PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

T Eckman

Publications and source records attributed to T Eckman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Acquisition and retention of skills training methods in chronic schizophrenic outpatients.

Forty-one DSM-III-R schizophrenic subjects on constant, low-dose maintenance neuroleptic drug therapy (5-10 mg of fluphenazine decanoate intramuscularly every 2 weeks) were randomly assigned to structured and modularized skills training or to supportive group psychotherapy. The skills training was designed by using cognitive and behavioral methods to compensate for the learning disabilities that plague many schizophrenic patients. Skill acquisition was assessed by using quantified performance on standardized role-play tests. Subjects who received skills training made significant gains in each of the areas taught, whereas those who participated in the control psychotherapy group did not. The knowledge and skills learned during training were retained without significant erosion over a 1-year followup period. These results suggest that the use of structured principles of learning and cognitive therapy can effectively train schizophrenics in skill areas pertinent to the self-management of their illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Training skills in the psychiatrically disabled: learning coping and competence.

Social skills training methods represent a major strategy for psychiatric rehabilitation. Building skills in patients with schizophrenic and other major mental disorders is based on the assumption that coping and competence can override stress and vulnerability in reducing relapses and improving psychosocial functioning. For maximum efficiency, skills training needs to incorporate procedures and principles of human learning and information processing. Several models for skills training have been designed and evaluated, each of which has proved to be effective in raising the social competence of chronic mental patients. The "basic" model involves role playing by the patient and modeling, prompting, feedback, and reinforcement by the therapist. A "problem-solving" model of training provides general strategies for dealing with a wide variety of social situations. This model uses role playing to enhance behavioral performance but also highlights the patient's abilities to perceive and process incoming social messages and meanings. It is essential that social skills training be imbedded in a comprehensive program of rehabilitation that features continuity of care, supportive community services, therapeutic relationships, and judicious prescription of psychotropic drugs.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1981

Behavior therapy vs insight-oriented therapy for repeated suicide attempters.

A behavior therapy package was compared with insight-oriented therapy in a clinical trial for repeated suicide attempters. Self-report measures of depression, anxiety, and assertiveness were obtained before and after ten days of inpatient treatment and at follow-up intervals for nine moths. Interviews with patients during a two-year follow-up period elicited frequency of suicidal attempts and ideation. Results indicated the superiority of the behavior therapy package, with the structured, brief hospitalization and assertive follow-up likely contributing to the main effects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

The Behavior Observation Instrument: a method of direct observation for program evaluation.

The background and development of a multicategory direct observation system, the Behavior Observation Instrument (BOI), is described. This time-sampling procedure for recording the behavior of persons is demonstrated in several treatment settings and the results applied to issues of program evaluation. Elements that have prevented direct observation from being widely adopted, such as costs, manpower, and training requirements, are systematically analyzed. A basic psychometric analysis of the instrument is used to determine optimum frequency and duration of observation intervals as well as observer agreement. The results imply that direct observation methods, once assumed by some to belong to the special province of the single-subject design, can be used to assess the effects of programs on groups of psychiatric clients in an efficient and economic manner.

Activities of Daily Living↗