That striking subject header is actually the sub-title of a new book by the offensive comedian Sarah Silverman.
The full title is this: The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee (HarperCollins, 2010). The book is described as "pee-your-pants funny", but only, of course, if you appreciate Ms. Silverman's brand of humour (me, not so much). But it's not all funny, apparently. I caught an interview with her on US National Public Radio, and there's an article about her and her book at http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/articlePrint/799879 She was a bed-wetter, well into adolescence, and suffered greatly because of it. Given her description, a case could even be made that the trauma it produces surpasses that associated with child sexual abuse (you'll have to see Susan Clancy about that, though). Silverman,in fact, credits her experience with bed-wetting as being the source of her courage as a stand-up comedian. She is quoted as saying "I was sent to sleepover camp since I was six, and it was a recipe for disaster..Tthe silver lining is "There's not much to lose in life after that. (When I was) doing stand- up...the prospect of bombing was like "Who cares?" It's ironic that a treatment which likely would have saved Silverman from her trauma has existed since 1938. At a time when psychoanalysis was firmly established, and peeing in bed was a sign of "deep-seated issues", such as to get revenge on the parents or the world, or to cool off a hot penis (not for Sarah, obviously, but I'm not kidding about those diagnoses), the treatment was behavioural. It was the bell-and-pad method, invented by the Mowrers in 1938. The method was simple. The bell was a device to wake the child up; the pad was moisture-sensitive. A few drops of urine would trigger it. The child would wake up, inhibit urination, change the pad and the sheets if necessary, and go back to sleep. A week or so later he or she was dry. We can argue (and I think they still do) whether the mechanism was classical, operant, or avoidance conditioning. The main thing was it worked, and still does, especially with new technology. If only little Sarah's parents had known about it, we might have been spared one talented but offensive comic. If you go to the HarperCollins website at http://tinyurl.com/pee-book, and click on "browse", you can read excerpts from the book, including the full chapter on her bed- wetting experiences. Stephen Mowrer O, Mowrer W. (1938). Enuresis: A method for its study and treatment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry; 8:436-59. -------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sblack at ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=2187 or send a blank email to leave-2187-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
