This dissertation examines a social work treatment model which integrated various theoretical and practice orientations into a unified approach using the interactional framework of the small group to help members achieve their goals in dealing with depression. The structured model utilized a twelve week psychoeducational program for use with chronic depressive clients in a community mental health center. Alternate treatment groups using brief supportive psychotherapy and a wait-list control group were compared to the structured treatment groups on six outcome measures. Findings indicated that members of the structured treatment groups improved significantly on three of four measures of depression used in the study in relation to the wait-list control group. However, only moderate improvement was shown in relation to the alternate treatment groups. Members of the alternate treatment groups improved on only one measure of depression. Group leadership and group process measures were also analyzed in the study / acase@tulane.edu

The study investigated the relation between different types of race-related stress and depressive symptoms within a sample of 146 urban African American adolescents. A mixed-methods approach to data collection and analysis was employed to identify the roles that racial identity, which is the meaning and significance individuals place on their race, may play in the relation between different types of race-related stress and depressive symptoms. The study hypothesized that high racial centrality, high private regard, and low public regard will protect African American adolescents from the negative effects of individual race-related stress (Hypothesis 1), whereas high racial centrality, high private and high public regard will increase the negative effects of collective/institutional and cultural race-related stress on African American adolescents' mental health (Hypothesis2). Qualitative and quantitative data supported Hypothesis 1, with the exception of public regard. Quantitative data found that low public regard acted as a risk factor in the relation between individual race-related stress and depressive symptoms. With regards to Hypothesis 2, quantitative data revealed high public regard as a protective factor between cultural race-related stress and depressive symptoms. Qualitative and quantitative results regarding the role of racial centrality and private regard in the relation between collective/institutional- and cultural race-related stress were found to be equivocal. Implications for mental health professionals and directions for future research are discussed / acase@tulane.edu

The aim of this study was to develop methods for parent-driven research by involving parents of children with severe emotional and behavioral disorders in the process of conceptualizing and evaluating mental health service needs. A parent team consisting of three service recipients in Louisiana Office of Mental Health Region 1 was employed to work integrally with the principal researcher through all phases of the study. With the parent team leading the process, qualitative focus group data were gathered. With this data, the team worked collaboratively with the principal researcher to generate items for a new survey to assess service needs. Using the strengths perspective, ecological model and constructivist principles to guide the ethos and methods for working with and training the parent team, the Service-Needs-Utilization-Gaps Survey (S.N.U.G.) was developed. The parent team field tested the survey by gathering data from 60 parent respondents whose children use state mental health services at several clinics in Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes in Louisiana. The findings from this study offer some preliminary information to support the reliability and validity of the S.N.U.G. survey. Recommendations for further development of both the methods for parent-driven evaluation and of the S.N.U.G. survey are made. Implications for social work practice and research are discussed / acase@tulane.edu

Besides criminal justice research, empirically relevant evidence and theoretical constructs from other academic fields were also utilized to develop a theoretical model of police stress. This attempt was expected to provide a conceptual framework for a successful examination and understanding of causes and consequences of the phenomenon and, consequently, a solid foundation on which police administrators at the policy-making level in Thailand can build progressive organizational reform aimed at improving working conditions of police officers. / The theoretical model was tested with two data sets collected from assistant police inspectors of the Bangkok-Thonburi metropolitan police force in Thailand. The 234 and 169 usable questionnaires returned resulted in final response rates for their corresponding groups of 75% and 70%. The data were analyzed by a four-step procedure: (a) reliability assessment; (b) exploratory factor analysis; (c) LISREL measurement model; and (d) LISREL structural model / The research findings, in general, provided considerable support to the revisionist paradigm including both undesirable factors and social supports in work environment of policemen. Specifically, perceived role overload and/or social support from subordinates were the most important factors influencing police stress. The role overload was substantially determined by perceived role conflict, job position and/or resource inadequacy. Perceptions of unity of command, resource inadequacy, and peer support were the major determinates of perceived role conflict. For policeman working under the original structure, several factors had significant effects on perceived role ambiguity; however, the effects were rather small. Regarding perception of role ambiguity among officers under the new organization structure, administrative support was the major determinant. Several thoretical and policy implications were offered for concerned scholars as well as the police administrators. Finally, deriving from the research findings within the limitations of this investigation of police stress were theoretical and methodological recommendations for future research. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1584. / Major Professor: Gordon P. Waldo. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The dissertation developed a conceptual framework for analyzing the impact of environmental variables on the capacity (or ability) of delivery systems, especially substitute care delivery systems, to provide services to emotionally disturbed children, and attempted to empirically validate a portion of the framework. The conceptual framework was organized into a general environment level and a task environment level. Both levels were viewed as a series of variables that could potentially influence (facilitate or constrain) a delivery system service capacity outcome variable. General environment variables included economic, sociodemographic, political/legal, cultural, and technology variables. Task environment variables included (a) contextual variables (i.e., belief-value, strategy, organizational rationale, organizational authority structure, and organizational legitimation/power variables), and (b) delivery system variables (i.e., organizational, individual, group, and interorganizational variables). / The dissertation research study asked two questions: (1) What are the relationships between the general environment economic variable (operationalized as the amount of public money expended on childrens' programs) and the capacity of substitute care delivery systems to provide available and accessible services to emotionally disturbed children? (2) What are the relationships between selected task environment organizational program attribute variables (i.e., auspice, age, and size variables) and the capacity of substitute care delivery systems to provide available and accessible services to emotionally disturbed children? / Following Evan's (1966) focal organization approach, a purposive sample consisting of eighteen residential treatment programs (and their associated substitute care delivery systems) located throughout the state of Florida that primarily served emotionally disturbed children was derived. Data were assembled from two basic sources, that is, mail/telephone survey questionnaires, and public and private organization document information. The Spearman rho statistic was used to assess research question relationships. The study results indicated support for the associations between public or private delivery system program auspice and the availability and accessibility of several delivery system services (i.e., adjunctive, behavior evaluation, education evaluation, medical evaluation, and placement/post placement/day services). Recommendations for future research pertaining to both the conceptual framework and the research study were presented. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-08, Section: A, page: 3096. / Major Professor: Michael L. Frumkin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

