Family Sculpture and Relationship Mapping Techniques

An overview is constructed of a substantial array of space and action techniques of broad utility in marriage and family therapy. Family sculpture and a variety of closely related techniques have gained wide acceptance by counselors, therapists, and educators. The roots of these techniques and their basic concepts are traced. A heuristic typology is presented which highlights the essential interrelatedness of diverse methods and lays the foundation for further open-ended innovation by working professionals to develop customized variations especially fitted to their personal style and to the needs of their clients.     

Identifying the barriers and challenges to voting by residents in nursing homes and assisted living settings

To ascertain the need for and to inform development of guidelines for voting in long-term care settings, we conducted a telephone survey of Philadelphia nursing (n = 31) and assisted living (n = 20) settings following the 2003 election. Substantial variability existed in procedures used for registration and voting, in staff attitudes, and in the estimated proportion of residents who voted (29%+/-28, range 0-100%). Residents who wanted to vote were unable to do so at nearly one-third of sites, largely due to procedural problems. Nearly two-thirds of facilities indicated they assessed residents' voting capacity before the election. However, methods differed and may have disenfranchised residents who were actually competent to vote. Current procedures in many facilities fail to protect voting rights. These data suggest that rights might be better protected if election officials took charge of registration, filing absentee ballot requests, ballot completion, and trained LTC facility staff on voters' rights and reasonable accommodations.     

Particularities of Persecution. The Policing of Gypsies in Saxony 1871–1914

This article identifies the mechanisms by which governments in the Saxon region sought to eradicate the lifestyle of travellers they labelled ‘Gypsies’ (Zigeuner). It argues that much of this policy rested on legislation that was already in place to regulate the itinerant poor, including both the restrictions governing itinerant trade and begging and vagrancy laws, but that the precise pattern of implementation for ‘Gypsies’ was nonetheless distinct. Special treatment was also apparent in the system of police escort that emerged, and in police efforts to gather and share the personal data of targets. Surviving Gendarmerie reports indicate that the implementation of policy was adversely affected by limited police resources, negligent officials, the willingness of individuals to continue to trade with travellers and, not least, the responses of travellers themselves. Nevertheless, they also make it clear that it became more and more difficult for travelling groups to sustain an itinerant lifestyle.     

Yoga,quality of life,anxiety, and trauma in low-income adults with mental illness: A mixed-methods study

We used a mixed-methods convergent parallel design to explore the effect of yoga on quality of life, trauma, and anxiety in low-income adults with mental illness. Participants included a convenience sample (N = 18) of parents at a community mental health agency who participated in a six-week yoga intervention. Participants completed standardized measures of quality of life, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) pre- and post-intervention. Focus groups were conducted to further explore barriers to and the effects of participation in the yoga intervention. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Tests indicated a statistically significant decrease in anxiety and PTSD after the yoga intervention, but no significant changes in quality of life or trait anxiety. Qualitative results reveal five themes related to participation in yoga classes, including barriers to participation and ways to improve the class. Qualitative results corroborate quantitative findings, suggesting improved relaxation and anger management for participants who strongly endorsed the benefits they experienced.     

EXAMINING MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING COMPETENCE AND RACE-RELATED ATTITUDES AMONG WHITE MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPISTS

This study investigates the relative contributions of social desirability attitudes, previous number of multicultural counseling courses taken, and racism and White racial identity attitudes together in predicting marital and family therapists' self-reported multicultural counseling competence. Results revealed that, when controlling for social desirability attitudes and the number of multicultural courses taken, racism and White racial identity attitudes in consort accounted for a significant amount of the variance in self-perceived multicultural counseling competence. Implications for marital and family therapy training, practice, and research are discussed.     

Religion,Spirituality, and Career Development in African American College Students: A Qualitative Inquiry

The authors explored through semistructured interviews the interrelationships of religion, spirituality, and career development in a sample of 12 African American undergraduate students. Using consensual qualitative research methodology (C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997), they identified 6 primary domains or themes related to these students' experiences in this regard, including (a) degree of identification as religious and/or spiritual, (b) parents' influence on religious and spiritual beliefs, (c) roles of religion and spirituality in participants' career development, (d) challenges in dealing with academic and career‐related issues, (e) religious and spiritual strategies to deal with academic and career‐related challenges, and (f) indicators of success in future career or occupation.