Motivational interviewing and dual diagnosis clients: Enhancing self-efficacy and treatment completion

This study explored treatment completion and self-efficacy of dual-diagnosis clients receiving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and a combination of CBT with motivational interviewing (MI) in an intensive outpatient setting. Results indicated that MI was associated with increased self-efficacy and treatment completion

Supporting Survivors of Public Mass Shootings

Mass casualty incidents, particularly mass shootings, are a serious issue in the United States. These incidents have increased over the past two decades and more than 32 public mass shootings have occurred since 2016, with approximately 12.8 incidents occurring each year. Since 1966, there have been over 1,202 fatalities and countless injuries due to public mass shooting incidents. Therefore, it is essential that professional counselors are equipped to treat primary, secondary, and tertiary victims of these incidents. The purpose of this article is to examine the current literature on public mass shootings, including psychological consequences, treatment considerations, ethical and legal issues, and cultural factors. Vicarious traumatization and self-care are also explored. Recommendations for training and resources are offered, and implications for professional counselors and counselor trainees are discussed

Perceptions of Grief Education in Accredited Counseling Programs: Recommendations for Counselor Education

As grief can be considered a critical life event, unresolved grief can interfere with quality of life, affecting lifestyle, behavior, emotional strength, and cognitive function. Unresolved grief can even result in suicidal ideation. Counselors can and often do work with grief issues in clients and can promote positive outcomes for grieving clients by addressing personal loss and helping clients process grief related issues. This study was based on an analysis of students within counseling programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs based on earlier research conducted by one of the authors. Self-perception of competency in counseling clients who are having grief-related issues from loss was assessed using the Grief Counseling Competency Scale. By analyzing results of the Grief Counseling Competency Scale, participants showed a need for further training in grief counseling skills and theory. Results and implications of the quantitative analysis as well as suggestions for further study are discussed

Perceived Competency in Grief Counseling: Implications for Counselor Education

Grief is regarded as a critical life event. Unresolved grief issues can interfere with quality of life and can result in emotional, behavioral, physical and cognitive symptoms, and if unresolved, can result in suicidal ideation. Counselors can be called upon and often do work with grief issues in clients, including U. S. Military veterans. This study examined whether 93 master’s level counselors specializing in rehabilitation counseling reported having been adequately trained to identify and work with clients who are having grief-related issues from loss or disability. Using the Grief Counseling Competency Scale (GCCS), participants showed a wide range of scores regarding personal competency related to grief. However, scores tended to be low when examining skills and knowledge relating to grief counseling. Implications for further research are discussed

ENGAGE: Guided Activity-Based Gaming in Neurorehabilitation after Stroke: A Pilot Study

Introduction. Stroke is a leading cause of disability in healthy adults. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility and outcomes of a novel video gaming repetitive practice paradigm, (ENGAGE) enhanced neurorehabilitation: guided activity-based gaming exercise. Methods. Sixteen individuals at least three months after stroke served as participants. All participants received concurrent outpatient therapy or took part in a stroke exercise class and completed at least 500 minutes of gaming. Primary baseline and posttest outcome measures included the Wolf motor function test (WMFT) and the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA). ENGAGE uses a game selection algorithm providing focused, graded activity-based repetitive practice that is highly individualized and directed. The Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used to determine statistical significance. Results. There were improvements in the WMFT (=0.003) and the FMA (=0.002) that exceeded established values of minimal clinically important difference. Conclusions. ENGAGE was feasible and an effective adjunct to concurrent therapy after stroke

Perceived Anxiety Disorder Stigma: A Predictive Analysis

Anxiety remains one of the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorders. Systemic barriers to mental health treatment persist. Research on anxiety is robust, although research on perceived anxiety disorder stigma is limited. The purpose of this quantitative analysis was to determine whether factors including age, gender, level of education, and presence of a diagnosable anxiety disorder condition would predict perceived anxiety stigma in a population of adults from the Midwestern region of the United States who were in treatment for anxiety. Based on Goffman’s framework, we used the Generalized Anxiety Stigma Scale (GASS) to determine the presence and level of anxiety disorder stigma. We evaluated data using multiple regression to predict factors that contribute to the dependent variable of perceived anxiety stigma. We found significance in the independent factors of age (p = 0.017), gender (p = 0.002), and level of education (p = 0.018) in the prediction of anxiety disorder stigma. This study may help the counseling profession limit the impact of perceived anxiety disorder stigma as a barrier to mental health treatment for persons with anxiety disorders who are vulnerable to this type of stigma. In this paper, we discuss the results and suggest future research

Leadership Skill Development in Master’s-Level Counselor Education

Student leadership identity is fast becoming one of the most critical challenges educational institutions face today. However, mental health counselors may be limited in the amount of education and training received as they become leaders in the field. There is currently no known mandate at the master’s level for leadership embedded within the counseling curriculum in the educational environment, although research suggests otherwise. The purpose of this correlational predictive empirical study was to investigate leadership identity characteristics as measured by the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale, Revision 2 (SLRS-R2), moderated by demographic factors. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine outcome measures of the SLRS-R2 relating to leadership. Conclusions and suggestions for future practice regarding leadership skill development are provided

Professional occupation and the risk of Parkinson's disease

Background and purpose: Creativity in Parkinson's disease (PD) is strongly related to dopaminergic activity and medication. We hypothesized that patients with PD, including those who are in the pre-diagnostic phase of PD, are prone to choose highly structured ‘conventional’ professional occupations and avoid highly creative ‘artistic’ occupations. Methods: At baseline of the population-based Rotterdam Study, we asked 12 147 individuals aged ≥45 years about their latest occupation and categorized occupations according to the RIASEC model. Participants underwent baseline and follow-up (median 11 years) examinations for PD. We determined associations of artistic (versus any other occupation) and conventional (versus any other occupation) occupations with PD. Additionally, we pooled our results with a recently published case–control study (Radboud Study). Results: At baseline, conventional occupations were common [n = 4356 (36%)], whereas artistic occupations were rare [n = 137 (1%)]. There were 217 patients with PD, including 91 with prevalent PD and 126 with incident PD. The risk of PD varied substantially across occupational categories (chi-square, 14.61; P = 0.01). The penalized odds ratio (OR) of artistic occupations for PD was 0.19 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.00–1.31; P = 0.11], whereas the OR of conventional occupations for PD was 1.23 (95% CI, 0.95–1.66; P = 0.10). The direction and magnitude of ORs were similar in cross-sectional and longitudinal subsamples. Pooled ORs across the Rotterdam and Radboud Studies were 0.20 (95% CI, 0.08–0.52; P < 0.001) for artistic and 1.23 (95% CI, 0.92–1.67; P = 0.08) for conventional occupations. Conclusions: The risk of PD varies substantially by choice of professional occupation. Our findings suggest that dopaminergic degeneration affects choice of occupation, which may start in the pre-diagnostic phase of PD