Trauma-focused equine assisted psychotherapy : a quantitative study of intervention effectiveness

This study uses a quantitative lens to examine if Natural Lifemanship\u27s ® Trauma- Focused Equine Assisted Psychotherapy ™ (TF-EAP) model is effective in reducing the psychological, emotional, and/or behavioral problems in youth with a trauma history. Secondary data was collected on behalf of Spirit Reins, the organization that implements Natural Lifemanship\u27s ® TF-EAP ™ model, and used to determine the effectiveness of their traumainformed treatment intervention. Through a pre and post-test research design, data analysis was conducted on 40 youths\u27 Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) total scores to determine intervention effectiveness. Findings suggest that Natural Lifemanship\u27s ® TF-EAP ™ model is effective in reducing the psychological, emotional, and/or behavioral problems in youth with a trauma history

Managed Care and Social Work: Practice Implications in an Era of Change

The purpose of this article is to explore the role of the clinical social worker in a time of unprecedented change. The events of the last decade have transformed health care delivery as well as professional performance expectations. To facilitate understanding, the environmental considerations that surround these changes are traced and discussed. A direct linkage is made to clinical social work practice and suggestions for the future survival of the profession is discussed. These suggestions include: (1) a greater focus on behaviorally-based outcomes that result in cost-beneficial service provision; (2) increased marketing of social work services to health care providers; (3) promotion of social work services as an integral part of the success of the interdisciplinary team, (4) incorporate a macro perspective into micro or clinical practice approaches; and, (5) explore non-traditional roles for social work professionals to expand their current practice arena

DNA crosslinking and biological activity of a hairpin polyamide–chlorambucil conjugate

A prototype of a novel class of DNA alkylating agents, which combines the DNA crosslinking moiety chlorambucil (Chl) with a sequence-selective hairpin pyrrole-imidazole polyamide ImPy-beta-ImPy-gamma-ImPy-beta-Dp (polyamide 1), was evaluated for its ability to damage DNA and induce biological responses. Polyamide 1-Chl conjugate (1-Chl) alkylates and interstrand crosslinks DNA in cell-free systems. The alkylation occurs predominantly at 5'-AGCTGCA-3' sequence, which represents the polyamide binding site. Conjugate-induced lesions were first detected on DNA treated for 1 h with 0.1 muM 1-Chl, indicating that the conjugate is at least 100-fold more potent than Chl. Prolonged incubation allowed for DNA damage detection even at 0.01 muM concentration. Treatment with 1-Chl decreased DNA template activity in simian virus 40 (SV40) in vitro replication assays. 1-Chl inhibited mammalian cell growth, genomic DNA replication and cell cycle progression, and arrested cells in the G(2)/M phase. Moreover, cellular effects were observed at 1-Chl concentrations similar to those needed for DNA damage in cell-free systems. Neither of the parent compounds, unconjugated Chl or polyamide 1, demonstrated any cellular activity in the same concentration range. The conjugate molecule 1-Chl possesses the sequence-selectivity of a polyamide and the enhanced DNA reactivity of Chl