THE RESULTS OF TREATMENT IN VARIOUS CLINICAL SYNDROMES * t

A N unusual opportunity presented itself to evaluate the results of ther-apy in a large group of patients with various stress disorders in one of the medical clinics of the New York Hospital. In a group of 1,154 patients, two different methods of appraisal were used in determining the effective-ness of the treatment—that is, the results of therapy were compared with published series in the literature, and small groups of special disease entities were compared with similar matched groups treated by physicians in other departments of the hospital, using a different method of therapy. METHOD OF THERAPY Patients with various types of stress disorders were treated in a medical clinic by a group of 31 internists over a period of seven years. The ma-jority of the physicians had had no specific training in psychiatry, although all were well trained internists. A full-time staff psychiatrist saw many of the patients in consultation. Conferences were held regularly with the en-tire group to discuss the difficult problems and the selected cases presente