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Biomedical subjects

M Galanter

Publications and source records attributed to M Galanter.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

The "Moonies": a psychological study of conversion and membership in a contemporary religious sect.

The authors undertook this study to enhance psychiatric understanding of contemporary charismatic religious sects. After a pilot study, a representative sample of members of the Unification Church (N = 237) completed a 216-item structured questionnaire. Respondents were below the mean for an age- and sex-matched group on a psychological general well-being scale, and they reported significantly greater neurotic distress before conversion. The authors discuss correlates of an improved emotional state following conversion and employ attribution theory, drawn from social psychology, to put the conversion process into a psychiatric perspective.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Altered states of consciousness during psychotherapy: a historical and cultural perspective.

This paper reviews the frequent phenomenon of altered states of consciousness in disparate cultural psychotherapeutic contexts. The historical antecedents of contemporary Western psychodynamic psychotherapy are examined and the central importance of altered states in the therapeutic effects of religious institutions such as the Dionysian rite and the Asclepia is illustrated. The continued presence of this phenomenon in Western psychotherapy from Mesmerism to psychoanalysis is shown. The use of trance states in the healing rituals of non-Western societies is culturally variegated therapeutic settings. The ubiquitous nature of the altered state phenomenon in such widely varied cultural contexts suggests the possibility of its being a universal component of psychotherapy.

Austria↗
PubMed1979

Thought disorder in alcoholics.

Research on cognitive impairment in chronic alcoholics has generally focused on pathology associated with organic brain damage. On the other hand, deficits more typical of the functional psychoses have been less explored, due to the absence of appropriate tests. By using the Thought Disorder Rating Scale (TDRS) recently developed at our Center, however, we have tested chronic alcoholics for the presence of classical symptoms of thought disorder. This test is based on the assessment of the patient's verbal behavior by an experienced clinician. Twenty subjects free of psychosis, severe withdrawal symptoms, and medical illness were, after detoxification, administered a test battery which included the TDRS, the Bender-Gestalt Test, and the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). Five scored pathologically for thought disorder and of them four had abnormal Benders; whereas only two of 15 of those without thought disorder had abnormal Benders (t = 2.84, p < .01). Although SDS scores for both groups were in the depressed range, there was no significant difference between SDS means for the two groups. TDRS scores for these alcoholics are compared with those for other diagnosed groups, and implications for future investigation are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

The "relief effect": a sociobiological model for neurotic distress and large-group therapy.

The author discusses the new discipline of sociobiology. He develops the hypothesis that relief of neurotic distress may be associated with experiencing social affiliation and presents data that demonstrate a decline in neurotic symptom intensity in individuals who joined a cohesive religious sect. Anthropological and ethological evidence for the adaptive value of this "relief effect" provides a basis for the evolution of this trait. The author proposes a corresponding model for psychotherapy in large groups.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

The "intoxication state of consciousness": a model for alcohol and drug abuse.

The author describes a model of intoxicant use based on altered states of consciousness and reviews his own and others' research on marijuana to illustrate the utility of this model, which is derived from both introspective reports and observed data. The relationship of social behavior and cognitive functioning to the "intoxication state of consciousness" is discussed. This state of consciousness may have an adaptive value in engendering and stabilizing social cohesion. Possible treatment implications include cognitive labeling of cues that precipitate episodes of abuse, training for moderated drug use while patients are intoxicated, and providing abusers with altered consciousness through other means, such as meditation.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗
PubMed1976

Alcohol and drug abuse consultation in the general hospital: a systems approach.

The authors describe a program that is directed at assuring effective treatment and referral for alcoholic and addicted patients in a general hospital; the program was developed to assure maximal utlization of available addiction treatment facilities without adding to the hospital staff. Drawing on systems theory, the authors review both a pragmatic and a conceptual basis for psychiatric intervention with paraprofessional support to provide consultation to the general medical staff who treat alcoholic and addicted patients. They stress the feasibility of altering the nature of the hospital system to achieve more effective treatment for these patients.

Alcoholism↗