Know People to Aid the Mentally Ill

              He said there are many kinds of
approaches in treating this type of
patient and many forms of psychothera-py
are effective. It doesn't matter why
the treatment is effective, he added, but
it is vital that the effective therapy for
the individual be discovered and used.
One approach he named was pounding
home the unreality of the person's guilt
response. Another he told of is rational
cognitive therapy. This is when the
patient is brought to the realization of
iow he subconsciously rationalizes or
provides a plausible but untrue reason
for his actions.
Drugs were said to be helpful not only
to patients, but to the attendants. Before
drugs were used for restraining and
calming patients, a t t e n d a n t s had a
difficult job, Dr. Schober said.
A minister asked if some patients
trade on their illness to provide an
excuse for doing things they otherwise
would not try to get away with. Dr.
Schober said some do to such an extent,
but this also is part of their illness.
"It is a rare person who can feign
mental illness and not be discovered,"
Dr- Schober declared. He said many
mentally or even physically ill persons
do derive what is known as a secondary
gain from their illness. He said this is a
replacement for a more mature gratifi-cation
of desires.
The psychiatrist has to understand
what the person is unable to acquire in
real life that being sick replaces, he
explained.
Character disorders were described
as disturbances resulting from some kind
of psychological illness characterized by
behavior rather than feelings. Usually,
p said, the patient is not aware of the
behavior.
Traits Versus Disturbance
The psychiatrist said it is often
difficult to draw the line between plain 4
As Important as Therapy Techniques
Know People to Aid the Mentally Ill
By Ellen Molloy
Times Religion Writer
Ark-La-Tex ministers were told by a
psychiatrist that knowledge of people Is
just as important as mastering tech-niques
of therapy in helping the mentally
ill.
Dr. Charles C. Schober, head of the
Department of Psychiatry at Louisiana
State Medical School in Shreveport,
spoke on approaches to mental illness at
this week's session of Clinical Pastoral
Training Conference at Schumpert Hospi-.
tal.
"Backslapping and telling a disturbed
person that he is the greatest is not
supportive therapy," Dr. Schober said.
"Often, one of the most supportive
things that can be done is just to listen
and attempt to understand the person —
letting the person know that he is
understood is helpful," the psychiatrist
said.
Motives Need Assessing
The ministers were told that human
problems need assessment of motives,
which often may be subsconscious.
"Couples may have to be seen
together and separately to determine
what the problems in their marriage
may be," the doctor said. Often, he
added, people are totally unaware that
they are eliciting (provoking) certain
responses or undesirable action from
their partner-
"It is hard to believe that people can
use techniques or behavior that cause
them much difficulty and not be aware
of their actions," Dr. Schober said. They
actually do this, he added.
Psychiatrists have begun to learn in
the last decade that there is a need to
COURSE ENDED
Last week's was the final session
of this semester of Clinical Pastoral
Training Conference. A new one will
begin next September. Any minister
in the Ark-La-Tex may register for
the new sessions. There is a
registration fee- Co-chairmen of the
conference are Dr. Charles Schober,
psychiatrist, and the Rev. Kenneth
Gibson, pastor of Parkview Baptist
Church.
either treat a patient's family or at least
understand the interaction between fami-ly
members.
"Some husbands and wives are both
tremendously competitive and when one
is dominant or has the upper hand the
others become disturbed or even mental-ly
ill," Dr. Schober explained.
He told of a case in which a woman
had developed a sucidal depression.
Investigation of her family life revealed
that her husband drank heavily, was
away from home a good deal and was
verbally, but not physically abusive, to
her when he was home.
Dr. Schober related that as the
woman was treated and became the
stronger partner, her husband's alcohol-ism
became more acute- This couple was
said to be very competitive and when
one gained dominance the other became
sicker.
Persons who have compulsive behav-ior
such as washing hands every few
minutes were said to be burdened with
extreme unrealistic guilt and the source
of the misplaced guilt must be under-stood
to help the patient get well.
"This requires deeper analysis than
many types of mental illnesses. The past
and present must constantly be interwov-en
for the patient until he can rid himself
of needless guilty feelings." Dr. Schober
explained. True guilt exists and is
appropriate when one has done some-thing
morally wrong, he added.
old personality traits and a pattern of
disturbance in a personality. "It is a
matter of duration and extent and
everybody for a little time here and
there exhibits some neurosis, according
to Karl Menninger," Dr. Schobar said-
He explained that there is more
anti-social behavior and less mental
disruption in character disorders.
An impulsive person may steal
because he- is immature and has very
little control over his impulses and wants
instant gratification, the psychiatrist
said. A kleptomaniac steals because he is
driven by a compulsion over wh'ch he
has no control and does not understand
consciously the reason for his stealing.
Embezzlers were described as people
who act so normal that generally they
cannot be distinguished from other
people until they are caught.
These people nearly always think they
intend to pay back the money they are
embezzling, when often the amount is so
large it would be impossible for them to
do so, Dr. Schober said.