Information Needs and Behavior of Catholic Priests in Croatia

This article presents a segment of the results gathered in a doctoral study that investigated information needs and behavior of Catholic priests in Croatia. The study focused on parish priests in particular and their information needs and behavior in the liturgy and care-giving role. The research was conducted with the help of quantitative and qualitative methodology. Print questionnaires were filled out by 327 respondents, while in the follow-up interviews 20 respondents took part. Research results show that respondents, in the care-giving role and liturgy, require information about theology, general culture, psychology, and pedagogy. More than half of respondents find information for liturgy on religious websites and in their personal parish libraries. However, in their care-giving role they seek information most often from their parishers, members in parish pastoral and economic boards, and from colleagues at their regular meetings organized by the (arch)diocese. Both in liturgy and care-giving role, respondents use religious publications to a much larger degree than secular books, magazines, or newspapers. The respondents explained that in liturgy they consult colleagues and parishers in order to exchange advices and ideas, while in the care-giving role some respondents also prefer to seek an advice from an expert in specific field. The results of this study can help Catholic Church and theological faculties when preparing the information literacy courses for future parish priests.     

Addressing the Developmental Needs of Urban,African-American Youth: A Preventive Intervention

This article describes the design and implementation of a multiservice, community-based intervention aimed at promoting the personal and career development of urban, African-American youth.     

Addressing the Needs of Adolescents and Adults with Autism: A Crisis on the Horizon

The cohort of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosed as part of the first wave of what is often referred to as the autism epidemic is rapidly approaching adulthood. This cohort represents only the proverbial tip of the iceberg with some reports noting that 70% of the currently identified individuals with ASD are less than 14-years old. These numbers represent a looming crisis of unprecedented magnitude for adults with autism, their families, and the ill-prepared and underfunded adult service system charged with meeting their needs. A review of the current literature on outcomes for adults with ASD indicates that, independent of current ability levels, the vast majority of adults on the spectrum are either unemployed or underemployed and, further, that large numbers of adults with autism remain without any appropriate services. Many have had inadequate transition programming including little attention to service coordination, minimal direct family involvement and/or absence of treatment based on evidence-based practices. Lastly, issues related to staff and provider recruitment and retention present significant, systemic challenges to the provision of effective services. As such there is a significant and growing need for greater attention to individual needs of adults with ASD if we are provide the opportunity for a positive quality-of-life.     

A Clinical Model in Action in Intensive Residential Treatment: Meeting the Needs of Adolescent Boys who have Experienced Domestic Violence

The Habitat Program at Wood’s Homes, Calgary, Alberta, is an eight bed residential treatment program for conduct-disordered youth who have been exposed or subjected to high levels of violence in their family home. The program was based on the assumption that working effectively with such youth requires consideration of the background experiences of family violence, yet traditional treatment models often ignore or minimize the importance of these experiences. We present a clinical model which incorporates aspects of milieu treatment, relationship-based daily interventions and elements of Jenkins’ invitational approach to working with men and boys who use violence as well as Wade’s response-based approach to counseling with victims and perpetrators of violence. The model also incorporates ideas based on Maruna’s research into recidivism and excuse-making. The purpose of the model is twofold: to be broad enough to structure an overall treatment strategy based on the assumption that successful treatment results from the cumulative effect of many interactions over time, and to be specific enough to guide staff in developing strategies for specific situations that typically arise in daily interaction with the youth. We use a case example format to illustrate how staff has utilized the model to engage youth in exploring both their experiences of violence in the family home and in developing new ways of thinking and talking about behavioural choices.     

A Model for Addressing Spiritual Issues in Counseling

The hesitancy on the part of counselors and psychotherapists to approach the spiritual concerns of clients has been widely discussed in the literature. Among the various reasons given for the reluctance of counselors and other therapists regarding spiritual matters is that such issues have not been a part of traditional training models. A counseling and psychotherapy training model is proposed here that is both continuous and developmental in nature. The model contains discrete yet continuous levels of learning; Learning Level III is concerned with emergent spiritual issues. The holistic epistemology of Gregory Bateson is used to derive guiding theoretical principles for the training model.     

Intersectionality: A Model for Addressing the Complexity of Oppression and Privilege

This essay proposes that adopting an intersectional theoretical approach amenable to the values and commitments of our field will enhance our efforts as pastoral theologians seeking to analyze, engage, and resist oppression and privilege in response to forms of difference. Intersectionality is a model that effectively addresses complex individual, relational, structural, and ideological aspects of domination and privilege arising from forms of difference treated oppressively. Methodologically, intersectionality pursues emancipatory praxis toward its telos of social justice. This essay introduces key themes in intersectional theory and draws on them to analyze a case. The essay also briefly explores both points of convergence in the literatures of intersectionality and pastoral and practical theology and points to which pastoral and practical literature may add value to intersectional theory.     

Addressing Clients' Experiences of Racism: A Model for Clinical Practice

This article synthesizes the literature relevant to coping with racism to provide a 4‐stage model for addressing clients' discriminatory experiences. Major suggestions drawn from the literature include applying frameworks with a contextual lens, using broaching and eliciting skills to promote client exploration of racism and the effects of racism on persons of color, enhancing client racial and ethnic identities, and tailoring interventions to the clients' culture and preferred coping strategies.     

