Mental Health Professionals' Exposure to Clients with Problematic Internet Experiences

ABSTRACT

This paper examines clients' exposure to problematic Internet experiences among a national sample of 2,098 social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and other mental health professionals. This analysis finds that mental health professionals are working with clients experiencing a range of problems related to Internet use. However, these professionals have generally not been exposed to training or information in the professional literature on the topic of working with clients with problematic Internet experiences. We identify several areas in which additional training is needed and review practical implications for mental health professionals.     

What White Mental Health Professionals Need to Understand About Whiteness: A Delphi Study

This Delphi study surveyed an interdisciplinary panel of diversity expert trainers (N=20) about what white mental health professionals need to understand about whiteness. The panel endorsed 162 items that included what white mental health professionals need to understand about historical and contemporary whiteness within the mental health fields and larger social systems, self of the therapist work for white therapists, as well as challenges to understanding whiteness in clinical training and practice. More specifically, the panel provided guidance on the cognitive and emotional transformations necessary for white mental health professionals to address whiteness, as well as the challenges to those transformations. The researchers provide clinical training implications for marriage and family therapists (MFTs) and other clinicians based on the results.     

Women Vietnam veterans. A comparison of studies

There is strong evidence that many women exposed to war stress have suffered mental health problems related to their experience, and a substantial number continue to have serious emotional, psychosocial, and other readjustment problems that affect their current level of functioning and life satisfaction. The consistent exposure to severe combat casualties, death and dying, workload extremes, personal deprivation, loss, and danger all take a significant emotional toll. These studies underscore the need for affected women to explore their war experiences and associated feelings with mental health professionals, as well as the need for those professionals to develop an awareness and understanding of the impact of specific war-related stress on women.     

What mental health professionals in Israel know and think about adolescent problem gambling

Mental health professionals are well versed in addressing multiple adolescent risky behaviours and play a primary role in the identification of and referral process and service provision for young people who engage in such behaviours. Given their ‘person-in-environment’ approach, training in multi-sectoral collaboration, and awareness of social policies, social workers are especially equipped to provide needed mental health services to young people. The aim of the current study was to examine Israeli mental health professionals’ awareness of and attitudes towards adolescent high-risk behaviours, including gambling. Child psychologists, social workers and school counsellors (N = 273) completed an online survey addressing concerns related to high-risk behaviours. Findings revealed that social workers perceived gambling as being among one of the least concerning adolescent mental health issues and reported feeling the least confident in their abilities to provide services to young people with gambling problems. The results suggest the importance of youth gambling addictions being incorporated into social work training curricula.     

How Psychological Telehealth Can Alleviate Society's Mental Health Burden: A Literature Review

Mental health professionals must establish new means to reach those in need that face obstacles related to geographical location, time limitations, and health. With the high incidence of mental illness, as well as the hypothesized increase in coming years, telehealth modalities propose a novel and far-reaching alternative to traditional therapy. This article outlines the positive aspects and interdisciplinary possibilities when telehealth is incorporated into mental health practice. Novel outlets including mHealth and the utilization of computer tablets as mental health facilitators are outlined. Considerations for practice including training are discussed, as well as potential future directions for the field. Available data supports telehealth as an effective mode for the treatment of clients who are unable to pursue mental health services in their current form. However, careful consideration and training for the mental health professional is needed if telehealth is to be effectively used to alleviate the mental health burden.     

Statewide dissemination of trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT)

Despite evidence linking childhood trauma to subsequent social, emotional, psychological, and cognitive problems, many children who have experienced trauma do not receive mental health treatment that has been proven to be effective. Large-scale dissemination of evidence-based practices (EBPs) is one possible solution to enhance the current negative state of mental health treatment for these children. This article describes a dissemination effort of an EBP (i.e., Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy [TF-CBT]) for childhood symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder throughout Arkansas. The effort targeted mental health professionals within child advocacy centers and community mental health centers across the state. The article describes the process of dissemination and implementation. Lessons learned and recommendations for future dissemination efforts are highlighted.     

The Clinician's Voice and the Limits of Bioethics

The bioethics movement has long promulgated a model of ‘principled decision‐making’ in which ethical dilemmas and conflicts between various rights, interests, and ethical principles are central. In many respects this movement has had a laudatory impact on health care and on health professionals, but we will also argue that the bioethical model of ethical analysis has important limitations. The model's theoretical orientation is discontinuous with the training and skills of health professionals, the manner in which health professionals conceptualise and solve problems that arise in a clinical setting, and the time constraints inherent in most clinical situations. As such, the model is not readily applicable to much of the day‐to‐day work of clinicians and, in particular, to the routine ethical questions and situations that arise in caring for patients. What we suggest is that the bioethical model does not take into account that health care professionals, as part of their daily work, encounter and manage difficult, often conflictual situations and that they do so by bringing to bear conceptual frameworks and therapeutic techniques that have, embedded within them, the ethical values and goals of their own fields, as well as established ways of dealing with problems and addressing competing priorities. We further argue that from a systems perspective, the bioethical model and the pragmatic, problem‐focused ethical decision‐making of clinicians operate on different levels of complexity; whereas the former is especially appropriate for situations that resist consensus or that raise significant issues of public policy, the latter serves as an effective framework in less difficult or complex situations that can be moved effectively toward consensus and closure.     

