Reviewing and developing a psychological service’s response to managing behavioural difficulties through action research

Educational or school psychologists (EPs/SPs) can offer support with behaviour concerns at the levels of individual, group or organisation. Their practices, whilst being psychologically based, must be responsive to local contexts and needs. To explore behaviour practice in a real-world context, and to consider how development in this domain might occur during the adoption of a “part-traded” service delivery model, an empirical investigation was conducted within one English local authority (LA) educational psychology service (EPS). Using an action research model, data were gathered through a focus group with six EPs and an interview with the Principal EP (PEP). Current behaviour practices, psychological approaches and future development priorities were identified, as well as perceived facilitators and barriers to change and the EPs’ reflections on professional development through research participation. Implications for EP practice and future research are considered.     

Primary school children’s perspectives and experiences of Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) support

ABSTRACT

This study explores primary school aged children’s perspectives and experiences of their Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) support. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 12 Key Stage 2 participants, who had had a minimum of one month’s ongoing ELSA support. Four core themes were identified: positive relationships, unique qualities, facilitates skill development, and positive impact. The findings suggest the importance of a positive therapeutic relationship with an ELSA, and that children value ELSAs teaching specific individualised coping strategies in particular. The findings may also be pertinent to practitioners outside of ELSA related work, highlighting the importance of listening to children of all ages and employing alternative methods, such as drawing, to support them in sharing their views. Since the evidence base for ELSA support is limited, this study contributes children’s views to this area, and should be used to inform future research.     

Cognitive Behaviour Therapies and their implications for applied educational psychology practice

This paper critically considers the growing interest in the use of Cognitive Behaviour Therapies to support children and young people presenting with a wide range of social‐emotional difficulties. This focus has emerged since the prevalence of such difficulties in children and young people has increased over the past four decades, and the application of such approaches is no longer seen as being the sole preserve of specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), counsellors or therapists. To develop a critical understanding of the principles and core components of Cognitive Behaviour Therapies, two prominent approaches are reviewed. These are Ellis’s Rational‐Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), and Beck’s Cognitive Therapy (CT). The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the ways in which Educational Pychologists can directly and/or indirectly support the delivery of Cognitive Behaviour Therapies in their work.     

心理健康的定义和特点

心理健康的研究 ,不应该仅以非正常人的心理状态为研究对象 ;只单纯地从医学角度 ,以满足于消极保持心理的正常状态 ;只局限于治疗和预防心理疾病的发生。这是远远不够的。心理健康依赖于社会性质 ,有什么样的社会就有什么样的心理健康的定义 ,并因时间和空间的不同而不同。心理学家是从积极的、由意识控制的、有方向、有强度、对他人负责和认知性质等维度来阐述心理健康问题的     

A review of key issues in the measurement of children’s social and emotional skills

Recent policy developments (such as the Children’s Plan) and the introduction of a new national strategy (the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programme) have re‐emphasised the importance of social and emotional skills in educational contexts. As such, educational psychologists are increasingly likely to be involved in the measurement of social and emotional skills, either as part of their case‐work or through research. They may also be asked to provide advice to schools looking to evaluate certain aspects of their practice in this area. The aim of this paper is to provide a discussion of key issues in the measurement of social and emotional skills in children and adolescents. These include: difficulties with the underlying theory and frameworks for social and emotional skills, inconsistent terminology, the scope and distinctiveness of available measures, psychometric properties, and more practical issues such as the type of respondent, location and purpose of measurement. The paper concludes with a call for more research and the further development of appropriate measures.     

Searching for Dumbledore: A reflection upon the outcomes of a tailored emotional literacy programme on three key stage 2 children

Some children may only be able to express feelings of anxiety, frustration, stress or sadness through angry behaviours, which may prove challenging for schools (Barnes et al., 2016; Shechtman and Tutian, 2016). This is problematic when considered in relation to research evidence highlighting the negative impact such behaviours may have upon social relationships and academic outcomes (Sloan et al., 2017). The aims of this study were to explore whether a tailored emotional literacy programme can be used effectively to extend children's emotional lexicon and strategies for the self‐management of behaviours. Three children with social‐emotional difficulties were taught in twelve weekly sessions. The findings from this study suggests the positive benefits of using a programme tailored to meet a child's specific needs (rather than a programme without any adaptations), which may be an effectual tool in supporting children to change established patterns of negative behaviours.     

幼儿积极心理品质培养研究

培养幼儿的积极心理品质是幼儿积极心理健康教育的任务和核心。本文根据幼儿生理、心理发展的特点,提出了幼儿应重点培养的积极心理品质：好奇心、创造力、自制、坚持、社交智慧、责任心、审美、希望与乐观。最后,提出了幼儿积极心理品质培养的总体策略。     

“The Galigir Room”: a resourced provision for young people with social,emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH) in their first years at secondary school

This paper examines the values, vision and practice originally outlined in a proposal for a secondary phase resourced provision for young people with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) challenges. The provision was based on a well-established model (the ‘Jarjums Room’) which had been implemented in Cherbourg Primary School in Eastleigh, England. The article offers a first-hand narrative account of the way that this initiative, the ‘Galigir Room’, was conceptualised, successfully embraced and implemented, thanks to the commitment of a senior leadership team, a group of staff and governors and the foresight and support of the local secondary school.     

