Abstract
Through a long and leisurely open-ended interview the author explored the psychological background and outlook of patients at a New England state hospital. Believing firmly that a psychological life history and a full record of the patient's response to open-ended questions, conducted by a psychologist, can give something which no medical history can give, he developed this method over a number of summers. Essential to the method is the use of very broad orientation questions which draw out the early memories, the growth and early maturity of the individual patient, his or her present outlook, hopes, likes, dislikes, and expectations and plans regarding the future. 40 of these tape-recorded and typed interviews are available. One was selected for publication here to show the general dimensions of the methods used. The entire material is available to the interested scholar.
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