Conclusion

Abstract

In this study we have found consistent evidence of highly significant behavioral and psychological change in 90 seriously disturbed young adults who had been hospitalized in a long-term, open clinical facility dedicated to psychodynamically informed treatment, including psychotherapy at least four times per week. The evidence for significant progress in these patients was observed in systematic and reliable ratings made on clinical case records prepared at admission to the hospital and again some 15 months later (on average 10 months before discharge from the hospital) and on variables independently derived from several different types of psychological assessment procedures (i.e., Rorschach, Thematic Apperception Test [TAT], human figure drawings, and Wechsler intelligence tests) also obtained at these same two times. Evidence of significant therapeutic progress appeared in these multiple independent sources of data, indicating that overall, after 15 months of treatment, the entire group of seriously disturbed young adults manifested significantly less frequent and/or severe clinical symptoms; better interpersonal relations; increased intelligence; a reduction in thought disorder; a decrease in fantasies about unrealistic, possibly autistic, interpersonal relations on the Rorschach; decreased defensiveness on the TAT; and more differentiated and organized representations in drawings of the human figure.