Solution-focused group therapy for level 1 substance abusers

The present study compared solution-focused group therapy (SFGT) with a traditional problem-focused treatment for level 1 substance abusers. Outcome research on the effectiveness of solution-focused group therapy is minimal, especially in treating substance abusers. In the present study, clients were measured before and after treatment to determine therapeutic effectiveness. Clients in the solution-focused group significantly improved on both the Beck Depression Inventory and the Outcome Questionnaire. The clients in the comparison group did not improve significantly on either measure. Therapist skill level and adherence to theoretical models were measured in each group to reduce confounding variables.     

Career Counselors Confront a Critical Crossroad: A Vision of the Future

The current challenges confronting career counselors require increased discourse regarding career counseling models. Some authors have initiated this discourse, but more participants are needed. The need also exists to communicate more aggressively the special expertise that career counselors bring to their work. As career counselors construct contemporary intervention models, they will need to engage in action research to demonstrate accountability and to document that their services are effective. Career counselors can embrace these activities by building on past practices to construct a vision for the future.     

SOLUTION-FOCUSED THERAPY IN A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL

This paper presents the authors' use of solution-focused brief therpay in an adult inpatient psychiatric hospital setting. we suggest that a theoretical inteeegration of the medical model and the solution-focused approach provides a useful treatment modality. We discuss implementation of the model, emphasizing assessment, treatment milieu, the role of staff, therapy, and discharge issues. We also describe the model's usefulness for training and supervision and offer recommendations for future research.     

Solution-focused premarital counseling: helping couples build a vision for their marriage

This article outlines a solution-focused approach to premarital counseling. Solution-focused premarital counseling is a strength-based approach that focuses on a couple's resources to develop a shared vision for the marriage. Background information about premarital counseling and solution-focused therapy provide the framework for the development of intervention strategies that are grounded in the solution-focused approach. Solution-oriented interventions include solution-oriented questions, providing feedback, and the Couple's Resource Map, an original intervention that is described in this article.     

Practice teaching: Problem to solution

This article sets out to explore the relevance of solution-focused approaches to practice teaching within the specific framework of the Diploma in Social Work. It summarises some of the key principles of solution-focused work and discusses their relevance for the tasks undertaken by practice teachers within the competence framework of the Dip SW. The principles and methods of solution-focused approaches are applied to the stages of placement with the aim of generating ideas for practice teachers. While the article introduces a modified learning cycle it also includes a discussion of some of the similarities and differences between task-centred and solution-focused approaches.     

A Solution-Oriented Approach to Working with Juvenile Offenders

This article describes the ways in which a solution-focused practice approach is advantageous for social workers working in a variety of settings with juvenile offenders, due to its strengths-based and positive orientation. The general approach is discussed as well as specific techniques and examples of applications, such as building a relationship with a juvenile offender who has been mandated into services, finding and amplifying exceptions to the problem and other resources and strengths, and setting goals with the use of scaling questions.     

Solution-focused therapy for families coping with suicide

Solution-focused therapy is proposed as a model for families coping with suicide. The nature and incidence of suicide is described along with a consideration of the effects that suicide has on families and prevailing treatment approaches. Three case examples illustrate the application. Implications are discussed pertaining to the theory, practice, and research of solution-focused therapy for families coping with suicide.     

A House of Our Own: Diaspora Politics Among Koreans in the Russian Far East

This paper discusses the newly formed public space that exists for Koreans in the Russian Far East (RFE). It shows that the notion of diaspora is a fluctuating political subjectivity in Russia that is largely defined and regulated by the state. It examines the changes that have taken place in the local politics surrounding the Korean diaspora in the RFE resulting from their experience of the Stalinist purge and their return from Central Asia during the post-socialist transition. Central to this research is a building called Koreiskii Dom and the conflicts surrounding its ownership and use. By examining these conflicts, this paper explores how the focus of community for Russian Koreans has shifted from national rehabilitation to cultural recognition influenced by the increasing prominence of businessmen in local politics, and the substantive demands made on public spaces for practices of cultural reconsolidation.     

THE INTEGRATION OF EMOTION IN SOLUTION- FOCUSED THEAPY

The authors believe that solution-focused therapy can be enhanced by more overtly incorporating emotions into its theoretical framework and therapeutic strategies. They discuss the role of emotions in solution-focused therapy and offer several solution-focused interventions that utlize client affect.     

Effects of a Solution-Focused Mutual Aid Group for Hispanic Children of Incarcerated Parents

Children of incarcerated parents are five to six times more likely to go to prison than their peers (Johnston, 1995). Yet, there is a lacuna in the literature that examines the effectiveness of interventions for children with an incarcerated family member. The purpose of the present study is to describe a solution-focused, mutual aid group intervention and to examine the effects of the group on the self-esteem of elementary-age Hispanic children of incarcerated parents when compared to a no-treatment comparison group. Implications for social work practice and research with this vulnerable population are addressed.     

"Flying by the seat of our pants": current processes to share best practices to deal with elder abuse

We examined current processes used to identify, communicate, and adopt "best practices" in the field of elder abuse using an iterative process involving literature and Internet reviews, surveys completed by stakeholders, and key informant interviews. Results indicate minimal research evidence exists to support current assessment and intervention strategies; there is an immediate need for more evaluation and research in this area and for improved knowledge exchange and translation. Two strategic directions are recommended: to (a) build capacity for research and program evaluation to advance knowledge of effective practices, and (b) build capacity for knowledge exchange to enhance professionals' efforts.     

