Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S B Coleman.
Manual handling of patients should be avoided as far as is reasonably practical. Hoist equipment must be appropriate for the specialty's needs and staff should be trained to use it correctly. Ease of use and patient comfort are important factors to consider when choosing hoists.
A survey of the role of gender in family therapy training programs was conducted by the Women's Task Force of the American Family Therapy Association (AFTA) in order to determine the extent to which gender issues were included in the curriculum. Questionnaires were sent to 285 programs in the U.S., Canada, and overseas. Only 19% (n = 55) of the original sample participated, with the East Coast representing the largest proportion of respondents. Findings revealed that the three most frequently addressed gender issues are: 1) the impact of cultural and economic conditions on single, female-headed families; 2) gender issues associated with wife abuse; and 3) an examination of the implications of the therapist's gender in therapy interventions. Only 27 programs identify with a feminist model or have a clearly defined sense of gender awareness. A significant finding associated with the introduction of feminist content was the difficulty of integrating gender issues with major theoretical models. Trainee resistance and lack of faculty awareness were also considered obstacles to including gender in program curriculum.
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This research studied the function of heroin addiction as a family-learned method of coping with death, separation, and loss across the life cycle. Heroin addicts, psychiatric outpatients, and normal students were given an extensive interview and test battery to determine the incidence of loss of family members and significant others. Because the impact of death is often overcome through religious rituals, this study also investigated the subjects' perception of their families' religious values and orientation to life's meaning and purpose. Results indicate that the incidence of death differs significantly across groups and that addicts have a distinct orientation to death, are more suicidal, and have more premature and bizarre death experiences. During childhood they have more family separations, and they tend to develop a distinct pattern of continuously separating from and returning to their families. They are also less likely to have a clearly defined purpose in life. A subset of parents from each group were also interviewed and tested, and these results support the theory of the intergenerational transmission of behavior.
In summary, this theory is based on the premise that death, separation, and loss are significant etiological factors in heroin-addict families. The death and death-related variables are integral parts of a homeostatic pattern that keeps the drug-abusing member helpless and dependent on staying at home with the family. Within the complex set of feedback mechanisms involved in the drug-taking process lies an overall sense of family hopelessness and lack of purpose or meaning in life which accompanies the repetitive drug-sustaining cycle of family interactions.
The following report describes the results of a national study of the role of family therapy in the drug abuse field. Characteristics of agencies that work with families are described, as well as the demographic characteristics and psychological problems of the clients most apt to be treated in family therapy. The study also looks at the role and structure of family therapy in the ecological system of the treatment institutions. A profile of the family therapists who are responsible for providing services to families is presented. An attempt was made to assess agencies' level of development with regard to family therapy by using an instrument, The Progress Index for Family Therapy Programs. Generally, findings indicated that there is considerable variation in expertise. More extensive training in family therapy techniques was of major concern, particularly among clinics with a heroin addict population.
The Progress Index for Family Therapy Programs, an instrument for measuring the relative level of involvement in family therapy by treatment programs, is presented. It was developed as part of a national survey on the use of family therapy for treating drug abuse and includes data from 500 agencies, 76 of which were Community Mental Health Centers. The Index may be useful for assessing extent of family therapy involvement for differing agencies treating different populations.
This paper presents a profile of 1,117 family therapists who are providing treatment to families of recovering drug abusers. The data was part of a national survey of the current status of family therapy in the drug-abuse field. The results reveal extensive information about the education, training, personal background, caseload characteristics, and theoretical orientations of these individuals.
To prevent drug abuse among younger siblings of addicted adolescents, weekly group therapy sessions were implemented at a suburban therapeutic drug community. The concept evolved as an outgrowth of family therapy which revealed that intergenerational addictive patterns might impose a high future risk of similar behavior among latency age children. Results after 18 months indicate that although severe group acting-out behavior has diminished, underlying psychodynamics appear somewhat unchanged. Some evidence of experimentation with alcohol has emerged. Conclusions are that superego development is still impoverished but the tenacity of the group's existence provides positive speculations of ultimate success.