Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: The Past,Present, and Future

The intent of this article is to describe the significant contributions Albert Ellis made to rational emotive education and to a preventative approach to psychotherapy, which represents a major shift from many other counseling theories. The author notes that REBT as a preventative mental health approach was very important to Albert Ellis because he believed that it would extend the influence of REBT, but unfortunately he and other REBT practitioners have not put enough systematic emphasis on training teachers to implement rational concepts into the curriculum. Given the number of children and adolescents needing mental health services, this is an area that should be emphasized and would extend Al’s legacy. The article also addresses Dr. Ellis’ contributions in the area of parenting, where once again he was a pioneer in teaching parents how to deal with their irrational beliefs that interfere with effective parenting. The author concludes with a discussion about “where we go from here,” focusing on training at the university level, developing a standardized REE program that includes a train the trainer component, becoming more of a presence in the field of health care, and putting more emphasis on the therapeutic relationship which may attract more people to the theory.     

The role of disgust propensity in blood-injection-injury phobia: comparisons between Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting the potential role of disgust propensity in blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia. The current study examined associations between disgust propensity and BII phobia symptom severity in Caucasian Americans (n=310) and Asian Americans (n=223). Asian Americans typically scored higher than Caucasian Americans on the BII and disgust measures. The present study also examined the structural relations between gender, cultural background, disgust propensity, and BII phobia symptom severity. According to the structural equation model, disgust propensity was significantly related to levels of BII phobia symptom severity and fully mediated the relationships between BII phobia symptom severity and the demographic variables of gender and cultural background. The implications of the results for cultural refinements to our understanding of disgust propensity and BII phobia are discussed.     

The School Change Feedback Process: Creating a New Role for Counselors in Education Reform

The authors present the results of a multiyear collaborative research project that involved a counselor educator, graduate‐level school counseling students, and school personnel in defining a new role for counselors in education reform. This collaborative effort was based on an innovative conceptual framework that informs school counselors about specific schooling processes that can either enhance or hinder student academic, personal/social, and career development.     

Systematically reviewing remote e-workers’ well-being at work: a multidimensional approach

The practice of remote e-working, which involves work conducted at anyplace, anytime, using technology, is on the increase. The aim of this systematic literature review is to gain a deeper understanding of the association between remote e-working, within knowledge workers, and the five dimensions of well-being at work: affective, cognitive, social, professional, and psychosomatic. Sixty-three studies employing quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method designs have been included in the review. Findings indicate that we know more about remote e-workers’ affective state and their social and professional life than we know about their cognitive functioning and psychosomatic conditions. Whilst the research indicates a positive focus there are some negative aspects of this way of working which are highlighted within this review; such as social and professional isolation, and perceived threats in professional advancement. This review may be of great importance for academics, to continue the theoretical advancement of research into remote e-working, and practitioners, to implement and manage remote e-working attitudes and policies more effectively.     

Testing the benefits of expressive writing for workplace embitterment: a randomized control trial

Clinicians working in occupational health services often recognize features of embitterment in organizations; however, research on interventions for embitterment are scarce. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an expressive writing intervention on working adults who experience workplace embitterment. Employing a randomized control trial we sought to test an expressive writing intervention for its effects on reducing embitterment, work-related rumination and sleep quality and assess whether the effect of the intervention was maintained over time by following up participants after one and three months. Findings partially supported our hypothesis as results showed that participants who completed the expressive writing intervention (N = 23) did not show significantly lower levels of embitterment, affective rumination, higher levels of detachment, either improved sleep quality, compared to participants who completed the factual writing (N = 21), when baseline values were controlled for. However, when looking at the mean scores embitterment and affective rumination levels diminished, detachment levels increased and sleep quality improved throughout the course of the intervention for both groups. Given the stability of embitterment and as findings from this study indicate embitterment diminished after a writing exercise irrespective of emotional disclosure taking place or not, further research and investigation are warranted.     

The Woman at the Well

The woman at the well argued theology with Jesus, and he listened to her and engaged her in conversation. Theological education today must make spaces for the voices of the marginalized to be heard and prepare church leaders to listen respectfully to people from the margins.     

American Counseling Association: The 50th Year Celebration of Excellence

The author selected information from personal archival files to remind and encourage readers to celebrate the American Counseling Association's (ACA) 50 years of service to the counseling profession. In a survey of ACA's history, the author notes that its presidents were a key to the organizational growth of ACA and acknowledges that during the first half century, each incoming president was dependent on the combined commitment, dedication, foresight, wisdom, and professionalization efforts of numerous members who volunteered or were chosen to share responsibility for the association's progress.     

The effects of sex steroids on spatial performance: a review and an experimental clinical investigation

Males typically surpass females in spatial performance, an outcome that may be linked to testosterone and estrogen. The authors (a) review physiological mechanisms, developmental periods, and past empirical work relevant to sex steroids' effects on human spatial performance and (b) report an experimental study of the role of actively circulating sex steroids in adolescents being treated for delayed puberty (N = 55; mean age = 13.70 years). Sex steroids (simulating early, middle, and late puberty) and placebos were given alternately over 21 months and spatial tests were given every 3 months. Spatial performance showed traditional sex differences but did not vary with levels of actively circulating sex steroids.     

Identifying persistently antisocial offenders using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist and DSM antisocial personality disorder criteria

Early starting, lifetime criminal persistence has been called sociopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and psychopathy. There is, however, disagreement about its core features and which measure is best for identifying such individuals. In the 1st of 2 studies of male offenders (n = 74), we found a large association between scores on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) antisocial personality disorder criteria scored as a scale. The second study (n = 684) replicated this finding and found that, as previously shown for PCL-R scores, a discrete class (or taxon) also underlies scores on items reflecting antisocial personality disorder. The high association among these sets of items and their similarity in predicting violence suggested that the same natural class underlies each. Results indicated that life-course-persistent antisociality can be assessed well by measures of psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder.     

Attachment style and subjective motivations for sex

The relation of attachment style to subjective motivations for sex was investigated in an Internet survey of 1999 respondents. The relations of attachment anxiety and avoidance to overall sexual motivation and to the specific motives for emotional closeness, reassurance, self-esteem enhancement, stress reduction, partner manipulation, protection from partner's negative affect and behavior, power exertion, physical pleasure, nurturing one's partner, and procreation were explored. As predicted, attachment anxiety was positively related to overall sexual motivation and to all specific motives for sex, with the exception of physical pleasure. Avoidance was negatively related to emotional closeness and reassurance as goals of sex and positively related to manipulative use of sex but minimally related to most other motives. Sexual passion was positively related to attachment anxiety and negatively related to avoidance, and anxiety was related to the maintenance of passion over time, whereas avoidance was related to loss of passion over time.