“Don’t Let Me Go”. A Case Study on Music Therapy in Early-Stage Dementia

"This case study presents the process of music therapy in a clinical setting, under the professional supervision of Dr. Catherine Warner, a music therapist with over 25 years of experience in this field. The music therapy sessions were conducted with a client displaying early-stage dementia symptoms. Over twelve weeks, with an eight-week hiatus due to the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdown, the client benefited from music therapy sessions which helped her navigate through the challenges of the disease, as well as providing a safe environment to express feelings and emotions. This case study presents the main themes of the work, such as combining poetry with singing, and listening to soothing music. This paper also illustrates the challenges of the sessions, especially in relation to memory loss and anxiety. Lastly, the therapist’s reflections are presented to complete the overview of the work. Keywords: music therapy, dementia, trauma, singing "

A mobile-assisted voice condition analysis system for Parkinson’s disease: assessment of usability conditions

Background and objective Automatic voice condition analysis systems to detect Parkinson’s disease (PD) are generally based on speech data recorded under acoustically controlled conditions and professional supervision. The performance of these approaches in a free-living scenario is unknown. The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of uncontrolled conditions (realistic acoustic environment and lack of supervision) on the performance of automatic PD detection systems based on speech. Methods A mobile-assisted voice condition analysis system is proposed to aid in the detection of PD using speech. The system is based on a server–client architecture. In the server, feature extraction and machine learning algorithms are designed and implemented to discriminate subjects with PD from healthy ones. The Android app allows patients to submit phonations and physicians to check the complete record of every patient. Six different machine learning classifiers are applied to compare their performance on two different speech databases. One of them is an in-house database (UEX database), collected under professional supervision by using the same Android-based smartphone in the same room, whereas the other one is an age, sex and health-status balanced subset of mPower study for PD, which provides real-world data. By applying identical methodology, single-database experiments have been performed on each database, and also cross-database tests. Cross-validation has been applied to assess generalization performance and hypothesis tests have been used to report statistically significant differences. Results In the single-database experiments, a best accuracy rate of 0.92 (AUC = 0.98) has been obtained on UEX database, while a considerably lower best accuracy rate of 0.71 (AUC = 0.76) has been achieved using the mPower-based database. The cross-database tests provided very degraded accuracy metrics. Conclusion The results clearly show the potential of the proposed system as an aid for general practitioners to conduct triage or an additional tool for neurologists to perform diagnosis. However, due to the performance degradation observed using data from mPower study, semi-controlled conditions are encouraged, i.e., voices recorded at home by the patients themselves following a strict recording protocol and control of the information about patients by the medical doctor at charge.

How Teachers Perceive the Ongoing Influence of a Portfolio on Reflection: A Case Study

<p>This case study investigated the long-term influences of compiling a portfolio on resource teachers’ (RTLB) reflection on practice. The findings provide a detailed analysis of the reflection that is stimulated by the portfolio process and the extent to which this has been ongoing in the RTLBs’ practice. Compiling the portfolio stimulated the RTLBs’ reflection on practice in a number of aspects, from selecting cases and evidence to writing, reading, collegial support, and professional supervision. It also promoted a more critical understanding of what it means to be a reflective practitioner. Among these, the writing involved in the portfolio process appears to be one of the most important factors in promoting reflection. However, reflective writing has not been maintained in the participants’ current practice, whereas other aspects of reflection have, to some extent, continued. The overall quality of reflection has thus become more technical, albeit less deep, as it grows to cater for participants’ professional needs. Much emphasis is put on formal/professional supervision and collegial support as important vehicles in maintaining the post-portfolio reflection. The former is deemed highly valuable because of the professional guidance and the sense of direction that a professional supervisor can offer as he/she triggers the RTLB’s reflection, while the latter provides them with opportunities to share with their colleagues the things that they find useful, discuss the issues that they have in common, have their practice challenged and critiqued, and look at better practice. The establishment of communities of practice particularly stands out as an effective vehicle for sustaining reflection. The study includes recommendations for maintaining reflection in the post-portfolio phase, as well as for sustained portfolio use. Suggestions are also made for the application of portfolio assessment in the Vietnamese higher education system. Further research is recommended to expand the scope and scale of this study, as is collecting empirical evidence that would validate the findings in a Vietnamese context. A more thorough investigation into the Vietnamese higher education system and its cultural, social and political features is also recommended in order to generate a more detailed proposal for the application of portfolio assessment in Vietnam.</p>

How Teachers Perceive the Ongoing Influence of a Portfolio on Reflection: A Case Study

<p>This case study investigated the long-term influences of compiling a portfolio on resource teachers’ (RTLB) reflection on practice. The findings provide a detailed analysis of the reflection that is stimulated by the portfolio process and the extent to which this has been ongoing in the RTLBs’ practice. Compiling the portfolio stimulated the RTLBs’ reflection on practice in a number of aspects, from selecting cases and evidence to writing, reading, collegial support, and professional supervision. It also promoted a more critical understanding of what it means to be a reflective practitioner. Among these, the writing involved in the portfolio process appears to be one of the most important factors in promoting reflection. However, reflective writing has not been maintained in the participants’ current practice, whereas other aspects of reflection have, to some extent, continued. The overall quality of reflection has thus become more technical, albeit less deep, as it grows to cater for participants’ professional needs. Much emphasis is put on formal/professional supervision and collegial support as important vehicles in maintaining the post-portfolio reflection. The former is deemed highly valuable because of the professional guidance and the sense of direction that a professional supervisor can offer as he/she triggers the RTLB’s reflection, while the latter provides them with opportunities to share with their colleagues the things that they find useful, discuss the issues that they have in common, have their practice challenged and critiqued, and look at better practice. The establishment of communities of practice particularly stands out as an effective vehicle for sustaining reflection. The study includes recommendations for maintaining reflection in the post-portfolio phase, as well as for sustained portfolio use. Suggestions are also made for the application of portfolio assessment in the Vietnamese higher education system. Further research is recommended to expand the scope and scale of this study, as is collecting empirical evidence that would validate the findings in a Vietnamese context. A more thorough investigation into the Vietnamese higher education system and its cultural, social and political features is also recommended in order to generate a more detailed proposal for the application of portfolio assessment in Vietnam.</p>

