Citation

Williams TA. J. Abnorm. Psychol. (1906) 1909; 4(2): 182-199.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1909, American Psychopathological Association, Publisher Gorham Press)

DOI

10.1037/h0073190

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Discusses the role of psychoprophylaxis, the means of preserving health by psychic means, in childhood. Describes the essence of psychoprophylaxis as that of associating useful activities with agreeable feeling-tones, and to disassociate from useless or injurious acts the agreeable feeling-tones that may have been acquired. Interest, suggestions, hypnoidization and persuasion are procedures which favor passivity, psychological automatism, mental dissociation and suggestibility. Employing authoritative affirmation rather than suggestion is believed to be the best method in early childhood, and sometimes even in adolescents. Teaching mothers to form healthy emotional habits in their children was presented as a desirous way. Stresses the need of facilities for instructing medical men in principles of psychopathology and therapeutics to provide opportunities to re-educate the perverted trends of the patient's disposition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)