Crisis centers and hotlines: a survey

Crisis centers and hotlines are relatively new approaches to the nation's growing concern for mental health problems. In order to provide information for those beginning a center, 253 centers were surveyed regarding five major aspects of crisis center operations: screening procedures for telephone listener-counselor applicants, training procedures, services offered, types of calls received, and financing. Resources for further information and for better communication among centers are identified.     

Crisis intervention: long-term training effects

10 months following a crisis-intervention training program which focused on interpretation of signal events, 17 participants more frequently reported increased belief in their ability to recognize the need for intervention and to intervene effectively than did 22 control subjects. Perceived frequency of intervention by trained participants, however, had decreased rather than increased. Implications of the findings and recommendations for research are discussed.     

The Concept of Family Resilience: Crisis and Challenge

The concept of resilience, the ability to withstand and rebound from crisis and adversity, has valuable potential for research, intervention, and prevention approaches aiming to strengthen couples and families. Resilience has been viewed as residing within the individual, with the family often dismissed as dysfunctional. This article advances a systemic view of resilience in ecological and developmental contexts and presents the concept of family resilience, attending to interactional processes over time that strengthen both individual and family hardiness. Extending our understanding of normal family functioning, the concept of family resilience offers a useful framework to identify and fortify key processes that enable families to surmount crises and persistent stresses. There are many pathways in relational resilience, varying to fit diverse family forms, psychosocial challenges, resources, and constraints. Shared beliefs and narratives that foster a sense of coherence, collaboration, competence, and confidence are vital in coping and mastery. Interventions to strengthen family resilience have timely relevance for weathering the rapid social changes and uncertainties facing families today.     

伦理的视阈:从金融危机看"经济人"的偏执及其危机

金融危机背后所隐藏的是"经济人"的偏执及其危机,它的突出表现是工具理性的无限扩张和对"自由"的扭曲与滥用、对信用的漠视和践踏.新自由主义的市场意识形态及其极端数理化的倾向,是金融危机的始作俑者.它极大地增强了这种危机的严重性,同时也启示人们:人的发展才是经济发展和经济学研究的最高价值,为此,必须建立和发展一种新的经济价值观,强化制度伦理的建设.