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The factual basis for therapy and family advice urging "leveling" in the sense of giving free expression to aggressive feelings is reviewed and the results of a study of 385 couples presented. The study tested the hypothesis that verbal aggression is a substitute for physical aggression. Opposite results were found: the more verbal expression of aggression, the more physical aggression. A similar analysis of "intellectualizing" marital conflicts found that such an approach is associated with low amounts of physical violence. These results apply most strongly for working-class couples. Historical and social trends which could account for the popularity of leveling approaches to marriage, despite considerable evidence suggesting the opposite, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rather than viewing psychotherapy with teen-agers as essentially a holding operation and waiting until adult years when self-defeating patterns have become rigidified, the period may be considered as offering a unique opportunity for facilitating change and focusing on new directions in the life of the client. One workable psychotherapeutic procedure, a team approach involving Diagnosis and Planning, Bargain-Setting, Psychotherapy Proper, and Termination, is briefly described. Involving the parents is seen as being of major importance. Other special concerns briefly examined and illustrated are interpreting closeness, establishing controls, and exercising flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychotherapy with individual patients is central to the objective of resolving children's psychological problems. Clarification is needed of the term "psychotherapy" and of the field it encompasses. The relationship between psychotherapy and the patient's environment is considered, and the importance of transference in the patient-therapist relationship is illustrated by the case history of a child receiving therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]