Communion, defined as a shared journey of honoring each other’s being in and with the world, becomes a scared relational space for Professional Self-Hood. Professional Self-Hood has been defined as an internal embodiment and an external expression of nursing, the compilation of influences of being in and being with the world. Entering into communion to stretch in uncomfortableness begins the movement to unlearn, relearn, reaffirm, and recommit to the ongoing evolution of a just and caring version of ourselves as professionals, embodied and made visible as our Professional Self-Hood.

In this study, survival analysis is used to examine time to rearrest for both domestic violence and nondomestic violence crimes among a cohort of domestic violence offenders (N = 286) over a 10-year period. In addition, risk factors for rearrest such as demographic, offending history, and batterer treatment variables are examined to determine their influence on domestic and nondomestic violence recidivism. Overall, the results suggest that approximately half of domestic violence offenders are rearrested. Furthermore, among those who are rearrested, they are rearrested fairly quickly and for generalized (both domestic and nondomestic violence offenses) versus specialized offending. Risk factors associated with both types of rearrest included age, marriage, and domestic violence offense history. Several additional risk factors were unique to rearrest type. Study limitations are explicitly stated and policy implications are discussed.

The firearm mortality rate in West Virginia (WV) increased over the past four years and is currently 50% higher than the national rate. These alarming statistics, combined with the urban-to-rural shift in firearm injuries, prompted this 10-year epidemiologic overview. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study stands alone as the only report of its kind on firearm injuries in the rural setting of southern WV. Firearm injuries were common in White males within the age range of 20–49 years. Assault, which is typically identified as an urban problem, was found to be the most common injury in the study population. In our data series, injury severity score was the strongest predictor of mortality, followed by self-inflicted cause of injury and trauma to the neck/head region.

The purpose of the study was to develop an institutional care model that reflected staff nurses’ perceptions of what nursing means to them. Swanson’s (1991) care theory concepts were compared to the nurses’ responses to evaluate if this middle-range theory could support a theoretically based institutional care model. It was discovered that the theoretical concepts of knowing, being with, enabling, doing for, and maintaining belief found in Swanson’s (1991) care theory were expressed by the nurses. A care model was created that provided a visual display and guided nursing practice at this institution.

Aaron T. Beck developed a rudimentary theory of dreams in the early years of cognitive therapy (1969-1971) that he presented to both psychoanalysts and behavior therapists. This article will examine the historical conditions that fostered Beck’s cognitive dream theory. Beck’s early psychoanalytic dream research taught him the virtues of social science research and catalyzed his shift towards the cognitive model. Once the cognitive model was in place he returned to dreams to help position himself politically in the national therapeutic scene. The 1971 article reprinted in this special issue is evidence of his effort to reach out to psychoanalysts with his new cognitive model. Beck’s dream work, once he allied with behavior therapists, fell out of public view, but the current interest in psychotherapy integration has brought renewed attention to dreams in cognitive therapy.

Although negative life events are a risk factor for developing depression, cognitive control can help maintain one's mental health. However, whether thought-control ability (TCA) can alleviate the adverse effects of negative life events on depression is unclear. Therefore, two studies were conducted to test if it does, by having participant's complete measures of negative life events, TCA, and depression. Study 1, which included 140 healthy young adults, showed TCA mediated the relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms, and that TCA also moderated the relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms. Study 2 recruited patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) to test whether the findings could be generalized to individuals with MDD. Study 2 found TCA also mediated the relationship between negative life events and symptoms of MDD. Suggesting that improving the ability to control negative thoughts in daily life help maintain mental health and prevent depressive symptoms.

It is argued that an examination of various abnormal psychology textbooks reveals that they read more like political propaganda than fair, valid science. All of the examined texts conformed closely to the psychiatric medical model as represented by the latest version Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Occasional critiques were levied at the DSM, but they were invariably dismissed and not debated in any serious manner. All of the texts involved in this study invoked the name of psychiatric critic Thomas Szasz and either dismissed his ideas without adequate representation or stated that he need not be taken seriously because he is too radical or possibly disturbed. All manner of assertions were present in these tomes as to the validity of the biogenic etiology of the disorders discussed without either presenting valid empirical evidence to support the assertions or discussing the rich and varied literature that refutes the biogenic hypotheses. It is concluded that students are not being served by these expensive textbooks and should be exposed to a variety of primary source material representing the many sides of conflict within the mental health field.

