Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Review Of Independent Practice For The Mental Health Professional: Growing A Private Practice For The 21st Century. Ralph H. Earle And Dorothy J. Barnes. Reviewed By Rafael Herrera, University Of California At Berkeley., Rafael Herrera

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review for Ralph H. Earle and Dorothy J. Barnes, Independent Practice for the Mental Health Professional: Growing a Private Practice for the 21st Century. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel, 1999. $24.95 hardcover.

Review Of Addictions And Native Americans. Lawrence Armand French. Reviewed By Michael Gorman, San Jose State University., Michael Gorman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review for Lawrence Armand French, Addictions and Native Americans. Westport, CT: Praeger Publications, 2000. $59.95 hardcover.

Review Of Counseling And The Therapeutic State. James J. Chriss (Ed.). Reviewed By Daniel Harkness., Daniel Harkness

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of James J. Chriss (Ed.), Counseling and the Therapeutic State. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter, 1999. $48.95 hardcover, $24.95 papercover.

Review Of The Social Edges Of Psychoanalysis. Neil J. Smelser. Reviewed By Daniel Coleman., Daniel Coleman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Neil J. Smelser, The Social Edges of Psychoanalysis. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. $35.00 hardcover, $24.00 papercover.

The Discourse Of Denigration And The Creation Of "Other", Joshua Miller, Gerald Schamess

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper attempts to reduce the distance between intellectual frameworks that inform different fields of social work practice by exploring the relationships between intrapsychic mechanisms, family dynamics, small group processes and such society wide phenomena as public denigration, scapegoating, and the systematic oppression of politically targeted population subgroups. Clinical theories are used to explore disturbing social trends such as the redistribution of wealth while cutting services to the needy, the growth of prisons and disproportionaten umbers of incarcerated people of color, societal retreat from social obligation and commitment and divisive political rhetoric. Suggestions are made about how clinical social workers …

Conflicting Bureaucracies, Conflicted Work: Dilemmas In Case Management For Homeless People With Mental Illness, Linda E. Francis

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This ethnographic study finds a case management agency torn between the rules of two conflicting bureaucracies. Funded by a federal grant, the agency is administered by the county, and the regulations of the two systems turn out to be incompatible. This conflict creates dilemmas in providing services to clients: meeting eligibility criteria for services from the federal grant meant the clients did not meet the eligibility criteria for many County services. Agency staff reacted to this dilemma by bending rules, finding loopholes, and investing extra time and emotional labor in each client. The role-conflict engendered by bureaucratic disjunction creates frustration, …

The Urban Ecology Of Hospital Failure: Hospital Closures In The City Of Chicago, 1970-1991, Gunnar Almgren, Miguel Ferguson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Abstract: Hospital closures occurred nationally with increasing frequency between 1970 and 1990. In particular, large urban areas experienced a dramatic number of closures. Of the 61 general hospitals operating in Chicago in 1970, 22 (36%) had closed by 1991. While a growing body of literature has examined the etiology and determinants of hospital closure over the last two decades, few empirical studies have focused on the neighborhood correlates of closure, and none have examined specific health outcomes associated with hospital failure. This study uses census and Chicago hospital closure data to compare and contrast different conceptual explanations of closure in …

Using Professionally Trained Actors In Social Work Role-Play Simulations, Helen E. Petracchi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The literature available to social work educators contains limited discussion of the use of role play simulation in the classroom. This paper presents the experiences of first-year MSW students in a foundation generalist practice class who were evaluated using role play for their final examination. In a unique arrangement, clients in these simulations were role-played by firstyear acting students from the university's theater arts department. The reaction of the social work students to role play with professionally trained actors is described and discussed from voluntarily submitted descriptions of the experience.

