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From: carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes)
Newsgroups: net.sci,net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Value of therapy
Message-ID: <370@gargoyle.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 16-Mar-86 16:22:15 EST
Article-I.D.: gargoyle.370
Posted: Sun Mar 16 16:22:15 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 18-Mar-86 02:26:20 EST
References: <6671@cca.UUCP>
Reply-To: carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes)
Organization: U. of Chicago, Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 27
Xref: watmath net.sci:606 net.philosophy:4499
Summary: 

>	For what it is worth there are studies which purport to show
>	that the spontaneous remission rate for disturbences severe
>	enough that therapy is considered appropriate is on the order
>	of 65% -- i.e. that 'no treatment' is as effective as therapy.
>	A reference is 'The Case Against Psychoanalysis', which is
>	about 20 years old.  I have a copy in my vast and disorderly
>	library which I can't find immediately.  If there is interest
>	I will try to dig it up and post more details.

If you are referring to Andrew Salter's book of the same title, I
recall it as a terrible, amateurish book by a behaviorist with a huge
axe to grind against psychoanalysis, but it's been years since I
looked at it.  Hans Eysenck's polemics against psychoanalysis belong
in the same trash bin.  A much more serious effort is *The Scientific
Credibility of Freud's Theories and Therapy* edited by Seymour Fisher
of female orgasmic fame.  Of course, these only deal with analysis,
not with therapy in general.

What I have read is that studies consistently show that about 2/3 of
patients in therapy experience significant improvement, and about
5-10% get worse.  The methodology of this type of study obviously
presents severe difficulties.  If you want the straight dope on this
subject as with any other, you will have to go to the authoritative
literature rather than relying on the net for your info, misinfo, or
disinfo as the case may be.
-- 
Richard Carnes, ihnp4!gargoyle!carnes