Pastoral Supervision for Safe Churches

This essay will examine the contribution of pastoral (professional) supervision in enabling and ensuring a safe church. Pastoral supervision is the brave, safe space where clergy (and ministry workers) reflect on their ministry practice in a regular, planned supervision session. The present article emerges from a decade of training pastoral supervisors and consultation across the national Anglican Church during 2019 based on recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. It concludes that the properly Christian way for pastoral supervision to change the culture of the Church is christological: a rigorous grounding of its theory and practice in the story of Jesus Christ.

Self-Directed Exergaming for Stroke Upper Limb Impairment Increases Exercise Dose Compared to Standard Care

Background. One of the strongest modifiable determinants of rehabilitation outcome is exercise dose. Technologies enabling self-directed exercise offer a pragmatic means to increase dose, but the extent to which they achieve this in unselected cohorts, under real-world constraints, is poorly understood. Objective. Here we quantify the exercise dose achieved by inpatient stroke survivors using an adapted upper limb (UL) exercise gaming (exergaming) device and compare this with conventional (supervised) therapy. Methods. Over 4 months, patients presenting with acute stroke and associated UL impairment were screened at a single stroke centre. Participants were trained in a single session and provided with the device for unsupervised use during their inpatient admission. Results. From 75 patients referred for inpatient UL therapy, we recruited 30 (40%), of whom 26 (35%) were able to use the device meaningfully with their affected UL. Over a median enrolment time of 8 days (IQR: 5–14), self-directed UL exercise duration using the device was 26 minutes per day (median; IQR: 16–31), in addition to 25 minutes daily conventional UL therapy (IQR: 12–34; same cohort plus standard care audit; joint n = 50); thereby doubling total exercise duration (51 minutes; IQR: 32–64) relative to standard care (Z = 4.0, P <.001). The device enabled 104 UL repetitions per day (IQR: 38–393), whereas conventional therapy achieved 15 UL repetitions per day (IQR: 11–23; Z = 4.3, P <.001). Conclusion. Self-directed adapted exergaming enabled participants in our stroke inpatient cohort to increase exercise duration 2-fold, and repetitions 8-fold, compared to standard care, without requiring additional professional supervision.

La Matrogimnasia y el desarrollo motor en niños entre 7 y 8 años con parálisis cerebral (Matrogymnasia and motor development in children between 7 and 8 years old with cerebral palsy)

El siguiente estudio tiene por objetivo, mejorar el desarrollo motor grueso en niños de siete años de edad, con parálisis cerebral infantil (PCI), después de una intervención del método conocido como la Matrogimnasia. Basado en una metodología donde incluyen a los padres y representantes del menor, para mezclar la parte afectiva y al mismo tiempo, reforzar los ejercicios en el hogar. Es una investigación de tipo mixta, descriptiva, fenomenológica, de campo, apoyados hermenéuticamente en las teorías que permita aclarar y soportar la investigación. El estudio está basado en la relevancia de los ejercicios fisioterapéuticos que permite en primer lugar, desarrollar el sistema motor de los niños con PCI. Segundo, incluir en el método a los padres y representantes, con el propósito de intensificar el afecto familiar, y reforzar los ejercicios en el seno del hogar. Y, en tercer lugar, demostrar la importancia de la Matrogimnasia como método para el mejoramiento en niños con PCI. Se propone la adecuación de una serie de ejercicios bajo supervisión profesional especializada, que ayude al desarrollo cognitivo y motriz de los menores con la intención de mejorar su condición en cuanto a las posturas corporales y mentales. Abstract. The following study aims to improve gross motor skill development in children seven years of old, with cerebral palsy, after an intervention of the method known as Matrogymnasia. Based on a methodology that includes the parents and representatives of the minor, to mix the affective part and at the same time, reinforce the exercises at home. It is a mixed, descriptive, phenomenological, field research, hermeneutically supported in theories that allow to clarify and support-research. The study is based on the relevance of physiotherapy exercises that allows, first, to develop the motor system of children with children cerebral palsy. Second, include in the method the parents and representatives of the minor, with the intention of intensifying family affection and reinforce exercises from home. And thirdly, demonstrate the importance of Matrogymnasia as a method for improvement in children with children cerebral palsy. It is proposed the adaptation of a series of exercises under specialized professional supervision, which helps the cognitive and motor development of minors with the intention of improving their condition in terms of bodily and mental postures.

The supervision protocol in integrative psychotherapy

The beginning of any profession is difficult, as for the novice therapist, who undergoes supervision to get support and advice. Thus, the objective is to offer an example of support instruments for beginner therapists, for colleagues under professional supervision, which can help them keep track of cases, of the case evolution, of the client’s change and of the therapist’s self-analysis. The tools proposed are used in Romania, being proposed by the authors of the strategic integrative model of the self and of the strategic integrative model of supervision (Vîşcu Loredana-Ileana and Popescu Oana-Maria). The instruments proposed were also used in the case of the client A.C. underlined in this paper.