Emotional and Spiritual Challenges of Aboriginal Foster Parents

The purpose of the study was to identify the emotional and spiritual challenges faced by Aboriginal foster parents. Interviews were conducted with a total of 83 Aboriginal foster parents in a central Canadian province. The interviews were conducted over the phone and participants were asked two questions: “What are the emotional challenges that would cause you to consider quitting fostering?” and “What are the spiritual challenges that would cause you to consider quitting fostering?” Responses to the questions were sorted by participants and analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Seven concepts emerged in response to the first question including: 1) Defending Integrity, 2) Loss of Hope, 3) Unresolved Conflict, 4) Abuse, 5) Fear for Safety, 6) Burnout, and 7) Resentment. Three concepts emerged on response to the second question including: 1) Meaninglessness, 2) Being Alone, and 3) Religious Restrictions. The concepts were compared to and contrasted with the fostering literature. Keywords: Aboriginal, foster parents, foster children, emotional challenges, spiritual challenges, supports

Standing on the forefront of school mental health: Building upon capacity in teacher candidates through mental health literacy and trauma-and-violence-informed-care

Early identification and access to appropriate supports can improve the trajectory of childhood mental illnesses. Schools and educators have consistently been identified as having a significant role in both mental health promotion efforts as well as the identification of emerging mental health concerns amongst students. Equipping teachers for this role through professional development related to mental health literacy (MHL) is essential in ensuring their success. Closely tied to mental health is a sense of safety, and children who feel unsafe at school may have greater difficulty regulating their emotions and behaviour and be less available for learning. Utilizing a trauma-and-violence-informed-care (TVIC) framework within the education system may help schools provide safe places for all students, including those exposed to trauma, structural violence and experiencing mental health concerns. Initial teacher education offers a natural opportunity to prepare future educators with the knowledge, skills and self-efficacy needed to create learning environments that are safe, equitable and meet the needs of all students, including those with mental health concerns and/or the experience of trauma and violence. A mandatory, online mental health literacy course was utilized to provide instruction in MHL and TVIC to Bachelor of Education students (n=287) at a large Canadian university. Pre and post-test measures were used to capture knowledge gains with respect to mental health literacy, attitudes towards trauma-and-violence-informed-care and self-efficacy for utilizing inclusive teaching practices. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant effect of time across measures, indicating that knowledge gains were made. There was no significant effect of previous learning on the measures of interest, which suggests that knowledge gains were made regardless of participants’ previous mental health knowledge. These findings highlight the importance of including these topics within initial teacher education. Implications for policy and practice are discussed

Initial teacher education and trauma and violence informed care in the classroom: Preliminary results from an online teacher education course

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. A trauma-and-violence-informed-care (TVIC) system within an educational setting provides a framework of practice that enables schools to become safe and inclusive places for some of the most vulnerable students. Initial teacher education may provide the opportunity to prepare teachers to create classrooms and learning experiences that are safe, equitable, and meet students\u27 needs. A mandatory mental health literacy course for second year teacher candidates in a Bachelor of Education program (n = 287) at a large Canadian university introduced TVIC concepts. A case study approach was used to illustrate both the challenges that students exposed to trauma and/or violence can experience, as well as strategies and knowledge that teachers can use to support these students. This program evaluation used a repeated measures design to survey both attitudes toward trauma informed care for teachers and self-efficacy for teaching using inclusive practices before and after the course. A significant effect of time on both measures revealed an increase in both participants\u27 attitudes toward TVIC and their self-efficacy in using inclusive teaching practices. These findings provide support for the inclusion of these important topics for all teacher candidates. Implications for practice and policy are discussed

Reactions to Mindfulness Intervention in an Early Psychosis Program

Objective: The Mindfulness Ambassador Program (MAP) is a standardized facilitated group mindfulness-based intervention designed for youth that intersects core foundations of mindfulness with social emotional learning. The curriculum introduces participants to mindfulness practices and related activities in order to achieve the following: increased self-awareness; emotional regulation; responsive listening; communication skills; social awareness; and perspective taking. These pillars of the MAP curriculum align with psychosocial rehabilitation outcomes among those experiencing early psychosis. The objective of this study was to understand the client experience and assess the acceptability of MAP within the clinical setting of an early psychosis intervention program. Research Design and Methods: Two semi-structured focus groups explored experiences of clients (n=9) of an early psychosis intervention program who participated in a pilot trial of MAP in a clinical setting. Focus group discussions were analyzed using a thematic analysis framework. Results: Five overarching themes emerged with nuanced subthemes: (i) program engagement (overall impressions, participant involvement); (ii) learning (core mindfulness skills, personal learning and growth); (iii) direct benefits to participants’ well-being; (iv) aspects of the program (facilitation, group structure, group dynamic); and (v) challenges and opportunities for improvement. Conclusions: All participants reported benefits from and/or challenges with participating in MAP. Evaluative comments about MAP content, facilitation, and structure were expressed. This research supports MAP as a promising intervention for young people recovering from early psychosis

