FEELING GOOD
ROBERT J. BETHEL CENTER
High Tech
Continued from preceding page
SERVICES BY LICENSED PSYCHIATRIST,
CERTIFIED SOCIAL WORKERS & PSYCHOLOGISTS
EVENING & SATURDAY APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE
IMMEDIATE APPOINTMENTS • NO WAITING
PROVIDER LICENSED BY BC/BS
OTHER INSURANCES ACCEPTED
• INDIVIDUAL & FAMILY THERAPY • GRIEF THERAPY
• MARRIAGE & PRE-MARITAL COUNSELING • SEXUAL THERAPY
• CHILDREN'S SERVICES/BEHAVIORAL & ADJUSTMENT PROBLEMS
• HELP IN RELIEF OF DEPRESSION & ANXIETY • STRESS MANAGEMENT
• PSYCHIATRIC/PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
645-0432
999 HAYNES • SUITE 245 • BIRMINGHAM
WESTSIDE LOCATION: PERSONAL DYNAMICS CENTER
22646 MICHIGAN AVENUE • DEARBORN • 563-4142
...anything less is kidding yourself.
You can buy bargain-brand exercise equipment anywhere, and
you get what you pay for — cheap equipment and not much
exercise.
Or, you can invest in a TREDEX treadmill by Universal —
world-class quality that lets you walk, jog or run in the comfort
and security of your own home or office.
Universal. Why invest your body in anything less?
Safety handles
for convenient
handhold and
emergency
shut-off when
pushed
downward.
Computerized
to show speed,
running time,
distance and
pace-per-mile
in digital
display.
Quiet, 1-hp
direct drive
motor. Speed
range from 1
to 8 mph. (120
volt, 15 amps)
No-stretch,
anti-static
elastomer belt.
18" x 57"
running
surface.
UNIVERSAL
Fitness is Zhaves4aL®
-
13
12-F
FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 1988
American Exercise
& Gym Equipment.Co.=
29191 Northwestern Hwy.
Southfield, MI 48034
(313) 358-0550
ment makes a difference,"
Griswold says.
But High-tech self-help has
not been widely embraced by
mental health practitioners,
some of whom warn potential
users. "The proliferation of
these devices is disturbing,
since for the majority of them
there is no hard data to sup-
port the efficacy of using
them," says Dr. Fred Wright,
director of education and
training at the Center for
Cognitive Therapy at the
University of Pennsylvania.
"They seem to be valid, but
the hard data and research is
just not there."
Dr. Gerard Hunt, a medical
sociologist at the University
of Maryland Medical School,
sees another drawback to the
high-tech self-help route. In
general, Hunt has no objec-
tions to the tapes. In fact, he
feels that "the more people
begin to reflect upon their in-
ternal processes, the better it
Self-help tapes do give dir-
ections, "like a parent," peo-
ple can follow for introspec-
tion and improvement. And,
no doubt, "some give helpful
directions," he says, while
others are not so helpful.
"But that is the danger of any
general program made for a
mass audience — whether it's
a tape, a book or a video."
Much better are tapes made
by a therapist or health pro-
fessional for a client, which
would be tailor-made for the
listener, based upon his in-
dividual needs.
Dr. John Lion, clinical pro-
fessor of psychiatry at the
University of Maryland Med-
ical School and a psychiatrist
in private practice, divides
the self-help tapes into two
categories: "the stay healthy
ones, such as exercise regi-
mens, how to stop smoking,
how to eat nutritiously, and
the pop psychology ones, for
example, on assertiveness
training."
"Health professionals tend
to be dubious about these
mass market tapes," Lion
says, "but my feeling is they
may be helpful, especially the
tapes that focus on how to
stay healthy."
However, Lion is less
pleased with the pop psy-
chology tapes, which tend to
be oversimplistic. "Take
assertiveness training. It's
more than saying (on the
tape), Talk loud and insist' on
getting your way. It's a mat-
ter of a lifetime of learned
behavior and it involves be-
havior modification and tact."
Lion advises the public to
take the pop psychology tapes
"with a grain of salt" and use
common sense for the exercise
regimens. But, after all, the
information contained in the
tapes isn't new, it's just a new
format. "Books have been
written about these topics,
some of which have become
best sellers," he says. "Just
think of Normal Vincent
Peale's How To Win Friends
and Influence People, which is
enormously illuminating to
some people. Or the Dale
Carnegie courses — people
have taken them and found
them enormously effective."
Dr. Harvey Ruben doesn't
make a distinction among the
self-help tapes. All, he be-
lieves, are "teaching vehicles,
and a valid part of helping
ourselves. As long as there is
no risk or harm involved,
there's no reason not to try"
a tape. Ruben is a faculty
member of the Yale Universi-
ty Medical School, a psychia-
trist in private practice in
Connecticut, the public af-
fairs chairman of the Amer-
ican Psychiatric Association,
and a consultant with The
Sheppard-Enoch Pratt Hos-
pital. His national radio
program airs locally on
WFBF-AM on Saturdays and
Sundays from 10 p.m. to 1
a.m.
Ruben is convinced the
tapes can be successful, but
their success depends on the
listener. "I know many people
who have done a (tape) pro-
gram and it's been successful,
it worked. The motivating
factor is the person's deter-
mination to listen and to
follow through. But, then,
that's what makes psycho-
therapy successful or not —
you need the motivation," he
says.
Even those professionals
who are leery of high-tech
self-help see ways in which
these techniques might be
useful. Wright, of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, says, "A
large part of psychology is
psycho-education. For exam-
ple, someone who is anxious
might read about anxiety and
learn that anxiety is a normal
survival technique.
"Or if someone reads a book
called Feeling Good and
realizes they've been de-
pressed, it might help them to
make the decision to enter
therapy. The more different
ways in which we can provide
information, including audio
and visual, the better the
learning process," Wright
explains.
High-tech tools can be use-
ful in conjunction with ther-
apy, or as part of an after-care
treatment, continues Wright,
who has himself used relaxa-
tion tapes. High-tech tools
can accelerate therapy and
provide an opportunity for
people to practice certain
techniques between sessions.