The Wheel of Wellness Counseling for Wellness: A Holistic Model for Treatment Planning

A holistic model of wellness and prevention over the life span was presented by T. J. Sweeney and J. M. Witmer (1991) and J. M. Witmer and T. J. Sweeney (1992). Recent advances in research and theory related to wellness support modifications of the original model. The foundation for the model is examined, research related to each component is explored, and implications for use of the model as a basis for counseling interventions are presented.     

Gender and Wellness: A Multidimensional Systems Model for Counseling

An expanded view of health is advocated for assessment and treatment of individual clients in helping them achieve and maintain their maximum potential for high-level wellness. In addition, moderating variables, such as culture, age, and gender differences, have an impact on every dimension of health and wellness. In this article a multidimensional systems model for wellness is described, and gender differences along those dimensions are reviewed. Application of the model and implications for counseling are discussed. Finally, two illustrative case examples, one man and one woman, are described.     

Promoting Wellness in Refugee Populations

Refugee populations experience risk factors that may influence their wellness. As the number of refugees continues to rise, it is important for professional counselors, counselor educators, and counselors‐in‐training to be aware of techniques for supporting wellness in this population. This article addresses risk factors to refugee wellness within the indivisible self model of wellness (Myers & Sweeney, 2004 ) and highlights current wellness trends and the importance of a prevention‐based treatment paradigm for helpers working with refugee populations.     

Wellness and mattering: the role of holistic factors in job satisfaction

A study was conducted with 82 employees in varied positions to determine the variance in job satisfaction that could be accounted for by holistic wellness and mattering. Results of regression analyses revealed that both wellness and mattering contributed significantly to the variance in job satisfaction; however, wellness was the stronger predictor. When block variables such as age and job tenure were held constant, the contributions of wellness and mattering to job satisfaction were not significant.     

A Comparison of Wellness and Social Support Networks in Different Age Groups

Individual wellness and social support were studied in 2 different age groups for the purpose of gaining insight into how these variables are affected by adult development. The individual wellness and social support networks of young adults and older adults were compared. Significant differences between the 2 populations were found in both individual wellness and social support network. The younger population scored higher than the older population on all wellness variables except self care.     

Job Conditions,Coping and Wellness/Health Outcomes in Spanish Secondary School Teachers

This cross-sectional study is part of EUROTEACH; a project aimed at examining the possible relationships between job conditions and wellness/ health outcomes in teachers from 11 European countries. The Spanish sample consists of 198 (53% female) teachers working in mixed public secondary schools in Alicante. The Job Demand-Control-Social Support (JDCS) model (Johnson and Hall, <citeref rid="bib18">1988</citeref>; Karasek and Theorell, <citeref rid="bib22">1990</citeref>) provides the theoretical framework for the study and specific instruments measuring additional job conditions and coping are applied to investigate these variables in the teaching profession. Moreover, the relationships between the variables are studied to clarify their possible interaction. Results confirm the expected relationship between job conditions and wellness/health effects, and also show the presence of an interaction between coping and the variables in the JDCS model. The need to perform further research on the role of coping, as well as considering other individual variables that might influence teacher occupational stress, is pointed out.     

Using Wellness and Resilience to Predict Age Perception in Older Adulthood

The authors surveyed 210 adults ages 56 to 97 to better understand which variables affect perceptions of aging. A correlational design was used to determine whether wellness and resilience predicted positive age perception and internalized ageism among this group. Both variables were found to significantly predict age perception, and the data supported an interaction effect between age and resilience when predicting internalized ageism. Results may inform counselors, counselor educators, and other professionals who work with older adults.     

Adherence to a Wellness Model and Perceptions of Psychological Well-Being

This study investigated the relationship between college students' perceived psychological well-being and the quality of their lives on 5 variables associated with a 5-factor holistic wellness model. The Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (Witmer, Sweeney, & Myers, 1993) and Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (Kozma & Stones, 1994) were completed by 155 undergraduate college students. Multivariate regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between 5 dimensions of wellness and both short-term state and long-term trait constructs of psychological well-being. Subsequent univariate analysis found that students' ability to self-regulate, identity with work, and friendships contributed the most to their psychological well-being. Implications for college counseling centers and student development professionals are presented.     

Counterspaces: A Unit of Analysis for Understanding the Role of Settings in Marginalized Individuals’ Adaptive Responses to Oppression

Research and theory on the intervening variables that enable individuals who experience marginalization and oppression to achieve well-being have historically relied on an individual level of analysis. Yet, there is a growing body of literature that highlights the roles that contexts play in facilitating processes that result in wellness among marginalized individuals. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that highlights a specific type of setting, referred to as "counterspaces," which promotes the psychological well-being of individuals who experience oppression. Counterspaces are theorized to enhance well-being by challenging deficit-oriented societal narratives concerning marginalized individuals' identities. The conceptual frame proposed here suggests that "challenging" can occur through at least three processes: (1) narrative identity work, (2) acts of resistance, and (3) direct relational transactions. This paper articulates each of these challenging processes. Additionally, the utility of using the Counterspaces framework for thinking critically about and investigating how settings-and the transactional processes that unfold within them-are associated with the promotion of psychological wellness for various marginalized populations is discussed.     

EcoWellness: The Missing Factor in Holistic Wellness Models

A growing body of multidisciplinary literature has delineated the benefits that natural environments have on physical and mental health. Current wellness models in counseling do not specifically address the impact of nature on wellness or how the natural world can be integrated into counseling. The concept of EcoWellness is presented as the missing link in wellness models and counseling. Integrating EcoWellness in counseling provides new and potentially powerful interventions to enhance wellness across the life span.     

