In analyzing the responses of 100 predominantly white, well educated and happily married couples to a self-report questionnaire, this study examined the frequency of sexual problems experienced and the relations of those problems to sexual satisfaction. Although over 80 per cent of the couples reported that their marital and sexual relations were happy and satisfying, 40 per cent of the men reported erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction, and 63 per cent of the women reported arousal or orgasmic dysfunction. In addition, 50 per cent of the men and 77 per cent of the women reported difficulty that was not dysfunctional in nature (e.g., lack of interest or inability to relax). The number of "difficulties" reported was more strongly and consistently related to overall sexual dissatisfaction than the number of "dysfunctions."

These findings suggest that online delivery of psychotherapeutic treatment and educational resources to consumers' homes has considerable potential to improve consumer well-being and offers several advantages over standard clinic-based delivery models.

As part of a long-term study in schizophrenia, a model of family intervention has been developed which attempts to diminish relapse rates of schizophrenic patients. This model reflects theoretical and research findings which suggest that certain patients have a "core psychological deficit" that might increase vulnerability to external stimuli. While a program of maintenance chemotherapy attempts to decreae patient vulnerability, a series of highly structured, supportive, psycho-educational family interventions are aimed at de-intensifying the family environment in which the patient lives.

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the design elements that influence the ability of persons with severe mental illness (SMI) and cognitive deficits to use a website, and to use this knowledge to design a web-based telehealth application to deliver a psychoeducation program to persons with schizophrenia and their families. Usability testing was conducted with 98 persons with SMI. First, individual website design elements were tested. Based on these results, theoretical website design models were used to create several alternative websites. These designs were tested for their ability to facilitate use by persons with SMI. The final website design is presented. The results indicate that commonly prescribed design models and guidelines produce websites that are poorly suited and confusing to persons with SMI. Our findings suggest an alternative model that should be considered when designing websites and other telehealth interventions for this population. Implications for future studies addressing the characteristics of accessible designs for persons with SMI and cognitive deficits are discussed.

The findings demonstrate the feasibility and impact of providing telehealth-based psychosocial treatments, including online therapy groups, to persons with schizophrenia and their families.

Lower income mothers who bring their children for mental health services also have high rates of depression and anxiety, yet few seek help. Maternal and child mental health are intimately intertwined; thus, the distress of both is likely to continue if the mother's needs are unaddressed. Because mothers overcome numerous instrumental challenges to help their children, the authors identify potential perceptual barriers to mothers' help seeking. An ethnographic analysis of in-depth qualitative interviews with 127 distressed mothers suggests several critical perceptual factors. For example, mothers attributed their distress to external causes (e.g., poverty, negative life stressors), which they believed individually focused mental health services could not affect. Interviewees also anticipated negative ramifications for seeking care, including being labeled unfit mothers, and thus potentially losing custody of their children. The authors discuss the implications of these and other key themes for engaging lower income mothers and their children.

This clinical project compares the relative impact of two types of multiple family groups on psychiatric inpatients and their families. Forty patients with a diagnosis of affective disorder, and their family members, were randomly assigned to a traditional multiple family group with a process orientation that emphasized support, destigmatization, and self-help about common problems; or to a psychoeducational multiple family group that emphasized the provision of information about the patient's illness and methods of coping with it effectively. Both groups, which met for four hours on a Saturday afternoon, were an integral part of an ongoing inpatient program specializing in the treatment of affective disorders. Pre- and post-measures were obtained regarding family and patient knowledge about affective disorders, level of personal distress, attitudes about the illness, and dyadic adjustment. In addition, both patients and family members were asked to rate their satisfaction with the group experience. A number of differences in knowledge, attitude and dyadic adjustment were found in the participants of both groups immediately following their respective group sessions, but there were only a few statistically significant differences between the two groups. Those who attended the psychoeducational session, however, reported significantly more satisfaction with the experience.

In chronic wounds recalcitrant to other treatments, utilization of PRP gel can restart the healing process. Rapid treatment response was observed in 275 of 285 wounds, and the magnitude of response was consistently high, with statistically significant outcomes reported for various subgroups.