Is how it is said important? The association between quality of therapist interventions and client processing

This study examined the association between the quality of therapist interventions and client in‐session processing using the York Therapist Process Measure (YTPM; Toukmanian and Armstrong, 1998). The instrument's three dimensions — attunement, tentativeness and meaning exploration — were tested separately for their impact on clients' manner of processing and depth of experiencing. For each of the 20 mild‐moderately depressed clients, treated in short‐term experiential therapy, a high and a low client‐process segment was isolated from a session that was judged by an experienced therapist to manifest the greatest amount of “good therapy moments”. Therapist interventions within these segments were then rated on the YTPM. Results revealed significant differences in the quality of therapist interventions between high and low segments. Attunement and tentativeness were associated significantly with greater complexity in manner of processing, and meaning exploration with greater depth in experiencing. The implications of these findings for psychotherapy research and practice are discussed.     

Spatial co-location and infants'' learning of auditory-visual associations

The role of spatial co-location between sight and sound in infants' cross-modal learning was examined in three experiments. Four-and 6-month-old infants were familiarized with a toy and an accompanying soundtrack. Across conditions, spatial congruity between sight and sound was varied. Following familiarization, infants were tested to determine under which conditions they learned to associate the toy with the sound. Results indicated age-related differences in how discrepant in location a sight and sound could be for infants to form a cross-modal association based on the amodal invariant of co-location. Specifically, 4-month-olds formed cross-modal associations under conditions of less precise co-location than did 6-month-olds. Parallel improvements in infants' sound localization abilities across this age span are likely a contributing factor to the observed developmental trend in cross-modal learning.     

Daily self-management and employee work engagement

The present study adopts a bottom-up approach to work engagement by examining how self-management is related to employees' work engagement on a daily basis. Specifically, we hypothesized that on days that employees use more self-management strategies, they report higher resources at work and in turn, are more vigorous, dedicated, and absorbed in their work (i.e., engaged) on these days. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of 72 maternity nurses who filled out an online diary for 5 days (N = 360 data points). In line with our hypotheses, results of multilevel structural equation modeling analyses showed that daily self-management was positively related to the resourcefulness of the daily work environment (i.e., more skill variety, feedback, and developmental opportunities) and consequently, to employees' daily work engagement. However, contrary to our expectations, the measurement model showed that two of the five included self-management strategies (i.e., self-reward and self-punishment) loaded onto a separate factor and were unrelated to all job resources. The findings contribute to our understanding of employees' role in regulating their own daily work engagement.     

Investigating Hegemonic Masculinity: Portrayals of Masculinity in Men’s Lifestyle Magazines

A content analysis of eight different men’s lifestyle magazines sold in Canada between November 2004 and August 2006 was conducted to explore how masculinities are currently being portrayed in regards to the body, aesthetics and grooming, and fashion. Findings suggest that different men’s magazines represent different forms of masculinity but elements of hegemonic masculinity (culturally normative ideals of masculinity within a structure of social relations where some men are subordinated) are woven throughout. Although the marketed look varies by the magazine, these magazines not only convey the message that appearance can be manipulated—but it should also be enhanced, and that men should engage in bodywork in order to attain the lifestyle they desire.     

Replacing overt verbal and gestural prompts with unobtrusive covert tactile prompting for students with autism

Verbal responses, gestures, and other physical stimuli are often used to prompt children to pay attention to their teacher, participate in group responding, and engage in independent activities in the classroom. Prompts can be intrusive and draw attention to the problem, however. In the present study, unobtrusive vibrating pagers were used to discreetly alert children to attend directly to the teacher or the ongoing activity, thus reducing the number of disruptions the children created in their classrooms. The children were then able to learn more effectively and with less interference to others in the vicinity. Specifically, 5 male children, between 4 and 7 years old, who attended a regular education preschool or regular education first-grade classroom, participated. An alternating baseline and treatment conditions design was used, in which periods of overt traditional prompting were alternated with periods of covert tactile and overt traditional prompting. The data showed that covert tactile prompting was successful in reducing the amount of overt traditional prompting that was needed for attention to a teacher, group responding, and engagement in independent activities.     

Moral Injury,Chaplaincy and Mental Health Provider Approaches to Treatment: A Scoping Review

Journal of Religion and Health - The aim of this research was to describe the evidence examining the approaches taken by mental health providers (MHPs) and chaplains to address symptoms related to...