Social Work Commons^™

Book Review: It's Not You, It's The Dishes: How To Minimize Conflict And Maximize Happiness In Your Relationship, Derek Lawson

Journal of Financial Therapy

It’s Not You, It’s The Dishes brings economic principles and theory into the married life of couples. The authors simplify economics by providing fundamental concepts while removing technical jargon in a funny, yet intuitive way. Readers are introduced to the basics of comparative advantage, game theory, and eight other economic principles, all while learning lessons on how to resourcefully allocate their limited units of time, money, and energy to yield a better return on their biggest investment of their lives, their marriage. At its core, this is a self-help book aimed at married couples. Nevertheless, financial professionals and academics may …

Practitioner Profile: An Interview With Reeta Wolfsohn, Cmsw, Reeta Wolfsohn

Journal of Financial Therapy

Reeta Wolfsohn, CMSW, began practicing financial therapy in 1997. At the time, she didn’t call what she did by that name, but her work specifically addressed the financial issues and problems of her clients. Early on in her work, Reeta recognized clients wanted to take control of their money and their lives, but struggled not only with the shame, guilt, worry, and stress of debt, but also with the poor sense of self, and low self-confidence and self-esteem which inevitably accompanied it. Realizing clients needed more help than regularly scheduled therapy sessions, she began developing financial educational materials and psychosocial …

Researcher Profile: An Interview With John E. Grable, Ph.D., Cfp(R), John Grable

Journal of Financial Therapy

John E. Grable, Ph.D., CFP(R) teaches and conducts research in the Certified Financial Planner(TM) Board of Standards undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Georgia. Prior to entering the academic profession, he worked as a pension/benefits administrator and later as a Registered Investment Advisor in an asset management firm. He served as the founding editor for the Journal of Personal Finance and as the co-founding editor of the Journal of Financial Therapy. His research interests include financial risk-tolerance assessment, psychophysiological economics, and financial planning help-seeking behavior. Dr. Grable has published nearly 100 peer-reviewed papers, co-authored two financial …

“Where I’M Coming From”: A Discourse Analysis Of Financial Advice Media, Tanya E. Mudry, Ines Sametband, Tom Strong, Dan Wulff, Jennifer Michel, Sally St. George

Journal of Financial Therapy

In this paper we conceptualize different understandings and positions taken in conflicts over finances in family and couple relationships. We see these as informed by discourses found in popular and professional media. Discourses, as we describe them, are cultural ways of understanding and acting – where “we are coming from,” in this case, relates to finances and financial management. We turn to various media (magazine advice articles, self-help books, professional and research literatures) using discourse analysis to identify distinct discourses regarding how finances are to be regarded and managed. We then link these discourses to discourse positions, or positionings, that …

Moneygrams: Recalled Childhood Memories About Money And Adult Money Pathology, Adrian Furnham, Sophie Von Stumm, Rebecca Milner

Journal of Financial Therapy

In this study 512 adults completed two questionnaires. One questionnaire was devised specifically for this study concerning childhood memories of parental beliefs and behaviours with respect to money (i.e moneygrams)/ The second questionnaire established a measure of “money pathology” (Forman, 1987). The moneygram questionnaire was based on clinical cases and idiographic studies on money pathology. Around a fifth of the items showed significant sex differences. Factor analysis highlighted one clear factor, namely “money secrecy” - which was associated with greater levels of spending money pathology in adulthood. In women, but not in men, higher family money secrecy was significantly associated …

Editorial, Volume 5, Issue 1, Kristy L. Archuleta

Journal of Financial Therapy

Welcome to Volume 5, Issue 1 of the Journal of Financial Therapy! In this issue, four scholarly papers are presented along with two profiles and a book review. These four papers address very important issues, such as mental health therapists’ competency in working with financial issues, financial stress of college students, parental messages about money, and financial advice media.

Responding To Trauma: Help-Seeking Behavior And Posttraumatic Growth In A College Sample, Aaron J. Burrick

Honors Scholar Theses

Research indicates that traumatic experiences can impact college students’ mental health, academic abilities, and relationships with peers. Trauma and associated symptoms of PTSD can lower students’ well-being and increase the risk of withdrawing from the university. Research also emphasizes the importance of psychological help-seeking as a way to experience posttraumatic growth. This study examines traumatic experiences, help-seeking attitudes, barriers, and behaviors, and posttraumatic growth in a sample of 168 undergraduate college students. Results indicated an overwhelming preference for informal help-seeking resources and the importance of traumatic severity in the decision to seek help. Additionally, female participants reported greater traumatic severity …

Through A Critical Sociocultural Lens: Parents’ Perspectives Of An Early Childhood Program In Guatemala, Yaëlle Stempfelet

Master's Capstone Projects

The present case study is on an Early Childhood program in Guatemala based on participant parents’ feedback. The Early Childhood program is non-formal, focuses on emergent literacy and nutrition, and takes place in a community-run library in a poor, semi-rural town in the mountainous regions of Quiche, Guatemala. The library was set up by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that works in Guatemala as well as another neighboring country.

Using a critical sociocultural lens, this study assumes that the parents’ perceptions reflect the state of the program and that involving their feedback through this research will ultimately help to bolster the …

Ingos In The Mirror: Critical Reflections Of Practitioners Implementing Psychosocial Support Programs, Stephen M. Richardson

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this qualitative research is to learn from the professional wisdom of practitioners involved in implementing school-based psychosocial support in conflict-affected contexts. Practitioners from four different International Non-governmental Organizations (INGO) working in three different contexts—the Congo Basin region, the South Asia region, and the Sudan region—reflect on the concepts and realities of the psychosocial support models that their organizations use. A common theme emerging from these interviews is that the approach to psychosocial support has the potential to do harm. The practitioners provide real examples of the ways in which harm may occur and their possible causes. These …

Growing Ideas - Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) is a collaborative relationship between a mental health consultant and family members, child care providers, early care and education teachers, and/ or child development professionals. ECMHC strives to improve the ability of families, teachers, and caregivers to promote, sustain and restore healthy social and emotional development for all children. It supports building and maintaining healthy working relationships between care and education professionals and families.