A PORTABLE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY LAB FOR STRESS ASSESSMENT VIDEOTAPE FEEDBACK IN DRUG TREATMENT: A TRAINING PROGRAM

TRADITIONAL PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS RESEARCH HAS BEEN LIMITED TO THE LABORATORY BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE NECESSARY EQUIPMENT. THE REAL-WORLD VALIDITY OF SUCH RESEARCH IS QUESTIONABLE, MAKING EPIDEMIOLOGICAL FIELD STUDIES NECESSARY IF SUCH DATA ARE TO BE USED EFFECTIVELY INDEVELOPING IMPROVED DIAGNOSTIC AND PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION PROCEDURES. THE LACK OF A TRULY PORTABLE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY MICROLABORATORY APPEARS TO BE THE MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO CONDUCTING THESE IMPORTANT FIELD STUDIES. THE IDEAL "MICROLAB" WOULD BE A FULLY COMPUTERIZED, ENERGY-EFFICIENT, TRULY PORTABLE VERSION OF THE TRADITIONAL PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY. THIS MEANS THAT SUCH A MICROLAB WOULD BE CAPABLE OF STIMULUS GENERATION, MEASUREMENT OF MULTIPLE PARAMETERS OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIVITY TO STRESS, STRESS REDUCTION, PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL DATA, AND TRANSMISSION OF DIGITIZED DATA TO MAINFRAME COMPUTERS IN FILE-COMPATIBLE FORMATS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING SUCH A MICROLAB FOR USE IN FIELD STUDIES OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIVITY TO STRESS. VIDEOTAPE FEEDBACK HAS BEEN USED AS AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE IN THERAPY FOR OVER 25 YEARS. IT IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE JOB SEEKERS' WORKSHOP (JSW), AN APPROACH TO HELPING DRUG TREATMENT CLIENTS BECOME EMPLOYED THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE IN THREE CONTROLLED STUDIES. THEJSW DISSEMINATION PROJECT HAS SUCCESFULLY EMPLOYED VIDEO FEEDBACK AS A TOOL FOR TRAINING JSW GROUP LEADERS IN DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAMS. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE PROGRAM FOR TRAINING DRUG TREATMENT PROFESSIONALS TO USE VIDEO FEEDBACK AS A TECHNIQUE FOR HELPING THEIR CLIENTS ACHIEVE TREATMENT GOALS. THE COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONWILL BE A FEE-FOR-SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAM WHICH WILL HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO BE ACCEPTABLE TO PARTICIPANTS AND EFFECTIVE IN DEVELOPING SKILLS IN THE USE OF VIDEO FEEDBACK AS A TREATMENT TECHNIQUE FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSERS. IN PHASE I, A PILOT TRAINING DESIGN AND MATERIALS WILL BE PILOT-TESTED, EVALUATED, MODIFIED, RE-TESTED, AND RE-EVALUATED. EVALUATION WILL CONSIST OF PRE- AND POST-TRAINING QUESTIONNAIRES, FOLLOWUP INTERVIEWS, AND REVIEW OF PRACTICE VIDEOTAPES. THE LONG TERM OBJECTIVE IS TO FOSTER THE USE OF VIDEOTAPE FEEDBACK TECHNIQUES BY PROFESSIONALS SERVING SUBSTANCE ABUSE CLIENTS, IN MANY DIFFERENT SETTINGS.