Stress-management interventions in the workplace: Stress counselling and stress audits

Within the field of stress-management intervention, there have been substantial disagreements on the 'right' approach. Some argue for counselling and stress-management training, while other argue for more substantive organisational change through stress audits. It is argued that both are important in meeting the needs of individuals and organisations.     

VISITING DEAD ANCESTORS: SHAMANS AS INTERPRETERS OF RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS

Abstract. Religious traditions enable ancestors to encourage proper social behavior in their distant descendants. Although traditional myths and rituals can provide basic values, these values must be interpreted in light of the specific circumstances encountered by later generations. In tribal societies the task of interpreting religious traditions falls upon religious leaders known as shamans. Shamans, perhaps universally, are claimed to obtain instructions from dead ancestors on how to deal with social disruptions. This paper argues that a focus on the more exotic aspects of shamanism has kept previous studies from realizing the crucial role of shamans as interpreters of religious traditions.     

LOCAL AND GLOBAL PROCESSES IN VISUAL COMPLETION

In the natural environment, objects are frequently occluded, and people continuously complete partly occluded objects Do local processes or global processes control the completion of partly occluded objects? To answer this question, most previous studies simply asked subjects to draw the completions they "saw" Such drawing tasks are highly subjective, and they provide equivocal results Our studies are the first to use an objective, implicit paradigm (primed matching) to determine the extent to which local or global processes underlie the visual completion of partly occluded objects Our results suggest that global processes dominate perceptual completion, whereas local processes do not play a large role Therefore, local theories of completion, or theories in which local processes dominate, cannot be entirely correct     

Gender attitudes in children

This study investigated children's gender attitudes as a function of the sex, age, and race of the child as well as a geographical SES factor. Two attitudes were measured: gender pride (attributing positive characteristics to a child of the same sex) and gender prejudice (attributing negative characteristics to a child of the other sex). Results indicated that all children tended to select children of the same sex for the positive attributes, but that both boys and girls selected boys for the negative attributes. Although all sex pride scores decreased with age, this effect was most pronounced for girls from an upper-lower-class urban environment.The write-up of this article was supported by our current National Institute of Mental Health Grant No. 1R01MH29417-01, Principal Investigator, Dr. Phyllis A. Katz.     

The responsiveness and equality of mental health care to Chicanos and Native Americans

An examination was made of the services received by Chicano and Native American clients in 17 community mental health facilities. Although these minority clients differed from Anglos in demographic variables, there was no evidence that they were rendered inferior or discriminatory services. However, failure to return for therapy was much higher among minority clients. Possible reasons for this failure to return are discussed. It is suggested that for ethnic group clients, equality of services may not mean responsive services.     

The use of structured experiences in family therapy

Structured experiences such as sculpting, psychodrama, rôle-play and growth games are frequently used in family therapy. This article puts forward a framework for the use of structured experiences which can be used in the context of a family session to ensure that the family will gain the maximum learning and change. Use of the framework is illustrated with examples from practice.     

Hierarchical structure in perceptual representation

A theoretical framework for perceptual representation is presented which proposes that information is coded in hierarchical networks of nonverbal propositions. The hierarchical structure of the representations implies selective organization: Some subsets of a figure will be encoded as integral, structural units of that figure, while others will not. A context-sensitive metric for the “goodness” of a part within a figure is developed, corresponding to the probability that the subset will be encoded as a structural unit. Converging evidence supporting this position is presented from four different tasks using simple, straight-line figures. The tasks studied are (a) dividing figures into “natural” parts, (b) rating the “goodness” of parts within figures, (c) timed verification of parts within figures, and (d) timed mental synthesis of spatially separated parts into unitary figures. The results are discussed in terms of the proposed theory of representation, the processes that operate on those representations, and the general implications of the data for perceptual theories.     

Case vignette -- mandated child abuse reporting

Case Vignette: Martha Harris has been a licensed mental health professional for nearly a decade. As she arrived at her office early this morning, the phone was ringing. Speaking in a tremulous voice, the caller stated, "I was given your name by my internist, Dr. Williams. I think my husband may be abusing our 5-year-old sexually. Can you help?" After a few minutes of conversation, Martha offers to schedule a prompt appointment. The caller interrupts and asks, "You won't have to report this will you?" As a mandated reporter under the state's child protection statute, Martha has no choice but to inform the authorities; she tells the caller, who immediately hangs up. Suddenly, Martha realizes that she does not have the name or any other identifying information about the caller. A call to Dr. Williams results in a response that the internist does not want to "get involved." Commentators on this case are Richard Bourne, JD, PhD, one of whose special areas of expertise is child protection and related professional obligations; Eli H. Newberger, MD, a pediatrician with a special interest in child maltreatment; and C. Sue White, PhD, one of whose primary interests is how clinicians may inappropriately use techniques to interview children suspected of child sexual abuse, causing contaminating influences to interfere with children's memories for their own experiences.