The impact of initial factors on therapeutic alliance in individual and couples therapy

The study uses 457 clients to investigate the impact of initial client factors on the development of therapeutic alliance. Data were collected longitudinally over the early portion of treatment. Cases included both individual and couple clients, allowing for examination of differences by case type. The study used the Working Alliance Inventory-Shortened Version (Tracey & Kokotovic, 1989) to measure therapeutic alliance. Initial factors considered included age, differentiation levels, prior stress, and depression. Couple clients showed differences from individual clients, and the variability prompted further investigation into relationship satisfaction and commitment as factors influencing the development of therapeutic alliance. Results highlight the increased complexity of developing an alliance with couples, and recommendations are provided for clinicians.     

Maternal Affective Expression and Adolescents' Subjective Experience of Positive Affect in Natural Settings

This study investigated the association between maternal affective expression during laboratory‐based interaction tasks and adolescents' experience of positive affect (PA) in natural settings. Participants were 80 healthy adolescents and their mothers. Durations of maternal positive (PA) and negative affective (NA) expressions were observed during a conflict resolution task and a positive event planning interaction task. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) procedures were employed to assess adolescents' momentary and peak experience of PA in daily life. Results indicated that maternal NA, but not maternal PA, was related to adolescents' EMA‐reported PA. Adolescents whose mothers expressed more NA experienced less PA in daily environments. Results suggest that adolescents' exposure to maternal negative affective behavior is associated with adolescents' subjective daily well‐being.     

Giving Peace a Chance: Displacement and Rule of Law During Peacebuilding

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) works increasingly in societies where conflict or humanrights violations of massive proportions have very much relativizedthe notion of rule of law. These are situations in which thebasic components of the machinery of protection and justicesimply do not exist, or where they do exist, have lost theirlegitimacy. In terms of practical outcomes for their persecuted,attacked, or terrorized populations, the relevance of rule oflaw has to be painfully reconstructed, institution by institution,law by law, and capacity by capacity. UNHCR contributes to thiseffort, because it can make the difference between solutionsor protracted exile for refugees, and if refugee issues go unresolved,the prospects for real and lasting peace are much diminished.The article gives a brief overview of recent developments inthis area, examines the challenges the UNHCR faces, stressesthe importance of prioritizing the reestablishment of the ruleof law, and outlines some lessons learned. Particular challengesinclude competing justice systems, the tensions between "topdown" and "bottom up" approaches, and the issues of land rightsand the fight against impunity.     

Asylanten auf der Saualm

The following article deals with the question of how socio-political questions such as integration and asylum policy can be processed within a self-organised project and which concomitances, irritations and difficulties may be encountered; it is exemplified through a regionally based case study. The basic assumption is that topics which are relevant to current social political topics require processes which can function across systems. These processes must be sensitively steered, have a concrete application and involve structures of self-organisation. The authors outline how self-initiated projects can be supported professionally and how accompanying phenomena need to be taken up and considered as well in order to ensure that they can at least be partially steered. At the same time the authors look at social and emotional influences, including both emotions which determine the actors’ capacity to act within the project and emotions which must be considered as “environment” outside the project. The article draws analytical distinctions in order to make the complexity of the topic comprehensible. However, in actual practice all these topics interweave continuously and must be balanced accordingly.     

USE OF THE DSM IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY PROGRAMS: CURRENT PRACTICES AND ATTITUDES

The DSM has largely become the common language of behavioral health which its authors intended. Although family systems theory resulted in part from the study of major mental illness, it later became distanced from considerations of individual psychopathology. No studies have assessed current practices and views within the field of family therapy on teaching students the use of the DSM. Member training programs of the Education and Training Council of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy were surveyed regarding their practices in teaching the DSM. Seventy-nine of 177 surveys (45%) were returned. Ninety-one percent of these programs offered training in the DSM, and in 93% of those such training was mandatory. Written comments indicated that pragmatic concerns about students being able to speak a common language with other behavioral health providers were among the primary reasons for teaching the DSM.     

USING PATIENT NARRATIVES TO TEACH PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Psychopathology courses are usually taught using a biomedical perspective and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM IV) as the primary text. This can result in students developing little empathy for their patients and objectifying them as disorders rather than people with problems. Using narrative, music, and art in teaching psychopathology can balance the scientific, objective style of the DSM IV. Resources and suggestions for ways to humanize a psychopathology course are given.     

Simple random sampling with over-replacement

There are several ways to select units with replacement and an equal inclusion expectation. We present a new sampling design called simple random sampling with over-replacement. Its interest lies in the high variance produced for the Horvitz-Thompson estimator. This characteristic could be useful for resampling methods.     

Organizational tenure among child welfare workers,burnout, stress,and intent to leave: Does employment-based social capital make a difference?

Research has shown that child welfare organizations have a prominent role in safeguarding their workers from experiencing high levels of job stress and burnout, which can ultimately lead to increased thoughts of leaving. However, it is not clear whether these relationships are shaped by their length of organizational tenure. A cross-sectional research design that included a statewide purposive sample of 209 child welfare workers was used to test a theoretical model of employment-based social capital to examine how paths to job stress, burnout, and intent to leave differ between workers who have worked in a child welfare organization for less than 3 years compared to those with 3 years or more of employment in one organization. Path analysis results indicate that when a mixture of dimensions of employment-based social capital are present, they act as significant direct protective factors in decreasing job stress and indirectly shape burnout and intent to leave differently based on organizational tenure. Thus, organizations may have to institute unique intervention efforts for both sets of workers that provide immediate and long-term structures of support, resources, and organizational practices given that their group-specific needs may change over time.