On the activation of symbiotic gratification fantasies as an aid in the treatment of alcoholics.

Seventy-two alcoholics being treated at Veritas Villa were divided into an experimental and a control group. In addition to the regular treatment program both groups received four subliminal exposures of a verbal message in each of six sessions over a 2-week period. The messages were MOMMY AND I ARE ONE (experimental) and PEOPLE ARE WALKING (control), administered under double-blind conditions. In keeping with the main hypothesis, the experimental Ss were rated as significantly more involved in treatment. In addition, among the alcoholics who were more symptomatic to begin with, the MOMMY message, when contrasted with the control, lowered anxiety and depression, enhanced self-concept, and reduced alcohol consumption after a 3-month follow-up.

Effects of subliminal stimulation of symbiotic merging fantasies on behavioral treatment of smokers.

The subliminal psychodynamic activation method was used to enhance the efficacy of a behavior therapy approach to smoking cessation. Thirty-four subjects received a 3-week, group-oriented, multicomponent behavior therapy package aimed at smoking cessation. Subjects were randomly assigned to either experimental or control groups. The experimental group received the subliminal message "mommy and I are one," and the control group the message "people are walking." At 4-weeks post-treatment the abstinence rate for the experimentals was 67 per cent and 12.5 per cent for the controls. At 12-weeks follow-up, 44 per cent of the experimentals and 12.5 per cent of the controls were abstinent. A chi2 analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between groups at 4 but not 12 weeks. A multiple analysis of covariance was used to analyze percentage of baseline smoking at both follow-up points. A significant main effect for treatment and for time emerged along with an interaction between treatment and time. Thus, the results revealed that the subliminally exposed message differentially effected the post-treatment smoking behavior of the experimental group. The results were interpreted as evidence for a transference phenomena explanation for the effectiveness of the behavioral treatment program.