Does the public abortion debate in the United States bear any relation to women’s private discourse about their abortion experiences? In this work—a qualitative study of the abortion narratives of 20 women—I argue that the familiar pro-choice and pro-life frameworks that have dominated public abortion discourse do not begin to provide a suitable forum for the collective expression and understanding of women’s personal abortion stories. By focusing on the conflicting rights of the parties involved, these frameworks leave us poorly equipped to understand how women experience abortion as members of social networks where interdependence and connection are important. While the debate emphasizes conflicting rights, women articulate their experiences with abortion in ways that emphasize relationship, care, and connection to others. By drawing on the work of theorists such as Dorothy Smith, Jean Baker Miller, Carol Gilligan, and Georg Simmel, I illuminate the misappropriation of women’s abortion experience in the public debate, relating this phenomenon to the social-structural context in which it and other exclusions of subordinate groups occur.

Starting from a person–environment fit framework, this study investigates whether ethnic congruence—the percentage of co-ethnics in a school—relates to school misconduct and whether congruence effects differ between ethnic minority and majority students. Moreover, we investigate whether eventual associations are mediated by friendship attachment, perceived teacher support, and general school belonging. Multilevel analyses of data from 11,759 students across 83 Flemish secondary schools show that higher ethnic congruence is associated with lower levels of school misconduct but only for ethnic minority students. This effect was not mediated by friendship attachment, nor by teacher support, but it was mediated by general school belonging. We conclude that ethnic minority students in schools with a higher percentage of peers of co-ethnic descent are less likely to break the school rules because they feel more contented in the school context, which is congruent with the person–environment fit framework.

Recent concerns have been expressed that youths are an increasingly violent segment of U.S. society. This report explores such claims by presenting alternative dimensions with which trends in youth violence can be interpreted. Using Uniform Crime Reports and U.S. Bureau of the Census data for 1958-1993, rates of arrests for murder, taken to represent absolute levels of involvement in this form of violence, are analyzed for trends among 15- to 19-year-olds. Relative involvement, operationalized as the ratio of arrest rates for those aged 15-19 to those of the remainder of the population, is also analyzed for trends. A pronounced upward trend since the mid-1980s in both rates and ratios of arrests for murder is found for ages 15-19, resulting in this group now having the highest levels of absolute and relative involvement in murder arrests of any age category, a distinct departure from previous years. As a context for interpreting these levels, the involvement of current 15- to 19-year-olds is shown to exceed by a considerable margin the involvement of similarly aged cohorts of baby boomers, a youth group formerly the object of considerable public concern. Research is encouraged that addresses the multifaceted sources contributing to this dramatic societal shift in age-related patterns of arrests for murder and, by assumption, involvement in homicide offending.

Previous studies have demonstrated a connection between intimate partner violence (IPV) and a child’s alienation from the abused parent, but little is known about the relationships between the type of IPV, aspects, and severity of a child’s alienation, and the target parent’s gender. This study assessed the presence of an IPV history (verbal and physical aspects) among parents who identify as targets of their children’s unreasonable rejection. Also investigated were associations between the form of IPV and manifestations of a child’s alienated behavior, parent’s gender and type of IPV, and parents’ gender and degree of the child’s alienation. Self-identified alienated parents (n = 842) completed an online survey that included an IPV screening measurement (Hurts, Insults, Screams, Threatens screening tool) and a measure of the parent’s perception of their child’s alienated behaviors (Rowlands Parental Alienation Scale). The majority identified as IPV victims and reported a higher level of verbal than physical abuse. More mothers than fathers identified themselves as IPV victims. As a group, IPV victims rated their child as more severely alienated than did non-IPV alienated parents. Mothers were more likely than fathers to report physical aggression by the other parent and more likely than fathers to assess their child’s alienated behaviors as more severe. Victims of physical violence reported their children were less likely to withhold positive affection from them. This knowledge may assist in earlier identification of the alienation process and greater recognition, legitimacy, funding, and opportunities for enhanced collaboration among stakeholders. This, in turn, may lead to improvements in prevention, intervention, and accountability, thus helping to interrupt alienation processes.

The present study examines the controversial issue of whether women and men are equally abused in dating relationships. Undergraduate and graduate students (n = 874) completed a survey about their experiences and perpetration of psychological, sexual, and physical aggression within dating relationships. To enable a more contextualized understanding of these phenomena, motives for and outcomes of dating violence were also assessed. Women and men reported comparable amounts of overall aggression from dating partners, but differed in the types of violence experienced. Women were more likely to experience sexual victimization, whereas men were more often the victims of psychological aggression; rates of physical violence were similar across genders. Contrary to hypotheses, women were not more likely to use physical violence in self-defense than men. However, although both genders experienced similar amounts of aggressive acts from dating partners, the impact of such violence is more severe for women than men.

