scholarly journals Addressing Anxiety: Practitioners’ Examination of Mindfulness in Constructivist Supervision

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-474
Author(s):  
Jennifer Scaturo Watkinson ◽  
Gayle Cicero ◽  
Elizabeth Burton
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Group Supervision ◽  
Counselor Development ◽  
Practitioner Inquiry ◽  
Counselors In Training ◽  
Practicum Students

It is widely documented that practicum students experience anxiety as a natural part of their counselor development. Within constructivist supervision, mindfulness exercises are used to help counselors-in-training (CITs) work with their anxiety by having them focus on their internal experiences. To inform and strengthen our practice, we engaged in a practitioner inquiry study to understand how practicum students experienced mindfulness as a central part of supervision. We analyzed 25 sandtray reflections and compared them to transcripts from two focus groups to uncover three major themes related to the student experience: (a) openness to the process, (b) reflection and self-care, and (c) attention to the doing. One key lesson learned was the importance of balancing mindfulness exercises to highlight the internal experiences related to anxiety while providing adequate opportunities for CITs to share stories and hear from peers during group supervision.

Teaching Mindfulness for the Self-Care and Well-Being of Counselors-in-Training

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lacretia Dye ◽  
Monica Galloway Burke ◽  
Cheryl Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Self Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Self ◽  
Counselors In Training

scholarly journals Qualitative study using interviews and focus groups to explore the current and potential for antimicrobial stewardship in community pharmacy informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e025101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Ffion Jones ◽  
Rebecca Owens ◽  
Anna Sallis ◽  
Diane Ashiru-Oredope ◽  
Tracey Thornley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Community Pharmacy ◽  
Antimicrobial Stewardship ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Theoretical Domains Framework ◽  
Community Pharmacists ◽  
Pharmacy Staff ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities ◽  
The Impact

ObjectivesCommunity pharmacists and their staff have the potential to contribute to antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). However, their barriers and opportunities are not well understood. The aim was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of community pharmacists and their teams around AMS to inform intervention development.DesignInterviews and focus groups were used to explore the views of pharmacists, pharmacy staff, general practitioners (GPs), members of pharmacy organisations and commissioners. The questioning schedule was developed using the Theoretical Domains Framework which helped inform recommendations to facilitate AMS in community pharmacy.Results8 GPs, 28 pharmacists, 13 pharmacy staff, 6 representatives from pharmacy organisations in England and Wales, and 2 local stakeholders participated.Knowledge and skills both facilitated or hindered provision of self-care and compliance advice by different grades of pharmacy staff. Some staff were not aware of the impact of giving self-care and compliance advice to help control antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The pharmacy environment created barriers to AMS; this included lack of time of well-qualified staff leading to misinformation from underskilled staff to patients about the need for antibiotics or the need to visit the GP, this was exacerbated by lack of space. AMS activities were limited by absent diagnoses on antibiotic prescriptions.Several pharmacy staff felt that undertaking patient examinations, questioning the rationale for antibiotic prescriptions and performing audits would allow them to provide more tailored AMS advice.ConclusionsInterventions are required to overcome a lack of qualified staff, time and space to give patients AMS advice. Staff need to understand how self-care and antibiotic compliance advice can help control AMR. A multifaceted educational intervention including information for staff with feedback about the advice given may help. Indication for a prescription would enable pharmacists to provide more targeted antibiotic advice. Commissioners should consider the pharmacists’ role in examining patients, and giving advice about antibiotic prescriptions.

Study Protocol for Implementation of An Internet-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Promoting Mental Health Among Migrant Live-in Caregivers in Canada (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Po-Lun Fung ◽  
Mandana Vahabi ◽  
Masoomeh Moosapoor ◽  
Abdolreza Akbarian ◽  
Josephine Pui-Hing Wong
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Commitment Therapy ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment

BACKGROUND Psychological distress, isolation, feeling of powerlessness, and limited social support are realities faced by temporary migrant live–in caregivers in Canada. Furthermore, they experience multiple barriers in accessing mental health services due to their long work hours, limited knowledge about health resources, precarious employment, and immigration status. OBJECTIVE Women Empowerment - Caregiver Acceptance & Resilience E-Learning (WE2CARE) project is a pilot intervention research project that aims to promote mental well being and resiliency of migrant live-in caregivers. The objectives include exploring the effectiveness of this program in: (1) reducing psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress); (2) promoting committed actions of self-care; and (3) building mutual support social networks. Further, participants’ satisfaction with the intervention and their perceived barriers and facilitators to practicing the self-care strategies embedded in WE2CARE will be examined. METHODS Thirty-six live- in caregivers residing in Great Toronto Area (GTA) will be recruited and randomly assigned to intervention and waitlist control groups. The intervention group will receive a 6-week web-based psychosocial intervention that will be based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Standardized self-reported surveys will be administered online pre-, post-, and 6-week post-intervention to assess mental distress (DASS 21), psychological flexibility (AAQ-2), mindfulness (CAMS-R) and Multi-System Model of Resilience (MSMR-I). Two focus groups will be held with a subset of participants to explore their feedback on the utility of the WE2CARE program. RESULTS WE2CARE was funded in January 2019 for a year. The protocol was approved by the research ethics boards of Ryerson University (REB 2019-036) in February 2019, and University of Toronto (RIS37623) in May 2019. Data collection started upon ethics approval and was completed by May 2020. A total of 29 caregivers completed the study and 20 participated in the focus groups. Data analyses are in progress and results will be published in 2021. CONCLUSIONS WE2CARE can be a promising approach in reducing stress, promoting resilience, and providing a virtual space for peer emotional support and collaborative learning among socially isolated and marginalized women. The results of this pilot study will inform the adaptation and utility of online delivery of ACT based psychological intervention in promoting mental health among disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. CLINICALTRIAL None