Participatory Practices in Organizations

The literature on participatory practices in organizations has been less coherent and more limited to subspecialties than the literature on bureaucracy in organizations – despite a number of celebrated studies of participation in 20th century American sociology. Due to the practical nature of participatory reforms and the ambiguity of participation as a concept, attempts to review participatory knowledge have a tendency to focus on refining definitions and clarifying frameworks within subfields. This article instead provides a broad thematic overview of three different types of research on participation in organizations, all critical to an understanding of today's dramatic expansion of participatory practices across a variety of organizations. Classic research studied participation as dynamic and central to organizational legitimacy. Institutional design research has focused on participation as a stand‐alone governance reform with promising empowerment potential, but mixed results in domains such as health care, environmental politics, and urban planning. Finally, recent research seeks to place participatory practices in the context of shifting relationships between authority, voice, and inequality in the contemporary era. The article concludes with suggestions for building on all three categories of research by exploring what is old and new in the 21st century's changing participatory landscape.     

Autism self-advocacy in the Netherlands: past,present and future

This article presents the results of participatory research into the roles and practices of autistic self-advocates in the Netherlands, and the outcomes of their activities. The article discusses the history of Dutch autism self-advocacy, situating it within the history and practices of self-advocacy internationally and the socio-cultural context of the Netherlands. Particular reference is made to Judi Chamberlin’s model for building effective self-advocacy organisations. Key findings include the scope of significant achievements, and the identification of barriers to efficacy in the areas of governance, personal and organisational capacity, relationships with other organisations, and coalition-building. The research concludes by considering what practices could serve to build increased capacity and efficacy, based on the experiences of these and other self-advocates.     

Solution-focused wellness coaching: a mixed methods,longitudinal study with college students

ABSTRACT

Research indicates that college students are experiencing mental health challenges of greater severity and frequency. College students present with a variety of wellness-related challenges, resulting in increased demand on campus health resources and service limitations including extended wait lists and increased off-campus referrals. This research study examined the effectiveness of a short-term solution-focused intervention on perceptions of wellness and stress among the college student population. This study utilized a longitudinal, mixed-methods design to assess the impact of a brief (seven-week) intervention on perceived stress and wellness among 52 college students at a large Midwestern University, using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Five-Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (5 F-WEL). Repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) results indicated significant differences across time for perceived stress and wellness (p <.01). To augment quantitative data, a brief, semi-structured interview was completed with 24 study participants post-intervention, and an Applied Thematic Analysis (ATA) was conducted as a means of identifying themes. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a solution-focused wellness (SFW) approach in changing perceptions of stress and wellness. Findings provide support for a prevention model in which college students are encouraged to proactively engage in lifestyle activities that enhance their wellness.     

Social work students’ reflections on a solution-focused approach to child protection assessment: a qualitative study

This exploratory study examines how Estonian graduate social work students’ reflections of the solution-focused approach in the context of child protection assessment can change as a result of coursework in this model. Students’ responses indicate some changes in the nature of responses after the solution-focused training course, including the adoption of techniques that help to focus on solutions (e.g. miracle question and scaling questions). Following the training, students underscored the importance of changing problem-focused ‘traditional thinking’. The findings highlight a challenge in social work education, suggesting a need to target goal-directed talk throughout the social work curriculum to support competence in conducting comprehensive, strength-based assessments.     

STRATEGIC EXCLUSION OF THE HIGHEST‐VALUED BIDDERS IN WHOLESALE AUTOMOBILE AUCTIONS

By restricting bidders to be qualified dealers, wholesale automobile auctions exclude the bidders who place the highest value on the vehicles: consumers. This article provides an explanation for this puzzling entry restriction by modeling the inventory‐management decisions of a firm. If an automobile dealer has more vehicles in inventory than is optimal, it cannot reduce its inventory by selling directly to consumers without impacting the demand for the automobiles that remain. However, if the dealer sells his/her excess inventory to a competitor, the demand for his/her remaining vehicles increases as the competitor responds by acquiring fewer additional vehicles. We demonstrate that for any market demand function and any cost of the competitor acquiring additional vehicles, a dealer with excess inventory does better by selling a subset of its vehicles to a competitor rather than directly to consumers. We discuss the market for wholesale automobiles in relation to other markets where goods are also auctioned but where entry is not restricted to qualified dealers. Doing so allows us to compare our inventory‐management explanation to common explanations provided by industry practitioners. We find that intuitive alternative stories do not consistently explain practices across markets. (JEL D44, L11, L62)     

A framework for targeting soil conservation policy

This paper presents a comprehensive framework and methodology in an attempt to direct policy solutions to soil and water degradation from water-related soil erosion. The perspective adopted by this research is social science in nature. Past research on the adoption of soil conservation practices has tended to concentrate on the micro (individual) level of inquiry and has tended to ignore environmental (i.e. biophysical) factors. Previous models of the adoption of soil conservation practices are reviewed and critiqued. Based on the strengths and limitations of these approaches, a comprehensive analytical framework that identifies and relates micro (e.g. farm and farmer characteristics) and macro (e.g. institutional arrangements, fiscal and monetary policies, agricultural policies) factors influencing the adoption and continued use of soil conservation measures is proposed. It is hypothesized that economic and institutional constraints will exert the greatest influence on decisions to use land stewardship practices when problem awareness exists at the micro level. Based on this framework, a research methodology is developed to classify the farm population into relatively homogeneous sub-groups based on farmers' receptivity to the adoption and use of currently available and prospective conservation practices. These groupings could then form the basis for targeting a range of policies, programs, and other measures appropriate for each group.