Dealing with hostile interpersonal relationships at work has been the topic of many popular books and workshops. Yet, with the exception of sexual harassment, there is surprisingly little mention in the organizational research literature on the nature, extent, and costs of abusive work interactions. These more frequent, more tolerated, and, thus, more damaging interpersonal interactions involve hostile verbal and nonverbal nonphysical behaviors directed by one or more persons towards another. The primary aim is to undermine the other to ensure compliance. In this study, we examined the extent to which students experienced nonsexual nonphysical abusive behavior on their jobs, the impact of this experience on job satisfaction, the characteristics of the actor and target, and responses to these behaviors, particularly turnover. The results indicate that although most of the students had very positive interactions at work, exposure to abusive behavior was familiar, was relatively frequent, and had a negative impact on the targets. The actors tended to be bosses and older than the targets. The quality of the interpersonal relationships at work was related to job satisfaction and intention to leave. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to individual, situational, and organizational factors that may be related to the presence and impact of abusive interpersonal interactions. Avenues for research on the nature, extent, and impact of these behaviors at both the individual and organizational levels are identified.

This study adds to the available literature on female-perpetrated intimate abuse by examining Dutton’s (2007) theory of the abusive personality (AP) in a sample of 914 women who had been involved in dating relationships. Consistent with the AP, recalled parental rejection, borderline personality organization (BPO), anger, and trauma symptoms all demonstrated moderate-to-strong relationships with women’s self-reported intimate psychological abuse perpetration. Fearful attachment style demonstrated a weak-to-moderate relationship with psychological abuse perpetration. A potential model for explaining the interrelationships between the elements of the AP was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Consistent with the proposed model, recalled parental rejection demonstrated relationships with BPO, trauma symptoms, and fearful attachment. Similarly consistent with the model, trauma symptoms demonstrated a relationship with anger; and BPO demonstrated strong relationships with trauma symptoms, fearful attachment, and anger. Additionally, anger itself had a strong relationship with women’s self-reported perpetration of intimate psychological and physical abuse. Contrary to the proposed model, fearful attachment had a nonsignificant relationship with anger when this relationship was examined using SEM.

The study of men’s violence against their intimate partners is segregated from the study of other forms of violence. Comparing intimate partner violence (IPV) to other violence, however, allows one to examine whether the motivation and the legal response are similar. I examine whether men’s assaults on partners are particularly likely to have a control motive, whether women’s assaults on partners are particularly likely to be motivated by self-defense, and whether intimate partner violence is less likely to be reported to the police and legally sanctioned. The evidence casts doubt on the feminist approach, which has dominated the study of IPV. I suggest that a theory of instrumental violence provides a better understanding of IPV. Such an approach recognizes a variety of motives and emphasizes the role of conflict in intimate relationships, sex differences in strength and violence, and the importance of chivalry. Finally, I suggest that social scientists who study IPV should be more careful in their descriptive terminology.

This study was conducted in the South African context, where education is in a state of transition. One of the central issues in higher education is the development of academic literacy. However, as a result of an inadequate focus on educational linguistics and a lack of explicit instruction in academic literacy, many students do not achieve their full potential. This study focuses on aspects of academic literacy in the examination responses of a group of students studying in the discipline of speech-language pathology. The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not there is a relationship between the students’ academic literacy skills and their ability to answer examination questions. By means of an exploratory retrospective longitudinal record review, the examination scripts of 20 students were rated for evidence of various academic literacy skills. The ratings were highly correlated to the actual examination marks in both years of study, suggesting that there is a need to incorporate explicit instruction in academic literacy to develop students’ metacognitive processes while reading and writing for academic purposes.

We aimed to assess cardiac patients, acceptance of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT); determine if gender was associated with treatment engagement (session attendance and utilization of intervention strategies); and relate engagement to outcome. Of 193 patients receiving an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) who agreed to participate in a randomized controlled trial, 96 were randomized to CBT. Measures of treatment acceptance indicated that most participants rated counseling as “very to extremely helpful.” Gender was associated with only one treatment engagement index. Symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress improved from baseline to 6- and 12-month follow-up. Number of counseling session attendance was not associated with outcome. Reported utilization of two of the six CBT strategies (modifying faulty thinking, correcting cognitive distortions) was associated with a better treatment outcome. In conclusion, a CBT intervention was well received by ICD patients. There was some indication that treatment engagement related to better treatment outcomes.

Most interventions for men who batter are standardized and “one-size-fits-all,” neglecting individual differences in readiness to change. A multimedia expert system intervention based on the transtheoretical model (the “stage model”) was developed as an adjunct to traditional court-mandated programs. The expert system assesses stage of change, decisional balance, self-efficacy, and processes of change and provides immediate individualized stage-matched feedback designed to increase readiness to end the violence. Fifty-eight male batterer intervention program clients were invited by agency staff to complete an expert system session and an evaluation of the program; 33 men were recruited at program intake and the remainder from ongoing groups. Responses to the intervention were very positive. For example, 87% of participants reported that they found the program to be easy to use, and 98% said it could probably or definitely help them change their attitudes or behaviors. Findings provide encouraging evidence of the acceptability of this stage-matched approach to intervention for domestic violence offenders.

