The Lived Experiences of Addiction Counselors After Marijuana Legalization

This qualitative study examines the perceptions of counselors who work with populations with addictions in states where marijuana has been legalized. Findings include themes related to client experiences, counselor experiences, specific interventions, and lack of understanding.     

An investigation of differences between self-injurious behavior and suicide attempts in a sample of adolescents

Data from 390 high school students were collected to examine potential differences between adolescents who had attempted suicide and those who engaged in self-injurious behavior on measures of depression, suicidal ideation, and attitudes toward life and death. Significant differences were found between controls and the self-harm groups on all dependent variables. A significant difference on attitudes toward life was found between the self-injury and suicide attempt groups. Post-hoc regression analyses showed that measures of depression, suicide ideation, and attitudes towards life predicted participants' self-harm categorization. These findings provide preliminary evidence that self-injurious behavior is different from attempted suicide among a community sample of adolescents.     

The Treatment Planning of Experienced Counselors: A Qualitative Examination

Using consensual qualitative research, the authors examined the treatment planning process of experienced counselors (N = 9). The data analysis resulted in 4 domains: assessment steps, clinical impressions, treatment factors, and treatment strategies. These domains describe the process used by experienced counselors in making clinical decisions and offer insight into the nature of clinical expertise and the need for further research on treatment planning.     

Dissociating linguistic and non-linguistic gesture processing: electrophysiological evidence from American Sign Language

A fundamental advance in our understanding of human language would come from a detailed account of how non-linguistic and linguistic manual actions are differentiated in real time by language users. To explore this issue, we targeted the N400, an ERP component known to be sensitive to semantic context. Deaf signers saw 120 American Sign Language sentences, each consisting of a “frame” (a sentence without the last word; e.g. BOY SLEEP IN HIS) followed by a “last item” belonging to one of four categories: a high-close-probability sign (a “semantically reasonable” completion to the sentence; e.g. BED), a low-close-probability sign (a real sign that is nonetheless a “semantically odd” completion to the sentence; e.g. LEMON), a pseudo-sign (phonologically legal but non-lexical form), or a non-linguistic grooming gesture (e.g. the performer scratching her face). We found significant N400-like responses in the incongruent and pseudo-sign contexts, while the gestures elicited a large positivity.     

Analysis of Live Modeling Plus Prompting and Video Modeling for Teaching Imitation to Children with Autism

Previous researchers have demonstrated that training in imitation can significantly improve the learning capabilities of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that children within this population show a preference for video presentations. Video‐based instruction has been used to teach a variety of behaviors to individuals with ASD. However, only a small number of studies have examined the use of video modeling to teach initial imitation. Furthermore, there are limited and conflicting data on the effectiveness of a video modeling procedure that does not incorporate prompting when used to teach imitation to young children with ASD. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate a video‐modeling‐alone procedure and a live‐modeling‐with‐prompting procedure for teaching imitation to young children with ASD. The results suggest that the live modeling with prompting procedure was more effective, and implications related to this finding are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does Motivational Interviewing (MI) Work With Nonaddicted Clients? A Controlled Study Measuring the Effects of a Brief Training in MI on Client Outcomes

This study investigated the relationships between motivational interviewing (MI) and client symptoms, attendance, and satisfaction. Seventy‐nine clients attending a university‐based counseling center were purposefully assigned to treatment or control conditions. Statistical analyses revealed client symptoms in both groups improved. However, clients assigned to treatment conditions attended more sessions and missed fewer sessions than clients in the control group. Implications for using MI and suggestions for additional research are explored within the study.     

Centering prayer’s effects on psycho-spiritual outcomes: a pilot outcome study

Centering prayer is a spiritual and religious form of meditation grounded in the history of Christian contemplative prayer. Despite its popularity, empirical research investigating centering prayer’s effects on psycho-spiritual outcomes is relative sparse. This pilot outcome study explored the effect of a centering prayer workshop on participants’ (N?=?9) depression, anxiety, stress, spiritual transcendence, religious crisis, faith development, and mindfulness. Several significant changes were noted over the course of the six-week study, including decreased anxiety and stress, and increased faith development and mindfulness. Interestingly, we noted that participants likely also experienced a spiritual or religious struggle that follows the established spiritual development paradigm called the Dark Night of the Soul. The study did not include a control group, and so did not account for effects related to history, maturation, or regression to the mean. Nevertheless, the initial results prove promising to develop more sophisticated research programmes that replicate the study’s findings.     

Healing Faith: A Qualitative Exploration of Latina Breast Cancer Survivors

Latina cancer survivors report higher levels of distress and depression and lower levels of social quality of life and overall health‐related quality of life when compared with all other cancer survivors. Cultural values influence cancer survivorship; however, little research to date has examined how aspects of the Latina culture may be healing during the cancer journey. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to present findings from a qualitative study exploring the influence of culture on quality of life for Latina breast cancer survivors. The authors use consensual qualitative research to understand the lived experiences of Latina breast cancer survivors.