The Development of a Social Work Program for an Islamic Day School in Southwestern Ontario

The Development of a Social Work Program for an Islamic Day School in Southwestern Ontario Abstract This article examines the evolution of a social work program for an Islamic Day School in London, Ontario, Canada. The Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration (MRCSSI), and London Islamic School (LIS) developed A Safe Space for Children (SPC) school social work program after extensive community consultation and feedback from leadership and school teachers revealed the need for mental health supports for students. A program implementation and evaluation design was developed by the MRCSSI in collaboration with the LIS and accepted by school administration and community stakeholders. The overarching objectives were to provide students with counselling services; develop school wide interventions, connect students and their families to mental health community resources while also providing ongoing professional development opportunities to teachers on issues relating to student mental health issues. The development of SPC its rooted in literature that reveals that this population is vulnerable to the stigma related to mental health, issues of acculturation, racism, and discrimination. The establishment of a social work program situated in a faith-based school that offers an overall understanding of cultural values and spirituality, aligns with best practices in social work. The project was grounded in a participatory democracy approach integrated with the civil society perspective, constructivist and critical race theoretical frameworks that guided the assessment and program design. Key Words: Canada, Children, Islam, Mental Health, Muslim, Participatory Democracy, School Social Wor

Extrinsic Factors Influencing the Person’s Motivation for Engagement and Retention in the Addiction Recovery Process. A Systematic Literature Review

Background Globally, up to 80% of patients enrolled for addiction care are lost to follow-up within the first three months of treatment. This review synthesizes evidence on extrinsic factors that influence motivation for engaging in addiction recovery and corresponding empirical definitions. Methods A systematic search for peer-reviewed articles was conducted through electronic databases, including Ovid MEDLINE, PsychINFO, CINHAL, and scanning references. The included articles were published in English or French between 1946 and 2018. Results The identified sixteen articles indicated that extrinsic factors for the person’s engagement and retention in the addiction recovery process included: motivation-enhancing healthcare structures, therapeutic relationships, and supportive social networks. Results also indicated that empirical definitions of motivation for engagement and retention in the addiction recovery process varied across studies. Conclusion Extrinsic factors can influence the person’s motivation for engagement and retention in the addiction recovery. Research with full operational definitions of motivation for engagement and retention in the addiction recovery is needed. Keywords: Addiction recovery; engagement; extrinsic factors; motivation; retentio

Housing, income support and mental health: Points of disconnection

There exists a disconnection between evolving policies in the policy arenas of mental health, housing, and income support in Canada. One of the complexities associated with analysing the intersection of these policies is that federal, provincial, and municipal level policies are involved. Canada is one of the few developed countries without a national mental health policy and because of the federal policy reforms of the 1970s, the provincial governments now oversee the process of deinstitutionalization from the hospital to the community level. During this same period the availability of affordable housing has decreased as responsibility for social housing has been transfered from the federal government to the provincial and/or municipal levels of government. Canada also stands alone in terms of being a developed nation without national housing policy instead what is considered "affordable" housing is partially dependant upon individuals' personal economic resources. As well, over the past decade rates of income supports have also been reduced. Psychiatric survivors have long been identified as being at risk for homelessness, with the disconnection existing between housing, income and mental health policies and the lack of a national policy in any of these policies areas further contributing to this risk

Men Are More Likely to Be Homeless Than Women

Gender has an impact on people with mental illnesses. Men are more likely to be homeless than women. More social support needs to be provided to members of both gendersYork's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

The Shalem Counselling Assistance Plan for Students (CAPS): Delivering Social Work Services to Faith-Based School Systems

In Ontario, Canada, non-Catholic faith-based schools do not receive provincial government funding but are funded primarily by families of students and through fundraising. As a result, historically school-based provision of counselling or school social work resources to students has been the exception rather than the rule, as this has typically been considered an adjunct resource. A new initiative was launched in the province of Ontario in 2011 to address this gap, the Counselling Assistance Plan for Students (CAPS). CAPS was premised on another novel idea, a Congregational Assistance Plan, which itself grew out of concepts derived from Employee Assistance Programming that has roots dating back to the 19th century in Canada. While CAPS has parallels to Student Assistance Programming (SAP), which exists throughout the United States, development of SAP has not taken hold in Canada. This article examines the origins of CAPS, its development, and the nature of assistance it has provided to the schools that have been early adopters

How Does Diversity Affect Homelessness?

Diversities such as social class, culture, sexual orientation, disabilities and psychiatric conditions impact poverty and homelessness.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Discharge of Psychiatric Patients to Shelters Increases Homelessness

A comprehensive care plan for patients, including at least income support and assistance resettling in the community, will prevent homelessness.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Myths about autism: an exploratory study using focus groups

Individuals with autism are often stigmatised and isolated by their typically developing peers according to parental, teacher and self-reports. Whilst quantitative studies often report negative attitudes towards individuals with autism, it is still unclear how understandings of autism influence attitudes. In this exploratory study, misconceptions or myths about autism, i.e. the cognitive component of attitudes, were examined using focus groups. Purposive sampling was used to recruit undergraduate and postgraduate students, and adults with and without experience of autism, to one of five focus groups (n = 37). Content analysis was used to identify emergent themes. The data identified seven commonly held beliefs about individuals with autism. The first four were related to social interaction, such as that people with autism do not like to be touched. The fifth reflected the view that all individuals with autism have a special talent and the final two concerned beliefs that people with autism are dangerous. The findings from this study demonstrate that people with varying experience or knowledge of autism often hold inaccurate beliefs about autism. These findings improve our understandings of lay-beliefs about autism, and will aid the development and implementation of interventions designed to improve lay-knowledge of autism

Pain catastrophising and kinesiophobia mediate pain and physical function improvements with Pilates exercise in chronic low back pain::a mediation analysis of a randomised controlled trial

How much are the reductions in pain intensity and improvements in physical function from Pilates exercise mediated by changes in pain catastrophising and kinesiophobia? This was a secondary causal mediation analysis of a four-arm randomised controlled trial testing Pilates exercise dosage (once, twice or thrice per week) against a booklet control. Two hundred and fifty-five people with chronic low back pain. All analyses were conducted in R software (version 4.1.2) following a preregistered analysis plan. A directed acyclic graph was constructed to identify potential pre-treatment mediator-outcome confounders. For each mediator model, we estimated the intervention-mediator effect, the mediator-outcome effect, the total natural indirect effect (TNIE), the pure natural direct effect (PNDE), and the total effect (TE). Pain catastrophising mediated the effect of Pilates exercise compared with control on the outcomes pain intensity (TNIE MD -0.21, 95% CI -0.47 to -0.03) and physical function (TNIE MD -0.64, 95% CI -1.20 to -0.18). Kinesiophobia mediated the effect of Pilates exercise compared with control on the outcomes pain intensity (TNIE MD -0.31, 95% CI -0.68 to -0.02) and physical function (TNIE MD -1.06, 95% CI -1.70 to -0.49). The proportion mediated by each mediator was moderate (21 to 55%). Reductions in pain catastrophising and kinesiophobia partially mediated the pathway to improved pain intensity and physical function when using Pilates exercise for chronic low back pain. These psychological components may be important treatment targets for clinicians and researchers to consider when prescribing exercise for chronic low back pain. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 Australian Physiotherapy Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.