An Exploration of Young Clients' Experiences in Counseling With Post‐Master's Counselors

This phenomenological study adds to current literature about clients' meaningful experiences in counseling by exploring the experiences of eight young clients (ages 8–18) in individual counseling with post‐master's counselors in an outpatient setting. Interviews with these clients revealed the following six themes: (a) the process of growth, (b) having a safe place to talk, (c) counselor accepts and meets the client where they are, (d) counseling is a team effort, (e) supportive accountability from the counselor, and (f) understanding self and others. The final theme includes two subthemes: learning coping and emotion management skills, and learning better ways to communicate and behave. Findings and implications for counselors are discussed.     

What do tertiary level students in the U.S.A. and Northern Ireland (UK) worry about? An exploratory study

The purpose of this study is to determine the personal and social worries of samples of tertiary-level students in the U.S.A. and Northern Ireland (UK) using the Things I Worry About Scale (TIWAS). An online questionnaire, which included the TIWAS, was completed by two samples (U.S.A.?=?71 and Northern Ireland?=?187). Results indicate that students, in both locations, report worrying frequently about a similar broad range of issues, particularly the challenges of academic study and achievement, financial matters and future career possibilities. The needs of individual students who express frequent worrying about experiences ‘sometimes’ worried about by the majority are noted. The overall findings support perceptions that a majority of students are rather anxious, are under considerable pressure and worry very frequently.     

Basic psychological need frustration scale: Adaptation and validation to active commuting to school in Spanish children and adolescents

Based on self-determination theory (SDT), the aims of this study were to adapt the Psychological Need Thwarting Scale to active commuting to and from school, as well as to gather information about validity and reliability of the Basic Psychological Need Frustration Scale in Active Commuting to and from School (BPNFS-ACS). A total of 285 children and adolescents, aged 10–17 years, participated (49.47 % girls; M_age = 12.88, SD_age = 2.16). Need satisfaction and frustration, as well as motivation for ACS were measured. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the 12-item three-factor correlated model, which was invariant across gender and age. Convergent validity was met with suitable values for average variance extracted. Discriminant validity was obtained by acceptable values for the heterotrait–monotrait ratio of correlations and the correlations among the three latent factors. Reliability was also supported by adequate scores on Cronbach’s alpha, Raykov’s coefficient, and intra-class correlation coefficient. Criterion validity was evidenced by a negative prediction from need frustration to active commuting to school, and a positive association of need satisfaction with active commuting to school. Results support the use of the BPNFS-ACS for the purpose of gaining deeper insight into the “dark side” of motivation for active school transport among Spanish children and adolescents.     

A need-supportive teaching approach among students with intellectual disability in physical education

ObjectivesThe present study tested a need-supportive teaching approach to enhance the experience of need satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and well-being, and to decrease need frustration, controlled motivation, amotivation, and ill-being among students with intellectual disability in physical education activities. We further tested the effects of experimental condition in predicting students’ need satisfaction and need frustration, motivational regulations, and well-being and ill-being over the semester.DesignExperimental study.MethodsNinety eight students with mild and borderline intellectual disabilities (M_age = 16.53, SD = 3.22; female = 63.3%) attended in this experimental semester-long study. Teachers (N = 6) of students randomly assigned into either an experimental (need-supportive teaching style) or a control (usual teaching style) condition. Students filled out the targeted questionnaires at the beginning (T1), middle (T2), and the end of the semester (T3).FindingsThe results showed that students of the teachers in the experimental condition reported higher need satisfaction and positive affect, and lesser need frustration, amotivation, and negative affect than students of the teachers in the control condition. The results also showed that experimental condition predicted positively T3 need satisfaction, whereas and negatively predicted T3 need frustration, amotivation, and negative affect.ConclusionFindings highlight the importance of teachers’ need-supportive teaching behaviors to enhance positive outcomes, and decreasing their negative outcomes in students with intellectual disabilities in PE.     

Disentangling within-person changes and individual differences among fundamental need satisfaction, attainment of acquisitive desires, and psychological health

We explored within-person and individual difference associations among basic psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), attainment of acquisitive desires (wealth and popularity) and indicators of well- and ill-being. Participants were 198 undergraduates (51% male) who completed an inventory multiple times over a university semester. Analyses revealed that increased satisfaction of all the needs and desires beyond participants’ normal levels, with the exception of relatedness, were associated with greater psychological welfare. Nonetheless, individual differences in well-being were only predicted by psychological need satisfaction, and not by the attainment of acquisitive desires. Hence, the realization of acquisitive desires may elicit within-person increases in psychological welfare; however, satisfying innate needs may be a better bet for long term psychological health.     

