The field of mental health has had difficulty in developing an adequate conceptualization of racism as a mental health problem. Based on conventional classifications of mental illness, racism might be described as a functional disorder. The racist, however, appears quite normal except for a paranoid disorder in the area of racial relations. The…

This paper evaluates models of positive mental health for their applicability to blacks and describes three studies that examined self-esteem, locus of control, and commitment to social change as critical dimensions of effective functioning and mental health among blacks. The first study examined racial differences in self-evaluation by subjecting…

Trust is an important construct in understanding the social dynamics in interpersonal and race relations. Several studies have concluded that blacks tend to mistrust both whites and the predominantly white government. The consensus among theorists and researchers supports the social learning view that accumulated life experiences critically…

"High level wellness...is defined as an integrated method of functioning which is oriented toward maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable. It requires that the individual maintain a continuum of balance and purposeful direction within the environment where he is functioning." Expanding upon this quotation from Halbert…

Several studies of attrition from encounter and therapy groups have identified anxiety about self-disclosure as a common cause of early therapy termination. If such anxiety also contributes to attrition from interpersonal skills training groups, then time and funds invested in training mental health paraprofessionals may be lost. The relationship…

The Indochinese Mental Health Project of the International Institute of San Francisco has as its major goal that of helping Indochinese refugees to receive training and to find employment in community mental health services in order that they may work with incoming refugee populations. Prospective trainees are evaluated and selected on the basis…

It is important for special education administrators to recognize the potential disaster that might result from inattention to the mental health needs of their staffs and organizations. Indications of staff "burnout" (rapid turnover of staff due to stress) are already apparent. The phenomenon can only be detrimental to the whole concept…

Reviews of studies of four groups (business executives, lawyers, Army officers, and working women) which demonstrate the health-damaging effects of alienation in certain life situations show that, when under stress, members of these groups who feel alienated fall ill, medically and/or psychiatrically. Three models are described which may explain…

Phenomenology is an important force in the development of psychological theory, rather than a variant type of counseling method. A distinction must be drawn between the sensory phenomenology in which gestaltists focus on sensory receptors, and logical pheomenology in which the grounding of belief or self-identity is viewed as a prediction or…

The prevention planning process pursued within the National Institute of Mental Health in 1978 is described and related to federal proposals on primary prevention program planning in the mental health field. The conceptual frameworks and parameters of prevention planning are cited, along with the specific new prevention initiatives to be…

This paper discusses the effects of pretraining counseling clients for group therapy sessions. In an attempt to speed the group process and give maximum coverage to all college students requesting group therapy, pretraining experiences were given to members of three experimental groups and were compared to one control group. The experimental…

This article discusses a program originated in response to the need to serve a most disturbed segment of children in New York City--youngsters discharged from psychiatric hospitals or residential treatment centers. This program directly links separate social institutions--the schools and the mental hospitals--in a plan for unified services to one…

The author discusses the problematic term "community psychology" in relation to the many experiences he has had, personally, in the profession. When community psychologists concern themselves with social issues, they quite often adopt the "oversocialized conception of man," which allows for no change and rests firmly on the status quo. Another…

This paper describes the reliability of the Means-Ends Spirituality Questionnaire to assess preferred ways and goals of spiritual expression. The means subscales assessed thinking, feeling, acting, and relating in the area of spiritual expression. A total of 405 university students participated in this investigation. Study 1 analyzed the…

This study examines the mental health consequences of dropping out of high school. It looks at levels of depression, anxiety, and self esteem reported by high school dropouts and graduates during the adolescent to young adult transition. It examines the extent to which family structure and family processes (parental support and transition specific…