Associative stigma among mental health professionals: implications for professional and service user well-being

In contrast with growing attention given to the stigma experiences of mental health service users, the stigma literature has paid almost no attention to mental health professionals. This study focuses on experiences of associative stigma among these professionals. We investigate the link between associative stigma and three dimensions of burnout as well as job satisfaction among mental health professionals, and the link of associative stigma with self-stigma and client satisfaction among service users. Survey data from 543 professionals and 707 service users from diverse mental health services are analyzed using multilevel techniques. The results reveal that among mental health professionals associative stigma is related to more depersonalization, more emotional exhaustion, and less job satisfaction. In addition, in units in which professionals report more associative stigma, service users experience more self-stigma and less client satisfaction. The results reveal that associative stigma is related to more depersonalization, more emotional exhaustion, and less job satisfaction among mental health professionals.     

Psychologist and Physician Interest in Telehealth Training and Referral for Mental Health Services: An Exploratory Study

The current study explored psychological and medical professionals’ interest in videoconferencing telehealth training and mental health telehealth referral. An online survey assessed 782 participants comprised of 669 psychological (45% male, Mean Age = 47.01, SD = 16.82) and 113 medical professionals (58% male, Mean Age = 46.19, SD = 12.40). Z-test analyses indicated that although psychological professionals were statistically more interested in receiving telehealth training, both groups reported some interest. Ranked responses indicated efficacy data, ethical issues, and legal concerns as the most endorsed areas of training interest. Referral concerns were also found. Findings were discussed related to both statistical and clinical significance. Application of findings is discussed related to future work, practice, and program creation. The development of telehealth training programs will provide interested professionals with tools required for practice and may serve as an impetus to increase utilization and/or referral.     

Mental health disaster response: nursing interventions across the life span

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, adult survivors often move through the following phases of disaster response: Heroic Phase, Honeymoon Phase, Disillusionment Phase, and Reconstruction Phase. Understanding age-related responses to traumatic events such as a tornado enables mental health clinicians to individualize appropriate interventions and prevent or diminish emotional sequelae such as post-traumatic stress disorders. Psychiatric-mental health nurses are encouraged to attend local Red Cross disaster training to be prepared should the need arise for mobilization of mental health disaster response teams in your community.     

Gesundheitsf?rderung durch Introvision als Methode der mentalen Selbstregulation: eine zusammenfassende übersicht über empirische Forschungsergebnisse

This article gives an overview on five empirical studies on the effects of training in Introvision on improving health. Introvision is a newly developed, research based method of mental self-regulation aiming at resolving inner conflicts. To put it briefly, Introvision is a method of combining principles of cognitive behavior therapy with a special kind of mindfulness, thus aiming at extinguishing the habitual coupling of core cognitions with heightened arousal, tension and inhibition. In this article, two general hypotheses on the effects of Introvision on health are developed based on the theory of mental introference. The results of three controlled empirical studies show that introvision leads to significant improvement in reducing chronic health problems. Specifically, there were significant improvements (1) of hearing (in case of presbyacusis), (2) in lessening the strain of tinnitus and (3) in reducing and resolving chronic neck tensions. Also, training in Introvision led to significant long-term reduction of chronic stress (prae, post) in various groups (e.g. high-performance sports, managers). After the ending of training in Introvision, chronic stress was decreased even further significantly (post vs. follow-up).     

Incorporating children's lives into a life course perspective on stress and mental health

Emerging themes in demography, developmental medicine, and psychiatry suggest that a comprehensive understanding of mental health across the life course requires that we incorporate the lives of children into our research. If we can learn more about the ways in which the stress process unfolds for children, we will gain important insights into the factors that influence initial set points of trajectories of mental health over the life course. This will simultaneously extend the scope of the stress process paradigm and elaborate the life course perspective on mental health. Incorporating children's lives into the sociology of mental health will also extend the intellectual influence of the discipline on sociomedical and biomedical research on mental illness. I contend that sociology's greatest promise in understanding trajectories of mental health across the life course lies in a systematic analysis of the social and social-psychological conditions of children, the stressful experiences that arise out of these conditions, and the processes that mediate and moderate the stress process in childhood. In this regard, there are three major issues that sociologists could begin to address: (1) the identification of structural and institutional factors that pattern children's exposure to stress; (2) the construction of a stress universe for children; and (3) the identification of key elements of the life course perspective that may set or alter trajectories of mental health in childhood and adolescence.     