Comparing Outcome Of Residential And Intensive Outpatient Treatment Services For Substance Dependence, Shawn E. Channell

Dissertations

The past 20 years have witnessed a significant increase in the number of published studies comparing inpatient with outpatient substance dependence treatment The majority of these studies have reported no benefit for those recipients receiving more intensive treatment However, the outpatient treatment investigated in these studies has typically been day treatment often involving 27 hours a week of participation, and not intensive outpatient treatment (IOP), which involves 12 or fewer hours of participation per week. Additionally, few published studies have compared alcohol and cocaine dependent populations. This study was designed to compare effectiveness of the residential and intensive outpatient levels …

Review Of Paradigms Of Clinical Social Work, Volume 2. Rachel Dorfman (Ed). Reviewed By Cynthia Franklin, University Of Texas, Austin., Cynthia Franklin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Dorfman, R.A. (Ed.) Paradigms of Clinical Social Work, volume 2. Philadelphia PA: Brunner/Mazel, 1998. $49.95 hardcover.

Review Of Clinical And Practice Issues In Adoption: Bridging The Gap Between Adoptees Placed As Infants And As Older Children. Victor Groza And Karen F Rosenberg (Eds.). Reviewed By Richard P. Barth, University Of North Carolina, Chapel Hill., Richard P. Barth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Victor Groza and Karen E Rosenberg (Eds.), Clinical and Practice Issues in Adoption: Bridging the Gap Between Adoptees Placed as Infants and as Older Children. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1998. $55.00 (hardcover).

Review Of Social Work With Children And Their Families: Pragmatic Foundations. Christopher G. Petr. Reviewed By Dorinda N. Noble, Louisiana State University., Dorinda N. Noble

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Petr, Christopher G. (1998). Social Work with Children and their Families: Pragmatic Foundations. New York: Oxford University Press.

Coping Strategy And Social Support Differences Among Copd Patients: Effects On Psychological Well Being, Functional Status, And Health Care Utilization, Terri Belville-Robertson

Dissertations

This descriptive study examined coping strategies and social support among thirty-three patients with moderate to severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to assess relationships to psychological and functional status, and health care utilization. More specifically, the qualitative and quantitative differences in coping strategies and social support were examined in relation to anxiety, depression, activity level, and use of emergency and inpatient medical services. Subjects participated in a one-session screening that included a brief clinical interview, battery of questionnaires and exercise tolerance test. Health care utilization data were obtained from subjects’ medical records. Subjects' primary support persons also provided collateral data …

Evaluating The Social Acceptability Of Persons With Habit Disorders: The Effects Of Topography, Frequency, And Gender Manipulation, Douglas W. Woods

Dissertations

Literature suggests that children who exhibit habit disorders are less socially acceptable than children who do not exhibit such disorders. This series of studies investigated the social acceptability of adults who exhibit habit disorders. In Studies 1 and 2, undergraduate students rated the social acceptability of individuals who exhibited motor tics, vocal tics, hairpulling, and no habit. Results showed that the individuals with no habit were more socially acceptable than the individuals who exhibited either motor tics, vocal tics, or hairpulling.

In Study 3, videotapes were created in which actors simulated motor tics, vocal tics, Tourette’s Syndrome, and Trichotillomania. The …

The Effects Of Sibling-Implemented Training On Social Behaviors Of Autistic Children, Cristin L. Sullivan

Dissertations

The present study investigated the effectiveness of sibling-implemented pivotal response training (PRT) on the social behaviors of five children with autism. Using a multiple-baseline design across sibling pairs, participants were trained to use PRT while playing with their brother’s with autism. Measures of play skills and social behavior were assessed during baseline, training, sibling-independent play, and two-month follow-up sessions. Also, parents were asked to rate randomly selected video-tape segments from baseline and sibling-independent play sessions. The results indicated that siblings were able to learn effectively and implement PRT strategies following training. All of the children with autism demonstrated an increase …

Determining Cutoff Scores For The Mmpi-2 Substance Abuse Scales For An Inmate Population, Barbara A. Johnston

Dissertations

The current research project examined the psychometric properties of the substance abuse scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Second Edition (MMPI-2) with an inmate population. The scales of interest included the MacAndrews Alcoholism Scale Revised (MAC-R), the Addiction Potential Scale (APS) and the Addiction Acknowledgement Scale (AAS).

A total of 80 subjects were administered the MMPI-2 which resulted in 73 valid profiles. Of the valid profiles, 54 were chemically dependent and 19 were nonchemically dependent inmates. There were no differences between groups in regard to sociodemographic variables.

