The Therapist Variable
RICHARD I. SHADER M.D.1,
LESTER GRINSPOON M.D.2,
JEROLD S. HARMATZ 3, , and
JACK R. EWALT M.D.4
1 Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Associate Director of Psychiatry, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Rd., Boston, Mass. 02115
2 Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Director of Psychiatry (Research), Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Rd., Boston, Mass. 02115
3 Research Psychologist, Harvard Medical School, Research Psychologist, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Rd., Boston, Mass. 02115
4 Bullard Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Superintendent, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Rd., Boston, Mass. 02115
Therapists who participated in previous active drug-placebo studies of chronic and acute schizophrenics were rated on the Whitehorn-Betz A-B scale. The ratings were then related to treatment outcome. Patients who had been treated with phenothiazines and by Type A (verbal-intellectual) therapists improved more than those treated with placebo and by Type B (practical-mechanical) therapists, although the results were not statistically significant. The authors stress the importance of further research in this area.
