“Phil's Calling Grandma… ”: The Role of External Support in Human–Companion Animal Identity Pairings

This exploratory paper deals with human–animal role identity pairings such as parent–child or sibling–sibling and the necessity of support from other actors both for the formation of these idiosyncratic identities, as well as for their situational placement in social environments not limited to the nonhuman animal. Taken from a qualitative study examining identity formation counter to the nonhuman animal, I use in‐depth interviews of both people with and without human children to demonstrate how human‐to‐human relationships are formed by categorizing the companion animal as a “child” of sorts within the family structure. These relationships prove integral to the continued development and enactment of identities such as the animal “parent” or the animal “sibling” via three different groups: their own parents, partners, and, in one case, adult siblings. This creates positive affect and commitment to the identity across other social situations. Implications of these findings for identity theory and family research are discussed.     

Managing the process of change in residential child care: A consultancy approach

This article explores the impact of a consultancy undertaken with groups of residential child care staff within a large local authority who were experiencing considerable changes in their working environment as a result of a review of residential care structures. The authors were invited to engage directly with staff on an individual and group basis to help them work through the barriers they perceived to changing their approach to practice. The theoretical underpinning for the work was Charles Handy's [1993, Understanding Organisations (Harmondsworth, Penguin)] belief that change is more likely to have a positive outcome when staff have an investment in and contribution to the change processes. The model of change utilised within the sessions with staff was Kurt Lewin's three stages of 'unfreezing', 'change' and 'refreezing'. The consultancy raised a number of issues about the process of change and how this can be achieved within the residential child care context. In particular, it highlighted the problems of assuming that change is a linear process which can be directly controlled and managed in the flux and uncertainty which characterises this sector.     

One step further from detected contradictions in a child welfare unit—a constructive approach to communicate the needs of social work when implementing ICT in social services

Unintended consequences were detected when a new client data system was taken into use in a child welfare unit in the City of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. This paper describes how social work was practiced during this period of change and analyses the phenomena involved. The concept of agency is central in the theoretical frame of this research. The data consist of written documents, participatory observation and the researcher's cooperation with the unit. Based on the data and by using the tools of semiotic sociology, the period of change was described in the form of four intersecting and parallel stories, each with a specific theme. These stories formed the basis for more theorising in which models of action theories were used. The results of this study showed that in the situation of inadequate human resource allocation for social work the data system took on a role of an agent. There was evidence of unintended consequences on the basic task in child welfare as the data system affected the work processes.     

“It's like he just goes off,BOOM!”: mothers and grandmothers make sense of child‐to‐parent violence

Child to parent violence (CPV) involves continual and cumulative abusive actions perpetrated by children and adolescents towards their parents or caregivers. This abuse produces short‐term distress and ongoing long‐term harmful consequences for parents and their families. Practitioners, researchers and policy‐makers are increasingly challenged to identify, conceptualize and respond to this form of family violence. A major challenge is that parents and caregivers under‐report this abuse so there is a lack of awareness and understanding of their psychological experiences in relation to CPV. This research adopts an interpretative phenomenological approach to explore the psychological experience of CPV. Interviews were conducted with six New Zealand mothers and two grandmothers who all experienced CPV. This abuse was experienced as an ‘emotional bloody roller coaster’ of unconditional love through to hatred; as ‘judgement’ – self‐blame and others' blame of their parenting skills; and the ‘absent father’ in their adolescents' lives was drawn on as an explanation for the abuse. Taken together, these psychological experiences identify the silencing of CPV is related to parents' conflicting emotions towards their children, their thoughts and feelings about themselves and how other people view them, and the impact of an absent father figure in their children's everyday lives.     

Note From Iran: Self-Reported Elder Abuse in Qazvin, 2012

This brief report provides a first look at self-reported instances of elder abuse by a sample of people 60 years and older living in Qazvin, Iran. Six hundred community-dwelling persons, drawn from the registry files of each health center in Qazin, completed questionnaires during April to October 2012. At least 80% of the participants reported experiencing some form of psychological abuse, financial abuse, and/or neglect at least once during a 2-month period. Physical and sexual abuse were rarely reported. Despite a strong Iranian cultural emphasis on respect for elders, the self-reporting of elder abuse, especially psychological abuse, is greater than our expectation. We recommend that health-related policies and programs begin to identify elder abuse and neglect as a first step in prevention.     

Developing an undue influence screening tool for Adult Protective Services

The study purpose was to develop and pilot an undue influence screening tool for California’s Adult Protective Services (APS) personnel based on the definition of undue influence enacted into California law January 1, 2014. Methods included four focus groups with APS providers (n = 33), piloting the preliminary tool by APS personnel (n = 15), and interviews with four elder abuse experts and two APS administrators. Social service literature—including existing undue influence models—was reviewed, as were existing screening and assessment tools. Using the information from these various sources, the California Undue Influence Screening Tool (CUIST) was developed. It can be applied to APS cases and potentially adapted for use by other professionals and for use in other states. Implementation of the tool into APS practice, policy, procedures, and training of personnel will depend on the initiative of APS management. Future work will need to address the reliability and validity of CUIST.     

A CHILD PSYCHOTHERAPIST IN PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTH

This paper outlines the author's application of psychodynamic thinking and approaches to brief therapeutic work with children, adolescents and their families in community mental health settings. It is the author's belief that systemic and narrative therapy insights and techniques combine well with psychoanalysis in the assessment and treatment of many concerns felt and expressed by parents and young people. The therapist's tasks are to listen empathically to clients who are in distress and to explore the clients' beliefs about the origins of their problems, as well as their previously attempted solutions. In proceeding at the family's pace, opportunities arise for facilitating more effective ways of resolving conflict. Clients are often more free than they realise to change their interpretation of their experience, and this has important consequences for the maintenance and solution of problems. Brief therapy seeks to remind clients of their strengths and resources and to share ways to encourage clients to resume effective ways of learning about themselves.     

Elder Abuse and Neglect vs. Parricide: A Letter From Russia

In Russia, elder abuse is rarely discussed in the professional literature and the media. However, it is posited that parricide can be considered a form of elder abuse in Russia, as the line between elder abuse and parricide can be vague. Instances of parricide can appear trivial, hardly realized as such by victims and the social environment. Borderline cases can include involving older people in binge drinking, denying them help, and manipulating them to commit suicide. The perpetrators are often nonpsychotic, although sometimes exhibiting abnormal personality traits. Anger toward the victim can be absent on the part of the perpetrator, with their actions often driven by economic desires. A concluding point is that for better prevention of parricide and, therefore, elder abuse, it should not be considered only an unusual horrific crime committed by the mentally ill.