“I Honestly Would Not Have Known What to Do”: An Exploratory Study of Perspectives on Client Suicide Among Vocational Rehabilitation Support Staff

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 458-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Lund ◽  
Jared C. Schultz ◽  
Katie B. Thomas ◽  
Michael R. Nadorff ◽  
Christina M. Sias ◽  
...  

Despite the high prevalence of suicide both overall and among people with disabilities in particular, little research has explored suicide in the context of the vocational rehabilitation (VR) system or in counseling support staff in general. We analyzed the responses of 14 VR support staff who responded to an open-ended qualitative prompt regarding their experiences with suicide training and competency. Key themes included a perceived lack of and desire for more training regarding suicide, seeking and receiving suicide training outside of VR, and a perceived lack of resources for working with suicidal clients. Responses also underscored the heavy emotional impact of working with these clients, especially when one feels unprepared to do so. These results suggest that it is important to provide VR support staff with resources and training for addressing suicide in their client populations.

2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Lund ◽  
Jared C. Schultz ◽  
Katie B. Thomas ◽  
Michael R. Nadorff ◽  
Dalia Chowdhury ◽  
...  

Despite the high prevalence of suicide among people with disabilities, little research has explored suicide in the context of the vocational rehabilitation (VR) system. We analyzed the responses of 27 VR counselors who responded to an open-ended qualitative prompt regarding their experiences with suicide training and competency. Key themes included a desire for more training on suicide and the experience of seeking and receiving suicide training and experience outside of VR. Responses also underscored the heavy emotional impact of working with suicidal clients, especially when one feels unprepared to do so. These results suggest that it is important to provide VR counselors with resources and training for addressing suicide in their client populations.


Inclusion ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carli Friedman

Abstract The Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) settings rule (CMS 2249-F/2296-F) strictly enforces meaningful community-based settings for those receiving Medicaid HCBS funding. Stakeholders have the opportunity to impact states' setting rule plans and hold states accountable to ensure rules are truly community based. Yet, the complex rule can be inaccessible for the very people it will impact most. This exploratory study evaluates the HCBS Advocates Creating Transformation (ACT) program's ability to educate 86 stakeholders about the rule. Our findings suggest that the HCBS ACT program pilot was a useful intervention that can be replicated for education and outreach programs. Doing so can actively engage people with disabilities, their families, and their support staff in the policy process.


Author(s):  
Ethan Kleinberg

This article attempts to understand Levinas as a reader of Jewish texts, with particular attention paid to his Talmudic commentaries. To do so, the entangled relation between oral and written texts is explored; one must be able to properly “read” but also “write,” and there is the related issue of the methodology and training to be able to do so properly. Levinas offers commentary on each issue. Several interpretations of Talmudic texts and an important discussion of reading Scripture are analyzed in order to elucidate Levinas’s reading strategies, what this tells us about his relation to the larger tradition of Talmudic commentary, and Levinas’s particular historical moment, especially the role of the Holocaust for his approach to reading the Talmud and traditional texts.


Author(s):  
Phillip M. Kleespies ◽  
Justin M. Hill

This chapter illustrates the mental health clinician’s relationship with behavioral emergencies. The chapter begins by distinguishing the terms behavioral emergency and behavioral crisis, and underlying themes among all behavioral emergencies are identified. Given that most clinicians will face a behavioral emergency in their careers, the importance of enhancing the process of educating and training practitioners for such situations far beyond the minimal training that currently exists is highlighted. The chapter continues by exploring various aspects of evaluating and managing high-risk patients (i.e., those who exhibit violent tendencies toward themselves or others, and those at risk for victimization). It includes a discussion of the benefits and limitations to estimating life-threatening risk factors and specific protective factors. The chapter concludes by discussing the emotional impact that working with high-risk patients has on clinicians, and an emphasis is placed on the importance of creating a supportive work environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah O'Brien ◽  
Lucia Prihodova ◽  
Mairéad Heffron ◽  
Peter Wright

ObjectivePhysical activity (PA) counselling has been shown to raise awareness of the importance of PA and to increase the rate of PA engagement among patients. While much attention has been paid to examining the knowledge, attitudes and practice of general practitioners in relation to PA counselling, there is less literature examining such issues in hospital-based doctors in Ireland and further afield. This study aimed to explore doctors’ PA counselling practices and to analyse how this related to their level of PA knowledge, training and attitudes.MethodsAn invitation to participate in an online survey was sent to 4692 members of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland who were listed as having an address in Ireland. Descriptive and explorative analyses of the data were performed using IBM SPSS V.22.0.ResultsA total of 595 valid responses were included (response rate 12.7%; 42.7% male, 42.6±12.1 years). The majority reported enquiring about PA levels (88.0%) and providing PA counselling (86.4%) in at least some of their patients. Doctors who saw it as their role and those who felt more effective/confident in providing PA counselling were significantly more likely to do so. A perceived lack of patient interest in PA and patient preference for pharmaceutical intervention were significant barriers to undertaking PA counselling.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the need for further education and training in PA counselling in Ireland with a particular focus on improving the attitudes and self-efficacy of doctors in this area at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.


2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin E. Oxburgh ◽  
Coral J. Dando

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss two distinct but interrelated areas, namely witness/victim and suspect interviewing, and to argue that both must continue to evolve, suggest how they might do so, and that this process must be driven by emergent theory and contemporary empirical research.Design/methodology/approachThe paper outlines the impact of psychological theory and empirical research to investigative interviewing in recent decades.FindingsIt is argued that in order to stay ahead of the game, the field of investigative interviewing (suspect and witness) must continue to evolve in such a manner that not only protects and fosters the important practitioner/academic relationship, but also ensures that future directions are driven by empirical research, with recourse to emergent theory.Originality/valueThe paper outlines the impact of psychological theory and empirical research on investigative interviewing and the consequent enhancement of the interviewing of both suspected offenders and witnesses. The paper demonstrates that working closely together academic research can make a difference, and influence law, policy decisions and training guidelines in order to improve practice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (s2) ◽  
pp. S2-50-S2-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim J. Gabbett ◽  
Rod Whiteley

The authors have observed that in professional sporting organizations the staff responsible for physical preparation and medical care typically practice in relative isolation and display tension as regards their attitudes toward training-load prescription (much more and much less training, respectively). Recent evidence shows that relatively high chronic training loads, when they are appropriately reached, are associated with reduced injury risk and better performance. Understanding this link between performance and training loads removes this tension but requires a better understanding of the relationship between the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) and its association with performance and injury. However, there remain many questions in the area of ACWR, and we are likely at an early stage of our understanding of these parameters and their interrelationships. This opinion paper explores these themes and makes recommendations for improving performance through better synergies in support-staff approaches. Furthermore, aspects of the ACWR that remain to be clarified—the role of shared decision making, risk:benefit estimation, and clearer accountability—are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Campbell ◽  
Simone Poulsen

One university responded rapidly to the changing landscape of higher education to support staff during this time. There are seven support mechanisms that have been put into place across the university to assist staff. Results show data that reports on these mechanisms and that they are seemingly successful, except for the Support Line which has since been reconfigured to still provide support for the small number accessing it. The results also show that a rapid response, if targeted, is able to provide just in time support and training to staff when moving rapidly online. Through the use of the online engagement framework it can be seen that by supporting staff through the seven mechanisms, staff are in a better place to ensure that students are engaged while learning online.


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