Pilot study evaluation of suicide prevention gatekeeper training utilising STORM in a British university setting

Recent years have seen increasing awareness of the wide range of mental health problems faced by students. Gatekeeper training has been shown to have a positive impact on knowledge and attitudes about suicide prevention, although the evidence for skills acquisition is limited. We utilised the STORM® training package in an exploratory study to determine explore whether skills training could be successfully implemented in an educational establishment in the United Kingdom. In a pilot study assessing competence before and after the intervention there was evidence of acquisition of skills, improved attitudes and increased confidence. Further research should include a randomised controlled trial of such training.     

特需医疗服务供方意向调查分析

剖析目前特需医疗服务供方所存在的主要问题,初步探讨在我国发展特需医疗服务适宜的承担主体。采用个别访谈和问卷调查的方法对来自不同性质的医院的医护人员和医院管理人员进行了意向调查。结果显示,医院发展特需医疗服务并不是解决医务人员收入问题的有效手段;公立医院发展特需医疗服务势必会对其普通医疗服务带来负面影响。建议在确保大部分公立医院只提供普通医疗服务的基础上,由私立医院和一部分公立医院作为特需医疗服务的承担机构。     

Religious Activity and Pastoral Counseling Among Protestant Youth with SED

The past decade has shown a surge of interest in faith-based resources for a variety of social problems. However, these resources have not been systematically studied for children with emotional and behavioral problems. We investigated religious activity and use of pastoral counseling among Protestant youth with serious emotional disorders (SED) (N=464) and examined associated youth and caregiver characteristics. Findings indicate that the majority of SED youth do participate in religious activities, but do not frequently receive pastoral counseling for their problems. Youth with fewer externalizing problems as well as minority youth had an increased likelihood of participation in religious activities, while youth with more psychosocial impairment had an increased likelihood of using pastoral counseling. Implications of this study for research and practice are discussed.     

REVEREND ROBOT: AUTOMATION AND CLERGY

Digital technology, including artificial intelligence, is having a dramatic impact on the professions of medicine, law, journalism, finance, and others. Some suggest that clergy will also be affected. We describe recent progress in designing artificially intelligent systems, suggesting that this is possible, perhaps even likely. We investigate ways in which technology currently is affecting ministry and outline some plausible scenarios in which digital systems could supplement or supplant clergy in some areas, specifically preaching and pastoral care. We also raise some theological issues raised by the use of digital systems in ministry.     

A clean self reduces bribery intent

The present research aimed at investigating the effect of physical cleanliness on bribery intent and the moderating role of personal need for structure (PNS) on this relationship. In Study 1, we used questionnaires to establish the correlation between bodily cleanliness and bribery intent. In Study 2, we examined the effect by priming sense of self‐cleanliness. Study 3 was conducted outside a public bath to test our finding that physical purity decreases bribery intent again; we further found that individuals with high PNS showed no reduction in bribery intent even after cleaning themselves. We thus connected physical cleanliness with the corruption field and improved our understanding of its underlying moderating mechanism.     

Not Practising Theology

Many pastors are prepared for a vocation they do not practice while they are performing a ministry they have not learned. While providing pastoral care they are eager to help, support, and comfort but they hesitate to theologize, to practice theology. At least three considerations may offer an explanation for this paradoxical fact: 1. Most pastors consider theology to be static and historical instead of dynamic and interactional; 2. Students of theology never learn to practice theology, therefore, as a minister, they prefer to listen and refuse to speak; 3. Many ministers mask a lack of courage and motivation in publicly professing what they privately believe, by providing therapeutic help to those who are in pastoral need.     

The Price of Being Conciliatory: Remarks about Mellon's Model for Hospital Chaplaincy Work in Multi-Faith Settings

The intimate connection, within Christianity, of theology andethics is invoked, and the ethical differences between Christiandenominations are exposed, as they present themselves inMellon'scase studies, in order to call attention to the unsolvable dilemmain which hospital chaplains find themselves, if they understandtheir role in a merely conciliatory fashion as that of a "comforter,mediator, educator, ethicist, and counselor". As witnessed bythe Calvinist and Anabaptist traditions Mellon introduces, conceptssuch as "the patient's good" can mean radically different thingsin these theological contexts. Attempting to merely mediatebetween such positions in a spirit of merely generic prayerand on the basis of a merely psychological notion of well-beingposes a risk to chaplains' spiritual integrity and faithfulnessto their mission.     

A Study of Church Members During Times of Crisis

The purpose of the current study was to understand what church members experience during a situational crisis and identify the resources of social support that are helpful for them. By identifying the degree to which personal religious beliefs and participation in a particular congregation help people in crisis, this study sought to provide a foundation from which religious as well as mental health professionals can understand the psychological benefits of religious involvement. For the purposes of this research the investigators developed the Crisis Appraisal and Coping Interview Protocol. The research team collected interview data from 26 members of one Southern Baptist congregation within two weeks of a crisis event. Qualitative analysis identified several key themes that appeared which are discussed.