The data analyses indicated that the AAS and APS are efficient and …

Disruption Of The Discriminative Stimulus Effects Of (+)-3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Mdma) By (± )-Mdma Neurotoxicity: Protection By Fluoxetine, Thomas B. Virden Iii

Dissertations

It is well established that repeated, high doses of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) result in the long-term depletion of serotonin levels and destruction of serotonergic terminals in various locations in the brains of a variety of species. Further, it is also well known that concomitant injections of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, prevents this deterioration. It has recently been noted that such MDMA neurotoxicity disrupts stimulus control in rats trained to discriminate MDMA from saline in a drug discrimination procedure (Schechter, 1991a).

In order to extend Schechter's findings to the optical isomers of MDMA and to explore the potential of fluoxetine …

Mental Health Policy And Practice Today. Ted R. Watkins And James W. Calicutt (Eds.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ted R. Watkins and James W. Calicutt (Eds.), Mental Health Policy and Practice Today. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications, 1997. $ 58.00 hardcover, $ 27.95 papercover.

Review Of The Impact Of Managed Care On The Practice Of Psychotherapy: Innovation, Implementation And Controversy. Richard M. Alperin And David G. Phillips. Reviewed By Steven Segal, University Of California, Berkeley., Steven Segal

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Richard M. Alperin and David G. Phillips, The Impact of Managed Care on the Practice of Psychotherapy: Innovation, Implementation and Controversy. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1997. $31.95 hardcover.

Direct Service Staff's Perceptions Of Psychotropic Medication In Noninstitutional Settings For Individuals With Developmental Disabilities, Leeann Christian

Dissertations

Approximately 35-55% of individuals with mental retardation who live in the community are prescribed psychotropic and/or antiepileptic medication (Aman, Saphare, & Burrows, 1995; Singh, Guernsey, & Ellis, 1992). As more individuals with severe behavior challenges are transitioned from institutions into the community, these rates are likely to increase. Given these prevalence rates, it is important to determine whether staff who serve people with mental retardation are adequately educated about psychotropic medications. Previous studies (Aman, Singh, & White, 1987; Gadow, 1983; Singh, Epstein, Stout, Luebke, & Ellis, 1994; Singh et al., 1996) surveyed a variety of service providers in school and …

The Biography Of A Scale: Contextual Factors That Influence The Measurement Of Family Functioning, Ludwig Geismar

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The subject of instrument relevance is addressed by examining issues that have arisen in the use of a single scale over a forty year period. The issues revolve around the impact of varying social conditions, changing ethos, differential respondent receptiveness, and evolving research technology. Extended use of an instrument, it is argued, yields information that transcends the conventional techniques for testing instrument adequacy. The lack of opportunities in social work for accessing information on extended use of measurement tools is due, among other factors, to a preoccupation with working on subjects that are new and original and to a lack …

Indochinese Mental Health In North America: Measures, Status, And Treatments, Thanh V. Tran, Donna L. Ferullo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The massive influx of Indochinese refugees and immigrants to North America since the end of the Indochina war, especially to the United States of America, has resulted in numerous multi-disciplinary efforts to document and study their mental well-being. As a group, Indochinese Americans arrived from war-torn countries where many had experienced various forms of trauma, poverty, and oppression. Their pre-migration experiences, and experiences in adjusting and adapting to the new life in the host society have influenced their mental health status and overall quality of life in various ways. This paper analyzes and synthesizes a wealth of multi-disciplinary research on …

Degreed And Nondegreed Licensed Clinical Social Workers: An Exploratory Study, John T. Pardeck, Woo Sik Chung, John W. Murphy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This exploratory study focuses on 155 randomly selected respondents who obtained a clinical license in social work with or without the Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. Ninety-seven of the respondents obtained a license with an MSW degree;fifty-eight obtained a license without the MSW degree. The two groups of respondents completed a survey instrument that explored their basic demographic characteristics, their attitudes and behaviors related to practice, and their philosophical and political attitudes toward practice. The researchers found few statistically significant differences between the two groups of respondents. The article offers implications of these findings for the profession of social …

