Marital therapy with couples whose lack of self-sustaining function threatens the marriage

In the hierarchy of internal structures that contribute to a complete, mature sense of self, certain psychic functions are essential. In particular, adults who can maintain a sense of intactness of the self can, by-in-large, provide the following five psychic functions for themselves: self-security, self-realness, self-esteem, self-love and identity. Dr. Dan Buie (1989) has described the lack of these five self-sustaining psychic functions in certain clients and the consequences for the therapist/patient relationship. This paper will summarize Buie's contribution to understanding clients who lack the ability to provide these self-sustaining functions, then apply this conceptual framework to the understanding of certain marital conflicts, discussing aspects of the therapeutic process and the therapist's role with respect to these marital conflicts.     

A Therapist's Perspective on Jewish Family Values

Family therapy has been deficient in accounting for the impact of ethnic, religious and racial values on success or failure in treating families. Jews do well in family therapy, and they readily become engaged in it. The favorable response of Jewish families is due to a set of values. This set is composed of high familism, high egalitarianism, high secularism, maternal intrusive-ness, verbal rather than physical aggressiveness, an assertive stance toward problem-solving, and the maintenance of a scapegoat theme. In treating Jewish families it is important to keep the entire set in mind rather than any one particular value.     

Predictors of Capacity-Building Needs Among Nongovernmental Organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play important roles in social development in the Global South. However, little evidence exists concerning NGOs’ capacity-building needs. We sought to understand organizational and network factors that explain capacity-building needs. Using an online survey of 282 NGOs in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, we found high levels of capacity-building need, particularly concerning resource development. Using multivariate analyses, we found greater staff size predicted less overall capacity-building need based on a 15-item index (α = .88). Examining individual capacities, receiving at least half of funding from international sources and prior capacity-building assistance were consistent predictors of lower odds of capacity-building need.     

Critical reflection workshops and knowledge exchange: findings from a Scottish project

In 2013, academics from a Scottish university came together with social work managers and practitioners from two local authorities (LAs) in Scotland to run a knowledge exchange (KE) project co‐sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council and the LAs. The project's aim was an ambitious one: to contribute to culture change in the children and families' departments in the two partner agencies. The project grew out of an earlier KE venture that had explored ways of engaging better with involuntary service users in social work; it thus both anticipated and reflected wider concerns about services for children that were also demonstrated in Munro's Review of Child Protection. The KE project had three components: training for managers, practitioner research projects and critical reflection workshops. Whether, and to what degree, the KE project changed culture is not the focus of this paper, which is written jointly by academic researchers and practitioners. Instead, one element of the KE project, namely the critical reflection workshops, is discussed. Findings provide strong evidence of the pressures currently experienced by children and families' services in the UK public sector. They also indicate how important good relationships are in building meaningful KE.     

Planning and implementation of a participatory evaluation strategy: A viable approach in the evaluation of community-based participatory programs addressing cancer disparities

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been posited as a promising methodology to address health concerns at the community level, including cancer disparities. However, the major criticism to this approach is the lack of scientific grounded evaluation methods to assess development and implementation of this type of research. This paper describes the process of development and implementation of a participatory evaluation framework within a CBPR program to reduce breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer disparities between African Americans and whites in Alabama and Mississippi as well as lessons learned. The participatory process involved community partners and academicians in a fluid process to identify common ground activities and outcomes. The logic model, a lay friendly approach, was used as the template and clearly outlined the steps to be taken in the evaluation process without sacrificing the rigorousness of the evaluation process. We have learned three major lessons in this process: (1) the importance of constant and open dialogue among partners; (2) flexibility to make changes in the evaluation plan and implementation; and (3) importance of evaluators playing the role of facilitators between the community and academicians. Despite the challenges, we offer a viable approach to evaluation of CBPR programs focusing on cancer disparities.     

Family Therapy: Clinical Hodgepodge or Clinical Science?

A summary of my viewpoint in family therapy is given which supplies basic principles of what I believe is a comprehensive theory and technique. Critics are saying today, with some justification, that family therapy is a hodgepodge of part-theories and part-techniques; that it is more an art form than clinical science. Therefore, those that claim an integrated theory and technique have an obligation to set it out in simple, straightforward terms which invite rigorous evaluation. Summaries aid such a goal when they reduce claims to basic principles.