325 research outputs found
Therapeutic work with clients living in poverty
Background:
Financial inequalities appear to be increasing and poverty is becoming ubiquitous. Poverty affects mental health but its impact on mental health and wellbeing is rarely highlighted within health research.
Aims:
The Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukrainian invasion and other international and national events have led to a cost-of-living crisis for many people. This is likely to lead to an increase in related referrals and therefore active consideration of the relevant issues relating to poverty appears vital. This paper reports a study which sought to understand how therapists experienced their work with clients who self-refer due to living in poverty.
Method:
Eight therapists participated in semi-structured interviews analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).
Results:
Three superordinate themes were elicited: firstly âResilience in the struggle to engage with therapeutic workâ, secondly âStruggling to promote social activismâ and thirdly, âNavigating multiple challenges and barriersâ. Each superordinate theme contains two or three sub themes.
Conclusions:
Issues of structural inequality (including but not limited to poverty) impact significantly on peopleâs lives but are often ignored or minimised in therapeutic work. It is important that therapists are aware of poverty and take this into account when working with clients
Exploring Psychological Therapistsâ Experiences of Working With Clients Who Perceive Themselves as Living in Poverty: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
This study seeks to understand how therapists experience their work with clients who selfrefer as living in poverty. Poverty is very rarely highlighted within counselling psychology publications and very little empirical research exists relating to how therapists understand this phenomenon. The under researched nature of poverty is surprising given this issue is becoming a topic of current debates alongside a rise in the number of individuals living in poverty and self-referring for therapy. The present study highlights a range of difficulties that therapists may face whilst working with clients living in poverty, how these difficulties may affect the work and how such difficulties are managed. The aim of these findings is to increase current knowledge about what is possible within the world of therapy and to raise awareness from which practitioners, students, training institutions and policy makers could become more informed. Eight psychotherapists took part in semi-structured interviews and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used in analysing the data. The results elicited three superordinate themes: the first, âResilience in the struggle to engage with therapeutic workâ, the second theme involved âStruggling to promote social activismâ and thirdly, âNavigating multiple challenges and barriersâ. The findings are examined in light of how they illuminate and diverge from various aspects of poverty-related literature and research. Suggestions are made for training, supervision, and practice, and for future research relating to poverty and mental health
A long hard look at the minimum state of PG 2112+059 with XMM-Newton
XMM-Newton successfully detected the minimum state of PG 2112+059 during a
short snapshot observation and performed a long follow-up observation. The high
signal-to-noise spectra are modelled assuming different emission scenarios and
compared with archival spectra taken by XMM-Newton and Chandra.
The PG 2112+059 X-ray spectra acquired in May 2007 allowed the detection of a
weak iron fluorescent line, which is interpreted as being caused by reflection
from neutral material at some distance from the primary X-ray emitting source.
The X-ray spectra of PG 2112+059 taken at five different epochs during
different flux states can be interpreted within two different scenarios. The
first consists of two layers of ionised material with column densities of N_H
~5 x 10^22 cm^-2 and N_H ~3.5 x 10^23 cm^-2, respectively. The first layer is
moderately ionised and its ionisation levels follow the flux changes, while the
other layer is highly ionised and does not show any correlation with the flux
of the source. The spectra can also be interpreted assuming reflection by an
ionised accretion disk seen behind a warm absorber. The warm absorber
ionisation is consistent with being correlated with the flux of the source,
which provides an additional degree of self-consistency with the overall
reflection-based model. We explain the spectral variability with light bending
according to the models of Miniutti and Fabian and constrain the black hole
spin to be a/M > 0.86. Both scenarios also assume that a distant cold reflector
is responsible for the Fe K \alpha emission line.
Light bending provides an attractive explanation of the different states of
PG 2112+059 and may also describe the physical cause of the observed properties
of other X-ray weak quasars.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, A&A latex, accepted for publication in
Astronomy & Astrophysic
NuSTAR reveals that the heavily obscured nucleus of NGC 2785 was the contaminant of IRAS 09104+4109 in the BeppoSAX/PDS hard X-rays
The search for heavily obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) has been
revitalized in the last five years by NuSTAR, which has provided a good census
and spectral characterization of a population of such objects, mostly at low
redshift, thanks to its enhanced sensitivity above 10 keV compared to previous
X-ray facilities, and its hard X-ray imaging capabilities. We aim at
demonstrating how NGC2785, a local (z=0.009) star-forming galaxy, is
responsible, in virtue of its heavily obscured active nucleus, for significant
contamination in the non-imaging BeppoSAX/PDS data of the relatively nearby
(~17 arcmin) quasar IRAS 09104+4109 (z=0.44), which was originally
mis-classified as Compton thick. We analyzed ~71 ks NuSTAR data of NGC2785
using the MYTorus model and provided a physical description of the X-ray
properties of the source for the first time. We found that NGC2785 hosts a
heavily obscured (NH~3*10^{24} cm^{-2}) nucleus. The intrinsic X-ray luminosity
of the source, once corrected for the measured obscuration (L(2-10 keV)~10^{42}
erg/s), is consistent within a factor of a few with predictions based on the
source mid-infrared flux using widely adopted correlations from the literature.