Responsive engagement in mental health services for foster youth transitioning to adulthood

ABSTRACT

As youth near the transition to adulthood and aging out of the foster care system, exposure to stress increases, especially for youth who have less-than-adequate support systems. Although mental health problems among foster youth often continue into adulthood, service use decreases dramatically within a year of turning age 18. Understanding how foster youth experience mental health services as they transition from care provides social workers and other mental health professionals important insight that can lead to specific, targetable strategies. This study sought to explore what situations were helpful in supporting mental health as foster youth transitioned to adulthood. Focus groups and interviews with former foster youth and professionals informed the development of a quantitative instrument, which was used to identify the most supportive and frequently encountered situations former foster youth experienced. Findings indicate the most helpful situations were those in which professionals and mentors were flexible and responsive to their individual needs and trusted their ability to make decisions. Supportive adults who honored their choices and collaborated in decision-making were also helpful. Engaging, empowering, and partnering with transition-age youth may increase the likelihood of positive mental health outcomes for this population, offering implications for family-centered, strengths-based practice.     

A Review of Lesbian Depression and Anxiety

SUMMARY

The Surgeon General's first report on mental health identified depression and anxiety as significant mental health issues that disproportionately affect women. Research indicates that lesbians experience depression at rates that parallel those of the general female population, suggesting that depression is an important mental health issue for lesbians. Given the high rate of comorbidity between depression and anxiety disorders, it is likely that many depressed lesbians have struggled with problems related to anxiety as well. This paper reviews literature pertaining to lesbians and depression including incidence rates, risk factors, suicidality and treatment approaches, and stress and anxiety that may also contribute to the experience of depression among lesbians.     

Using an action research approach to involving service users in the assessment of professional competence

This paper reports on a piece of action research that has involved people who use mental health services in systematically providing feedback from a user perspective on participants’ assessed work completed for one module of a masters’ training programme in mental health. In an attempt to improve professional practice and include people who were accessing mental health services in so doing, it outlines how users were trained to provide feedback and the training methods employed. The findings summarise the kind of issues users raised in their feedback to participants about the evidence professionals provided to demonstrate their learning from the training programme. A focus group interview with professionals provides a contrasting insight into the participants’ experience of having their work commented upon from a user perspective. The paper draws on the experience of a five-year external evaluation of an interdisciplinary programme in community mental health at Birmingham University in the UK which has highlighted the involvement of people who use mental health services as a particular innovation in the design, delivery and evaluation of the curriculum.     

Video conferencing applications in social work: Work locally,think globally

Abstract

Video conferencing is a technology that facilitates the provision of high quality education, health-care and consultation to clients and families served by rural area health professionals via visual and audio transmissions. It also plays an important role in the education, and training of rural health professionals and the development of a multidisciplinary team dialogue between rural and metropolitan partners. This paper describes our experience of a video conferencing program conducted at the Goulburn Valley Mental Health Service and St George's Older Persons Mental Health Service. We have found a number of benefits of this technology for clients, their families and for health professionals themselves. The development of expertise in the use of video conferencing technology has empowered social workers in their work places. Video conferencing has been extended to other aspects of social work practice. A pertinent example of this is the use of video conferencing in Guardianship and Administration hearings for patients who would otherwise be unable to attend because of health problems (physical, mental and mobility).     

Compassion Fatigue,Compassion Satisfaction,and Burnout

Summary

Over the past several decades the mental health field has become increasingly concerned about potential negative effects in professionals of providing crisis intervention and traumatic stress services to individuals and groups. The employee assistance (EA) field has not received adequate attention with regard to the study of these negative effects, such as compassion fatigue. This paper highlights results from a national research study of members of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) who were assessed for risk for compassion fatigue and burnout, as well as potential for compassion satisfaction. Additionally, coping methods for dealing with work-related stress resulting from the provision of workplace crisis intervention services were measured. Findings indicate that EA professionals who provide clinical services and/or crisis intervention services in the workplace are at low risk for burnout, moderate risk for compassion fatigue, and have high potential for compassion satisfaction. Implications for the EA field, in terms of training and practice, are discussed.     

Promoting public/academic linkage.

1. Collaborative linkages between public mental health/mental retardation service systems and academic institutions have evolved in response to several problems: increasing numbers of individuals requiring long-term mental health care; the nursing shortage; and a decline in enrollment and students graduating from psychiatric mental health nursing programs. 2. Evidence suggests that a public/academic linkage in the form of a multidisciplinary training course in the care of seriously mentally ill patients promotes a recruitment of mental health professionals to work with these patients. 3. The establishment of academic/health care system linkages can enhance client care, expand and improve clinical experiences and education for students, and provide opportunities for collaborative research among clinical staff, faculty members, and graduate students.     

Equine-assisted activities and therapies: enhancing the social worker’s armamentarium

Introduction: Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) have gained prominence as a viable therapeutic approach for a range of mental health and developmental problems, yet is not widely known and not conventionally provided within the social work educational curriculum. Thus, the purpose of this study is to provide a review of various certification bodies available to social workers in order to bring EAATs into their therapeutic work. Methods: A multi-stage process, including consultation with experts in the field and an online search was undertaken to locate certification programs for mental health professionals. Results: Seven certification organizations were identified; programs varied with respect to mental health pre-requisites, type of certification, training components, and cost. Discussion: There has been substantial growth in EAAT for children with mental health and developmental problems, and there are a range of certification types to select from. Factors to consider when choosing which type of certification to pursue, and barriers to certification are discussed.