Reconstructing Sex Offenders As Mentally Ill: A Labeling Explanation, Rudolph Alexander Jr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A growing number of states are being pressured to keep incarcerated sex offenders behind bars longer. The response to this pressure has been to look to the mental health system and retrieve civil commitment for sex offenders, a policy largely abandoned in the 1960s. In the 1970s, the courts ruled that civil commitment to a mental institution required that the individual be both mentally ill and dangerous. So legislators, with the support of a few mental health professionals, met this requirement by legislatively reconstructing sex offenders as mentally ill and permitting their indefinite commitment to mental institutions. The author discusses …

Personal Narrative And The Social Reconstruction Of The Lives Of Former Psychiatric Patients, Robin M. Gilmartin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study explores ways in which high-functioning former patients integrate the experience of prior psychiatric hospitalization into their lives and find meaning from that event. The narratives of two individuals are presented and discussed in relation to social role theory, social constructionism, and labeling theory. The narratives underscore that the process of integrating and making meaning of important life events such as psychiatric hospitalization occur within a social context. Understanding mental illness and psychiatric hospitalization in familial, social, and political terms was instrumental in helping these individuals to reconstruct personal narratives in order to overcome shame and internalized stigma and …

Family Functioning And Psychological Well-Being In Vietnamese Adolescents, Quang Duong Tran, Cheryl A. Richey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper presents an exploratory study that examines the influences of family functioning on the psychological well-being in a sample of Vietnamese adolescents. Thirty Vietnamese families from the King County area in the state of Washington participated in this study. Thirty adolescents between 13 and 19 years of age and 53 parents (27fathers and 26 mothers) responded to self-reported questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted to provide a descriptive "picture" of family and individual characteristics associated with Vietnamese adolescents' psychological well-being. Gender differences were apparent with Vietnamese female adolescents reporting higher mean scores on depressive symptoms and lower mean scores on …

Improving Social Work Practice With Persons Who Are Homeless And Mentally Ill, Carol T. Mowbray, Shirley P. Thrasher, Evan Cohen, Deborah Bybee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite a proliferation of programs targeted for persons who are homeless and mentally ill, few reports in the literature detail the challenges experienced or strategies utilized by workers, the majority of whom are social workers. The present study reports results from two focus group sessions held with staff running a model service intervention for this population at two separate sites. The methodology that was utilized quanitified results, allowing presentation of themes, as well as comparisons of the frequency of responses across categories and by site. Staff perceived barriersa ssociatedw ith client behaviors and characteristicsp redominated at both sites. However, systemic …

Predictors Of Depression Among Workers At The Time Of A Plant Closing, Nancy R. Vosler, Deborah Page-Adams

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using an ecological theoretical perspective, this study of white male UAW workers stressed by a plant closing explored predictors of depression at multiple systems levels. The five best predictors of workers' depression were family strengths, age, economic strain, health, and social support. Additional bivariate predictors included self-esteem and having an alcohol problem at the individual level, marital status and family satisfaction at the family system level, and household income, home ownership, and key relationships at the social-environmental level. Implications for collaboration between direct-service and policy-practice social workers are discussed.

Incarnating Heaven: Making The Hospice Philosophy Mean Business, Mark A. Mesler, Pamela J. Miller

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Hospice providers in the U.S. are on the horns of a dilemma. Survival of individual programs may require accreditation for third party reimbursement, but this stronger alignment with the business world of medicine may jeopardize their unique philosophy of care for dying persons. Hospice's current business/philosophy dilemma was expressed succinctly by a study participant as attempting to incarnate heaven. Data gathered through an ongoing participant observation study reveals the effects of current third party reimbursement on hospice practice. Further, these effects have implications for current U.S. health care reform efforts which are discussed in conclusion.

Coherency Among Substance Abuse Models, Stephen Kauffman, John Poulin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social policy decisions are often made based upon socially constructed models of human behavior. As such, understanding the social constructions in a given policy area is of utmost importance. This study examines three competing models within the substance abuse area: the moral model, the disease model, and the biopsychosocial model. Utilizing survey data from a random sample telephone survey of 1,019 residents of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the study examines a) the degree to which individual models are internally consistent between beliefs about causes and beliefs about solutions, b) whether the assumptions in competing models are in fact different; and c) …