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Biomedical subjects

J Wolpe

Publications and source records attributed to J Wolpe.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Post-traumatic stress disorder overcome by eye-movement desensitization: a case report.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is an exceptionally stressful syndrome that has been extremely difficult to treat. The prognosis was recently dramatically improved by the introduction of eye-movement desensitization. This paper reports, in substantial detail, a case that was precipitated by a rape 10 years earlier, describing its manifestations and various unsuccessful attempts to treat it; followed by a detailed exposition of the eventual, completely successful treatment by eye-movement desensitization.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

The derailment of behavior therapy: a tale of conceptual misdirection.

Forty years ago it was shown that neuroses are persistent unadaptive anxiety response habits that can be systematically overcome by deconditioning procedures collectively known as behavior therapy. Indispensable to behavior therapy is behavior analysis--detailed and accurate specification of the antecedents of the individual's neurotic patterns. In recent years, the behavior therapy movement has been infiltrated by two alien orientations--"exposure therapy" and cognitivism--which repudiate conditioning theory and dispense with the characteristic behavior analysis. By claiming to be more effective, the alien approaches have induced widespread abandonment of the conditioning model. In fact, outcomes have not been improved by the alien methodologies, and in many cases have become worse. Also, no viable theory of change has been proposed in place of conditioning. The result is an amorphous eclecticism to which psychoanalysis and primal scream could readily be added. Some first steps are suggested towards restoring conditioning principles to their central role in the behavior therapy field.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1988

The neglect of data-gathering instruments in behavior therapy practice.

Although the Willoughby Personality Questionnaire and the Fear Survey Schedule are demonstrably valuable aids to the practice of behavior therapy of neurosis, it is evident that many behavior therapists do not use them. In order to determine the extent of their neglect, we sent a questionnaire to all Clinical Fellows of the Behavior Therapy and Research Society. The 134 replies we received revealed that the Willoughby was routinely used by only 19% and the Fear Survey Schedule by only 42%. This seems to be manifestation of a wide-spread but indefensible homogenized view of neuroses. It is a sad reflection on the quality of behavior therapy training programs.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1988

The renascence of neurotic depression: its varied dynamics and implications for outcome research.

Kraepelin's observation of an emotion-connected subgroup of depressions led to the division of the common clinical depressions into endogenous and neurotic. But although the connotation of the former was clear, the latter had no positive diagnostic features, with the result that it fell very largely out of use. This paper presents evidence that there are depressions that are a consequence of neurotic anxiety. They can be positively diagnosed, and are resolved by overcoming the underlying neurotic anxieties. The neurotic basis of many cases of depression explains the success of different psychotherapeutic strategies in alleviating nonpsychotic depression, since 50% of neurotic cases respond to the nonspecific impact of the therapeutic interview. Unfortunately, the various outcome studies are muddied by failure to realize that a variety of psychopathologies are represented in nonpsychotic depression.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1987

Carbon dioxide inhalation treatments of neurotic anxiety. An overview.

A lucky chance more than 30 years ago revealed the remarkable efficacy of single inhalations of high concentrations of carbon dioxide in eliminating or markedly reducing free-floating anxiety. The reduction of anxiety lasts for days, weeks, or longer--well beyond the persistence of carbon dioxide in the body. The effects are explicable on the hypothesis that free-floating anxiety is anxiety conditioned to continuously present sources of stimulation, such as background noise or the awareness of space or time, and that the anxiety response habit is weakened when the anxiety is inhibited by the competition of responses that carbon dioxide induces. More recently, it has become apparent that inhalations of carbon dioxide, applied in a different manner, are effective in overcoming maladaptive anxiety responses to specific stimuli, e.g., social stimuli. The substance is also proving to be a valuable resource in the treatment of the common variety of panic attacks.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1986

Individualization: the categorical imperative of behavior therapy practice.

The fact that unadaptive neurotic anxiety response habits are learned makes it necessary for the stimulus antecedents to be accurately defined in every case in order to plan effective treatment. This requirement has been frequently neglected in recent years that have witnessed a growing tendency to apply common treatments to cases with common labels, e.g. agoraphobia. This paper argues for the desirability of accurate individual diagnosis, and illustrates its benefits in unique cases and also in respect of three common syndromes--agoraphobia, panic attacks and depression.

Adult↗