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Success of cathartic therapy as a function of pateint variables
Author(s) -
Nichols Michael P.,
Bierenbaum Howard
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(197807)34:3<726::aid-jclp2270340330>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - cathartic , psychology , psychotherapist , function (biology) , catharsis , clinical psychology , psychoanalysis , medicine , surgery , evolutionary biology , biology
Treated sample of 42 patients with cathartic psychotherapy and evaluated differential effectiveness on types of patients. Patients without mental disorders experienced more emotional catharsis than all others, and those with obsessive compulsive personality dlsorders improved more than all others as a result of emotive treatment. Contrary to popular notions, neither womennor hysterics experienced more catharsis or improved more in cathartic therapy. Although women and hysterics may cry more easily in daily life, obsessives are apparently more able to maintain focus on unhappy experiences and are therefore able to express more emotion in cathartic therap Further‐more, it seems that cathartic treatment is beneficial by disrupting Eng‐stand‐ing defenses against emotional experience, rather than by relessing stored‐up affects.