Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Presenting Problems And Treatment Expectations Among Service Users Accessing Psychiatric Outpatient Care: Are There Gender Differences?, Ora Nakash, Maayan Nagar, Itzhak Levav

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Background: Community-based studies have documented gender differences in mental health problems and service utilization. This mixed methods study explored gender differences in severity of emotional distress, referral paths, presenting problems and care expectations among service users upon accessing outpatient psychiatric care. Methods: Consecutive service users (N=284, 64% women) who presented for a new or repeated episode of care in adult outpatient clinics completed questionnaires on a measure of emotional distress, treatment history and referral path. These variables were quantitatively analyzed. Also, users completed two open-ended questionnaires on reasons for seeking care and expectations from the services. These variables were qualitatively …

Promoting Critical Reflexivity Through Arts-Based Media: A Case Study, Christopher Trevelyan, Rory Crath, Adrienne Chambon

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

As an increasingly central focus of social work pedagogy, critical reflexivity can be distinguished from non-critical forms of reflexivity by its emphasis on the socially constructed, power-laden nature of knowledge and subjectivity, and its embracement of anxiety and other difficult emotions in social work practice. Given the in actu nature of its processes, however, critical reflexivity poses particular challenges as a teaching objective for social work educators. In order to assess the potential of arts-based media to engender critical forms of reflexivity in social work audiences, qualitative inquiry was conducted on social workers' experience of an arts-based video installation on …

Comorbidity Of Common Mental Disorders With Cancer And Their Treatment Gap: Findings From The World Mental Health Surveys, Ora Nakash, Itzhak Levav, Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, Jordi Alonso, Laura Helena Andrade, Matthias C. Angermeyer, Ronny Bruffaerts, Jose Miguel Caldas-De-Almeida, Slivia Florescu, Giovanni De Girolamo, Oye Gureje, Yanling He, Chiyi Hu, Peter De Jonge, Elie G. Karam, Viviane Kovess-Masfety, Maria Elena Medina-Mora, Jacek Moskalewicz, Sam Murphy, Yosikazu Nakamura, Marina Piazza, Jose Posada-Villa, Dan J. Stein, Nezar Ismet Taib, Zahari Zarkov, Ronald C. Kessler, Kate M. Scott

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Objective This study aimed to study the comorbidity of common mental disorders (CMDs) and cancer, and the mental health treatment gap among community residents with active cancer, cancer survivors and cancer-free respondents in 13 high-income and 11 low-middle-income countries. Methods Data were derived from the World Mental Health Surveys (N = 66,387; n = 357 active cancer, n = 1373 cancer survivors, n = 64,657 cancer-free respondents). The World Health Organization/Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used in all surveys to estimate CMDs prevalence rates. Respondents were also asked about mental health service utilization in the preceding 12 months. Cancer status …

Therapists' Experiences Treating Clients With Dissociative Identity Disorder, Alexandra E. Paull

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory study was to collect qualitative data to examine what social workers describe as their experience working with clients who fit the diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). This study interviewed twelve licensed therapists through in person, phone, and skype interviews. These interviews explored the experience of their clinical work and its impact on them personally. Seven major themes were identified from coding the narrative data: the challenges and rewards of treatment, characteristics of the population, characteristics of the clinicians, treatment structure, what treating their first client with this disorder was like, misconceptions, and places current …

Exploring Clinicians' Use Of Evidence-Based Interventions That Treat Attachment Problems Between Children, Five Years Of Age And Under, And Their Primary Caregivers, Jean Faucher

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This exploratory quantitative study was an attempt to address the dearth of research regarding the use of attachment-focused evidence-based treatments (AF EBT) in the clinical setting. Thirty-eight Master’s level or higher licensed mental health clinicians who work with children that are five years old and under, as well as with their primary caregivers, were surveyed via an anonymous web based questionnaire. The survey explored clinicians’ level of awareness, training, use, adaptation, and perceived effectiveness regarding four AF EBTs, as well as potential barriers that may have impeded their use. The AF EBTs were Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-UP …

What Does The 'Q' Stand For Anyway? : Queerness And Agency Competence, Eleanor C. Taylor

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This exploratory study’s purpose was to explore queer identity in mental health practice through the question, "Does queerness emerge as a distinct cultural category through the language of conversation, clinical practice, and administrative policy in mental health agencies that serve queer people, and in what practices is this reflected?” This project was undertaken in order to begin to fill gaps in existing cultural competence literature, particularly regarding queer identity.

This project entailed semi-structured interviews with ten participants, who worked in direct service at mental health agencies that serve LGBTQIA+ populations. This study examines the meanings and effects of queerness in …

An Exploration Of Romantic Adult Attachment, Marital Satisfaction And Parenting Stress In Couples Participating In The Supporting Father Involvement Program, Sarah T. Robins

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Over the years attachment theory and research have provided frameworks for understanding infant attachment and adult attachment. More recently, the phenomenon of romantic attachment between couples has been examined. The current mixed-methods study investigates the relationship between romantic adult attachment, marital satisfaction, and parenting stress in partners participating in the Supporting Father Involvement Program. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate that there is an association between adult attachment styles, marital satisfaction, and parenting stress. More specifically, fearful insecurities in mothers are associated with more parenting stress while secure attachments in mothers are connected to more satisfaction in the marital relationship. Fathers …