This study examined therapist preferences and attitudes among the Mexican American population, which comprises the nation's second largest minority group. Ninety-four Mexican American and 93 Anglo American community college students listened to one of two matched therapy audiotapes. Using the same dialogue, in one tape the therapist spoke fluent English with a slight Spanish accent; in the other tape he spoke fluent English with a standard American accent. The therapist was identified as being in one of four categories: Anglo American professional, Anglo American nonprofcssional, Mexican American professional, or Mexican American nonprofessional. Both ethnic groups attributed more skill, understanding, trustworthiness, and attractiveness to the Anglo American professional and to the Mexican American nonprofessional. The Mexican American professional was seen by both groups less favorably than was the Mexican American nonprofessional. Mexican Americans showed a more favorable attitude toward the usefulness of therapy than did Anglo Americans. Implications of the findings for the field of psychotherapy and for the delivery of -psychological services to Mexican Americans and other minorities are discussed.

No abstract

Sixty individuals referred for a substance abuse evaluation by a child welfare worker were randomly assigned to either a standard evaluation or an evaluation enhanced by Motivational Interviewing techniques, each delivered in a single session. Participants who received the enhanced evaluation were significantly more likely to attend at least one additional treatment session after the initial evaluation (59% versus 29%). This finding suggests that comparatively inexpensive modifications of "standard" initial evaluations with substance-using parents may increase engagement of substance-abusing parents in treatment. Moreover, this study adds to an overwhelmingly positive literature supporting Motivational Interviewing with alcohol-using populations and extends prior findings to non-research community settings.A comparatively strong relationship between parental substance abuse and child abuse and neglect has been established. 1,2 Providing effective treatment for substance-abusing parents is thus a promising strategy for preventing further neglect. [2][3][4] Unfortunately, however, efforts to provide treatment to this population have been hampered by major gaps between the child welfare and the substance abuse treatment systems, including limited access to treatment. 3,4 In response to increasing incidence of child abuse associated with parental substance abuse in Connecticut, 5 the Department of Children and Families (DCF) initiated Project SAFE (Substance Abuse Family Evaluation). Through a contract with Advanced Behavioral Health Incorporated, a network of 43 substance abuse treatment providers, Project SAFE provides DCF child welfare workers with immediate access to substance abuse treatment for parents suspected of substance abuse. Rather than relying on the parents to make the initial contact with treatment providers, DCF caseworkers call a centralized intake system to make the initial evaluation appointment, which is scheduled within 24 hours of the call. After the evaluation, outpatient treatment is offered free of charge through the provider network. Project SAFE's success has been notable in several respects: 6 since its inception in 1995, 23,447 individuals have been referred to Project SAFE, and approximately 68% of those completed an evaluation. However, engaging this population in treatment has proven more difficult, as only 36%of those referred have attended one or more subsequent treatment sessions. Brief motivational approaches that focus on mobilizing the individual's own resources to change 7 have high levels of empirical support in the substance abuse treatment literature, particularly for cigarette and alcohol users, 8-10 but they have not been widely evaluated in community treatment programs nor as a strategy to foster treatment engagement in nontreatment-seeking populations. Motivational approaches typically focus on reviewing objective information about the individual's substance use as well as on eliciting any concerns that the individual or their significant others may have about t...

Sixty individuals referred for a substance abuse evaluation by a child welfare worker were randomly assigned to either a standard evaluation or an evaluation enhanced by Motivational Interviewing techniques, each delivered in a single session. Participants who received the enhanced evaluation were significantly more likely to attend at least one additional treatment session after the initial evaluation (59% versus 29%). This finding suggests that comparatively inexpensive modifications of "standard" initial evaluations with substance-using parents may increase engagement of substance-abusing parents in treatment. Moreover, this study adds to an overwhelmingly positive literature supporting Motivational Interviewing with alcohol-using populations and extends prior findings to non-research community settings.A comparatively strong relationship between parental substance abuse and child abuse and neglect has been established. 1,2 Providing effective treatment for substance-abusing parents is thus a promising strategy for preventing further neglect. [2][3][4] Unfortunately, however, efforts to provide treatment to this population have been hampered by major gaps between the child welfare and the substance abuse treatment systems, including limited access to treatment. 3,4 In response to increasing incidence of child abuse associated with parental substance abuse in Connecticut, 5 the Department of Children and Families (DCF) initiated Project SAFE (Substance Abuse Family Evaluation). Through a contract with Advanced Behavioral Health Incorporated, a network of 43 substance abuse treatment providers, Project SAFE provides DCF child welfare workers with immediate access to substance abuse treatment for parents suspected of substance abuse. Rather than relying on the parents to make the initial contact with treatment providers, DCF caseworkers call a centralized intake system to make the initial evaluation appointment, which is scheduled within 24 hours of the call. After the evaluation, outpatient treatment is offered free of charge through the provider network. Project SAFE's success has been notable in several respects: 6 since its inception in 1995, 23,447 individuals have been referred to Project SAFE, and approximately 68% of those completed an evaluation. However, engaging this population in treatment has proven more difficult, as only 36%of those referred have attended one or more subsequent treatment sessions. Brief motivational approaches that focus on mobilizing the individual's own resources to change 7 have high levels of empirical support in the substance abuse treatment literature, particularly for cigarette and alcohol users, 8-10 but they have not been widely evaluated in community treatment programs nor as a strategy to foster treatment engagement in nontreatment-seeking populations. Motivational approaches typically focus on reviewing objective information about the individual's substance use as well as on eliciting any concerns that the individual or their significant others may have about t...

To investigate the puzzle of the nonpersistence of stuttering in many cases in which it begins, structured interview- and sentence-completion data were gathered on all incoming University of California, Berkeley, students during September 1964. Thirty-two spontaneously recovered stutterers were compared with 32 active stutterers and the normal controls, and a computer bivariate association analysis showed: (1) four out of five recover from stuttering spontaneously; (2) fewer of those who had received public school speech therapy recovered from stuttering; (3) fewer of those who had ever been severe recovered spontaneously; (4) no familial incidence pattern with either group of stutterers as compared to controls; (5) no differences in reported handedness in stutterers or their families; (6) improvement attributed to self-acceptance and role acceptance; (7) there appear to be many different paths to recovery.