Suffering and sanctification: The religious context of Battered Women's Syndrome

Women who are physically and mentally abused by their partners have been described as suffering from Battered Women's Syndrome. An element of Battered Women's Syndrome is repeatedly returning to the abusive relationship, putting oneself at risk for further harm. Clinical case studies suggest that women who are strongly religious may believe it their duty to remain in abusive relationships to honor their marriage vows or to demonstrate their faith. This paper explores the basis of those beliefs and advocates a counseling perspective that frees abuse sufferers from a sense of obligation to their victimizers.     

Human Nature and Moral Sprouts: Mencius on the Pollyanna Problem

This article responds to a common criticism of Aristotelian naturalism known as the Pollyanna Problem, the objection that Aristotelian naturalism, when combined with recent empirical research, generates morally unacceptable conclusions. In developing a reply to this objection, I draw upon the conception of human nature developed by the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius, and build up an account of ethical naturalism that provides a satisfying response to the Pollyanna Problem while also preserving what is most attractive about Aristotelian naturalism.     

Social Services with Cancer Patients and Their Families:

Two hundred and forty-seven cases from a specialized agency providing social services to cancer patients and their families were studied. Characteristics of those utilizing services and associations between clients' social risk factors and the extent of social work outpatient interventions were explored. Younger, divorced and single/widowed female cancer patients received greater amounts of service. Supportive counseling was the service most needed by a majority oF the clients. Implications for independent social work practitioners are discussed.     

Counseling Haitian Students and Their Families: lssues and interventions

The purpose of this article is to provide counselors with a general introduction to the background of Haitian immigrant students in the United States and to the issues that often arise in working with them. The article examines the psychological, sociocultural, familial, and economic factors that make adjustment to American schools difficult for Haitian students, as exemplified by the case of a 9-year-old Haitian boy in a New York City public school. The article also recommends interventions that counselors can implement to improve the academic and social/emotional functioning of Haitian students and their families.     

Pollyanna and the Glad Game: A potential contribution to positive psychology

The popular 1913 novel, Pollyanna, introduced the Glad Game. Its author showed how the use of the Glad Game could contribute to the mastery of stressful life events and daily hassles. The Glad Game consists of developing the habit of not dwelling on dysphoric emotions in relation to life's disappointments or threats. The player is taught not to deny negative emotions, but to turn one's attention away and to think of something one could feel glad about in the situation. Eleanor Hodgman Porter emphasized that the Glad Game could be taught. Based on the novel, a number of testable psychological hypotheses, potentially useful to practitioners, can be derived. These include the value of persistence in using a psychological mediator to arouse hope, and personality characteristics consequent to the use of the Glad Game. Popular writings are fruitful sources of insight and hypotheses about psychological processes.     

Reactive Depression and Chronic Illness: Counseling Patients and Their Families

Major theories and research findings are presented with specific suggestions for counseling approaches to reduce prevalence and impact of depression that often accompanies physical illness.     

The Pollyanna myth: how highly agreeable people judge positive and negative relational acts

Although people high in agreeableness have often been shown to be positively biased toward others, four studies provide evidence that agreeableness is associated with extremity effects, not simple positivity effects, in social judgment. Across studies, agreeable participants judged prosocial behaviors more favorably, but antisocial behaviors more unfavorably, than did disagreeable participants. In support of a goal-congruence mechanism, Study 1 showed that communal goals, rather than perceived similarity, mediated the effects, and Studies 2-4 demonstrated that agreeable perceivers were particularly sensitive to communal (vs. agentic) violations. A longitudinal study of real-life impressions supported the laboratory evidence that agreeable people are highly sensitive to both the prosocial and antisocial behavior of others (Study 4). We discuss how the current account complements and extends existing theories of agreeableness.     