牡丹江农村留守儿童心理健康状况的调查研究

为了更好地了解牡丹江农村留守儿童的心理健康现状及其影响因素,抽样调查了265名中小学生,其中留守儿童81人,对照组184人。结果显示:在学习焦虑,对人焦虑、孤独、过敏、身体症状、冲动及心理健康总分上留守儿童的分数显著高于非留守儿童;在主观支持、对支持的利用度以及社会支持总分上留守儿童显著低于非留守儿童。因此,农村留守儿童的心理健康问题应引起广泛的重视,而提高其社会支持水平是提高其心理健康水平的一个重要手段。     

重庆市特殊教育教师心理健康与社会支持研究

本研究采用症状自评量表(SCL-90)与社会支持评定量表(SSRS)对重庆市132例特殊教育教师进行调查,利用SPSS统计软件采用t检验与相关性分析对各项指标均数进行统计分析。结果显示重庆市特殊教育教师除敌对因子之外,其余9个因子均明显低于国内成人常模;30岁以上和30岁以下、已婚和未婚、教龄在10年以上和10年以下的特殊教育教师在社会支持评定中的主观支持得分和社会支持总分差异显著;对SCL-90的10个因子得分与SSRS的3个维度得分及总分进行相关系数分析及回归分析,表明社会支持中的客观支持维度与SCL-90中的各个因子相关程度不显著;社会支持总分对强迫症状和抑郁具有显著的预测作用;主观支持对焦虑具有显著的预测作用,主观支持、支持利用度对强迫症状、抑郁和人际关系都有显著的预测度。     

Mental Health Help-Seeking and Young People: A Review

In the United Kingdom, the issue of health and social care of young people is now a major concern for the government. Thus, a recent government green paper has insisted on the provision of early and appropriate interventions for young peoples' mental health difficulties and that their views must be incorporated into the design of mental health services. More recently, the NHS Health Advisory Service has recommended that schools and teachers should assume some responsibility in the identification of pupils who may have mental health difficulties. Unfortunately, there is scant information in the United Kingdom on young peoples' pathways into services. We know very little about their help-seeking strategies and service use, barriers or facilitators to care, satisfaction with services and service preferences. In addition, we have limited knowledge of how young people conceptualize mental health or how they perceive mental health professionals. In brief, the needs and help-seeking behaviours of young people in psychological distress are poorly understood and often mediated through older people such as parents and teachers. In this paper, we examine these issues and discuss the implications of such gaps in the evidence base for our understanding of adolescent help-seeking and our ability to provide appropriate well-targeted services.     

农村留守儿童心理健康现状与对策--以浏阳市澄潭江镇为例

通过对浏阳市澄潭江镇小源村的儿童、村民以及教育工作者进行问卷调查、访谈等不同方式的沟通和交流,了解到当地留守儿童的心理健康现状,并通过对收集的数据进行统计整理和分析,只有家庭、学校、社会和政府四个层面密切配合才能做好农村留守儿童心理健康教育。     

友谊对儿童和青少年社会性发展的影响

友谊影响儿童和青少年社会性发展的许多方面。对友谊重要性的研究从是否拥有朋友一个维度扩展到多个维度,包括儿童和青少年是否拥有朋友,朋友的特征以及友谊的质量等。从友谊与自我、友谊与适应、友谊与社会行为、友谊与情绪调节、友谊与合作性任务、友谊与社会技能六个方面探讨友谊对儿童和青少年社会性发展的影响。     

幼儿艺术活动中“反常心理”的成因与对策

心理压力、心理挫折、心理恐惧都是幼儿艺术活动中常见的反常心理。其产生的原因是多方面的,有幼儿自身的因素,更有整个幼儿艺术教育的影响。为此,幼儿艺术活动要满足幼儿的审美心理需要,教师要让幼儿产生学习艺术技法的需要,教师在幼儿艺术活动中要把握好时间和空间调节。     

国内青少年社交焦虑研究进展

在青少年社交焦虑的人口学特点上,国内研究结果存在矛盾;在影响青少年社交焦虑的因素上,研究发现不但消极的家庭教养方式、留守经历与社交焦虑关系密切,而且个体的社交技能、应对方式、人格特征、自我效能感和自尊等个体因素也对社交焦虑有重要影响。国内干预社交焦虑的常用方法主要有认知行为疗法、箱庭疗法、体育疗法、音乐疗法、综合性团体干预等。目前国内对不同疗法干预青少年社交焦虑效果的比较性研究还较缺乏,对留守儿童等特定群体社交焦虑的干预研究及社交焦虑的生理基础研究还有待深入。