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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

The current status of behavioral psychotherapy: theory and practice.

Behavioral psychotherapy has become one of the definitive treatments available for the relief of psychiatric suffering. Although hardly a panacea for all ills, the behavioral approach is the treatment of choice for certain selected problems. Behavioral methods make their contribution in the context of general psychiatric management and often must be used in conjunction with other treatment. The theoretical and practical aspects of behavioral psychotherapy have changed a great deal over the past few years and continue to evolve rapidly. Although useful molecular theories are emerging to guide the discipline, no global theory is likely to be satisfactory in the foreseeable future.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1994

Cognitive-behavioral treatment for adolescent pathological gamblers.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for adolescent pathological gamblers. Perception of control and severity of the problem served as dependent variables. Four adolescent pathological gamblers meeting DSM-III-R criteria were treated in a multiple baseline design across individuals. Results showed clinically significant changes for all subjects; they remained abstinent at 1-, 4-, and 6-month follow-ups. The clinical implications of these results are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1978

Obsessive thoughts: the problem of therapy.

Eleven patients with obsessive thoughts were treated in two pilot studies. In the first of these patients were given thought-stopping, and this was contrasted with relaxation therapy. In the second study patients were treated by a technique described here as 'satiation', and this was followed by thought-stopping and finally a course of amitriptyline. The overall results were poor, but one type of obsessive thought responded well to satiation.

Amitriptyline↗
PubMed1994

Dopamine mechanisms of cocaine addiction.

The ability of cocaine to induce a compulsive addictive behavior is the most astonishing feature of this drug. Attempting to understand the mechanisms underlying cocaine's addictive properties, two major questions should be considered: a) why and how organism's interaction with cocaine results in the development of new, drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior and b) why and how cocaine maintains this behavior when the drug is available. Since a large body of neuropharmacological evidence suggest that the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system has exclusive importance for the development and maintenance of cocaine addictive behavior, and cocaine is known to interfere in activity of this brain system, examination of mesocorticolimbic DA activity during cocaine self-administration behavior may provide some clues for understanding the drug's additive properties and regulation of this maladaptive goal-directed behavior. The aim of this paper is to discuss the literature and own experimental data on cocaine's action on the mesocorticolimbic DA system that may be involved in mediating its addictive properties. Based on these data, it is suggested that an inhibiting action of cocaine on reuptake of released DA, although essential, but not sufficient mechanism for the development and maintenance of addictive behavior. It is hypothesized, that coexistence of functionally antagonistic, inhibiting actions of cocaine on the mesolimbic DA release and reuptake of released DA may be responsible for biphasic fluctuations in DA transmission that appear to be a critical component of central oscillatory mechanism which drives and regulates cyclic drug-taking behavior.

Behavior, Addictive↗
PubMed1992

The pathological gambler as criminal offender. Comments on evaluation and treatment.

Over the past three decades, gambling has been the nation's fastest growing industry. Although there is now some leveling off, states are still turning to legalized gambling to address financial problems without having to raise taxes. In addition, there is new technology that produces more rapidly addicting games. States are accepting some responsibility and, as of this writing, 12 of them have funded some programs in public education, research, training, and treatment. Although there are only a half dozen inpatient programs and very few qualified counselors and therapists, we can anticipate the development of clinics, residential programs, halfway houses, and alternative sentencing programs. The National Council on Problem Gambling has developed guidelines for the certification of gambling counselors. In addition to the training of mental health professionals, workshops are needed for attorneys, judges, probation and parole officers, and prison administrators. Initially, the task of assessing and diagnosing the pathological gambler was left to a small number of experts. Starting with DSM-IV, there will be clear and reliable criteria available to the professional community. These criteria, which are the product of thorough testing, should easily discriminate the pathological gambler from other types of gamblers. Most of what we have learned about pathological gambling has come in the last 5 years. A major impetus for research has been the Journal of Gambling Studies, which began publication in 1985. A review of the nature and course of the disorder, including the studies of criminal behavior, leads one to conclude that the majority of pathological gamblers (at least 70% to 80%) commit offenses late in the disorder and that these offenses are strictly gambling related. This is a population which is essentially nonviolent and which turns to property crimes out of desperation over gambling losses and their sequelae. The minority (in one study 14%) of gamblers with antisocial personality disorder--the group for whom treatment would be least likely to be effective--can be recognized easily both by the pattern of offenses and by diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality. Once this group is excluded, treatment for the others, in combination with restitution, community service, and some form of monitoring, would seem beneficial both for the individual and for society. Once they have stopped gambling, pathological gamblers are frequently hard-working people, whose mathematical skills and intelligence, high energy, and need to excel make them extremely valuable at their jobs. The alternative, imprisonment, may very well reinforce the disorder.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent↗