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Biomedical subjects

B A Thyer

Publications and source records attributed to B A Thyer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Promoting an empiricist agenda within the human services: an ethical and humanistic imperative.

Various meta-contingencies inadvertently promote the perpetuation of bogus psychotherapies and other human service interventions. This article outlines some of these perverse incentives and describes counter-controls which could be adopted by the various professional associations, state licensing boards, accreditation bodies, and service providers. These counter-controls have the potential to move human services in the direction of becoming a truly empirical clinical science. This would directly enhance the ethical appropriateness and humanistic goals of the human service professions.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1995

Exposure therapy in the treatment of vaginal penetration phobia: a single-case evaluation.

A 25-year-old woman with a specific phobia related to vaginal penetration fears was effectively treated with graduated exposure therapy involving self-conducted and partner-assisted homework exercises. Treatment produced a complete resolution of the problem within 12 sessions. This behavior therapy regimen followed the client having received several periods of psychodynamic therapy which did not yield symptomatic improvement.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

The reported prevalence of physical and sexual abuse among a sample of children and adolescents at a public psychiatric hospital.

In this retrospective analysis of inpatient charts, a total of 298 children and adolescents admitted to a public psychiatric hospital over a 1-year period were examined for the prevalence of reported histories of physical or sexual abuse. Physical abuse was reported in 15% of the cases, while sexual abuse occurred in 13%. A variety of comparisons were made examining possible differences in gender, age, race, diagnosis, and personality trait disturbance among the abused and nonabused patients. Relative to known prevalence rates as reported to child protective agencies, physical or sexual abuse occurred much more frequently among our sample of patients, suggesting the need for careful assessment of such histories upon admission and during treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Feather picking disorder and trichotillomania: an avian model of human psychopathology.

Animal models of psychopathology have been extremely valuable in conceptualizing various human disorders. The human condition known as trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) has considerable similarities with an avian disorder called feather picking, with respect to analogous behavior, proposed etiologies, evoking cues, response to behavior therapy, and response to pharmacological treatments based on serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. We suggest that feather picking disorder has the potential to be a useful animal model of trichotillomania, and lends itself to studies on the experimental psychopathology of compulsive hair pulling.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Reports of childhood incest by adults with panic disorder or agoraphobia.

A convenience sample of 94 members of an agoraphobia self-help group responded to an anonymous survey on their possible histories of childhood incest. 12 (13%) respondents reported such a history. These results are discussed in terms of hypothesized etiologies of panic disorder and agoraphobia.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Extinction and DRO in the treatment of aggression in a boy with severe mental retardation.

A novel use of extinction was applied in combination with differential reinforcement of other behavior to reduce dangerous levels of aggression displayed by an 11-year-old boy with severe mental retardation and cerebral palsy. Data taken during actual treatment sessions and in the client's "natural" environment (classroom and dormitory) suggest that the intervention was immediately effective and that the improvements were maintained and generalized.

Aggression↗
PubMed1991

Diagnosis and treatment of child and adolescent anxiety disorders.

The criteria from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R) for anxiety disorders relevant to children and adolescents are reviewed. Empirically supported behavioral and pharmacological therapies specific to separation anxiety disorder, avoidant disorder, overanxious disorder, simple phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and sleep terror disorder are discussed. Exposure-based treatments are indicated in most cases in which an anxiety-evoking stimulus can be clearly identified. With respect to the treatment of children and adolescents, pharmacotherapy remains understudied for most disorders. It appears that the behavioral therapies found useful in the treatment of adults with anxiety disorders can be successfully applied to the care of younger persons. Significant lacunae remain in the clinical research literature in these fields, offering many opportunities for both practitioners and scientists.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Clinical social work and obsessive compulsive disorder. A single-subject investigation.

Clinical research on the purely obsessional patient is considerably less developed than that for compulsive ritualizers or obsessive compulsives with mixed features. A single case investigation of exposure therapy in the treatment of obsessive ruminations is presented. Treatment involved exposing the patient to a variety of stimuli related to obsessional thoughts including reading, writing, and listening to such content. The patient's immediate response to treatment was favorable, with improvements being maintained at two-year follow-up.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1989

Interruption and DRI in the treatment of self-injurious behavior among mentally retarded and autistic self-restrainers.

Two profoundly mentally retarded adolescents who displayed both self-injurious behavior (SIB) and self-restraint were treated with a mild interruption (I) procedure alone, and I combined with the differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI). Interruption combined with DRI proved highly effective in reducing the SIB of one student, but not of the other. Possible reasons for these differential results are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Promoting safety belt use with traffic signs and prompters.

Two studies were conducted examining the stimulus-control effects of conventional traffic signs as prompts for motor vehicle driver safety belt use. Following pilot research which suggested that a traffic sign reading "Fasten Safety Belt" posted at a parking lot exit was effective in producing small increases in safety belt use, Study I demonstrated the superiority of having human prompters display such signs compared to simply posting the signs. Study II replicated the findings of Study I and found that posted signs became more effective in prompting safety belt use if simple posting was preceded by a period involving human prompters who displayed the signs. The results bear upon the development of more effective use of traffic signs in promoting safety belt use and in viewing such use as an instance of rule-governed behavior.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1987

Ethanol retards desensitisation of simple phobias in non-alcoholics.

Twenty non-alcoholic patients with DSM-III defined simple phobias for small animals received behavioural approach tests and exposure therapy while under the influence of a moderately intoxicating dose of ethanol or after placebo administration. Ethanol did not demonstrate any acute anti-anxiety effect, but retarded the rate of behavioural in vivo desensitisation, without changing the final treatment outcome. State-dependent effects of ethanol on anxiety were not demonstrated. This study supports prior research indicating no anti-anxiety or 'tension-reducing' effects of ethanol for simple phobias.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Promoting automobile safety belt use by young children.

A program using behavioral practice, assertiveness training, and social and contrived reinforcers was developed to establish and maintain automobile safety belt use by young children. Sixteen children (ages 4.8 to 7 years) who never used their safety belts during a 5-day preexperimental observation period were randomly assigned to two groups of eight each. A multiple baseline design across groups was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program. During the 8-day baseline period for Group 1, no children used their safety belts when unobtrusively observed while being driven from school. During the 26-day intervention period, the children were buckled up on 96% of the observations. Follow-up probes conducted 2-3 months after program discontinuance found safety belt use to range from 86% to 100%. For Group 2, the 14-day baseline safety belt use averaged 6% and increased to a mean of 81% during the 20-day training and maintenance program. Follow-up probes 2-3 months later found safety belt use to occur during 75% to 96% of the observations. Parent questionnaires indicated the generalizability and social validity of the program.

Accidents, Traffic↗