The Price of a Piece of Cheese: Value from Fit Between Epistemic Needs and a Learning Versus an Outcome Focus

In decision making, people can focus on decisional outcomes (outcome focus), but they can also focus on gaining knowledge about the decisional domain (learning focus). Furthermore, people differ in the strength of their epistemic needs—their preference for developing a rich and accurate understanding of the world. We invoke the regulatory fit theory to predict that higher epistemic needs better fit a learning focus than lower epistemic needs, resulting in a greater increase in valuation of the chosen option when a learning rather than an outcome focus is induced. This general hypothesis was tested and supported in three studies, each focusing on a different proxy to epistemic needs. Thus, individuals experienced greater value when they had lower expertise (Study 1), higher need for assessment (Study 2), and higher need for cognition (Study 3) when a learning rather than an outcome focus was induced. Implications for work on epistemic needs, regulatory fit theory, and decision‐making practice are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validation d’une Échelle de Frustration des Besoins Psychologiques au Travail (EFBPT)

The purpose of the three present studies was to adapt in French in the work context a questionnaire developed by Bartholomew, Ntoumanis, Ryan, and Thøgersen- Ntoumani (2011) designed to assess thwarting of the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory analyses (Study were conducted among French workers. These studies demonstrated an acceptable internal consistency and confirmed the three-factor structure of the questionnaire (i.e., EFBPT). In addition, the construct validity of the scale was also corroborated in Study 3.     

Eating regulation and bulimic symptoms: the differential correlates of health-focused and appearance-focused eating regulation

Based on Self-Determination Theory, this study aimed to gain further insight in the pathway from eating regulation to bulimic symptoms by (a) examining diet-specific need frustration as an intervening mechanism, (b) investigating the associations between different types of goals underlying eating regulation and diet-specific need frustration and bulimic symptoms, and (c) considering body dissatisfaction as an antecedent of eating regulation and eating regulation goals. In a sample of 244 female adolescents, SEM analyses showed that (a) the association between eating regulation and bulimic symptoms can be accounted for by need frustration, (b) appearance-focused and health-focused eating regulation are associated differentially with need frustration and bulimic symptoms, and (c) body dissatisfaction is related positively to eating regulation and appearance-focused eating regulation. These findings suggest that the goals underlying one's eating regulation and the concept of need frustration help to understand when and why eating regulation is associated with bulimic symptoms.     

Home-School Communication in the Treatment of Childhood Behavior Problems

There is a shortage of intervention strategies for children with behavior disorders which incorporate both home and school influences. To address this need, a service delivery model was evaluated for public school children (Pre-K through G2) who were at risk for educational failure on account of behavior problems, family dysfunction, and poverty and social disadvantage. Interventions based on eco-behavioral principles were delivered by home-visitors in consultation with clinical child psychologists. A primary goal of all treatment plans was to enhance parent-teacher communication. Children in the experimental group (N = 34) showed overall improvement (as judged by parents) and decreases in targeted problems (as reported by teachers and parents), relative to control students (N = 15). The program decreased the number of children placed in special education. There was indication that better communication between home and school related to academic improvement. The protocol provides a possible behavioral consultation model of early intervention for behavior disorders and demonstrates how clinical services can be integrated with systems-wide dropout prevention efforts.     

How a Mental Health Professional Handles Referrals and Fees

Summary

The choice of referral and the relationship between referral sources can pose clinical and ethical dilemmas, due to the potential that the relationship between the psychologist and the referral source will interfere with the treatment relationship. Once the referral has been made, the referring psychologist must be sensitive to a second, and often a more problematic level of risk: conflicts that occur between the patient and the referral recipient. The situation becomes even more problematic when a psychologist is giving or receiving any form of compensation in connection with the referral. In addition to clouding the clinical relationship, the giving or receiving of such compensation, whether it is characterized as “referral fees” or otherwise, has important legal consequences, and may well result in license revocation proceedings or even criminal liability.