Partner aggression is a major public health concern. Batterers’ intervention programs (BIPs) are commonly used as an alternative to incarceration for offenders who have been arrested for domestic assault. Historically, BIPs have shown little effectiveness in reducing partner aggression. This article presents a new BIP based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999). ACT is a third-wave therapy that builds on the cognitive-behavioral tradition, focusing on increasing psychological flexibility by promoting acceptance and mindfulness processes. Several lines of evidence support the use of ACT in the treatment of partner aggression. Achieving Change Through Values-Based Behavior (ACTV; Lawrence, Langer Zarling, & Orengo-Aguayo, 2014) was developed based on ACT principles with a specific focus on feasibility and transferability to the community correctional setting and court-adjudicated treatment. ACTV incorporates experiential skills training and uses innovative methods to engage participants and teach the ACT processes. This article details the components of ACTV, including a case study to illustrate one participant’s journey through the program. We also present preliminary pilot data, which look promising with respect to reductions in domestic assault and violent recidivism.

People may have a visibly different appearance due to various causes, such as congenital conditions, injury, disease, or medical treatment. Some individuals with a visible difference experience social anxiety and isolation, body image dissatisfaction, shame and self-stigma, psychological trauma, and challenges managing their condition. In this article, we synthesize the relevant literature and present the theoretical rationale for the application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a third-wave behavioral therapy combining mindfulness skills and value-driven action, to those experiencing distress relating to an unusual or altered appearance. We also outline how ACT may be tailored to the specific considerations of this population and recommend next steps in researching its acceptability and clinical effectiveness.

The present study examined the accessibility of harm and safety information regarding threat-relevant and threat-irrelevant stimuli in analogue contamination-related obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) participants. High OCD participants (N = 24) and low OCD participants (N = 27) generated lists of reasons why four specific situations (using a public restroom, going cliff diving, reading at the library, going to the museum) might be harmful and why they might be safe. Results revealed that, in comparison to the low OCD participants, high OCD participants were able to generate significantly more items on why using a public restroom might be harmful and significantly fewer items on why using a public restroom might be safe. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups in their ability to generate items regarding harm and safety for other situations. Furthermore, number of safety items predicted contamination group status independent of harm items. Content analysis of the harm items generated for using a public restroom revealed concerns primarily related to contagion and disease. Accordingly, the number of items generated for using a public restroom showed a marginal association with disgust levels. The implications of these findings for understanding cognitive biases underlying contamination-related OCD are discussed.

This study examined the relationship between personal characteristics (gender, acculturation, belief in gender stereotypes, recent dating experiences), and attitudes and knowledge about dating violence in urban Latino youth (N = 678). All participants completed self-administered surveys at school. Relative to girls, boys held more problematic (proviolence) attitudes about dating violence and reported less knowledge about dating violence and its consequences. Teens who were more traditional (less acculturated), those who endorsed gender stereotypes, and those who reported recent fearful dating experiences tended to report less knowledge about abuse and lower endorsement of nonviolent attitudes. Multivariate analyses revealed that all four personal variables predicted dating violence knowledge. By contrast, attitudes were predicted by endorsement of gender stereotypes only, or gender stereotypes and gender. Implications for dating violence interventions and future directions for research are explored.

This study focuses on the goal orientations of students with and without special educational needs (SEN). The sample (mean age 13 years, 10 months) was composed of 37 students with low IQ, but without SEN; 37 students who were diagnosed as having learning disability (LD); and 37 students having emotional or behavioral disorders (ED). The groups were matched by IQ and gender. The results showed that students without SEN scored significantly higher in mastery goal orientation, significantly lower in performance-avoidance orientation, and had a lower work-avoidance orientation than students with LD or ED. Students with ED showed a significantly lower performance-approach orientation than students without SEN and students with LD. Results from correlational and regression analyses showed that SEN is always an explaining variable for goal orientation and that group differences cannot be explained by IQ, gender, actual achievement, self-estimation of achievement, and school anxiety.

This article describes an educational innovation whereby two independent, neighboring schools of nursing developed a cooperative program with each school teaching half the courses in an accelerated baccalaureate nursing program for second career students. The model was designed to increase enrollment and share faculty resources, thereby addressing the nursing shortage. The new curriculum was built on the caring framework and philosophies of each institution and then melded to create more than the sum of its parts. Lessons learned describe challenges encountered and solutions found. Finally, thought is given to the future evolution of a program dedicated to compassionate excellence.

