The professional role and exercise of the role of educational assistance professionals in schools with School Integration Programs in Chile

The incorporation of health professionals into inclusive schools is increasingly necessary. However, the work of these professionals has not yet been studied globally. This qualitative research analyses the perceptions of speech therapists, psychologists, physical therapists and occupational therapists on the role that educational policy defines for working in schools with School Integration Programmes in Chile. Through chain sampling, 52 professionals were interviewed. The data were analysed inductively through thematic analysis. The results show that the role defined by policies for professionals is not in line with the needs of schools and the aspirations of the inclusive approach. The exercise of the role emerges as a distinct entity from the defined role that seems to be more responsive to the needs of schools and students. Interviewees described tensions related to the role in schools, professional training, working conditions and contextual features that would permeate the role that the policy mandates them to play. The findings of the study promote new research horizons related to the role of professional assistants, where research is still incipient worldwide, and invite reflection on the importance of designing education policies with a bottom-up approach to capture the needs presented by learners and professional teams.     

社区运动康复服务体系构建过程中物理治疗师职业特征研究

城市社区人口的逐步老龄化,运动康复领域政府扶持政策的出台,社区居民运动康复服务需求的日益显现,以及随之出现的物理治疗师人才缺口为研究背景。主要研究目的:分析中医药院校运动康复专业与物理治疗师(PT),在社区运动康复服务体系构建过程中的特点与功能。认为:1)社区运动康复服务是实现多途径早期康复医疗介入的有效运行载体之一,是未来患者持续治疗回归社区进行有效康复的必然趋势;2)运用传统中医养生理念,所培养出的物理治疗师(PT)职业特征鲜明,是拓展运动康复服务体系实践应用领域的新路径;3)加强运动康复学科中物理治疗专业教育,从而发挥物理治疗师的专业特色,引导辖区居民在思想认识和健康观念上,逐渐摒弃传统的医疗服务观念,形成社区居民的运动康复意识。     

Boundaries and Voices in College Psychotherapy

A psychotherapist in a college setting must act in different contexts and constantly be aware of boundary issues. There are times when our various roles, or voices, conflict, and times when our work may suffer from a lack of clarity about what voice we are speaking in. This paper attempts to make some initial distinctions between the Psychotherapeutic, the Medical, the Counseling and the Administrative voices. Each has advantages and disadvantages, and each has its proper function, but confusion may result from, for instance, translatin administrative issues too readily into medical langauge. The underlying notion here, which I try to spell out through examples from the literature of college metnal health and from clinical and adminsitrative experience in college psychotherapy services, is that the "voice" we use, the political and geographical location of the service, and our policies about such matters as medical leaves and readmission-that all these matters have implications for the functioning of a psychotherapy service in a college (and that, in fact, one of the defining aspects of college work is the struggle with these very issues). Going a step further, the paper is a beginning reflection on whether the requirements of providing psychotherapy for students impel us, logically and practically, toward certain policies in regard to boundaries.     

Coping as a predictor of burnout and general health in therapists working in ABA schools

Background: Little is known about the work-related well-being of applied behaviour analysis (ABA) therapists who work in school-based contexts and deliver ABA interventions to children with autism. Methods: A questionnaire on work-related stress (burnout), general distress, perceived supervisor support and coping was completed by 45 ABA therapists across six schools in the UK. Results: Around 42% of ABA therapists reported low levels of personal accomplishment at work, 13% reported high levels of emotional exhaustion and 40% met criteria for experiencing high levels of general distress. Wishful thinking coping was predictive of higher emotional exhaustion burnout and depersonalisation, and lower personal accomplishment. Conclusions: Given that a wishful thinking approach to coping may contribute to experiencing stress at work, it is important to consider support interventions for ABA therapists that may enhance their well-being. Mindfulness and acceptance-based strategies in particular may be relevant to the support of ABA therapist well-being.     

Chapter 4.

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health concerns in the United States and they tend to be among the most frequently reported in college mental health. While efficacious research for the psychotherapy treatment of specific anxiety disorders (e.g., social phobia, panic disorder, etc.) exists, the picture is more complex in clinical practice especially with students who are treated as a whole person, usually involving multiple co-existing disorders as well as normal developmental challenges of adjusting to college. This chapter reviews the evidenced-based research for anxiety disorders in both the general population and the college student population, as well as evidence for therapist/relationship factors. It examines the numerous challenges for conducting effectiveness studies in college mental health, suggestions for working with chronically anxious college students, and future directions for research and practice in this area.     

Using SSCI to Map Scholarly Influence in the Social Sciences:

Many uses exist for the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) in performing social science research. Depending upon a user's interest and imagination, SSCI can be effectively used to ascertain a scholar's influence in the published research record. By utilizing the citation section of SSCI a researcher can map the scholarly influence a scholar exercises in his/her field. Braudel's influence in the Annales school of historical research and his impact upon the social sciences was mapped by examining SSCI for 1980-1989. This approach can serve as a template for other disciplines and is valuable for scholar and subject bibliographer.     

Struggles of the Novice Counselor and Therapist

The novice journey can be arduous. This article draws from empirical and conceptual literature on counselor and therapist development to describe seven stressors of the novice practitioner. The ambiguity of professional work is the major catalyst for novice stress. The elements are: acute performance anxiety, the illuminated scrutiny of professional gatekeepers, porous or rigid emotional boundaries, the fragile and incomplete practitioner-self, inadequate conceptual maps, glamorized expectations, and an acute need for positive mentors.     

Measuring the Expertise of Paediatric Rehabilitation Therapists

This article describes the development of a classification system to measure the expertise levels of practicing paediatric rehabilitation therapists. Seventy‐five therapists from five disciplines (physical, occupational, speech‐language, behaviour, and recreational therapy) were involved, along with 170 peers, and 188 parents of children with disabilities. A cluster analysis of 10 indicators of expertise (derived from a battery of self‐completed, peer‐completed, and parent‐completed measures) indicated three levels of therapist expertise—novice, intermediate, and expert. Expertise level was related to various aspects of experience but not to therapy discipline. The classification system will be useful for the education and professional development of paediatric therapists, and for research on expertise in paediatric rehabilitation.     

Writing About Patients: Responsibilities,Risks, and Ramifications,by Judy Leopold Kantrowitz

In the first few years after his wife gave birth to a son, the middle-aged author closely observed the effects on his existence and his craft. He is pleased to report that fatherhood is taxing but survivable, and finds that it exerts a modest but discernible effect on his perspective as a college counselor.