Search

The concept of Mental Homelessness is presented and developed. This paper will provide a historical review of the connection between mental illness and housing and the changing approaches toward institutionalization and de-institutionalization over several centuries. Case illustrations from practice in Israel will be presented to highlight the theme of home, or rather the theme of lacking a home as an element which may be inherent to a mental illness. More specifically, the paper argues that homelessness is a state of mind of which the actual, physical homelessness may be a manifested reflection of. If so, even if a mental patient does initially own a home, he or she is at high risk to lose it somehow. This work is a primary attempt at developing a new idea, stemming originally from the field of mental health, with an attempt to widen its theoretical scope to populations not usually defined as mentally ill. Clinical characteristics are presented, as well as an attempt at a theoretical formulation of this concept permitting the development of therapeutic implications. These are presented in relation to existing psychodynamic concepts and therapeutic approaches related to the phenomenon of homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on social dilemmas. It is not by accident that a collection of papers on social dilemmas appears in a journal devoted to praxiology. Although most of the students of praxiology neither used a formal apparatus nor did they carry out experiments, they would certainly recognize the issues under the name social dilemmas. These issues concern behavior of human agents which constitutes the core of praxiologists' interests. Praxiologists, however, did not study collective behavior which shows the traits of both positive and negative cooperation.

• The research programme identifies four key factors that influence adjustment. These are family patterns of interaction, `doctor-parent' communication, the ward and health care environment and health beliefs. • A number of theories from health psychology and systems therapy are identified that underpin these factors. These include Minuchin a al.'s (1975) model of family functioning, Korsch et al. (1968) and Ley's (1988) models of doctor-patient communication, Menzies Lyth's (1988) notions of systems developing defences and Rosenstock (1974) and Leventhal et al.'s (1982) theories of how health beliefs develop and impact on adjustment. • In explaining why Wallander et al.'s (1989b) model has not been largely supported, it appears that it fails to pay sufficient attention to these dimensions and often lacks conceptual and theoretical precision when it discusses the relationship between the risk and resilience factors and their impact on adjustment. Furthermore, Wallander et at have relied extensively upon descriptive pen and paper measures that may not be adequately sensitive to test their model or to tap the issues involved in chronic disease. • Studies need to adopt approaches that define adjustment in ways other than the absence of pathology. Equally they need to take a more longitudinal perspective and rely more upon observational methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper lays out an historical overview of the way in which homosexuality has been viewed by psychiatry and the helping professions. It suggests that it is time to look at gay and lesbian older adults with a different perspective and presents a case example to illustrate the ways in which older gay adults can be helped by social workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section provides information on the book Critical Readings on Piaget, edited by Leslie Smith. This book is a follow-up to the book Jean Piaget: Critical Assessments, a collection of eighty-three papers dealing with the critique of work of Jean Piaget in psychology, education and philosophy during the period 1950 to 1990. This new collection tracks developments in the most recent published work. Starting with the epistemology of Piaget, a major intellectual resource in developmental psychology and education, Smith sets out the main elements of the position of Piaget in relation to 21 papers, dealing with equilibration, education, social development, reasoning development, number development and modal knowledge. A conclusion examines the psychological and educational assessment of the epistemology of Piaget. This collection of distinctive studies during the last five years provides high-profile and engaging examples from current research in this area. It will prove a useful and compact text for undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers. Smith is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University. His interests lie in the theory and research of Piaget and he is author of Necessary Knowledge: Piagetian Perspectives on Constructivism.

The article presents information related to the concept of unconscious. The unconscious for psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud can be defined in several different ways, but it is primarily the storehouse of instinctual desires and needs. Childhood wishes and memories live on in unconscious life, even if they have been erased from consciousness. The unconscious is, in a sense, the great waste-paper basket of the mind--the trash that never gets taken out.

The article presents an introduction to the papers that appear in the book "The Handbook of Psychology for Forensic Practitioners," by Graham Towl and David Crighton.