No Matter How Hard You Try,Your Feet Still Get Wet: Insider and Outsider Perspectives on Bridging Diversity

Mental health practitioners have offered relatively little in response to the pervasive community violence faced by many children living in impoverished neighborhoods. The “neighborhood club” is a school‐based, short‐term, support group designed to assist children with the psychological impact of exposure to community violence. Ten “neighborhood clubs” were conducted in two public elementary schools in Detroit, Michigan. This paper reviews the implementation of a bilingual “neighborhood club,” undertaken to better serve the Spanish‐speaking Latino students in a school community. We discuss many of the rewards and challenges of conducting a bilingual, multicultural support group for children and conclude that a bilingual support group provides all children with a model that validates ethnic and cultural diversity while also building empathic bonds based on mutually‐reinforcing, common experiences.     

Training Community Members to Serve as Paraprofessionals in an Evidence-Based,Prevention Program for Parents of Preschoolers

Widespread dissemination of evidence-based programs for underserved populations may require non-traditional means of service provision. Collaboration with paraprofessionals from communities that are targeted for intervention holds promise as a delivery strategy that may make programs more accessible and acceptable, especially to parents living in low-income, urban neighborhoods. We describe a paraprofessional training program for individuals living in a community targeted for preventive intervention based on high levels of poverty and community violence. The design and implementation of the training program are described in the context of issues related to the use of paraprofessionals in community-based, preventive interventions with parents of young children. We also provide insight into lessons learned from a feasibility study as well as general guidelines for the development of paraprofessional training programs for delivery of evidence-based programs.     

An ecological approach to child and family clinical and counseling psychology

The ecological model of child and family clinical and counseling psychology considers mental health service delivery within a health maintenance framework, approaching the complexity of children's behavior in a systematic and organized fashion using science-based intervention practices. The service delivery framework integrates assessment, intervention, and motivation at all phases of an intervention. Assessments enhance the participants' and professionals' appraisal, which in turn impact motivation to change. Interventions are sensitive to assessment-based targets and participant motivation. A menu of interventions range from assessment, feedback, and brief interventions to more extensive mental health services, potentially integrated with other community agencies and school settings. The ecological model suggests revisions in the conceptualization of child and adolescent psychopathology, training for mental health professionals, and strategies for the design and testing of interventions. In general, a reformulation of mental heath services for children and families within an ecological framework enhances the potential for integrating science and practice.     

Efficacy of In-Home Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been much discussion of the efficacy of mental health interventions for children as well as the transportation of empirically-supported treatments (ESTs) to field settings. A logical initial step in this line of research is to examine whether the efficacy of ESTs can be demonstrated in community settings such as in the home environment. The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of an in-home Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) program using a single-subject, A/B design across five subjects with staggered baselines. Decreases in caregiver use of negative behavior and caregiver-reported child behavior problems were observed for the three families that completed treatment. In addition, completers demonstrated increases in child compliance, caregiver use of positive behavior, and contingent praise. Data regarding caregivers' reported parenting stress and caregiver proportion of direct commands were less convincing. All three dyads completing treatment reported satisfaction with the intervention. Clinical implications regarding the possible benefits of PCIT for improving the effectiveness of home visiting programs are discussed as well as directions for future research.     

Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy

Abstract

Working with couples who are both survivors of emotional abuse and are currently in an emotionally abusive relationship can be particularly challenging for the clinician. This article focuses on Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy as a recommended practice approach for clients who are caught in emotionally abusive patterns with one another. The article reviews relevant literature on this approach and illustrates the specific interventions applied lo an emotionally abusive couple.     

School-Linked Services in Context

Summary

This paper describes a formative evaluation of a school-linked service delivery system for immigrant and low income families in a large suburban county in Maryland. Initially we discuss local needs that prompted the development of the program and we place problems with services for children and families with multiple needs in a broad context. Next we discuss the methods and results of the evaluation. Findings indicate the program provides a range of appropriate services to intended beneficiaries but that lack of infrastructure and articulated understandings among participating organizations present potential problems.     

Seeing is Remembering

Abstract

Working with children and adolescents in any therapeutic setting can be a challenge. Counselors who take on the task of working with this population must have a multitude of skills and tools at their disposal. This article outlines the importance of making counseling experiential for young clients by discussing several creative counseling interventions. This article focuses on the use of props with children and adolescents. Sample dialogue is offered to demonstrate creative interventions that enhance counseling with children and make the work memorable.     

In search of durable positive psychology interventions: Predictors and consequences of long-term positive behavior change

A number of positive psychology interventions have successfully helped people learn skills for improving mood and building personal resources (e.g., psychological resilience and social support). However, little is known about whether intervention activities remain effective in the long term, or whether new resources are maintained after the intervention ends. We address these issues in a 15-month follow-up survey of participants from a loving-kindness meditation intervention. Many participants continued to practice meditation, and they reported more positive emotions (PEs) than those who had stopped meditating or had never meditated. All participants maintained gains in resources made during the initial intervention, whether or not they continued meditating. Continuing meditators did not differ on resources at baseline, but they did show more PE and a more rapid PE response to the intervention. Overall, our results suggest that positive psychology interventions are not just efficacious but of significant value in participants’ real lives.     

Trying to be happier really can work: Two experimental studies

Does the explicit attempt to be happier facilitate or obstruct the actual experience of happiness? Two experiments investigated this question using listening to positive music as a happiness-inducing activity. Study 1 showed that participants assigned to try to boost their mood while listening to 12?min of music reported higher positive mood compared to participants who simply listened to music without attempting to alter mood. However, this effect was qualified by the predicted interaction: the music had to be positively valenced (i.e. Copland, not Stravinsky). In Study 2, participants who were instructed to intentionally try to become happier (vs. not trying) reported higher increases in subjective happiness after listening to positively valenced music during five separate lab visits over a two-week period. These studies demonstrate that listening to positive music may be an effective way to improve happiness, particularly when it is combined with an intention to become happier.     

Counting blessings and sharing gratitude in a Chinese prisoner sample: Effects of gratitude-based interventions on subjective well-being and aggression

Abstract

Gratitude-based interventions are effective for increasing individuals’ subjective well-being (SWB); however, they have not been validated among prisoners, especially for negative states (i.e. aggression). Furthermore, as a social emotion, gratitude might be nurtured via practice within a social group. Therefore, we developed a weekly group-based sharing gratitude exercise, and examined its effect along with that of daily blessing-counting among prisoners in China. Ninety-six male violent prisoners were assigned randomly to three conditions (gratitude-sharing, blessing-counting, and control). Interventions took place over five weeks. Both interventions improved SWB and decreased aggression compared to controls. Additionally, the improvement in gratitude mediated the relationship between the two forms of intervention and SWB. These findings indicate that gratitude-based interventions can be implemented among male prisoners to help further the psychological corrective function of prisons in China.