Practice on the margins: reflections from the disability services sector

People labelled with disabilities are frequently positioned on the margins of society. Their positioning points to discursive practices underpinned by ableism which place and keep them there. In this article, a scenario based on actual events is used to reflect upon professional practice. The story is situated in a disability service, an area of practice located at the margins of the broader Human Services sector. The scenario raises important questions about how to establish respectful and productive relationships with people, develop person-centred practices which contribute to personal knowing and transformation, balance rights and risk, equitably manage relations of power and fulfil societal expectations on the provision of care. In this article, the author explores how reflection can negotiate meaning, challenge ableism and expose disablist practices. She seeks to open spaces where one might begin to re-story professional practices by centring the lived experiences of those who inhabit the margins.     

Where’s the GPS? navigating treatment with co-existing problems. A reflective journey amongst graduate practitioners

This paper examines reflective portfolios of graduate students studying co-existing problems (CEP) within an alcohol and drug studies programme in New Zealand. The methodology employs Todd’s principles of treating co-existing disorders (culture, management, engagement, assessment, integrated care, well-being and management). The metaphor, a GPS, is employed in the title to describe how Todd’s principles are used as a GPS to help navigate the murky waters of working with this specialised client population. The principles, allocated as themes within the portfolios, highlight how these principles are reflected upon within their workplace. Culture and engagement principles were the most endorsed themes within the portfolios. The reflective portfolios also allowed us to reflect upon the ongoing process of curriculum development for this specialised client population.     

Gaining insight into a novice teacher’s initial journey through reflective practice

This small-scale case study conducted in Trabzon, Turkey, aimed at uncovering the attitude of a tertiary-level novice teacher towards reflective practice in English as a foreign-language setting. The data were derived from the pre- and post-study interviews with the novice teacher, her reflective papers on her audio-recorded lessons, her classroom observation notes about the experienced teacher and the informal researcher observations. The researchers’ role was to design the process, familiarise the teacher with the focus of reflection, conduct the interviews, analyse and interpret the reflective papers of the teacher. The results show that reflective practice may be challenging in terms of emotions for a novice teacher as it may be hard to confront an outsider’s view. The results point to beneficial impact of the self-initiated reflection on the way to teachers’ continuous professional development.     

Evidence based practice: A guide for counsellors and psychotherapists

There has been an increasing tendency for healthcare policy makers and managers to require that all forms of therapy are supported by rigorous research evidence. This paper, which has also been distributed as an Information Sheet to all members of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), provides a practitioner‐oriented introduction to evidence‐based practice, with suggestions for further reading on this topic.     

类别与数量空间关系识别加工中的练习效应研究

本研究通过检测20名飞行员及其控制组的视觉空间关系识别中的认知加工水平,旨在探讨视觉空间关系识别中的类别关系和数量关系加工子系统所表现出的练习效应水平的高低。研究结果表明,在参与视觉空间关系判断的两个典型加工子系统中,负责数量(坐标)空间关系判断的加工子系统随系统训练而表现出功能增强的练习效应。相对而言,涉及类别空间关系判断的加工子系统则较少受到练习的影响。研究揭示,由于受大脑神经解剖结构特点以及加工任务性质的影响,练习效应在神经网络上的分布是不平衡的。相对于类别空间关系加工子系统,数量空间关系加工子系统更多地表现出了练习效应这一典型的认知神经加工特性。     

Application of Variability of Practice Hypothesis in Alzheimer Patients

This study examined the effects of constant versus variable practice on learning a simple motor task in eight patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). According to the variability of practice hypothesis, variations in practice of a motor skill result in superior learning as evidenced by better ability to transfer the skill. Eight AD patients were matched for Mini-Mental State Exam and baseline scores and then randomly assigned to a constant or variable practice group. Then, the participants were trained in hitting a tennis ball with a small racquet against a horizontal target (practice task) over 12 sessions. Finally, they were asked to aim at a vertical target (transfer task). All participants showed improvement on the practice task. On the transfer task, three of four participants in the variable practice group outperformed their matched counterparts, suggesting learning benefits of variable practice.     

The "God Module" and the Complexifying Brain

Recent reports of the discovery of a "God module" in the human brain derive from the fact that epileptic seizures in the left temporal lobe are associated with ecstatic feelings sometimes described as an experience of the presence of God. The brain area involved has been described as either (a) the seat of an innate human faculty for experiencing the divine or (b) the seat of religious delusions.
In fact, religious experience is extremely various and involves many parts of the brain, including some that are prehuman in their evolutionary history and some that are characteristically human. In the continuing integration of such experiences, spiritual formation takes place. Thus the entire human brain might be described as a "God module."
Such a process is only possible because of the brain's complexity. The human brain is the most complex entity for its size that we know of. As used here, complexity is a specialized term denoting the presence of a web of interlinked and significant connections—the more intricate the web, the more complex the entity. Complex systems develop only in a milieu that provides both lawfulness and freedom, and they tend to be self-organizing, becoming more complex and more effective as a result of both inward and outward experience. The evidence suggests that both personal growth and spiritual growth are processes of complexification of character, and of the brain itself. This thesis is tested in light of the work of William James and James W. Fowler.     

Young Offenders with Disabilities: Legal Requirements and Reform Considerations

Delinquency rates have been a persistent concern in the United States with juveniles involved in almost a third of arrests for major crimes in 1993. Further, a disproportionate number of youths incarcerated have a disability. Because youths with disabilities in correctional facilities present legal and educational challenges, we explored the parameters of providing appropriate services based on individual needs. Despite applicable federal legislation, the juvenile correctional system often fails to meet the educational needs of those with disabilities (i.e., some youths are denied special education services, services are often inferior to those provided by public schools, and teachers are often inadequately trained). According to federal legislation, juvenile facilities must observe procedural safeguards afforded to those individuals and provide needed services even for pre trial detainees (services, however, may be balanced against legitimate security concerns). Ultimately, state educational agencies have the responsibility for ensuring that youths with disabilities receive a free appropriate education. Promising practices applicable to all youths may include Positive Peer Culture, aggression replacement training, aftercare programs, and research validated instructional interventions.     

An evaluation of the effectiveness and acceptability of a new technology system to support psychotherapy helping skills training

Training counselling and psychotherapy skills using new technology is a relatively unresearched area of study. The findings from a pilot evaluation of the effectiveness and acceptability of a new technology, mPath, using a mixed method design are reported. The study found that progressive integration of the new mPath technology into learning helping skills had the best results on developing competency, as assessed by the Person‐Centred Experiential Psychotherapy Scale Training Version. Qualitative interviews showed the technology was acceptable to users. Further research is needed in this emerging field of deliberate practice.