Describing Latinos Families and Their Help-Seeking Attitudes: Challenging the Family Therapy Literature

Latinos comprise a diverse ethnic group in the United States, yet central concepts describing Latinos persist. The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which Latinos agree with the statements found in the marriage and family therapy (MFT) literature used to describe Latinos and Latino families, as well as their help-seeking attitudes and experiences. Research questions were derived from five constructs used to describe Latinos: familism, personalism, sense of hierarchy, spiritualism, and fatalism (Ho in Family therapy with ethnic minorities. Sage, Newbury, CA, 1987; Ho et al. in Family therapy with ethnic minorities, (2nd ed.). Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2004). Overall, participants agreed with most of the statements pertaining to familism and personalism. However, mixed results were found for the constructs related to sense of hierarchy, spiritualism, and fatalism, as well as for participants’ help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. Latinos in this sample sought mental health professionals. However, MFTs were not sought as frequently as psychiatrists, psychologists, and clergy.     

Working with Runaways and Their Families: How the SAJA Community Does it

This paper presents an account of the development, philosophy, and delivery of a particular kind of human service: counseling with runaways and their families that is based in a Runaway House. It attempts to show some of the relationships between the work of effective counseling, the set of the counselors (almost all paraprofessionals), and the setting in which counseling takes place (a weekly "Family Seminar" that serves a Runaway House functioning as one collective in a community of social service projects, Special Approaches to Juvenile Assistance [SAJA]).     

The Illness/Non-Illness Treatment Model: Psychotherapy for Physically Ill Patients and Their Families

Abstract

The model is based on four theoretical concepts: Duality, Contradiction, Complementarity, and Unity. This article presents the responses of patients to therapeutic interventions utilizing Differentiation/Integration Work to draw the distinction between Illness and Non-Illness in the psychotherapeutic themes and attitudes of the physically ill and/or disabled. The findings indicate that in this special population, the patient is stimulated to learn the language of change and how to overcome difficult situations. The model suggests a new clinical mode of treatment in which the physically ill and/or disabled are helped to cope with actual motifs and thoughts related to Non-Illness or Non-Disability.     

The Suffering of Passion: Metamorphoses and the Embrace of the Stranger

In this paper I use the concept of the “suffering of passion” to explore how human beings endure personal metamorphoses. I suggest that the affirmation of passion, which is both self-interested and self-surrendering, is necessary in order to embark on the journey from self-sameness to otherness. Inasmuch as this transitional path simultaneously entails the “embrace of the stranger” of one's own growth and of the subjectivity of another person, the suffering of passion is both a developmental and ethical achievement. The mutual interchange of giving and receiving, mediated by gratitude and generosity, inspires the passion necessary to construct a relational bridge of conscience from self-sameness to otherness. When the mutuality of giving and receiving breaks down, shame may lead to the negation and disowning of one's passion. The resulting inversion of passion into passivity may then culminate in a narcissistic loyalty to “one's own kind.” A case vignette of a young man is presented to illustrate the difficulty of suffering the passion of one's own growth.     

Children of Probationers in the Child Welfare System and Their Families

This study describes changes over a 36-month period in the lives of children of probationers who were subjects of reports of maltreatment. Data on a nationally representative sample of reported victims of maltreatment were used to examine probationer-parents’ contact with the criminal justice system, and concurrent changes in their children’s households, risk exposure, and emotional and behavioral problems. Results show that 36 months after coming in contact with the child welfare system, about 40% of probationer’s children no longer lived with their probationer-parents. During the same period, children’s exposure to risk (i.e., parental substance abuse, mental illness, and domestic violence) dropped markedly; however, there was an upward trend in the prevalence of child emotional and behavioral problems. These problems ultimately declined among very young children, but persisted among elementary school age children. Further prospective studies are needed to better understand the confluence of factors affecting the outcomes of probationers’ children.     

Family-Based Intervention with High-Risk Infants and Their Families

A model of family-based intervention for high-risk infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit and their families is presented. The theoretical underpinnings, principles, and nature of the intervention are described. The adaptation of the model from a clinical–research demonstration project to a clinical consultation service is highlighted, with particular emphasis on the practical application of the model. Domains of the intervention include infant behavior, family organization and functioning, caregiving environment, and home discharge/community resources. Three case illustrations are provided to demonstrate the breadth of the intervention and how it can be individualized based upon the presentation of the infant and family.