There are 19 million workers and retirees and $3 trillion of assets in state pension plans. However, questions have arisen about the long-run ability of the plans to pay promised benefits to retirees. Consequently, proposals have been made to reduce promised pension payments or alter other terms of the pension contracts. Yet another heretofore unexplored alternative is to reduce state pension plan management fees by moving from actively managed portfolios to low-fee passively managed accounts. Using state pension plan data for the 2003-2012 decade and returns from three alternative low fee portfolios, it is found that all states could have increased after-fee earnings and improved their long-run ability to pay retirees by moving to the low-fee investment accounts. While clearly relevant for workers and retirees in state pension plans, the findings also have implications for all investors regarding the ongoing debate between active and passive investment management strategies.

Background: The literature is clear that adults who are currently homeless also have higher rates of intentional injuries, such as assault and suicide attempts. No study has assessed whether intentional injuries are exacerbated because of substance use among adults with a history of homelessness. Methods: Data were obtained from a cohort of adults admitted to 3 urban emergency departments (EDs) in Texas from 2007 to 2010 (N = 596). Logistic regression analyses were used to determine whether a history of homelessness was associated with alcohol use at time of injury in intentional violent injuries (gunshot, stabbing, or injury consistent with assault). Results: 39% adults with a history of homelessness who were treated at trauma centers for a violent injury. Bivariate analyses indicated that adults who had ever experienced homelessness have 1.67 increased odds, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.11, 2.50], of any intentional violent injury and 1.95 increased odds (95% CI [1.12, 3.40]) of a stabbing injury than adults with no history of homelessness. Conclusions: Adults who experienced homelessness in their lifetime were more likely to visit EDs for violence-related injuries. Given our limited knowledge of the injuries that prompt ED use by currently homeless populations, future studies are needed to understand the etiology of injuries, and substance-related injuries specifically, among adults with a history of homelessness.

Human studies and animal experiments present a complex and often contradictory picture of the acute impact of marijuana on emotions. The few human studies specifically examining changes in negative affect find either increases or reductions following delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) administration. In a 2 × 2, instructional set (told THC vs. told no THC) by drug administration (smoked marijuana with 2.8% THC vs. placebo) between-subjects design, we examined the pharmacologic effect of marijuana on physiological and subjective stimulation, subjective intoxication, and self-reported negative and positive affect with 114 weekly marijuana smokers. Individuals were first tested under a baseline/no smoking condition and again under experimental condition. Relative to placebo, THC significantly increased arousal and confusion/bewilderment. However, the direction of effect on anxiety varied depending on instructional set: Anxiety increased after THC for those told placebo but decreased among other participants. Furthermore, marijuana users who expected more impairment from marijuana displayed more anxiety after smoking active marijuana, whereas those who did not expect the impairment became less anxious after marijuana. Both pharmacologic and stimulus expectancy main effects significantly increased positive affect. Frequent marijuana users were less anxious after smoking as compared to less frequent smokers. These findings show that expectancy instructions and pharmacology play independent roles in effects of marijuana on negative affect. Further studies examining how other individual difference factors impact marijuana’s effects on mood are needed.

The purpose of this article is to assess the prevalence of Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) following violent assault in victims who come to the emergency ward, and compare the effects with degrees of injury. Two hundred and fourteen victims of violence completed a questionnaire 1 to 2 weeks after the assault. Measures included the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, the Trauma Symptom Checklist and the Crisis Support Scale. Results: Twenty-four percent met the full ASD diagnosis and 21% a subclinical ASD diagnosis. Childhood sexual and physical abuse and shock due to a traumatic event that happened to someone close increased the likelihood of ASD four to ten times. Feeling of security and ability to express feelings reduced the likelihood of ASD by one-quarter, while feeling let down by others and hopelessness increased the likelihood of ASD respectively 1.4 and 2.6 times.

