Case Demonstration of Environmental Cuing and Brief Supervision Monitoring as Performance Management Interventions with Educational Care Providers

Abstract

The present study evaluated two interventions to improve task completion-data recording by two classroom instructors at a school for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. Compared to a baseline phase, intervention through environmental cuing (strategic task scheduling) was ineffective. The addition of brief supervision monitoring (task preview and review) increased task completion-data recording to high levels and the improved performance of the classroom instructors and was sustained one month following the study in the absence of intervention. Social validity assessment documented high approval of and satisfaction with brief supervision monitoring. We discuss these findings with reference to practical and efficient methods of performance management that can be implemented with care providers in educational services settings.     

Eating Issues in Schools: Detection,Management, and Consultation With Allied Professionals

School counselors play a crucial role in the prevention, assessment, treatment, and overall management of eating‐related problems among children and adolescents. This article provides a framework for conceptualizing these difficulties on a continuum of severity and includes recommendations at each level for intervention and consultation. Collaboration with other professionals is encouraged when confronted with these multifaceted issues. Efforts by school counselors are vital to prevention and recovery from eating disorders.     

Enhanced Cognitive Behavior Therapy: A Single Treatment for All Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses affecting a significant proportion of women and a smaller number of men. Approximately half of those with an eating disorder (ED) will not meet the criteria for anorexia or bulimia nervosa, and will be diagnosed with an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). Until recently, there were no recommended treatments for EDNOS. This article provides an overview of enhanced cognitive behavior therapy, a validated treatment for all forms of EDs.     

Assessment and Diagnosis of Eating Disorders: A Guide for Professional Counselors

Despite the prevalence of and risk associated with disordered eating, there are few guidelines for counselors on how to conduct an eating disorder assessment. Given the importance of the clinical interview, the purpose of this article is to provide recommendations for the assessment and diagnosis of eating disorders that (a) specifically focus on assessment in the context of a clinical interview and (b) can be used by counselors whether or not they specialize in eating disorder treatment.     

Disordered Eating in Women of Color: Some Counseling Considerations

There is little attention devoted to studying eating disorder symptoms in racially and ethnically diverse groups despite the fact that the prevalence rates among women of color for eating disorder symptoms are similar to those of European American women. This article reviews research related to eating disorders in women of color, including a discussion of sociocultural factors that could influence the manifestation of eating disorders in women of color. Considerations for counseling practice and research are provided.     

Is there evidence for the use of art therapy in treatment of psychosomatic disorders,eating disorders and crisis? A comparative study of two different systems for evaluation

A comparative study of two different systems for evaluation. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 47-53. As with any type of treatment the requirement for evidence based practice (EBP) has also affected art therapy (AT) when used as an intervention. This review evaluates the available evidence for using AT for psychosomatic disorders, eating disorders and crisis. The search in Cochrane, Best Practice, AMED, CINAHL, PION, PsycINFO and PubMed from 1987 until now resulted in a huge number of articles but only 32 articles met our criteria for evaluations. The articles were assessed with two evaluation systems, the GRADE system used by the Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment (SBU) and the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF/Task Force). When comparing the results we found that the GRADE evaluation system rejected the quality in 84% of the 32 studies and the USPSTF/Task Force 41% of these studies. An evidence base for AT was found only according to the criteria of USPSTF/Task Force. Hence, the evidence concept is not explicit, which means that effective treatments run a risk of not being implemented in health care. We suggest a broader view of what constitutes evidence in order to make it possible to include different types of research designs and methods.     

Mental health problems and post-migration stress among multi-traumatized refugees attending outpatient clinics upon resettlement to Norway

Refugees have often been exposed to multiple traumas making them prone to mental health problems later. The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence and symptom load of psychiatric disorders in refugees admitted to psychiatric outpatient clinics and to investigate the relationship between multiple exposure to traumatic events, the severity of traumatic symptoms and post-migration stressors. A clinical sample of 61 refugee outpatients from psychiatric clinics in Southern Norway was cross-sectionally examined using three structured clinical interviews (SCID-PTSD, SIDES and MINI) and self-report psychometric instruments (HSCL-25, IES-R). Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was diagnosed in 82% of the patients, while Disorders of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified (DESNOS) was present in 16% of them. Comorbidity was considerable; 64% of the patients had both PTSD and major depression disorder (MDD) and 80% of those who had PTSD had three or more additional diagnoses. Multi-traumatized refugees in outpatient clinics have high prevalence of PTSD, DESNOS, comorbid depression and anxiety disorders. A more severe symptomatology was found in patients diagnosed with both PTSD and DESNOS, than in those diagnosed with only PTSD. Higher rates of unemployment, weak social network and weak social integration were also prevalent in these outpatients, and related to increased psychiatric comorbidity and severity of symptoms. Further research may clarify the existence of a cumulative relationship between pre-resettlement traumas and post-resettlement stressors in the mental health of refugees, which in turn may help to improve therapeutic interventions.     

Effects of speed of word processing on semantic access: the case of bilingualism

Bilingual speakers generally manifest slower word recognition than monolinguals. We investigated the consequences of the word processing speed on semantic access in bilinguals. The paradigm involved a stream of English words and pseudowords presented in succession at a constant rate. English-Welsh bilinguals and English monolinguals were asked to count the number of letters in pseudowords and actively disregard words. They were not explicitly told that pairs of words in immediate succession were embedded and could either be semantically related or not. We expected that slower word processing in bilinguals would result in semantic access indexed by semantic priming. As expected, bilinguals showed significant semantic priming, indexed by an N400 modulation, whilst monolinguals did not. Moreover, bilinguals were slower in performing the task. The results suggest that bilinguals cannot discriminate between pseudowords and words without accessing semantic information whereas monolinguals can dismiss English words on the basis of subsemantic information.     

Co-localisation of abnormal brain structure and function in specific language impairment

We assessed the relationship between brain structure and function in 10 individuals with specific language impairment (SLI), compared to six unaffected siblings, and 16 unrelated control participants with typical language. Voxel-based morphometry indicated that grey matter in the SLI group, relative to controls, was increased in the left inferior frontal cortex and decreased in the right caudate nucleus and superior temporal cortex bilaterally. The unaffected siblings also showed reduced grey matter in the caudate nucleus relative to controls. In an auditory covert naming task, the SLI group showed reduced activation in the left inferior frontal cortex, right putamen, and in the superior temporal cortex bilaterally. Despite spatially coincident structural and functional abnormalities in frontal and temporal areas, the relationships between structure and function in these regions were different. These findings suggest multiple structural and functional abnormalities in SLI that are differently associated with receptive and expressive language processing.