Occupational Stress and Catholic Priests: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Journal of Religion and Health - This study offers an exploratory review of the experience of stress and burnout syndrome among Catholic priests. Following Arksey and O’Malley's (Int J...     

Counselors' Models of Helping: Addressing the Needs of the Culturally Different Client in School Settings

This study examined the attributions made by school counselors about responsibility for the causes of and solutions to students' problems. A total of 433 school counselors completed an instrument measuring attributions of responsibility and controllability of student problems. The hypothesis was supported that school counselors' attribution styles differ according to counselor ethnicity. Este estudio examinó las atribuciones hechas por consejeros de escuela acerca de responsabilidad para las causas de y de las soluciones a los problemas de los estudiantes. Un suma de 433 consejeros de la escuela completó un instrumento que mide atribuciones de responsabilidad y la habilidad de controlar los problemas de los estudiantes. La hipótesis se sostuvo que los estilos de atribución de los consejeros de escuela se difieren según el origin étnico del consejero.     

The Theological Relevance of Addressing Caretaker Needs in Cases of Family Elder Abuse

ABSTRACT

Family elder abuse/neglect is significant contemporary problem. Although social attention is being given to the needs of the victims, this paper explores the possible theological relevance of also addressing the needs of the caretaker/victimizers. Four major topics are introduced including (1) the reality of family elder abuse/neglect, (2) religious/moral bases for addressing the problem of abuse/neglect, (3) an examination of family caretaker problems, and (4) theological/moral rationale for addressing caretaker needs. This paper hypothesizes that by identifying and addressing the needs of the caretaker, significant steps may also be taken towards possible intervention and prevention.     

Assessment of Needs in Residential Care: Perspectives of Youth and Professionals

The evaluation and identification of needs profiles for youth in residential care, through qualitative and quantitative methodologies involving different stakeholders, are still relatively uncommon, even though they are essential in developing specific and effective services. This article will present two studies, one with youth and another with professionals. To assess needs from the standpoint of youth, four focus groups were held with youth in residential care (n = 21). To identify needs profiles of youth from the standpoint of professionals, 47 professionals evaluated a sample of youth in residential care (n = 110) using the RCYNA questionnaire. The results of the study with youth point to needs in three main areas: living situation, social and family relationships, and education. The results of the study with professionals reveal three needs profiles with distinct risk levels: low risk, without emerging needs; intermediate risk, with needs in terms of the economic and living situation; and high risk, with needs in terms of relationships, behavioural, psychological and emotional skills, and education and employment.     

Tribal Participatory Research: Mechanisms of a Collaborative Model

Although much social science research has been conducted within American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities, relatively little research has been conducted by or for those communities. We describe an approach that facilitates the active involvement of AIAN communities in the research process, from conceptualizing the issues to be investigated to developing a research design, and from collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the data to disseminating the results. The Tribal Participatory Research (TPR) approach is consistent with recent developments in psychology that emphasize the inclusion of community members and the social construction of knowledge. We describe the foundations of the approach and present specific mechanisms that can be employed in collaborations between researchers and AIAN communities. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of the use of TPR regarding project timelines and budgets, interpretation of the data, and ultimately the relationships between tribes and researchers.     

The Value of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) in Addressing the Therapeutic Needs of Trafficked Youth: A Case Study

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is currently the leading intervention for childhood trauma as it has accumulated the most empirical support in treating sexual abuse in youth. However, this treatment, widely recognized as the gold-standard for the treatment of childhood trauma, has been applied only in recent years to address the unique needs of children and adolescents with histories of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. This paper strives to expand this limited literature base by examining the clinical value in individualizing TF-CBT to effectively treat an adolescent experiencing posttraumatic stress related to the experience of familial sex trafficking while also maintaining treatment fidelity. This case study emphasizes the value of the TF-CBT components in addressing a variety of factors that impact this population, including psychological coercion, psychological manipulation, the threat of legal action (in this case deportation), lack of community involvement, running away behaviors, and pregnancy by sexual assault. Multisource measures completed at the beginning and end of treatment document a significant decrease in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and a depressive disorder after 20 treatment sessions that comprised individual sessions for the youth, individual sessions for the nonoffending caregiver, and conjoint caregiver-youth sessions.     

A Decision‐Making Model for Addressing Problematic Behaviors in Counseling Students

Gatekeeping is the subject of continued discourse in the counseling profession. With revisions to the ACA Code of Ethics (American Counseling Association, 2014 ), recent litigation (Keeton v. Anderson‐Wiley, 2010 ; Ward v. Wilbanks, 2009 ), and focused attention on value conflicts in counseling (Francis & Dugger, 2014 ), counselor educators' role as gatekeepers is expanding. In addition to this expanding role, counselor educators are responsible for being culturally and developmentally sensitive in interpreting, applying, and enforcing the codes and standards with counseling students. This article proposes a decision‐making model that integrates feminist, multicultural, systems theory, and social‐constructivist ethical decision‐making principles to address problematic behaviors in counseling students.