Depuis 2007, des professionnels de santé mentale en Afrique sub-saharienne ont été formés à la thérapie de désensibilisation et de retraitement par les mouvements oculaires (EMDR). Cette étude qualitative a recouru à un dispositif afrocentré avec analyse thématique pour explorer les adaptations apportées au protocole standard EMDR, visant à le rendre culturellement pertinent pour des patients africains. Les participants étaient 25 thérapeutes EMDR (dont trois hommes, tranche d’âge 32-60 ans, ${\displaystyle \overline{\mathrm{x}}}$ = 44) de cinq pays africains, qui pratiquaient l’EMDR depuis 1 à 11 ans (${\displaystyle \overline{\mathrm{x}}}$ = 7). Tous ont répondu à un questionnaire d’enquête, huit ont participé à une discussion de groupe, et deux ont fourni une analyse de notes de supervision. Les participants estimaient que l’EMDR était une thérapie utile et bénéfique et la préféraient aux autres thérapies en raison de sa nature non narrative et de ses résultats rapides. Nous avons identifié quatre domaines dans lesquels les thérapeutes africains ont régulièrement adapté le protocole standard : la formulation du texte du protocole, l’expression culturelle des pensées et des émotions, le choix des stimulations et la simplification des échelles quantitatives. Sur la base des résultats de cette étude, nous formulons de nombreuses recommandations pour des adaptations culturelles du protocole EMDR. Celles-ci comprennent des changements de langage pour prendre en compte la communication « orientée vers le nous » des patients ; des interprétations culturelles des pensées et des événements positifs et négatifs ; l’ajout d’activités culturelles telles que la danse, la musique et les pratiques religieuses comme exercices de ressourcement ; l’utilisation de gestes des mains ou de l’échelle picturale avec des visages au lieu d’échelles numériques ; et l’utilisation de tapotements pour les stimulations bilatérales au lieu de mouvements oculaires, parfois considérés comme de la « sorcellerie ». Nous abordons la pertinence de ces résultats pour la pratique et la formation EMDR. Nous recommandons aux chercheurs africains d’étudier plus avant l’acceptabilité, l’utilisation et l’efficacité de l’EMDR dans leur pays.

Interventions for men who perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV) have historically been relatively ineffective at reducing or stopping subsequent IPV. However, there are several strong theoretical reasons that suggest Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an intervention that emphasizes the use of mindfulness and aims to foster psychological flexibility, may be particularly well-suited to interrupting the factors that maintain IPV. The goal of the present article is to review the evidence for the application of ACT to target IPV. In addition, empirical studies that have, to date, shown promising initial support for a targeted intervention (Achieving Change Through Values-Based Behavior; ACTV) are reviewed. The implications for using ACT-based skills with perpetrators of IPV are discussed, along with potential future directions and further applications of ACT to hard-to-treat populations.

This article discusses considerations for adapting cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques and processes with anxious children and adolescents. To successfully deliver CBT with this population, the therapist must take into consideration the child’s developmental level and other contextual factors that may affect treatment outcome. Suggested adaptions to CBT include the use of rewards, technology, and interactive activities to increase child motivation and engagement. Moreover, dependent on the child’s or adolescent’s cognitive capacity, cognitive techniques will need to be simplified and concrete examples provided to increase children’s understanding. It may be beneficial to have parents and/or schools involved in children’s treatment to assist them to implement CBT strategies outside of the therapy setting. A case example is presented to illustrate the implementation of CBT with a child.

Dating violence prevention programs, which originated in the United States, are beginning to be implemented elsewhere. This article presents the first adaptation of a violence prevention program for a European culture, Francophone Switzerland. A U.S. dating violence prevention program, Safe Dates (Foshee & Langwick, 1994), was reviewed in 19 youth and 4 professional focus groups. The most fundamental program concepts—“dating” and “violence”—are not the same in Switzerland and the United States. Swiss youth were not very focused on establishing monogamous romantic relationships, and there is no ready translation for “dating.” Violence has not become the focus of a social movement in Switzerland to the same extent that it has in the United States, and distinctions among terms such as “dating violence” and “domestic violence” are not well known. Psychoeducational approaches are also less common in the Swiss context. As the movement to prevent violence extends worldwide, these issues need greater consideration.

It has been clearly documented that social support exerts a salubrious impact on depression. Yet, standardized social support interventions, with the primary intent of alleviating a patient’s depression, have not been incorporated into evidence-based treatments for mood disorders. Not all types of support are necessarily beneficial. Inferential feedback is a subtype of social support that addresses an individual’s perception of the cause, meaning, and consequences of negative life events and may be either adaptive or maladaptive. A short-term adaptive inferential feedback (AIF) training manual was developed for the partners (e.g., friends, family members) of depressed patients. The present case examines the effectiveness of a standard 14-session cognitive-behavioral treatment augmented with 4 AIF partner-training sessions. Results suggest that this newly developed social support intervention may be feasible, well liked, and possibly beneficial to depressed patients. Further research is needed to investigate any incremental value of this intervention beyond standard cognitive-behavioral treatment.