No description available.

Doctor of Health Science / The public mental health setting wherein clinicians work with clients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) provides a continual challenge for clinicians. For many decades a pervasive therapeutic pessimism has surrounded any discussions of attempts to work with clients with BPD with this population being viewed as ‘too difficult’ and ‘impossible to work with’. This pessimism and the ensuing counter therapeutic responses have been well documented in the psychiatric literature. The development of treatments such as dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), a cognitive-behavioural therapy, for BPD has provided a basis for therapy for which there is increasing evidence of successful outcomes. Despite this evidence, the pervasive pessimism has been slow to lift. A limited literature explores attempts to positively influence clinician responses to this clientele. Within the public mental health service in which this research is based, DBT is well-established as a therapeutic modality. In the course of providing training, consultation and supervision for parts of this service, anecdotal evidence emerged suggesting that the impact of practising as a DBT therapist was greater than anticipated and DBT may provide a tool for facilitating a positive change in clinician responses. Given that this perception is not described in the literature it was appropriate to begin research in this area employing a qualitative methodology. This research explored the experience and impact upon mental health clinicians in a public mental health service undertaking training in DBT and practicing as DBT therapists. In-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted in July 2005 with clinicians practising as DBT therapists. Data analysis revealed a marked shift in perspective from ‘management to treatment’. Participants described positive professional and personal impacts of training and practising as DBT therapists. An enhanced capacity for self-awareness and ‘living life to the full’ was described by a number of participants. This initial research suggests that the practice of DBT by clinicians can generate a positive shift in both personal and professional identities that translates into a more optimistic and humanistic approach to clients diagnosed with BPD. Such a change may represent a significant challenge to the prevailing mental health discourse and practice

Cognitive Impairment in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury| A Diffusional Kurtosis and Perfusion Imaging Study

<p> The purpose of this project was to partner with a community mental health outpatient clinic, locate a potential funding source, and write a grant to obtain funding for a clinic wide wellness program. The proposed program aims to support mental health providers and employees at a mental health outpatient clinic to prevent and decrease burnout among mental health providers. A literature review was conducted to discuss the history of burnout, burnout symptoms and consequences, and interventions to reduce burnout. The Weingart Foundation was identified as a potential funding source for the program. The host agency chosen for this project is Western Youth Service West Clinic which provides comprehensive mental health services to children and families dealing with mental illness. The actual submission or funding of this grant was not required for the successful completion of this project.</p>

Previous research indicates that optimism may have considerable positive effects on mental and physical health. However, only a few previous studies have explored differential effects of optimism on health and none have examined the effects of different levels of optimism. This study supports the importance of optimism on health in a sample of 238 Chinese college students and 206 American college students. Comparative results indicated that there were significant differences on measures of two levels of optimism, pessimism, and indicators of health. In general, American students were found to express more dispositional optimistic belief, better mental health, and lower state and trait stress levels than Chinese students. However, there was no difference in the level of explanatory optimism. In addition, there was no significant difference between Chinese subjects' scores of overall health and American students' scores. Chinese students demonstrate a "middle optimism" style. In addition, both optimistic styles in this study were found to be significantly related to stressful states measured by State Anxiety (Y1) Scale and Trait Anxiety Scale (Y2) in Chinese students. In contrast, in American samples, only the dispositional optimism, the big optimism, was found significantly but negatively related to the trait stress. In this study, the association between optimism and health---either little or big optimism---were not different between the two cultures, while the association between optimism and stress was quite different between the two cultures. In the Chinese students, the association between big optimism and stress was stronger than in the American students. Both moderate and mediate models were tested to clarify some of the mechanism among culture, gender, optimism/pessimism, stress and health. Culture was moderating the relation between optimism (big vs. little optimism) and three health components. Gender on the other hand, had no moderating effect in the relationship of big vs. little optimism/pessimism on any health outcomes. The prediction that stress is the moderator in the prediction of optimism on health was not supported in both cultural groups. However, either big or little optimism were found fully mediated by state or trait stress on overall health conditions as well as the physical and mental health, except that the little optimism was not found to be related to mental health. Among the American students, on the other hand, optimism as dominate predictor directly effected reports of health. Stress was not found to be a mediator in the predictive relationship of optimism and health in the American students.