Help Me Help You: Suggested Guidelines for Case Presentation

In this article, the author advocates for an open and specific dialogue between MFT trainees and supervisors regarding expectations for how case material is to be discussed in supervision. Guidelines for case presentation that can enhance the quality of conversations between MFT supervisors and trainees are offered. Six content areas are explored, providing a framework for discussing cases in a way that maximizes the time trainees and supervisors spend engaged in clinical conversations.     

Help Wanted and Help Received by Israeli Divorced Custodial Fathers

Comparing the help wanted and sought and the help received by 42 divorced custodial fathers with that wanted and sought and received by a matched group of 32 divorced custodial mothers, this paper investigates whether men who have assumed the traditionally female gender task of child care continue to adhere to the traditional male help-seeking and help-receiving patterns. Findings show that they do. Single custodial fathers both want and receive less help from own kin, friends, and ex-spouse's kin than do single custodial mothers, and are less prone to seek professional help. On the other hand, both groups seek and receive the most help from a new partner, followed by own kin, friends, and ex-spouse's kin.     

Help Seeking: Effects of Visibility of Task Performance and Seeking Help

This study manipulated independently whether help seeking and task performance were public or private, since in public settings persons may lose esteem by seeking help or by demonstrating unsuccessful performance. Subjects were given false feedback that they were doing poorly on a task involving judging levels of neuroticism in others, and were given all opportunity to seek help by consulting a set of guidelines. The main result was an interaction with help seeking most likely when task performance was public and help seeking was private.     

Help for the Alienated Parent

Parental alienation cases present significant challenges for the family courts and clinicians alike. At times, traditional counseling fails, judicial intervention may not be feasible, and a parent is alienated from a child or children with little to no ongoing contact for the foreseeable future. This article is organized as a guide for the clinician in offering some strategies for the alienated parent. These are organized under five headings: (1) erode the negative image by providing incongruent information; (2) refrain from actions that put the child in the middle of the conflict, (3) consider ways to mollify the hurt and anguish of the alienating parent, (4) look for ways to dismantle the coalition and convert enemies to allies, (5) never give up contact but “stand in the door and hold a cookie.”     

Effects of Offered and Requested Help on Help Seeking and Reactions to Being Helped1

Subjects could receive assistance on a difficult logic problem either by requesting help or by accepting an offer of aid from a helper. Normativeness of help seeking and presence of an incentive for correct completion of the task were also varied. Results of the study indicated that more help was obtained in the offer condition and that subjects liked the helper more when help was offered than when it was requested. The normativeness and incentive variables did not produce the expected effects. Negative consequences of requesting help were interpreted in terms of attribution theory, and the implications of these findings for help-delivery systems were discussed.     

The Costs of Asking for Help

Research reveals that aggressive primes activate hostile information in memory. However, it is unclear whether this is true of all people or whether the activation of hostile information differs by trait aggression. In 3 studies, we investigate the organization of aggression-related knowledge. In Study 1, ratings of one's hostile emotions speeded subsequent ratings of hostile emotions, but particularly among individuals low in trait aggression. In Study 2, categorizations of blame-related words speeded categorizations of anger-related words, but particularly among individuals low in trait aggression. In Study 3, categorizations of actions as mean facilitated similar categorizations, but particularly among individuals low in trait aggression. These results suggest that aggressive primes activate hostile information in memory particularly for individuals low (rather than high) in trait aggression. The discussion of the results attempts to reconcile spreading activation processes with judgment and behavior in the particular context of trait aggression and priming effects.     

Some Thoughts I Can't Help Thinking

Specific reactions to the Heppner and Anderson, Keeney and Morris, and Gelso articles are offered. Also, some general thoughts on counseling research are provided.     

Help Giving and Aggression From an Attributional Perspective: Why and When We Help or Retaliate1

Two studies were conducted to test Weiner's (1995) theory of responsibility, both in the domains of prosocial (help giving) and antisocial behavior (aggression). Experiment 1 revealed that for both behavioral domains, a positive relation exists between perceived controllability and anger, whereas a negative relation was found between controllability and sympathy. In addition, help giving is promoted by feelings of sympathy and inhibited by feelings of anger, and the reverse is true for aggression. However, the present results also reveal that for aggression, there is a direct influence of cognitions (perceived controllability) on behavioral reactions, whereas for help giving, cognitions have an indirect effect on behavior, mediated by emotions. Thus, for help giving, thoughts determine what we feel, and feelings determine what we do. In contrast, for aggression, an additional influence of thoughts on actions is present. Experiment 2, in which different scenarios were used, replicated this pattern of results.     

Reactions to Receiving Assumptive Help: The Moderating Effects of Group Membership and Perceived Need for Help1

The present study examined how group membership and need for help, variables that can operate independently or in combination, can affect reactions to receiving help. Arab participants (n = 164) received or did not receive help from an in‐group member (Arab helper) or from an out‐group high‐status member (Jewish helper) when the task was described as easy or difficult, or when no information was given. As predicted, Arab participants who received assistance from a Jewish helper or received assistance on an easy task showed more negative reactions than did those who received assistance from an Arab helper or on a difficult task. The theoretical implications for disentangling intergroup and interpersonal influences on reactions to receiving help are considered.     

Help for the Significant Others of Bulimics

A quasi-experimental design was used to assess the effects of a 5-week assistance program for the significant others of bulimics. A knowledge test, an attitude survey, and a behavior device were used to evaluate the effects of the program. One or more of the three instruments was administered to an experimental group of significant others before (pretest) and after (posttest) they attended the assistance program. One or more of the three instruments was also administered to a control group of significant others before (pretest) and after (posttest) a 5-week period. During this period they did not attend the assistance program. No significant difference was found between the pretest and posttest scores of the control group on the three instruments at the .05 probability level. Experimental group posttest scores were significantly higher than their pretest scores on the three instruments at the .05 probability level. An anonymous evaluation conducted following the program also indicated significant others who attended the program found it to be beneficial.     

Counselling the Unemployed - Help and Helplessness

The role of the counsellor is discussed with special reference to the reactions to job loss amongst a group of 100 white-collar unemployed. The importance of fitting counselling style to the phase of unemployment, and individual differences, is emphasised. Emotional and practical support by the counsellor is important, but it can be considerably enhanced by harnessing family and community resources. Ultimately, unemployment needs to be seen in its social context, and not just as an individual's own problem.