Working With Multiracial Clients in Therapy: Bridging Theory, Research, and Practice

The growing multiracial population has resulted in a need for professional psychologists to become knowledgeable about unique identity issues that may influence therapy with multiracial clients. The overarching goal of this article is to provide clinicians with current theory and research, as well as particular therapeutic strategies that will be useful in their work with multiracial clients. Specifically, this article (a) provides a brief review of some prevalent models of multiracial identity; (b) discusses several common themes derived from theory and research about multiracial identity, which should be taken into account when working with this population; and (c) offers some specific techniques and strategies that may be used in therapy to develop more accurate conceptualizations of multiracial clients

Promoting Hope: Suggestions for School Counselors

School counselors need multiple resources to assist today\u27s students in developing to their fullest potential. This development might often be measured outwardly by academic success; however, psychological and emotional well-being of students is a large part of this success. The construct of hope is defined as a bidimensional characteristic consisting of an agency component (willpower to move toward one\u27s goals) and a pathways component (ability to develop multiple routes to one\u27s goals) and has been linked to academic success, athletic performance, psychological adjustment, and physical health in students (Snyder et al., 1991). Helping school counselors to enhance individual strengths through the promotion of characteristics such as hope may result in multiple benefits for students and their school environments at large. Studies involving hope and its correlates are discussed and suggestions for appropriate and feasible interventions in this area are given

Positive Psychology Within a Cultural Context

As our capacity for communication with nations across the globe increases through the advances of technology, our interactions with others with different worldviews also become more frequent. This exposure to diversity on so many levels requires a better understanding of the multiple contexts in which people from different cultural backgrounds live and the strengths they possess that help them experience well-being. In order to define the characteristics that my be viewed as strengths in different groups, we must make efforts to remember that cultural rules and norms often dictate what can be called a strength versus a weakness. It is imperative that we are able to recognize that strengths may look very different in different contexts and that these diverse manifestations may come from a variety of worldviews. More work must be done in order to develop a better understanding of the way that cultural context plays a role in the operationalization, manifestation, and measurement of strengths in diverse groups. The following chapter provides a history of the connections between culture and positive psychology and discusses current issues regarding the link between cultural context and various personal characteristics. Examples from culturally sensitive positive psychology theory and research are also given in order to illustrate how researchers are better exploring positive psychology within a cultural context

Culture Counts: Examinations of Recent Applications of the Penn Resiliency Program or, Toward a Rubric for Examining Cultural Appropriateness of Prevention Programming

It is imperative that researchers pay close attention to the influences of culture on mental health, and acknowledge a cultural context of illness and change when designing prevention programming. Researchers E. V. Cardemil, K. J. Reivich, and M. E. P. Seligman (2002) and D. L. Yu and M. E. P. Seligman (2002) have made attempts at adapting the existing Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) for culturally appropriate use cross-culturally and interculturally. The success of these modifications is discussed within a framework of guidelines designed to remind scientists how much culture counts. Finally, informative resources and a rubric are shared with prevention scientists for use in future development of culturally appropriate prevention programming

Beyond the DSM-IV: Assumptions, Alternatives, and Alterations

Current diagnostic processes reflect the limitations and utility of the framework of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Clinical information in the DSM-IV\u27s 5-axis system almost exclusively focuses on weaknesses and pathology and is summarized in a flawed categorical system. Hence, the authors describe 3 adjunctive, or alternative, means of conceptualizing behavior; several means of altering the current DSM-IV system; and 2 future directions in the diagnosis of strengths

Velocity Correlations, Diffusion and Stochasticity in a One-Dimensional System

We consider the motion of a test particle in a one-dimensional system of equal-mass point particles. The test particle plays the role of a microscopic "piston" that separates two hard-point gases with different concentrations and arbitrary initial velocity distributions. In the homogeneous case when the gases on either side of the piston are in the same macroscopic state, we compute and analyze the stationary velocity autocorrelation function C(t). Explicit expressions are obtained for certain typical velocity distributions, serving to elucidate in particular the asymptotic behavior of C(t). It is shown that the occurrence of a non-vanishing probability mass at zero velocity is necessary for the occurrence of a long-time tail in C(t). The conditions under which this is a $t^{-3}$ tail are determined. Turning to the inhomogeneous system with different macroscopic states on either side of the piston, we determine its effective diffusion coefficient from the asymptotic behavior of the variance of its position, as well as the leading behavior of the other moments about the mean. Finally, we present an interpretation of the effective noise arising from the dynamics of the two gases, and thence that of the stochastic process to which the position of any particle in the system reduces in the thermodynamic limit.Comment: 22 files, 2 eps figures. Submitted to PR

Chiral molecule adsorption on helical polymers

We present a lattice model for helicity induction on an optically inactive polymer due to the adsorption of exogenous chiral amine molecules. The system is mapped onto a one-dimensional Ising model characterized by an on-site polymer helicity variable and an amine occupancy one. The equilibrium properties are analyzed at the limit of strong coupling between helicity induction and amine adsorption and that of non-interacting adsorbant molecules. We discuss our results in view of recent experimental results