Shapiro’s (2001) adaptive information processing (AIP) model portrays an innate healing system hypothesized to be composed of neurophysiological mechanisms of action causally related to the resolution of disturbing life experiences. The author expands the model to include psychosocial mechanisms and suggests that a model of a biopsychosocial system can best depict causal properties related to positive outcomes of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Teleofunctionalist and evolutionary perspectives are applied: the first, to explain the inclusion of the psychological and social features highlighted in the updated model; the second, to support the hypothesis that AIP is a goal of the human attachment system. It is posited that bonding, following a disturbing life experience, facilitates the access of information related to previous states, thus allowing an update of self/world models. These interactions are analogous to psychotherapeutic encounters, with multiple levels of information processing at subpersonal, personal, and interpersonal levels. Analysis of the causal properties of personal and interpersonal levels supports a broader understanding of AIP’s scope in conceptualizing psychopathology and informing treatment applications and research.

This article provides excerpts from each chapter of An EMDR Primer: From Practicum to Practice (Hensley, 2009) to assist novice eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) clinicians who are learning how to use this approach and to serve as a refresher for therapists who have not used EMDR consistently in their practices. Actual cases are presented that demonstrate various strategies that the therapist can use to help clients reach adaptive resolution of trauma. Tables and figures highlight important features to explain the obvious and subtle nuances of EMDR. Focal points are the following: (a) the adaptive information processing model; (b) the types of targets accessed during the EMDR process; (c) the 8 phases of EMDR; (d) the components of the standard EMDR protocol used during the assessment phase; (e) past, present, and future in terms of appropriate targeting and successful outcomes; and (f) strategies and techniques for dealing with challenging clients, high levels of abreaction, and blocked processing.

Interpersonal violence is known to lead to both short- and long-term health effects. Victims of sexual abuse tend to have higher healthcare costs and higher rates of physical and mental health issues than nonvictims. In this study, we investigate whether the comorbidity of mental illness and a personal history of adult physical and sexual abuse (HAPSA) results in higher healthcare costs and length of emergency department (ED) stay among Florida residents. A Negative Binomial and Log-Linear Regression Analysis suggest increased ED visit duration for those with a history of abuse, Hispanics, the uninsured, and those with multiple comorbidities. In addition, increased costs were found to be associated with White race, the uninsured, those with multiple comorbidities, and the facility type (for-profit hospitals).

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Preliminary findings suggest the application of an adapted, addiction-focused EMDR procedure, AF-EMDR therapy, may also be helpful in treating addictions, such as gambling disorder (GD). In this study eight participants with GD received AF-EMDR therapy, using modules from Markus and Hornsveld's Palette of EMDR Interventions in Addiction (PEIA). A multiple baseline design was used to investigate whether AF-EMDR therapy reduced gambling urge and increased experienced self-control. Six weekly AF-EMDR sessions (treatment phase) were preceded by a 3- to 7-week non-treatment baseline phase. During both phases, participants kept a daily diary. Visual inspection as well as an interrupted time series analysis demonstrated mixed findings. Results showed that three participants experienced spontaneous recovery during the baseline period, two did not respond to treatment, and three others showed improvements during the EMDR phase. No adverse effects were noted. In sum, AF-EMDR therapy may have potential in the treatment of gambling addiction. However, more research is needed regarding the efficacy, contra-indications, focus, and application as well as the optimal dose of AF-EMDR therapy using the PEIA modules.

Women who are verbally abused by their intimate male partners suffer serious mental health consequences and often experience physical violence in their relationship. Despite the importance of studying verbal abuse, no previous research has investigated the specific content of the insults men use to derogate their partners. We present the development and initial validation of a new measure designed to assess the specific content of insults used by men against their intimate partners. In a preliminary study, we used feedback from battered women, along with a review of the relevant literature, to identify specific insults for inclusion in the Partner-Directed Insults Scale (PDIS). We administered the PDIS to a sample of United States participants (Study 1) and a sample of New Zealand participants (Study 2), allowing for a cross-national investigation of the specific insults that men use to derogate their partners. The results demonstrate the practical need for such a scale and provide evidence for the discriminant validity of the PDIS by documenting that men’s use of insults predicts their use of controlling behaviors and physical violence.

Though many studies have documented the high prevalence, morbidity, mortality and costs attributable to intimate partner violence (IPV), it is still unclear how our health care system should address this major public health problem. Many have advocated for routine screening, yet there is still insufficient evidence that routine IPV screening can lead to improved outcomes. Though recognition of IPV is very important, a screening paradigm may not be the optimal way to approach IPV within the health care system. For many patients, exposure to violence is a chronic condition, characterized by long-term abusive relationships, histories of childhood and community violence, multiple associated chronic symptoms, and extra barriers to addressing their other chronic illnesses. Thus, there may be important lessons to be learned from work being done in the area of chronic care. We explore how Wagner’s Chronic Care model may guide efforts to improve health care for IPV survivors and may serve as a framework for future research studies.

