Preparing College Health Professionals to Deliver Gay-Affirmative Services

Abstract

On every campus, there may be many gay students, faculty, and staff who might benefit from medical and mental health services sensitively developed as an integral part of the range of health services provided to the total campus. It is crucial to develop a cadre of providers from different disciplines who have a knowledge of gay lifestyles, developmental issues, and societal pressures. Staff must develop or heighten sometimes painful self-awareness engendered by empathic identification with a stigmatized minority. They must also conceptualize homosexuality as a relationship preference or lifestyle choice and appreciate the importance of same-sex attachments in normal development.

This paper reviews common presenting themes of gay patients and clients who rarely come for help to change their preference. The effects of homophobia on staff practices and attitudes are reviewed in the context of learned negative stereotyping in the larger culture. Heterophobic expectations of potential gay consumers are explored, including those of being diagnosed as deviant, mentally ill, or arrested libidinally. Suggestions are offered for the design and marketing of collaborative gay-nongay services and for service to older hidden populations. Individuals are encouraged to examine their own relationships to homosexuality and to experience new learning through enriched encounters with gays.     

From Strength to Strength: A Manual for Professionals Who Facilitate Diverse Parent Groups

Abstract

This paper describes and analyses the program of Child Welfare Services (CWS) in Norway, using primary sources, aggregated data from Statistics Norway (SSB) and data from a recent study of 715 parents in contact with CWS. These data show that Norway's program orientation is on support, prevention, and early intervention, policies relevant to the emerging Australian policy context. Many of these services were beneficial for the general welfare of the children's family with over three- quarters of the children registered as clients in the Norwegian CWS receiving only supportive services during 2008. On the contrary, Australian systems primarily aim to identify and protect children under (possible) risk of abuse or neglect. Also, the survey data shows that families in contact with CWS are different to the general population in important ways, including family structure/demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, and physical and mental health. The results demonstrated that most of the parents agreed to contact CWS, and many were satisfied with the help they received. The data demonstrate that the Norwegian CWS respond to the welfare needs of vulnerable and marginalised families. Possible implications the Norwegian system might have for the children and parents who are accessing services are discussed.     

Three Recent United States Supreme Court Decisions for Professionals Who Testify in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

This article provides a basic review of the most recent United States Supreme Court decisions that directly relate to child sexual abuse. These cases are Maryland v. Craig, Idaho v. Wright, and White v. Illinois. More specifically, the article illustrates how the legal principles of these cases practically affect professionals who treat and counsel sexual abuse victims when and if they are called to testify in court proceedings. After a brief introduction, a background section succinctly explains the basic legal principles of confrontation and hearsay which underpin the recent Supreme Court decisions. The rest of the article then analyzes each of the three recent cases and focuses on citing examples of testimony that was or was not admissible. This article is not intended to be an exhaustive legal analysis nor a commentary on the appropriateness of the case holdings, but rather a practical review with specific examples of what the United States Supreme Court has held to be acceptable as of this writing.     

Career Competencies for Career Success

This article addresses the general question as to which competencies employees need to possess in order to engage in self‐management in their career development. The authors distinguished and operationalized 6 career factors and competencies of self‐management in career development. A quantitative study was performed using 1,579 employees in 16 Dutch companies to investigate the relationship between career competencies and career success. The results indicate that, among others, the factors career control and networking are strongly associated with career success. The results are discussed with respect to the facilitation organizations can provide for their employees' career actualization.     

Counseling Competencies for Sexual Minority Clients

Abstract

Being able to work effectively with clients from diverse backrounds has become a necessity in good counseling practice. Professional associations have acknowledged this in recent years by identifying and articulating multicultural competencies that inform both the practice of counseling, but also the training of counselors. Specific attention to competencies in working with LGBT clients has been identified as a sub-set of these overall cultural competencies. In this paper, leaders within the Association for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues in Counseling present specific ways in which counselors can provide culturally sensitive counseling to sexual minority clients and their families that are in line with the counselor training guidelines established by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).     

Parents: Dilemmas for Professionals

A professional critically examines her practices towards parents whilst an educational psychologist. Aspects of the power relationship are explored, including acting as a friend, the trappings of professionalism, privacy and confidentiality, interprofessional trust, and the provision of services. A tentative conclusion reached is that these create dilemmas which are part of the workings of the system within which the educational psychologist works, and that professional survival is the underlying motive.     

The Condensed MFT Core Competencies: A Streamlined Approach for Measuring Student and Supervisee Learning Using the MFT Core Competencies

In this article, the authors present a condensed version of the Marriage and Family Therapy Core Competencies (MFT-CC), collapsing the original 128 MFT-CC to 16 using a qualitative research method. Educators, supervisors, and researchers can more easily and efficiently use the condensed MFT-CC to measure student and supervisee learning for accreditation and training. The 16 Condensed MFT-CC are mapped to the original MFT-CC, COAMFTE's Version 12 Foundational Curriculum Areas and the Association for Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards 6 domains upon which the national exam is predicated.     

人类命运共同体理念下培养服务“一带一路”建设的韩语人才

人类命运共同体理念倡导人类命运共同意识,在追求本国利益时兼顾他国合理关切,在谋求本国发展中促进各国共同发展,体现出中国对全球治理困境的反思,体现出中国积极贡献于全球治理的自信和决心。在此理念下,如何培养推进一带一路发展、支撑加速人类命运共同体构建所需的韩国语人才,是当下需要重新深思的问题。虽然韩国并非一带一路沿线国家,但自一带一路倡议提出至今,韩国政府及学界都给予了很高的评价,并主动将一带一路倡议与新南方政策新北方政策对接。在此大背景下,培养符合两国合作需求的复合型高质量韩国语人才刻不容缓。新冠肺炎疫情之下,一带一路不但没有停摆,反而让世界各国更加意识到人类命运共同体的重要性。研究梳理当前韩语人才教育与一带一路倡议对接的现实困境,可以看出在培养韩语人才的过程中,应该加强国情国策教育,把握国际关系走向,立足市场需求,灵活更新学科建设理念,在危中寻机,构建具体参与全球治理能力的人才培养机制。     

Parent-perceived Attitudes of Professionals: Implications for Service Providers

While parents' reactions to a diagnosis of disability in their child have been well documented, less is known of parents' reactions to the professionals who provide the diagnostic and support services used by parents. This study identified four major parameters within which the attitudes of professionals are perceived by parents of children/teenagers diagnosed as intellectually disabled. Comments of the 131 mothers and fathers interviewed helped to shed light on what they have expected of service providers, and suggest adjustments that may need to be made by professionals to the attitudes they convey in interaction with parents.     

The Language of Leadership for Female Public Relations Professionals

This study used feminist scholarship to explore leadership in female public relations practitioners and educators. Interviews with 10 women helped illustrate their communication styles, motivations, and meanings for leadership. These women's voices deserve attention due to the concerns about the growing percentage of women entering the field. Results revealed that participants illustrated a mix of 2-way and I-way communication when hypothetically responding to staff. Educators tended to utilize 2-way communication more than I-way and incorporated compromise into conflict resolution. All the participants exhibited assertiveness. empathy for staff, and use of logical rather than emotional arguments.