Participatory video as a novel recovery-oriented intervention in early psychosis: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Personal narrative plays an important role in the process of recovery from psychotic illnesses. Participatory video is a novel, active intervention that can be used as a tool for fostering narrative development among people with psychosis. AIM: To assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential clinical utility of participatory video as an innovative tool for promoting recovery in early psychosis. METHODS: Ten outpatients of an early psychosis intervention programme were recruited to participate in 13 biweekly workshops to plan, film and produce documentary-style videos of their experiences. Feasibility was measured through recruitment and retention. Acceptability was measured through workshop attendance and client satisfaction. Clinical outcomes were assessed at baseline, post intervention and 3 months post intervention. RESULTS: The participatory video intervention was feasible and associated with a high degree of satisfaction for participants who completed the workshops ( CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this pilot study suggest that participatory video is feasible and acceptable for individuals with early psychosis. This study also provides important pilot data supporting a larger trial investigating the effectiveness of participatory video as a recovery-oriented intervention

A pilot study of participatory video in early psychosis: Qualitative findings.

For people with psychotic disorders, developing a personal narrative about one\u27s experiences with psychosis can help promote recovery. This pilot study examined participants\u27 reactions to and experiences of participatory video as an intervention to help facilitate recovery-oriented narrative development in early psychosis. Outpatients of an early psychosis intervention program were recruited to participate in workshops producing short documentary-style videos of their collective and individual experiences. Six male participants completed the program and took part in a focus group upon completion and in an individual semistructured interview three months later. Themes were identified from the focus group and interviews and then summarized for descriptive purposes. Prominent themes included impacts of the videos on the participants and perceived impacts on others, fulfilment from sharing experiences and expressing oneself, value of collaboration and cohesion in a group, acquiring interpersonal and technological skills, and recommendations for future implementation. Findings of this study suggest that participatory video is an engaging means of self-definition and self-expression among young people in recovery from early psychosis

A pilot study of participatory video in early psychosis: Qualitative findings

For people with psychotic disorders, developing a personal narrative about one’s experiences with psychosis can help promote recovery. This pilot study examined participants’ reactions to and experiences of participatory video as an intervention to help facilitate recovery-oriented narrative development in early psychosis. Outpatients of an early psychosis intervention program were recruited to participate in workshops producing short documentary-style videos of their collective and individual experiences. Six male participants completed the program and took part in a focus group upon completion and in an individual semistructured interview three months later. Themes were identified from the focus group and interviews and then summarized for descriptive purposes. Prominent themes included impacts of the videos on the participants and perceived impacts on others, fulfilment from sharing experiences and expressing oneself, value of collaboration and cohesion in a group, acquiring interpersonal and technological skills, and recommendations for future implementation. Findings of this study suggest that participatory video is an engaging means of self-definition and self-expression among young people in recovery from early psychosis

The MAP3K7 gene: Further delineation of clinical characteristics and genotype/phenotype correlations.

Mitogen-activated protein 3 kinase 7 (MAP3K7) encodes the ubiquitously expressed transforming growth factor β-activated kinase 1, which plays a crucial role in many cellular processes. Mutationsin the MAP3K7 gene have been linked to two distinct disorders: frontometaphyseal dysplasia type 2 (FMD2) and cardiospondylocarpofacial syndrome (CSCF). The fact that different mutations can induce two distinct phenotypes suggests a phenotype/genotype correlation, but no side-by-side comparison has been done thus far to confirm this. Here, we significantly expand the cohort and the description of clinical phenotypes for patients with CSCF and FMD2 who carry mutations in MAP3K7. Our findings support that in contrast to FMD2-causing mutations, CSCF-causing mutations in MAP3K7 have a loss-of-function effect. Additionally, patients with pathogenic mutations in MAP3K7 are at risk for (severe) cardiac disease, have symptoms associated with connective tissue disease, and we show overlap in clinical phenotypes of CSCF with Noonan syndrome (NS). Together, we confirm a molecular fingerprint of FMD2- versus CSCF-causing MAP3K7 mutations and conclude that mutations in MAP3K7 should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with syndromic congenital cardiac defects and/or cardiomyopathy, syndromic connective tissue disorders, and in the differential diagnosis of NS