Ethical dilemmas faced by family therapists

This study explores the reactions of 202 randomly selected clinical members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) to a variety of ethical dilemma situations which examine what family therapists are doing in their work when confronted with these difficult situations. Eight of the issues studied have been discussed in the literature and eight are included in the AAMFT's Ethical Principles for Family Therapists (1984). In addition to showing how clinical members responded to dilemmic vignettes that reflect these dilemmas, results indicated that family therapists are facing these dilemmas, have a high rate of consensus of what they would and would not do in each situation and almost all the situations were seen as being ethically significant by the majority of respondents.     

Developing alliances between U.S. and Portuguese executives: The impact of executive courage

This study represents an effort to gain insights into the differences between U.S. and Portuguese executives with regard to their attitudes toward the role of executive courage in the business organization. Eighty Portuguese and 40 American executives participated in the study. Four research questions were formulated and investigated. Results show that the two groups of executives tended to be more similar than different. However, some statistically significant differences between the two samples were detected. Portuguese organizations exhibited significantly more control over the actions of their executives and rewarded efficiency rather than effectiveness, when compared to American business organizations. Implications for strategic alliances between Portuguese and American executives are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.     

The therapist's pregnancy: Impact on the treatment process

As soon as she becomes aware of her pregnancy, the therapist is confronted with a barrage of issues involving her identity, integration of roles, maternal identification, and redenfinition of important relationships, including those with her patients. While she works at becoming aware of and responding to the dramatic emotional and biological changes of pregnancy, and emerges with corresponding maturational adjustments, her patients enter an often stormy period of therapy in which they respond to the changes in the therapist's appearance, the threat of the growing infant, and the reality of the therapist's needs and inevitable absence for maternity leave. The special event of the pregnancy alters the therapeutic setting and affects both the transference and coun-tertransference, initiating reverberations in the therapeutic relationship which provide opportunities for marked advances in therapy.     

Overcoming the Fear of the “Other”: Building Trust Between British Muslims and the Wider Community

Initiatives that seek to build community trust are timely given the increasing focus on terror-related attacks and the rise in associated hate crimes as well as scrutiny of the way Muslim leadership is responding to such incidents. This paper details a novel and proactive model that aims to improve and build trust between Muslims and the wider community. The Trust Building Project was found to accomplish its two objectives. Not only was there an improvement in participant knowledge of Islam scores but there was also evidence suggesting trust had improved through engagement, understanding and through getting to know one another. Listening and learning sought to dispel myths and highlight shared morals and values. We propose that through these interactions the basis to building a more trusting society can be formed. It is unclear to what extent this could reduce incidents of hate crime and discrimination, however social change has been shown to occur where there are grass roots initiatives and suggestions are made to examine how this work can be rolled out nationally in order to address the trust deficit seen within our society today.     

Psychotropic Drug Use Among College Students: Patterns of Use,Misuse, and Medical Monitoring

Abstract

Objective: To assess whether college students who use psychotropic drugs are (1) aware of potential side effects, (2) appropriately monitored by prescribing physicians, and (3) taking medications as prescribed. Participants: Fifty-five college students, currently taking psychotropic medications, were recruited between Summer 2008 and Fall 2009. Methods: Participants were given interviews assessing (1) interactions with prescribing physicians, (2) patterns of psychotropic drug use, and (3) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) substance use disorders. Results: Twenty-five percent of participants did not remember being assessed for suicidal ideation. A large number of participants took their medications in different quantities or frequencies than prescribed and 35% of participants met DSM criteria for substance dependence. Conclusions: Many students are misusing psychotropic medications and this misuse is not being communicated with prescribing physicians.     

Immigration,Repatriation, and Deportation: The Mexican‐Origin Population in the United States, 1920–1950

Scholars conventionally assert that government authorities forcibly expelled 500,000 persons of Mexican origin from the U.S. in the 1930s, with more than half of those removed U.S. citizens. Estimates using census data indicate substantially lower numbers, limited governmental involvement, fewer citizens, and considerable voluntary departure. Voluntary decisions fit the repatriation strategy that had been common among young Mexican immigrants in the 1920s. Ironically, the 1940s Bracero Program, designed by Mexico and the U.S. to replicate the 1920s pattern of circular migration, led instead to massive illegal immigration and unprecedented levels of deportation.