Transformational Leadership and Pastoral Leader Effectiveness

In this study multiple variables as they relate to pastoral leader effectiveness were examined. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), NEO-Five Factor Inventory (FFI), and Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS) were used to measure the leadership styles, personality, and spirituality of 93 pastors and assess which variable predicted pastoral leadership effectiveness. The results indicated that transformational leadership style showed significant correlations with pastoral leader effectiveness; only one dimension of the MLQ’s transformational leadership scale (individual consideration) was a significant predictor of pastoral leader effectiveness. Other limited findings suggest that personality and spirituality also contributed to pastoral leadership effectiveness.     

Personal and social support factors involved in students’ decision to participate in formal academic mentoring

In this study, we examined the role of personal and social support factors involved in students’ decision to participate in formal academic mentoring. Three hundred and eighteen students completing Grade 11 and planning to study sciences in college filled out a questionnaire and were then asked to participate in an academic mentoring program during their first year of college. A total of 150 students agreed to take part in this program (volunteers) and 168 declined the offer (non-volunteers). The overall findings support the hypothesis that academic mentoring is more attractive for some students than others depending on their personality, help-seeking attitudes, academic dispositions, perceived support from friends, and support available during the transition to college. These findings were discussed in light of the different mechanisms proposed by mentoring and social support literatures.     

培训迁移的干预策略及其效果

在回顾了培训迁移的组织干预策略研究后,重点围绕培训前干预、培训中干预和培训后干预三个方面展开讨论,归纳出不同类型干预要素及其对培训迁移的影响效果,指出目前理论的局限性以及组织与个体相互作用等未来研究的方向     

托幼机构教育质量评价中评委偏差的多侧面Rasch分析

采用多侧面Rasch模型对28位评委在托幼机构教育质量评价中的评委偏差进行了分析。分析结果显示：28名评委评分宽严度差异显著;3名评委内部一致性较差,其余25名评委内部一致性较稳定;评委与评价班级的交互作用不显著,与评价项目的交互作用显著。研究结果表明MFRM可以对托幼机构教育质量评价的评委偏差进行个体层面的具体分析,从项目反应理论的视角为托幼机构教育质量评价的评委针对性培训、评估评委的合格性从而建立合格评委库等提供现代教育、心理测量学依据。     

The Communication and Bioethical Training (CoBiT) Program for assisting dialysis decision-making in Spanish ACKD units

Healthcare professionals currently working in Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease (ACKD) units must cope with difficult situations regarding assisting patients with the dialysis decision-making process, and they are often untrained for these conversations. Although we have evidence from the literature that these skills can be learned, few professionals feel confident in this area. A Communication and Bioethical Training (CoBiT) Program for ACKD staff (physicians, nurses and allied health professionals) was developed to improve their ability and self-confidence in conducting these conversations. A four-stage study was conducted: (1) development of the CoBiT program, beginning with the creation of an interdisciplinary focus group (N = 10); (2) design of a questionnaire to assess self-confidence based on the areas identified by the focus group. The face validity of the instrument was tested using an inter-judge methodology (N = 6); (3) design of the format and contents of the program; (4) piloting the program. Thirty-six health professionals took an 8-h workshop based on role-playing methodology. Participants assessed their self-confidence in their communication skills before and after the program using self-report measures. The results show that after the program, participants reported significantly higher levels of self-confidence measured with a five-point Likert scale (p < 0.001). Participants felt that communication with colleagues of other professions significantly increased after the workshop (p = 0.004). The CoBiT program improves ACKD Unit healthcare professionals’ self-confidence in their ability to perform a specific communication task.     

Psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and adolescents: an updated narrative review of the evidence base

While the evidence base for psychodynamic therapy with adults is now quite substantial, there is still a lack of research evaluating the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapies with children and young people. Those studies that have been carried out are also not widely known in the field. To help address the second point, in 2011, we carried out a review of the evidence base for psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and adolescents, which identified 35 studies which together provided some preliminary evidence for this treatment for a range of childhood disorders. The present study is an updated review, focusing on research published between March 2011 and November 2016. During this period, 23 additional studies were published, of which 5 were reports on randomised controlled trials, 3 were quasi-experimental controlled studies and 15 were observational studies. Although most studies covered children with mixed diagnoses, there were a number of studies examining specific diagnostic groups, including children with depression, anxiety and disruptive disorders. whilst the quality of studies was mixed, some were well-designed and reported, and overall indicated promising findings. Nevertheless, further high-quality research is needed in order to better understand the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy across a range of different disorders, and to ensure that services can provide a range of evidence-based treatments for children and young people.     

Outcomes of a Therapeutic Gardening Program in a Mental Health Recovery Center

This study evaluated outcomes of a therapeutic gardening project in a community mental health center. The authors worked with 20 adults with severe mental illnesses, to plan, build, and care for raised-bed gardens. Targets for recovery-oriented outcomes related to personal responsibility, emotional and physical well-being, and socialization, were established in advance. Achievement of outcomes was measured using quantitative and qualitative methodology. Results indicated that the program supported recovery. Participants demonstrated significant improvement in mood and markedly higher levels of involvement and spontaneity, when engaged in gardening. Positive changes in diet and social interaction were also reported.     

The effectiveness of university counselling for improving academic outcomes and well-being

The work discusses the effectiveness of the counselling treatment to enhance student academic success. The participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (66 students who had completed counselling treatment) or a wait-list comparison group (44 students). The Adult Self Report (ASR) by Achenbach and Rescorla [2003. Manual for the ASEBA adult forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families, University of Vermont] and the Outcome Questionnaire 45 (OQ-45) by Lambert and Hill [1994. Assessing psychotherapy outcomes and processes. In A. E. Bergin & S. L. Garfield (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (pp. 72–113). New York: John Wiley] were applied before and after the counselling sessions. Data show statistically significant decrease in the ASR clinical scales for both internalising and externalising problems after counselling as well as in the OQ-45 scores for distress symptoms and relationship difficulties. Compared with the control group, the students who received counselling exhibited a significant recovery regarding their progress with their studies.     

Philosophical dialogues as paths to a more ‘positive psychology’

Although family support programmes have been in place for several decades in Greece very little attention has been paid to evaluating the effectiveness of such endeavours, the techniques that influence their outcomes and the receptiveness to their messages. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of research findings collected during the first qualitative research phase of a community mental health promotion project. The research was conducted in order to delineate programme outcomes and the characteristics that had an impact on the participants' lives. The 3‐month family support programme intended to introduce ‘philosophical dialogues’ as means to developing personal and communal understandings of what makes life worth living. The programme was developed and implemented on Crete under the auspices of a non‐profit community organization appropriately named ‘The Lyceum for Women’. The features of the programme that contributed and enhanced the participants' tendencies to become not passive targets but active partners and stakeholders in the process will be clarified, as will the conceptualization and approach. Of the 45 evaluation protocols that were analysed the following themes were most important for the participants: ‘Group as‐a‐whole process’—the sense of sharing and development understandings in a ‘parea’ (in‐group); ‘relational outcomes’—feeling of belonging, ‘reciprocated kindness’, and giving of self to others; personal and emotional outcomes‐self‐efficacy and empowerment; knowledge outcomes‐learning about positive emotions and enjoying the simple things in life; and group facilitator outcomes‐sharing stories, ‘gives of self to the community’. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Description of Exemplar Cases in the Intensive Mental Health Program: Illustrations of Application of the Therapeutic Model

We describe cases from the clinical records in the Intensive Mental Health Program to illustrate the diverse presenting problems, intervention strategies, therapeutic process, and outcomes for children receiving services in this school-based, community-oriented treatment model. Cases reflect varying degrees of treatment response and potential factors that influence the fluctuating levels of emotional disturbance and impaired functioning in the home, school, and community.