PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF DRUG ADDICTS IN PREDICTING TREATMENT OUTCOMES

Purpose of the study: This study aims to investigate whether psychological well-being could predict treatment outcomes in drug addicts after they had received solution-based psychosocial intervention in a drug treatment setting. The psychological well-being of individuals is an important variable in discussing treatment outcomes after they were given psychosocial interventions. Methodology: This study utilized a quasi-experimental research design using non-randomized pre-and post-test single group design. Fifty-seven participants were selected and they completed a pre- and post-assessment on psychological well-being changes and treatment outcomes questionnaire. Paired t-test and Pearson correlation were used to analyze the relationship between these two variables, while multiple linear regression was used to further explore whether participants' psychological well-being could predict their treatment outcomes. Main Findings: Results indicated a significant relationship between these two variables and more than twenty percent in treatment outcomes were explained by psychological variance. Few contextual meanings of psychological symptoms should need to be emphasized in discussing the findings and future research direction. Applications of this study: Having studied whether psychological well-being could predict treatment outcomes of drug addicts would benefit counselors and social workers who deal with addiction clients. The element of psychological well-being, such as mental health must be included in the treatment plan to increase the success of recovery amongst drug addict clients. The novelty of this study: The conclusions from this study offer significant insight into the utilization of solution-focused intervention in non-Western populations and the relation between psychological well-being and treatment outcomes for drug addict clients. The findings expand the existing literature review on the psychological well-being of drug addicts in a way it takes into accounts the cultural context in discussing the outcomes

Domestic Counseling Student Viewpoints on Their Relationships with International Classmates: A Q Methodology Study

Despite the increased number of international students in various disciplines including counseling and other helping professions, little is known to date about the cross-cultural interactions between domestic students and their international counterparts. When international students have strong relationships with peers from their host countries, they are better prepared for acculturative stress, cultural adjustment, and social isolation. To gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, the current study explores domestic counseling students’ relationships with international classmates. We used Q methodology to gather the perspectives of 22 domestic counseling students from a representative public institution in the USA. The participants exhibited three divergent perspectives: (a) counselor experiencing professional growth, (b) counselor experiencing personal growth, and (c) counselor struggling with personal growth. We discuss the detailed findings of the study and implications for counselor education

Domestic Counseling Student Viewpoints On Their Relationships With International Classmates: A Q Methodology Study

Despite the increased number of international students in various disciplines including counseling and other helping professions, little is known to date about the cross-cultural interactions between domestic students and their international counterparts. When international students have strong relationships with peers from their host countries, they are better prepared for acculturative stress, cultural adjustment, and social isolation. To gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, the current study explores domestic counseling students\u27 relationships with international classmates. We used Q methodology to gather the perspectives of 22 domestic counseling students from a representative public institution in the USA. The participants exhibited three divergent perspectives: (a) counselor experiencing professional growth, (b) counselor experiencing personal growth, and (c) counselor struggling with personal growth. We discuss the detailed findings of the study and implications for counselor education

The relationship of self-efficacy, self-advocacy and multicultural counselling competency of school counsellors: A structural equation model

School counsellors are the main drivers of change in creating a multicultural environment for all students. This study used structural equation modelling to investigate directional relationships among self-efficacy, self-advocacy and multicultural counselling competence in a sample of school counsellors ( N = 306). The data were collected from 306 practising school counsellors in the US. The results suggested that self-advocacy was statistically related to self-efficacy, in turn self-efficacy was associated with multicultural counselling competence. Structural model indicated that self-advocacy had a strong indirect effect on multicultural counselling competence mediated by self-efficacy. Accordingly, the findings implicate that school counsellors could start with smaller and realistic projects in working with diverse school populations as their positive experiences in this area could increase their ability to advocate for multicultural school environments

Spirituality in Counseling . Counselor Audio Source, podcast series

Dr. Tracey E. Robert of Fairfield University speaks about spirituality in counseling using the ASERVIC spirituality competencies with CAS Contributing Editor Dr. Edina Renfro-Michel. Runtime. 36:03, Airdate: 1/11/2007, Spirituality in Counseling - (CAS054)

The team approach to interdisciplinary care

The medical complexity of the older adult continues to increase as people are living longer and accumulating more disease burden. No longer can any person, acting solo, have all of the required knowledge and expertise to manage patients. An interdisciplinary team is a group of individuals who bring their own special knowledge and skills to contribute to creating a cohesive care plan for a patient and family. These teams require hospital commitment to assemble and maintain over time. The teams themselves require nurturing and education, not only in disease or care management, but in team development. Done well, the team approach to health care will benefi t the patient, the family, the hospital, and the team members themselves. While cost should be considered, much research suggests that the teams pay for themselves in cost savings. Other measureable outcomes are described