Experiential Counselor Supervision for Rehabilitation Counselors-in-Training

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Ososkie ◽  
Scott Sabella
Keyword(s):  
Group Process ◽  
Clinical Skills ◽  
Group Supervision ◽  
Counselor Supervision ◽  
Rehabilitation Counselors ◽  
Counseling Session ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
Counselors In Training ◽  
Rehabilitation Counselor ◽  
Individual Supervision

Background:Preprofessional training for rehabilitation counselors necessarily includes experiential components designed to develop the clinical skills of trainees. Though there are a broad range of supervision models and modes of delivery available, thorough descriptions of supervisory practices are rare, particularly for existential and experiential approaches.Objective:The purpose of this article is to describe an approach to experiential rehabilitation counselor supervision (ERCS) which orients counselors-in-training toward heightened awareness of the clinical environment and being fully present within their counselor–client interactions. Within this existential approach, the depth of focus on the interpersonal counseling experience is offered as a counterbalance to an overemphasis on technical proficiency and procedural fidelity.Framework:The ERCS process exposes students to counseling and supervision in intensified experiential forms within: (a) the counseling session, (b) individual supervision, and (c) group supervision. The supervision format and mode of trainee observation of the counseling session may vary, though in each case, the focus is on awareness and presence above techniques. During individual supervision, the emphasis on awareness is maintained, though precedence is given to supervisee anxiety, supervisee countertransference, and parallel process. In group supervision, trainee and group process dynamics may initially escalate anxieties, but this format opens opportunities for insight through sharing of experiences, facilitated feedback, and activation of therapeutic factors.Conclusion:The ERCS approach is intended to emphasize the primacy of relational components of counseling and to promote interpersonal learning that will be useful for trainees in their direct client work in internship and future employment.

scholarly journals Assessing Challenges in Low-Income Families to Inform a Life Skills–Based Obesity Intervention

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 915-924
Author(s):  
Nivedita Bhushan ◽  
Maihan Vu ◽  
Randall Teal ◽  
Jessica Carda-Auten ◽  
Dianne Ward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Behavior Management ◽  
Life Skills ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Healthy Development ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Community Stakeholders ◽  
Low Income Families

Background. This article describes the formative research undertaken to explore challenges of low-income parents of 3-to 5-year-olds to inform a parent-focused life skills–based intervention to prevent obesity in preschool-aged children. Method. A total of 40 parents completed surveys, 30 parents participated in focus groups, and 5 community stakeholders participated in individual interviews. In each data mode, participants were asked to prioritize a list of challenges centered on parenting, family care, and self-care. Survey data were analyzed descriptively using SAS, while focus groups and interviews were analyzed for emerging themes using ATLAS.ti. Results. Parents reported needing strategies for managing children’s behavior around picky eating, limits/boundaries, tantrums, and routines. Challenges with child behavior management were compounded by parents’ inability to find affordable fun family activities outside the home and difficulties in communicating childrearing expectations to coparents/relatives who assisted with child care. Added to these were other competing priorities (e.g., financial) that led to the neglect of self, including the inability to find “me” time, build relationships, and care for one’s health. Conclusions. Interventions that address parenting, family care and self-care challenges of low-income parents may enhance resilience and support positive changes that can promote healthy development in children, including obesity prevention.

scholarly journals Trainee Counselor Development of Social Justice Counseling Competencies

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-50
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Field ◽  
Michelle R. Ghoston ◽  
Tameka O. Grimes ◽  
Debbie C. Sturm ◽  
Manjot Kaur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Counselor Development ◽  
Mental Health Counseling ◽  
Master's Level ◽  
Counseling Competencies ◽  
Counselors In Training ◽  
Health Counseling ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Counseling Literature

This grounded theory study sought to identify the process by which master’s level counselors-in-training (CITs)develop social justice counseling competencies. Participants (N = 41) from a clinical mental health counseling(CMHC) program were interviewed at pre-practicum, pre-internship, and post-internship phases. CITsprogressed through the stages of exposure, recognition, and action, influenced by self-reflection and attitudes.These stages differed from the awareness, knowledge, and skills domains identified in prior multicultural andsocial justice counseling literature. Most CITs planned advocacy action steps by the conclusion of their program,though few implemented them. Implications for counselor educators are discussed.

scholarly journals PREPAREDNESS FOR EMANCIPATION OF YOUTH LEAVING ALTERNATIVE CARE IN SERBIA

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Burgund Isakov ◽  
Jasna Hrnčić
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Young People ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Alternative Care ◽  
Mixed Method Approach ◽  
Negative Feelings ◽  
Method Approach

The process of preparing young people for leaving alternative care is not sufficiently researched in Serbia. In order to define what support is necessary for their successful emancipation, this study of 150 young people in care aims to analyse both their preparedness for leaving alternative care, and whether the type of placement (kinship, foster, or residential) makes a difference to the level of preparedness. A mixed method approach was applied. Quantitatively, questionnaires assessing factors contributing to successful emancipation were administered<strong>.</strong> Qualitatively, transcripts of discussions from 5 focus groups, consisting of a total of 26 participants from all 3 types of placement, were analysed. Most of the youth in the sample indicated they have self-care and housekeeping skills, social skills to make friendships and connections, good grades in school, and aspirations for further schooling and starting a family. However, negative feelings such as disturbance, fear, and sorrow, and a sense of missing support and feeling insufficiently prepared for leaving care were also evident in their answers. Both the focus groups and surveys suggest that the biggest concern with the independence of young people leaving alternative care is financial stability. Several recommendations for ways to influence the system in order to improve outcomes for young people are made.

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