Of the Soul and Suffering: Mindfulness-Based Interventions and Bereavement

There has been increased interest in, and evidence for, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) as integrative approaches for a wide variety of psychosocial issues. However, there is very little research on the use of MBIs in bereavement care and only one proposed model existing in the literature. This article presents an overview of the mindfulness-based literature and uses a case study of a bereaved parent to illustrate a mindfulness-based model of bereavement care that is consistent with social work values. Such a model may provide a future direction for care of the bereaved as well as interesting opportunities for further development and research.     

Countertransference risks when women treat women

Certain female patients deal with issues of sexuality, reproduction, aggression, and dependence in ways which may generate intense reactions in their female therapists. We will describe the range of responses we experienced while treating various women in an acute psychiatric inpatient setting. A surprising finding was that not only our problematic responses, but also our effective solutions, have often occurred unconsciously.A shorter version of this paper was presented at the California Chapter NASW Conference on April 7, 1989.     

Ambiguity and the abstract tact: A signal detection analysis

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - Four observers who had completed a formal course in projective test techniques were asked to discriminate House-Tree-Person (H-T-P) drawings made by psychiatric...     

Young Adult Predictors and Midlife Outcomes of Male Fine Art Careers

The fine artist is often characterized as atypical and as one who persists with an unconventional lifestyle and career pattern because of the satisfaction derived from creating. To persevere with such an unconventional pattern over an extended period requires an unusual person. Can such a person be identified before he or she experiences this career pattern? The current study followed a group of male fine and applied artists over an 18-year period and identified the young adult and midlife variables that differentiated the two groups. Results indicate that men in stereotypical fine art careers (labeled fluid careers) are more talented, inner-focused, and less materialistic as young adults than their peers. By midlife, such fine artists also have significantly lower socioeconomic status than those in stable applied art careers, yet are equally satisfied with their lives. The results suggest that men who experience a fluid, fine-art career are intrinsically oriented.     

Advice to Risk Assessors Modeling Viral Health Risk Associated with Household Graywater

Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) is a valuable tool that can be used to predict the risk associated with human exposure to specific microbial contaminants in water sources. The transparency inherent in the QMRA process benefits discussions between multidisciplinary teams because members of such teams have different expertise and their confidence in the risk assessment output will depend upon whether they regard the selected input data and assumptions as being suitable and/or plausible. Selection of input data requires knowledge of the availability of appropriate data sets, the limitations of using a particular data set, and the logic of using alternative approaches. In performing QMRA modeling and in the absence of directly relevant data, compromises must be made. One such compromise made is to use available Escherichia coli data and apply a ratio of enteric viruses to indicator E. coli in wastewater obtained from prior studies to estimate the concentration of enteric viruses in other wastewater types/sources. In this article, we have provided an argument for why we do not recommend the use of a pathogen to E. coli ratio to estimate virus concentrations in single household graywater and additionally suggested circumstances in which use of such a ratio may be justified.     

Sexual Attitudes and Behavior of University Students at a Rural South African University: Results of a Pilot Survey

A cross sectional qualitative and quantitative pilot survey, using self-administered questionnaire and focus group discussions, was conducted to assess the feasibility of a health promotion programme implemented at the university. About 73 students participated in the survey and the discussion. We examined gender and cultural differences on sexual attitude and behaviour. There was a strong belief that unprotected sex can lead to pregnancy and STIs. Overall participants were not sure if condom use had any negative effects, although female respondents felt that condoms affect the pleasure of sexual intercourse.

The results suggest that there is a need for health promotion programmes aimed at young adults, who attend university. The programme should improve general health knowledge, targeting health promotion and sexual risk behaviour among university students. Such a programme would have to consider gender, socio-economic circumstances as well as national and cultural background of the target population.     

An Exploratory Essay on Listening Instruction in the K-12 Curriculum

This article presents a reanalysis of a previously reported study on the impact of the Tomatis Method of auditory stimulation on subjects with autism. When analyzed as individual case studies, the data showed that six of the 11 subjects with autism demonstrated significant improvement from 90 hours of Tomatis Therapy. Five subjects did not benefit significantly, at least not on the measures used in this research. The results of this study support previous findings reported in peer-reviewed research.

The benefits from the Tomatis Therapy varied from subject to subject. In this study, one subject transitioned from nonverbal to verbal, one began to spontaneously repeat words, and others increased their receptive and expressive vocabulary. Additional findings included improvements in skills of daily living, motor skills, socialization, and overall communication skills. The findings of this study also indicated reductions in hyperactivity, atypical behavior, and inattention.