Challenge initiatives are used by many mental health agencies to facilitate a variety of therapeutic changes within participants. There are several ways to lead these challenge initiatives, including whole training, fixed training, and adaptive training. This paper presents a theoretical basis for considering adaptive training to be the most…

This study uses a historical perspective to examine the interface of the Maryland Juvenile Justice Department and the Mental Hygiene Administration in their efforts to provide services to youth involved with the juvenile justice system who were found to have mental disorders. A time line was constructed documenting developments from the 16th…

This study examined the psychosocial, mental health, and intellectual characteristics of young offenders serving a sentence at Syl Apps Youth Centre, a secure custody facility. The sample comprised 50 youths, 37 males and 13 females. The index offenses were varied, but the majority were sentenced for a violent offense. The results showed that…

In the 1980s, homelessness attracted considerable attention from the media, advocates, politicians, and the public. Virtually every sector of society and the government responded. Interest in the issue has waned considerably since then, but the problem continues growing, particularly in large urban areas. While public policies address the problem,…

In an experiment to test whether gender differences in self-evaluation biases exist, 264 female and 174 male students were used. Participants were placed in mixed-sex groups, ranging from 2-10 people. Test anonymity and non-competitiveness were emphasized to minimize self-presentation concerns. Three different measures of accuracy/bias were…

This paper presents a model for determining appropriate provider qualifications in a variety of adventure settings, in which adventure-based activities are used, but particularly the qualifications and training needs of adventure therapists. The model is based on the premise that the skill and educational needs of providers increase with the…

Over the years many different psychologists and psychoanalysts have found value in the concept of the self-narrative, or the "life story." Narrative thought demands an appreciation of the particulars of time and place and a focus on multidimensional understanding of events, people, emotion, and motivation. By using the life story or…

Two acculturation measures, Szapocznik's (1978) Behavioral Acculturation Scale and Dawson's (1971) Chinese Traditional-Modern Scale, were adapted and applied to two college-aged groups of first and second generation Chinese Americans and one group of Caucasian Americans. Hypotheses concerned the empirical and construct validity of both measures…

Although both poetry and music have been used as therapeutic tools in individual and group counseling, few counselors use the techniques in combination. Poetry therapists tend to follow either the strucutred approach of Leedy, in which poems are used as treatment, or the less structured approach of Lerner, in which poems are used as medium. Music,…

This paper, written for mental health professionals, focuses on learning, teaching, and professional issues in radio talk show psychology. The discussion focuses on the educational aspects of media psychology, including learning about others' behaviors and problems and alternative points of view, the role and behavior of professionals, how to…

Although research has documented associations between grandparenthood and grandparents' mental health, the basis of these associations has not been extensively explored. This study asked grandparents to describe their relationship with one grandchild and that grandchild's parents; the selected grandchild was the oldest grandchild in the two-parent…

In 1986, Congress passed Part H of P.L. 99-457 (the Education of the Handicapped Act) to address the educational, social, and health needs of handicapped and developmentally disabled infants and their families. Since this population's needs could not be addressed independently, each state was expected to develop collaborative organizational…

Development and determination of the construct validity of a scale designed to assess aversion to computers are described. Based on a social learning model emphasizing efficacy, outcome, and reinforcement, the Computer AVersion Scale (CAVS) was developed for use with mental health clients who were high school age and older, as well as mental…

Some states have established community-based forensic services, such as competency and sanity evaluation programs. Since changing from inpatient, centralized evaluations to community-based, decentralized evaluations may result in lower costs, a study was conducted to examine the feasibility of doing more forensic sanity and competency evaluations…

Although the contributions made by counseling psychologists to nursing homes has been marginal, there are several services that can be provided to long-term care facilities by psychologists. Once familiar with the pattern of nursing home life, the psychologist will be able to provide services indirectly as a consultant or trainer, and directly in…