Based on NuSTAR data and previous indications from the Neil Gehrels Swift
Observatory (BAT instrument), we confirm that NGC2785, because of its hard
X-ray emission and spectral shape, was responsible for at least one third of
the 20-100 keV emission observed using the PDS instrument onboard BeppoSAX,
originally completely associated with IRAS 09104+4109. Such emission led to the
erroneous classification of this source as a Compton-thick quasar, while it is
now recognized as Compton thin.Comment: Six pages, 3 figures, A&A, in pres
WISE colours and star-formation in the host galaxies of radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1
We investigate the mid-infrared properties of the largest (42 objects) sample
of radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 (RL NLS1) collected to date, using data
from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). We analyse the mid-IR
colours of these objects and compare them to what is expected from different
combinations of AGN and galaxy templates. We find that, in general, the
host-galaxy emission gives an importan contribution to the observed mid-IR flux
in particular at the longest wavelengths (W3, at 12micron, and W4, at
22micron). In about half of the sources (22 objects) we observe a very red
mid-IR colour (W4-W3>2.5) that can be explained only using a starburst galaxy
template (M82). Using the 22micron luminosities, corrected for the AGN
contribution, we have then estimated the star-formation rate for 20 of these
"red" RL NLS1, finding values ranging from 10 to 500 Msun/y. For the RL NLS1
showing bluer colours, instead, we cannot exclude the presence of a
star-forming host galaxy although, on average, we expect a lower star-formation
rate. Studying the radio (1.4GHz) to mid-IR (22micron) flux ratios of the RL
NLS1 in the sample we found that in ~10 objects the star-forming activity could
represent the most important component also at radio frequencies, in addition
(or in alternative) to the relativistic jet. We conclude that both the mid-IR
and the radio emission of RL NLS1 are a mixture of different components,
including the relativistic jet, the dusty torus and an intense star-forming
activity.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 11 pages, 7 figures, 2 table
Optical and infrared photometry of the blazar PKS0537-441
We present a large collection of photometric data on the Blazar PKS 0537-441
in the VRIJHK bands taken in 2004-2009. At least three flare-like episodes with
months duration, and >3 mag amplitude are apparent. The spectral energy
distribution is consistent with a power law, and no indication of a thermal
component is found. We searched for short time scale variability, and an
interesting event was identified in the J band, with a duration of ~25 minutes.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, in press in ApJ
SDSSJ143244.91+301435.3: a link between radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies and compact steep-spectrum radio sources?
We present SDSSJ143244.91+301435.3, a new case of radio-loud narrow line
Seyfert 1 (RL NLS1) with a relatively high radio power (P1.4GHz=2.1x10^25 W
Hz^-1) and large radioloudness parameter (R1.4=600+/-100). The radio source is
compact with a linear size below ~1.4 kpc but, contrary to most of the RL NLS1
discovered so far with such a high R1.4, its radio spectrum is very steep
(alpha=0.93) and not supporting a 'blazar-like' nature. Both the small mass of
the central super-massive black-hole and the high accretion rate relative to
the Eddington limit estimated for this object (3.2x10^7 Msun and 0.27,
respectively, with a formal error of ~0.4 dex on both quantities) are typical
of the class of NLS1. Through a modeling of the spectral energy distribution of
the source we have found that the galaxy hosting SDSSJ143244.91+301435.3 is
undergoing a quite intense star-formation (SFR=50 Msun y^-1) which, however, is
expected to contribute only marginally (~1 per cent) to the observed radio
emission. The radio properties of SDSSJ143244.91+301435.3 are remarkably
similar to those of compact steep spectrum (CSS) radio sources, a class of AGN
mostly composed by young radio galaxies. This may suggest a direct link between
these two classes of AGN, with the CSS sources possibly representing the
misaligned version (the so-called parent population) of RL NLS1 showing blazar
characteristics.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA
Agronomic and economic evaluation of Tilemsi phosphate rock in different agroecological zones of Mali
Phosphorus deficiency is known as one of the major constraints to crop production in West Africa. Farmer-managed trials were conducted in three agroecological zones of Mali to evaluate the profitability of Tilemsi phosphate rock (TPR) in different crop-rotation systems in comparison with conventional water-soluble fertilizers. Marginal analyses were used to compare treatments tested. Results show that crop yields using TPR are comparable to those of recommended cotton- or cereal-complex imported fertilizers. The economic evaluation also clearly indicated that direct application of TPR is relatively profitable in comparison with recommended imported fertilizers and that good management enhances the profitability of fertilizers in general
XMM-Newton view of galaxy pairs: activation of quiescent black holes?
We report on XMM-Newton observations of three nearby galaxy pairs,
AM0707-273, AM1211-465, and AM2040-674. All six galaxies were previously
classified as HII galaxies based on optical and IR spectroscopic analysis. All
galaxies were detected with XMM-Newton and each member was isolated and
analyzed independently. The X-ray spectra reveal strong evidence of AGN
activity in the NE member of AM1211-465 pair. We measured a luminosity of
1.94(+0.11/-0.15)x10^42 erg/s in the 2-10 keV band and the presence of a
neutral FeK_alpha line with a confidence level of 98.8%. The high nH value,
2.2+/-0.2x10^22 cm^-2, would explain the misclassification of the source.
Marginal evidence of AGN nature was found in the X-ray spectra of AM1211-465SW
and AM0707-273E. The X-ray emission of the three remaining galaxies can be
explained by starburst activity.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
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