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When patients contribute to the choice of treatment.…
Author(s) -
RobertTissot Christiane,
Cramer Bertrand
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0355(199822)19:2<245::aid-imhj11>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - psychodynamics , internal validity , random assignment , psychology , mental health , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , medicine , pathology
To explore an alternative solution more appropriate to clinical standards than random assignment, 42 mothers consulting for a functional (sleep, feeding) or behavior problem of their infant were given the choice between two forms of mother–infant psychotherapy (Psychodynamic or Interaction Guidance). Clinicians, blind to mother's choice, followed a systematic indication procedure and provided a therapeutic recommendation. Results revealed a very high agreement between mother's choice and therapists' recommendation. Examination of patient and pretreatment variables showed no major differences between the two groups resulting from a choice of treatment procedure. This procedure proved to ensure internal validity of the data and was also able to guarantee external validity. Discussion focuses on the methodological and clinical implications of the findings that support the consideration of the patient as an active participant to his/her treatment. © 1998 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health