Using rituals in couple therapy in cases of wife battering

This article describes the work of a unit specializing in helping couples where there is violence towards the woman. It focuses particularly on ritual, describing couple violence as a type of family ritual, and outlines a number of specific healing rituals which can be substituted for the destructive ritual of violence.     

Co-leader termination in an outpatient alcohol treatment group

The termination of a co-leader from a long-term therapy group for alcoholic outpatients is described over a seven-week period from the initial termination announcement to the first week following the co-leader's departure. The authors highlight salient themes and defensive maneuvers that appear as the group struggles with the difficult task of termination. Attempting initially to flee from the impending loss, the group defends with pseudomature responses and veiled hostility. These are followed by themes of abandonment and loss. The group leaders' initial collusion with the group's denial of loss is described, along with leader tactics to facilitate the group's termination work. Finally, the meaning of a group farewell gift is discussed in terms of both its implicit communications and as a form of resistance.     

Facebook rituals: Identifying rituals of social networking sites using structural ritualization theory

This article applies structural ritualization theory (SRT) to identify different rituals and determine their importance in the daily lives of social networking sites (SNS) users, especially Facebook users. A mixed‐methods approach of in‐depth interviews and netnography viewed through the lens of SRT allowed us to identify and analyze the types of rituals users engaged in, and how these rituals impacted users and evolved over time. During customer journeys on the SNS of Facebook, users shared daily ritual practices in distinct behavioral stages. Production and consumption of these daily rituals are important to marketers in SNS platform design for building and maintaining connectivity between users and the SNS platform.     

Not all gifts are good: The potential practical costs of motivated gifts

People rely on support from others to accomplish mundane and momentous tasks. When asking for assistance, is it beneficial to incentivize a helper by offering a motivated gift (i.e., a gift with the hope of getting support in return)? Six studies (N > 2,500) examine the frequency and potential costs of motivated gifts. In Study 1, a third of Americans indicated that they had given a motivated gift at least once, while nearly two‐thirds believed they had received one. In Studies 2a–d, most participants who imagined receiving a motivated gift before a favor request reported lower willingness to help and anticipated satisfaction from helping than participants who imagined simply being asked for a favor. Finally, Study 3 replicates these findings with actual help provided among friends in a laboratory setting. Findings suggest that motivated gifts are relatively common but may sometimes undermine the assistance that people hope to receive.     

The termination phase of combined therapy

Three different kinds of termination are described and discussed. In combined therapy the group can help to resolve and clarify the meanings of moves to terminate therapy. The role of the therapist's countertransferences in this stage of the work is important to consider, and here, too, the group is an important part of the work. The author sees termination as an important part of the treatment process. In combined therapy it may be more complex but it also allows for a fuller exploration of the relevant issues.     

The power of rituals in dealing with traumatic stress symptoms: cleansing rituals for former child soldiers in Northern Uganda

International guidelines for emergency response note the importance of cultural adaptions and facilitation of local spiritual and religious healing practices when appropriate. Deciding whether traditional medicine is safe, effective and appropriate is a complex matter. This study explores the therapeutic factors of a local cleansing ritual in Northern Uganda aimed at healing former child soldiers. The components of the ritual are analysed and compared with research-based therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. Participant observation was used during the ritual, followed by qualitative in-depth interviews and follow-up interviews over three years. The key informant is a former child soldier participating in the ritual. He was abducted and forced to commit several killings during a three-year period. The collective mobilisation of social support, the collective forgiveness and the strength of the psycho-education appear central for the effect of the ritual. In addition, the ritual draws on common therapeutic factors. The findings indicate that such a ritual involves elements that safely and effectively deal with symptoms in accordance with modern research on trauma therapy, perhaps more powerfully than Western-style therapy. Implications for collaboration with local healers in emergency settings are indicated.     

Engagement and termination in marital and familial therapy: Special ethical issues

Abstract

This article features an examination of the unique features affecting ethical treatment decisions in the engagement and termination phases of marital and familial therapy.     

Homecoming rituals: weaving multicultural funeral narratives

Using the personal experience of "homecoming" funcrary journey from the U.S. to Korea the author of this article probes the cultural construction of familial bond in Korean and biblical (Genesis) tuneral narratives. He highlights the cultural differences between American and Korean funeral traditions--(1) dying at hospital vs. dying at home, (2) embalming vs sup/yom (washing/binding of the corpse), (3) metal casket vs. wooden coffin, (4) committal vs. banhon (returning of the spirit)--to explore the religious and practical implications of the multicultural grieving process for pastoral care and grief ministry in which death is conceived as returning to the familial, cultural, and spiritual homes.