Downstate series of research in psychiatry and psychology – serie

This volume is the second in "The Downstate Series of Research in Psychiatry." It is aseries devoted to the presentation of sig­ nificant research with relevance for both clinicians and researchers in the multiple subfields of psychiatry. This book focuses on the interactions between psychic phenomena and physical processes as studied by evoked brain potentials. It presents material concerned with physiological and psychological unifying processes, as weIl as research concerning technology and methods of obtaining meaningful measurements. As such it is representative of biological psychiatry at its best. Thus, it represents another step in new directions in psychiatric research but not an unanticipated direction. Scientific investigation into the human psyche took an unex­ pected turn when Sigmund Freud in the last part of the 19th Century turned his attention from neurological concerns to those of psychol­ ogy. His first attempts at explanations as noted in the "project," included a heavy emphasis on the biological substrate of behavior.

This volume on Family Therapy Training, edited by Kalman Flomenhaft, Ph. D. and Adolph E. Christ, M. D. , is the outgrowth of a successful conference on Family Therapy in the Training of Child Psychiatrists sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry at the Downstate Medical Center on December 8 and 9, 1978. The attendance and enthusiastic participation at this conference reflected the growing interest on the part of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals in the theory, practice, and teaching of family therapy. That the conference was held at all presupposed the value that psychiatric educators are attaching to the incorporation of family therapy teaching in the educational development of psychiatrists. While the conference was dedicated to family therapy training for child psychiatrists, this volume is broadened to include family therapy training for all psychiatrists and mental health profes­ sionals. The various chapters delineate the issues in the teaching of family therapy, both theoretical and practical. The richness of the chapters that follow grows out of the depth of practical experience of the various authors in developing family therapy training in established programs where resistance to new ideas as well as structural changes in curriculum are predictable. The nature of both the theoretical and practical aspects of such resistances is well described. The authors also emphasize what is required to launch a successful training program in child psychiatry, stressing the importance of attractive role models as teachers of family therapy.

The symposium "Family Dynamics, Family Therapy, and Pediatric Medical Illness," held at Downstate Medical Center on December 12 and 13, 1980, considered the impact of life-threatening illness in children and adolescents on intrafamilial dynamics. A group of experts addressed the practical and theoretical psychological and social issues facing pediatric patients and their families when con­ fronting chronic and severe childhood illnesses including brain damage, cancer, hemophilia, juvenile diabetes, and heart disease. The presentations and group discussions clearly revealed the complexity of physical and psychological problems posed by the seriously ill child with chronic disease for both the health care provider and the family. The conference proceedings confirm that quality care and treatment for the ill child requires the partici­ pation of a variety of health care disciplines representing diverse fields of knowledge. Pediatricians, family practitioners, child psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, psychologists, nutritionists and others all have important collaborative roles to play. The symposium participants wrestled with some of the basic developmental and clinical questions: How is the ongoing development of a family altered as a result of chronic incapacitating illness in a child member? How can principles of intensive family and individ­ ual psychotherapy be applied during the medical treatment of life­ threatening illness? What are the psychological stress points during the course of a chronic medical illness? These are but a few of the issues addressed in this publication.

The past decade has brought extraordinary gains in the outlook for children stricken with cancer. Though cancer remains a leading cause of death for children and young adults, more victims of child­ hood cancer today will survive than will die. The therapeutic advances and the optimism they instill have prompted researchers and clinicians to analyze the impact of cancer upon young patients and their famil,ies and to devise more effective intervention strategies. Hope and survival, juxtaposed with the continuing high mortality associated with certain forms of the illness, add new challenges to management of the psychosocial aspects of cancer. To respond to these challenges we need research as rigorous as that which continues to make inroads in treating the physical illness. This specific concern for the needs of children suffering from cancer and their families has paralleled an increasing sensitivity on the part of the medical community and the public at large to the limitations of specialized, high technology health care practices.