Adolescents’ experiences of therapeutic relationships at high and low levels of risk and resilience

Abstract

Engaging adolescents in treatment requires professionals to negotiate relationship boundaries in ways that young people experience as therapeutic. For this study, we used qualitative data from a mixed methods investigation of 85 young people ages 12-19 who were either clients of two or more human services (n=61) or selected from a convenience sample of young people attending school in the same communities as the service users (n=24). By sorting participants into four groups based on their risk and resilience scores calculated during the quantitative phase of the research, patterns emerged in the quality of the relationships young people reported as the most therapeutic. Findings show that youth at higher levels of risk exposure preferred looser professional boundaries (a real relationship) in their interactions with their workers while those with higher resilience scores described positive relationships with professionals that included more structure, greater expectations and firmer boundaries. Findings suggest that the quality of adolescent client-professional relationships should vary depending on the risk and resilience profiles of the youth.     

Building Community-Based Alliances Between GLBTQQA Youth and Adults in Rural Settings

SUMMARY

This article discusses the need for community-based, gay-straight, youth-adult alliances in rural settings and provides a beginning framework for how to create this type of organization. It describes an emerging local community-based alliance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and youth and adult allies. Unlike school-based gay-straight alliances, this group, known as Prism, is open to youth from several schools in a college town and nearby rural communities.     

马克思《路易·波拿巴的雾月十八日》思想研究*

在马克思的《路易·波拿巴的雾月十八日》中，不仅宪法至上学说、国家学说、工农联盟思想及唯物史观的科学分析方法之间存在着明显历史承继关系，而且它以纪念法国革命历史事件为主线进行了诸多方面的研究，有着丰富的思想内容。在新的历史条件下，重新解读马克思的经典著作，能获得诸多的启示，并对用以指导现实有极其重要的意义。     

Needs Assessment for a University-Based Employee Assistance Program

Between 10-20 percent of the total employee population in any institution of higher education are troubled employees. The lack of visibility and the absence of structure, especially in faculty positions, are risk factors. Higher education has become proactive in developing Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) in response to organizational personnel problems. A needs assessment survey was conducted to ascertain the need for a university-based EAP in a state university in southern California. The findings suggested that EAP services were needed.     

STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING ADOLESCENT GIRLS AT AN EMERGENCY SHELTER IN A THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP: RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE GIRLS THEMSELVES

Engaging clients is an extremely important part of the therapeutic process. Although there is a literature on adult engagement, few articles discuss adolescent engagement. Those articles that do discuss adolescent engagement have been conducted from the perspective of adults. The purpose of this study was to explore, from the client's perspective, ways to engage and build a positive therapeutic alliance with adolescent girls. A focus group (N = 5) was conducted with residents of an emergency shelter for adolescent girls in an urban area. Clients were asked three questions: ‘If you could tell a counselor anything, what would you tell her/him?’ .‘What do counselors need to know?’ and ‘How can a counselor get you to talk?’ Seven messages emerged from the clients' responses, which focused on a request to be respected, listened to, and not judged. More specifically, themes included ‘Treat me like I'm on your level’, ‘Tell me a little about yourself’, ‘Ask my permission to take notes’, ‘Pay attention to what I'm saying’, ‘Tell me what you're doing’, ‘Don't tell me what's in my file’, and ‘Don't call me names’. Clients provided concrete ways in which social workers and other counseling professionals could better work with them.     

基于供应链联盟的企业竞争力研究

企业竞争力的提升不仅依赖于自身拥有的资源和能力,还取决于有效利用外部资源的能力。该文以供应链联盟为视角,分析了企业竞争力的层级结构,并研究了供应链联盟提高企业竞争力的有效路径,提出了基于供应链联盟的企业竞争力的提升策略。     

Supervision Training: What We Know and What We Need to Know

In this article, the authors explore supervision training, with special emphasis on the theoretical underpinnings and empirical evaluations of supervision for training social work field instructors and clinical staff in professional practice. The authors present an overview of the current literature and research on approaches to supervision training, including the content, format, and effectiveness of contemporary training models. The authors highlight findings from their recent studies, in which they examined a supervision-training model they designed and implemented, based on the relationship between attachment styles, affects, supervisory working alliance, and student competencies. Finally, the authors examine the implications and suggestions for future supervision training and research.     

企业动态联盟决策支持系统研究

企业动态联盟是一个复杂的组织系统,在复杂的信息环境下企业组织目标的决策支持是一个重要的研究方向。文章在介绍了企业动态联盟信息基础设施集成平台的基础上,研究了运用多种决策支持方法构建面向企业动态联盟的决策支持系统框架,以实现企业动态联盟的组织目标。文章最后阐述了决策支持系统中模型共享的实现方法。     

‘Just what is there now,that is what there is’—the effects of theater improvisation training on clinical social workers’ perceptions and interventions

Flexibility, Therapeutic Presence (TP), and collaborative tendency are core capacities in clinical social work as well as in theater improvisation. This mixed-methods pilot study studied the effects of theater improvisation training on 35 graduate-level social work students, who participated in an experiential, semester-long ‘theater improvisation skills for clinicians’ course, compared to a control group of a similar cohort. These variables were measured before, after, and at a three-month follow-up to the course. Additionally, Follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 course graduates. Quantitative results showed a significant increase in flexibility and TP immediately following the course compared to the controls, which was not maintained at the three-month follow-up. The qualitative findings indicated an increase in flexibility, open-mindedness, TP, and self-awareness following the training. Triangulation of both sets of data suggests that improvisation training contributed to changes in participants’ general attitudes and perceptions regarding their clinical work. However, longer training is needed in order for these skills to effectively impact their clinical work. The findings suggest that improvisation skills can help clinical social workers increase their flexibility and TP, as well as other important alliance abilities. Implications for teaching and research are discussed.     

On Becoming a Stepparent

Data derived from a qualitative study with 32 remar- ried couples (N = 64), were analyzed to assess factors related to the adoption of alternative stepparenting styles. Five stepparent styles were found: the biological parent, the "super good" stepmother, the detached, the uncertain, and the friendship style. The choice of styles was influenced bv the various expectations and behaviors of the step- parent, stepchild,-spouse, and nonresidential parent. Implications fbr familv education and counseling approaches with stepfamilies are discuked.