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The efficacy of a new therapy, numerical distraction therapy (NDT), in treating symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was investigated. It was hypothesized that the therapy would change the traumatic visual memories of PTSD patients and reduce the intensity of negative feelings associated with them. Both hypotheses were supported: 92% of patients reported post-treatment (positive) changes in their visual memories, and these same patients reported diminished levels of fear, shame, anxiety and other negative feelings. A subsample of patients reported stable treatment effects in follow-up surveys conducted two to four months later. The author also discusses possible mechanisms of NDT and suggests that NDT, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and some forms of thought field therapy (TFT) might have "dual attention" as a common underlying mechanism.

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The utility of employing the Personal Opinion Survey as a measure of experienced control with psychiatric inpatients was examined for a sample of 71 patients in a psychiatric acute-care setting. Retest correlations suggested that 5 of the 7 scales were relatively stable over a 1- to 2-wk. interval. Correlations between scores on the survey and ratings of patients on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale were presented and discussed, as were relationships to involuntary legal detention on grounds of Grave Disability.

A procedure is described for the automated simultaneous determination of serum calcium and phosphorus. Calcium is assayed fluorometrically; phosphorus is determined spectrophotometrically by the molybdenum blue reaction in an improved flow system with a more sensitive reducing agent.