Spa in Counseling

A place may be made in nearly every counseling session for spa: uplifting, positive experiences in which the focus is placed directly on helping clients feel good about themselves. With many clients, a few minutes at the end of each interview may be saved for these positive experiences; with some clients the entire effort of an individual session may be that of spa. The simplest of the several examples of spa in counseling offered in this article is the activity “Things I Can Do,” in which the counselor helps the client focus on and savor some of the most often-repeated actions of which he or she is capable: breathe, walk, talk, eat, sleep, think, and so on. All counseling clients can benefit from the emerging sense of wellness that can come from spa in counseling.     

Exploring the Promise of Eudaimonic Well-Being Within the Practice of Health Promotion: The “How” is as Important as the “What”

A brief historical and philosophical analysis suggests that the biomedical model and prevention have been the pillars of health promotion practices with the underlying assumption that these concepts provide answers to people’s health woes. Another observation resulting from this analysis is that biomedical, prevention, and more recently, wellness, do not differ much from each other paradigmatically (e.g., instrumental rationality) and, hence, are severely restricted in their short- and long-term effectiveness for helping people with healthy living and quality of life. It is proposed that eudaimonic well-being—if explored, understood, and implemented in a manner that holds true to the purity of the concept—offers significant promise for shifts in health promotion practices that may lead to transformative health experiences and enhanced quality of life.     

Spiritual Wellness and Depression: Testing a Theoretical Model With Older Adolescents and Midlife Adults

Overall spiritual wellness, as well as 4 individual components of spiritual wellness, has been theoretically and empirically linked with depression. Prior to this investigation, no study has examined the relationship between spiritual wellness and depression by using a 4‐component measurement model of spiritual wellness. In this study of older adolescents and midlife adults, negative correlations between 4 components of spiritual wellness and depression were found for both groups. Results of multiple regression analyses showed that for both older adolescents and midlife adults, the only significant contributing factor of spiritual wellness to depression was meaning and purpose in life.     

The Impact of Wellness‐Focused Supervision on Mental Health Counseling Practicum Students

Professional counseling organizations tout the importance of wellness for counselors and counselors‐in‐training. The authors used a wellness‐focused supervision model with mental health practicum students to assess the model's degree of treatment effect at improving students' wellness over the course of the semester. Participants' demographics included three women, one man, three European Americans, and one Latino/a. Single‐case design results revealed that ongoing wellness‐focused interventions are helpful in improving participants' level of wellness; implications for practice are provided.     

Wellness: A Review of Theory and Measurement for Counselors

Wellness is considered the paradigm of counseling and development (J. E. Myers, 1991, 1992). However, researchers have failed to agree on a definition or on the dimensional structure of wellness. Furthermore, existing quantitative wellness instruments are inadequate for capturing the complexity of wellness. The author reviews wellness theory and proposes an integrated definition of the construct. Existing wellness assessment instruments are explored along with advancements in research, theory, and measurement. Finally, implications for counseling and assessment are addressed.     

A Holistic Model for Wellness and Prevention Over the Life Span

A small percentage of our resources for health and human services is devoted to wellness and prevention of illness and social problems. An integrated paradigm for wellness and prevention over the life span is presented for the purpose of theory building, research, clinical application, education, advocacy, and consciousness raising. The model includes 11 characteristics desirable for optimal health and functioning. These characteristics are expressed through the five life tasks of spirituality, self-regulation, work, friendship, and love. Life forces external to the person are noted to understand the interaction between the individual and societal institutions.     

INTERACTION EFFECTS IN MULTIELEMENT DESIGNS: INEVITABLE,DESIRABLE, AND IGNORABLE

A single-subject design often used to compare the effectiveness of two or more independent variables (like treatment programs) is the multielement (alternating treatments or simultaneous treatments) design. Variants of this design approximate the concurrent comparison of the effects of two or more variables (or levels of variables) by programming the variables (or levels) in rapid alternation, typically across or within daily sessions. Properly combined with conventional reversal designs, these designs can also display a variety of interaction effects, some of them worrisome, others highly desirable for the future development of the field. A worrisome model is the possibility that when Treatment B alternates rapidly with Treatment C, the effects of each will not be the same as when each is the only treatment used. A desirable model is the use of the multielement design as a fast-paced component of an otherwise conventional reversal design examining contextual control of some relationship: the possibility that some behavior responds differently to Controlling Variables A and B in Context X than in Context Y. This second possibility opens single-subject designs to the more efficient examination of all interactive effects and is highly desirable, considering the prevalence and importance of interactions in determining the limits and the generality of currently understood behavioral phenomena.     

Value-based praxis in community psychology: moving toward social justice and social action

The purpose of this paper is to articulate a rationale for value-based praxis in community psychology. Although values need to promote personal, collective, and relational wellness at the same time, it is argued that community psychologists pay more attention to personal and relational wellness than to collective wellness. In order to address this imbalance it is important to promote the value of social justice. While praxis requires that we engage in a cycle of reflection, research, and social action, community psychologists devote more resources to the first two phases of praxis than to the last one. This paper offers a framework for deciding what values and what praxis considerations we should attend to and how we may advance social justice and social action in community psychology.     

Spirituality and Religiosity: Factors Affecting Wellness Among Low‐Income,Rural Women

A study including measures of spirituality, religiosity, and wellness was conducted to identify coping strategies for the multiple challenges to wellness faced by low‐income, rural women. Total spirituality and religiosity accounted for 39% of the variance in wellness, with purpose and meaning in life, unifying interconnectedness, and private religious practices composing the main contributions. Implications for counselors working with these women are discussed, as is the need for further research.