),
This is an eminently readable book, intended for parents, teachers and therapists working with handicapped children. It concerns Beach Tree House (an off-shoot of the Spastic Society’s Meldreth Manor School) which was designed to cater for handicapped children with behaviour problems who were too difficult for the main school. Malcolm Jones, the author. is in the enviable position of being the psychologist in charge of the unit, which has so far catered for about 30 children. The unit’s policy is to accept difficult handicapped children, for a brief period of behavioral treatment (up to a year, sometimes longer), with the intention of returning the children. once they have learned more appropriate behaviour, to homes or suitable hostels. schools or hospitals. The book would be an excellent introductory text for those not familiar with the behavioural management of difficult handicapped children. though the chapter on behaviour modification would need to be supplemented by other reading (as Jones himself recommends). The two case-history chapters provide excellent concrete examples of the unit’s approach. For those already familar with the field. the book still makes interesting reading. In many places it provides innovative Ideas. regarding the design of the environment (Chapter 2). useful equipment for monitoring and programme delivery (Chapter 3). methods of staffing (Chapter 5) and maintenance of children’s improvement after discharge (Chapter 6 on parents). In some ways the book could act as a manual of good practice for such units: for example, parents are present throughout case conferences. involved in decision-making and assisted over the first few days when their child returns home by a unit staff member who comes to stay. Despite this. the unrt clearly has its problems. For example, those staff in continual direct contact with the children usually leave after a year. Jones takes this ‘bum-out’ in his stride. but one wonders whether the apparently perfect system IS actually extremely stressful. Secondly. being essentially a residential school, children have to leave during school holidays. frequently going to disastrous environments. It is surely time for the unit to function all year round as other similar units do. Finally. the psychologist is likely to be disapointed by the lack of data in the book. There is no experimental demonstration of the efficacy of the unit’s techniques, although brief figures (regarding areas of improvement) are given in the Appendix. Clearly the book was not intended to provide such data, but psychologists will be left wondering about the following question: to what extent are the unit’s successes due to good staffing, common sense and a humane approach. which most institutions lack? How much is specifically due to the behavioural approach? Such questions are particularly apposite now, when similar units are springing up around the country. Malcolm Jones is apparently collecting data to at least partly answer this question. I hope his belief in behavioural methods is justified.
G. MURPHY
B. A. EDELSTEIK and E. T. COUTURE (Eds): Behaoioral Assessmenr and Rehabilitation of the Traumatically Brain-damaged. Plenum Press. New, York (1984). xviii + 346 pages. $39.50. The title of this book may be misleading for many readers of this journal who would normally regard the term ‘behavioural assessment‘ as referring to identification of the particular problems faced by an individual, measurement of the frequency and or severity of those problems. and evaluation of intervention procedures. Most of the authors of the IO chapters in this book do not interpret the term in this precise manner but tend to use it only as a very loose guidelme for their more diverse interests. For instance. the chapter on memory assessment and remediation by Grafman. although m some ways contammg much of interest pursued in a structured manner, omits any reference to the behavioural literature whrch can be effectively applied to the traumatically brain-injured. The author’s approaches to treatment do not Include behavioral assessment. He in fact uses the Wechsler Memory Scale (not the most sensitive of tests) to measure improvement, It could be argued that direct measurement. operational definitions. multiple-baseline designs and so forth
BOOK
REVlEWS
there will sttii be a need “to prevent abuses and custodial practices from takmg hold m newer forms 01. long-term CXC’~ (p. 249). Qverall. this is an informative but somewhat heavy-going book. It essentially concerns itself with the Amertcan situation, but ought to find a place in all British Mental Handicap libraries.