Nurses' exposure to suffering reduces professional quality of life, negatively impacting patient outcomes, decreasing retention, and weakening the workforce. Tell Well is a creative writing workshop designed to address Professional Quality of Life. Through improvisation, text analysis, writing, and peer-critique, nine registered nurses built a writing practice that can be a self-care tool. A survey measured the extent to which participants integrated writing into their life and their perception of how their relationship with work changed. Tell Well honored nurses' experiences, provided a forum for them to express themselves and their experiences, and encouraged nurses to engage in self-care and discovery.

This article examines what measures health care and social service providers take to address intersections between various forms of violence and HIV/AIDS in the delivery of services to their clients/patients. We operated within an organizational/interactional uncertainty theoretical framework and analyzed qualitative interview data from 30 providers offering services related to violence or HIV/AIDS in the San Francisco Bay Area. We found that providers used several strategies to mitigate crossover risk, but they enacted these measures on a case-by-case basis and tended not to follow a dedicated and complete protocol with every client/patient. We also identify nine factors that affected providers’ capacity to discern and effectively address violence–HIV/AIDS intersections, present providers’ descriptions of their needs in terms of addressing crossover risk, and discuss implications for interventions.

Medications to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can increase students’ ability to stay awake to cram for exams. Although popularly viewed as “academic steroids,” there is no evidence that ADHD medications promote complex cognitive functioning or scholarship. To the contrary, compelling new evidence indicates that ADHD drug treatment is associated with deterioration in academic and social-emotional functioning. Yet, ADHD diagnosis and drug treatment have risen unabated for decades. Today, ADHD medications are so prevalent on college campuses that students falsely perceive these drugs as relatively benign and freely use them for nonmedical reasons, resulting in record numbers of adverse events and deaths. This article describes the nature of the ADHD drug abuse epidemic, rules some colleges have implemented to manage risk, and actions that any educational institution may consider to combat ADHD drug abuse and to promote student health and campus safety.

Over the last decade, ADHD diagnoses have reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Behaviors that were once considered normal range are now currently defined as pathological by those with a vested interest in promoting the widespread use of psychotropic drugs in child and adolescent populations. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed “mental illness” in children in the United States today, and approximately 99% of children diagnosed as ADHD are prescribed daily doses of methylphenidate in order to control undesirable behaviors. This article openly challenges the scientific validity and reliability of current ADHD assessment tools and questions the ethics involved in prescribing dangerous and addictive drugs to children. In addition, particular attention will be given to familial, political, economical, biological, ethological, historical, and evolutionary correlates as they relate to the myth of ADHD in America. The goal of this article is to offer a theoretically sound alternative to the current medical model and to challenge the existing ADHD paradigm that pathologizes historically documented, normal-range child behavioral patterns.

This article explores the correlates of immediate and short-term psychological distress among victims of burglary, robbery, and nonsexual assault. A panel design was employed. Crime victims were interviewed within 1 month following the incident and again 3 months later. Four sets of predictors were examined: demographics, previctimization adjustment and stress, features of the crime incident, and victims’ perceptions. Measures of distress included a range of standard indices of adjustment and symptomatology. Demographic characteristics and victim perceptions accounted for the greatest proportions of variance in the outcome measures at Time 1 and Tune 2. The strongest predictors of psychological adjustment at the end of 3 months included adjustment after 1 month, education, victim injury, victims’ beliefs that their lives had been endangered during the crime episode, and victims’ appraisals of the world as meaningful. Implications for treatment and directions for future studies are discussed.

To better understand what environmental and contextual factors influence resource acquisition and subsequent adjustment for African-American women who have been battered, this article explores the experiences of 60 women from the 6 months prior to entering a shelter through a 10-week postshelter advocacy program. Results indicate that African-American battered women who use domestic violence shelters face an array of obstacles: Most had been severely abused, were likely to be living below the poverty line, were unemployed, and were in need of numerous resources. However, in spite of numerous obstacles and continued violence, African-American women overall felt confident in themselves and satisfied with their lives 10 weeks after shelter. Results also indicate that short-term advocacy services were beneficial to African-American women exiting a domestic violence shelter. Implications of these findings as they relate to formal community response and further research are discussed.

This article seeks to contribute to a greater dialogue between Adlerian and constructivist psychotherapies by discussing (a) the many similarities between Adlerian and constructivist camps in terms of philosophical, theoretical, and practical considerations, (b) some unique features of individual psychology that may augment specific approaches in constructivist psychotherapy, (c) some of the unique features of constructivism that Adlerians may find enriching to their approach, and, (d) how this integrative dialogue may relate to the contemporary context of theoretical integration.

This paper discusses selected areas of common ground and areas for mutual edification and future dialogue between Adlerian and Constructivist psychotherapies.