Yet another theory of autism! This time the notion seems to be that much autistic behaviour represents separittion reactions that have been reinforced u~~~tentionaliy by parents. Low IQ scores are explamed on the basis of Xupttlity as role behavior” (p. 129); seizures represent self-induced altered consciousness as a means of controlling parental behaviour (p. 239); compuisive behaviour and rituals are produced by speech training (p. 194). The author’s attempt to analyse the phenomena of autism in terms of distortions of normal social development is laudable but the lack of critical thinking and the highly selective use of empirical findings make the whole enterprise more than a little speculative. The imaginative blend of analogy and anecdote led James Anthony to assert (in the foreword) that the book “has made more sense of the autistic state than any other text that I know”. Unfortunately, that sense has been achieved at the cost of a certain disregard for accuracy. Lorna Wing may be surprised to find herself quoted as cl.+iming that uutisttc children wouid develop normaiiy if provided with adequate caretaking experiences. Certainly. this reviewer was astonished to note that he is supposed to have argued that “no psychological theory advanced in the future could be vahd” (p. 5) when in fact he had been rather scathing about such claims by others.
R.
k&LZACK
(Ed.): Pain Measurement and Assessment. Raven Press, New York (1983). xvi + 293 pages. SJO.00.
Melzack and Torgerson’s study of the ‘language of pain’ (1971) was followed by the publication of an instrument. the McGill Pain Questionnaire (1975) which enabled pain communication to be expressed basically in terms of three dimensions. This was really an extension of semantic differential theory, although Osgood er al. now seem to be neglected by those who use the pain questionnaire. Almost all the 33 papers in this book are directly concerned with the ?&Gill. With 26 PhDs and only 9 MDs contributing, we might expect some sophistication of psychological theory here. but many of the clinical psychologists seem to be operating from within a psychiatric corral. The favoured research instrument. in addition to the McGill, is the MMPI (and even the Rorschach gets a mention) and this psychiatric instrument has no under~yjng theory of psychological function. The &ief aspect of individual differences that is considered is whether patients are ‘medicai’ or ‘psychiatric’ referrals. Rack in the 1950s individual differences in pain experience began to be studied in terms of the au~~ntation-reduction dimension. and this work has been recently confirmed in the study of evoked potentials. This is hard& mentioned in this book-a pity, as it leaves much of what is discussed barren of psychological theory. Only a few of the contributors consider the wider background of pain research, and the controversy between those who do and do not appreciate the relevance of laboratory research to clinical practice. The book has six sections. but they are largely overlapping in content, and can roughly be divided between those concerned with pain measurement by verbal report (the McGill and offshaots), and laboratory work of a more fundamental nature (the minority). While a great amount of useful material is offered. it should be mentioned that the baok i.. almost wholly concerned with American work. and most of the contributors appear to be dommated by day-to-day clinical considerations. While the book will be valuable, it does not cover the whole field implied by its title.
W. L. MXULAS: Skiifs uf tbStg---a CampCte Course in Y5u and America, Lanham, Md. (1983). X-I- 229 pages. $10.75 (paperback).
what
You
Cm
Lb
About
Yourse(f
Univ.
Press of
This is an interesting publication It is meant for the general reader, as well as for the practitioner in the helping professions. The main theme of the book is self-control, in the wider sense of the word, and general strategies rrs well as their applications to specific problem areas (such as smoking, eating problems. alcoholism and fears) are discussed. General techniques dealt with include: relaxation, stimulus change. motivation, organization, habit control and mental rehearsal. Nutrition and exercise are also discussed, making the range of topics comprehensive. Each of these is discussed clearly. with practical guidelines. and selected short bibliographies. The book a@ contains a more general section on how to attain ‘effective and happy living’. This is an adventurous exercise, dealing with such topics as inner peace and love. not usually discussed by psychologists. On the whole, the author has done remarkably well m dealing waith these. The chapter on mindfulness covers ground not normafly covered in psychology texts. and does it very well.
95
BOOK REVIEWS
What is the use of such a book as this for a practising behaviour therapist? I can see several. One is as a useful overview of some basic topics-and some new ones. Secondly, it provides a model for instructing clients and client groups in self-administered therapeutic activities. Thirdly, the book can be used as an adjunct to therapy-a patient enlightened in what the therapist tries to do for him is always a better patient. This book will perform all of these roles without boring any class of reader and-more importantly-without misinforming him. P. DE SILVA
W. LAUTERBACH:
Sovier fsychofherapy.
Pergamon
Press,
Oxford
(1984).
241 pages.
f 13.50.
I have already reviewed this book when it was published in German, and the present review is mainly intended to draw the attention of readers to its appearance in an English translation. Approximately 50 pages are devoted to a study of behaviour-oriented therapy which is a rather recent development in the Soviet Union. Altogether the book is practically the only one to give the reader an introduction to Soviet psychotherapy. both its practice and the theory on which it is based: as such should be read by anyone interested in the topic. H. J. EYSENCK
M. C. JONES: Behaoiour Problems in Handicapped
Souvenir
Press.
London
(1983).
ix + 240 pages.
Children: f5.95.
the Beach Tree House Approach (Human
Horizon
Series),
This is an eminently readable book, intended for parents, teachers and therapists working with handicapped children. It concerns Beach Tree House (an off-shoot of the Spastic Society’s Meldreth Manor School) which was designed to cater for handicapped children with behaviour problems who were too difficult for the main school. Malcolm Jones, the author. is in the enviable position of being the psychologist in charge of the unit, which has so far catered for about 30 children. The unit’s policy is to accept difficult handicapped children, for a brief period of behavioral treatment (up to a year, sometimes longer), with the intention of returning the children. once they have learned more appropriate behaviour, to homes or suitable hostels. schools or hospitals. The book would be an excellent introductory text for those not familiar with the behavioural management of difficult handicapped children. though the chapter on behaviour modification would need to be supplemented by other reading (as Jones himself recommends). The two case-history chapters provide excellent concrete examples of the unit’s approach. For those already familar with the field. the book still makes interesting reading. In many places it provides innovative Ideas. regarding the design of the environment (Chapter 2). useful equipment for monitoring and programme delivery (Chapter 3). methods of staffing (Chapter 5) and maintenance of children’s improvement after discharge (Chapter 6 on parents). In some ways the book could act as a manual of good practice for such units: for example, parents are present throughout case conferences. involved in decision-making and assisted over the first few days when their child returns home by a unit staff member who comes to stay. Despite this. the unrt clearly has its problems. For example, those staff in continual direct contact with the children usually leave after a year. Jones takes this ‘bum-out’ in his stride. but one wonders whether the apparently perfect system IS actually extremely stressful. Secondly. being essentially a residential school, children have to leave during school holidays. frequently going to disastrous environments. It is surely time for the unit to function all year round as other similar units do. Finally. the psychologist is likely to be disapointed by the lack of data in the book. There is no experimental demonstration of the efficacy of the unit’s techniques, although brief figures (regarding areas of improvement) are given in the Appendix. Clearly the book was not intended to provide such data, but psychologists will be left wondering about the following question: to what extent are the unit’s successes due to good staffing, common sense and a humane approach. which most institutions lack? How much is specifically due to the behavioural approach? Such questions are particularly apposite now, when similar units are springing up around the country. Malcolm Jones is apparently collecting data to at least partly answer this question. I hope his belief in behavioural methods is justified.
G. MURPHY
B. A. EDELSTEIK and E. T. COUTURE (Eds): Behaoioral Assessmenr and Rehabilitation of the Traumatically Brain-damaged. Plenum Press. New, York (1984). xviii + 346 pages. $39.50. The title of this book may be misleading for many readers of this journal who would normally regard the term ‘behavioural assessment‘ as referring to identification of the particular problems faced by an individual, measurement of the frequency and or severity of those problems. and evaluation of intervention procedures. Most of the authors of the IO chapters in this book do not interpret the term in this precise manner but tend to use it only as a very loose guidelme for their more diverse interests. For instance. the chapter on memory assessment and remediation by Grafman. although m some ways contammg much of interest pursued in a structured manner, omits any reference to the behavioural literature whrch can be effectively applied to the traumatically brain-injured. The author’s approaches to treatment do not Include behavioral assessment. He in fact uses the Wechsler Memory Scale (not the most sensitive of tests) to measure improvement, It could be argued that direct measurement. operational definitions. multiple-baseline designs and so forth