Gregory E. Harris

HIV peer counseling and the development of hope: perspectives from peer counselors and peer counseling recipients.

Peer counseling is becoming an increasingly viable treatment option when working with people living with HIV and AIDS, especially during the diagnostic process. Unfortunately, little research has looked at the perceived benefits of peer counseling from the perspectives of clients receiving the services and those providing the services. In addition, research suggests that hope can help people living with HIV to deal with the HIV diagnosis and to improve their lifestyles; however, the authors were unable to locate any research exploring the benefits of peer counseling in fostering the hope of people living with HIV/AIDS. The present paper, following a community-based research paradigm embedded within a qualitative case study methodology explores the benefits of peer support counseling from the perspective of 12 participants living with HIV who have had experiences with peer counseling. Participants identified several thematic benefits of peer support counseling, including the role of peer counselors in the process of fostering hope. Roles and benefits of peer counseling, in relation to the facilitation of hope for people living with HIV/AIDS, suggest potentially interesting implications for future research and practice in HIV/AIDS care.

Practicing HIV/AIDS community-based research.

Abstract Although community-based research (CBR) is gaining popularity, especially within the field of HIV/AIDS research, there is a paucity of practical models or frameworks designed to guide researchers and community members. Within the present paper the author presents a ten-stage model of conducting CBR that emerged from two HIV/AIDS CBR studies that were conducted in Alberta, Canada. The main strengths and challenges to conducting HIV/AIDS CBR are also explored. Living a life with HIV has changed dramatically over the past few decades. There have been notable improvements in medical technology and treatment, resulting in increased quality and duration of life (Volberding, 1998; Wong-Staal, 1997) as well as improvements in psychosocial interventions leading to improved mental health services (Grinstead & Van Der Straten, 2000; Hoffman, 1996; Sarwer & Crawford, 1994; Schaffner, 1994). Perhaps most significant has been the astonishing community rallying and social support networks that have occurred among individuals living with HIV and AIDS (Roy & Cain, 2001). People living with HIV and AIDS have demonstrated their resilience and positive outlooks through developing a multitude of community connections and projects. These organizational groups have engaged in HIV peer counselling at community-based organizations, fund raising programs, board involvement in community agency organizations and HIV/AIDS national committees, as well as volunteer work in many settings. There has also been a recent focus on CBR, which includes having individuals living with HIV and AIDS, people vulnerable to HIV infection or other stakeholders in HIV/AIDS issues become partners in research projects with academic or trained researchers (Health Canada, 2002).

Understanding Hope in the Face of an HIV Diagnosis and High-risk Behaviors

The purpose of this article is to: (a) explore and describe experiences of hope in the context of high-risk behaviors; and (b) identify sources of hope for participants dealing with an HIV diagnosis. Following qualitative case study methodology along with philosophical hermeneutics, 12 people diagnosed with HIV or AIDS were interviewed to understand their experiences of hope. Participants were selected based on self-report for continuing or increasing high-risk behaviors following diagnosis. Results include participant descriptions of hope as well as five higher order categories that highlight sources of hope following an HIV diagnosis. Implications for treatment of those newly diagnosed and engaged in high-risk behaviors are discussed.

Conjoint therapy and domestic violence: Treating the individuals and the relationship

Domestic violence is a common complaint encountered by counselling psychologists and other mental health professionals. Common psychological treatment practices separate perpetrators and victims into individual intervention modalities. However, there is some research that has been emerging that suggests in some cases a couples treatment approach may be a useful adjunct to existing treatments. The present paper examines research and considerations in making the decision to employ a conjoint approach to treating domestic violence issues.

Guidance counsellor strategies for handling bullying

The purpose of this exploratory-descriptive study was to examine how guidance counsellors in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador would handle a specific verbal-relational bullying incident. Also of interest was guidance counsellor involvement and training in bullying programmes and Positive Behaviour Supports. Data for this study was collected using the Handling Bullying Questionnaire (Bauman, Rigby, & Hoppa, 2008). Results suggested that guidance counsellors tended to take on various responsibilities in addressing verbal-relational bullying (e.g. work with victims and bullies, disciplinary) and tended to enlist the support of other adults. It is argued that guidance counsellors assume important roles in addressing school bullying and that training in this area is critical for guidance counsellors. Study implications and future research directions are discussed.

Alcohol use among university students: Considering a positive deviance approach

Harmful alcohol consumption among university students continues to be a significant issue. This study examined whether variables identified in the positive deviance literature would predict responsible alcohol consumption among university students. Surveyed students were categorized into three groups: abstainers, responsible drinkers and binge drinkers. Multinomial logistic regression modelling was significant (χ2 = 274.49, degrees of freedom = 24, p < .001), with several variables predicting group membership. While the model classification accuracy rate (i.e. 71.2%) exceeded the proportional by chance accuracy rate (i.e. 38.4%), providing further support for the model, the model itself best predicted binge drinker membership over the other two groups.

Educational Psychologists’ Perspectives on Their Professional Practice in Newfoundland and Labrador

Educational psychology is in the midst of examination and potential change in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Unfortunately, there has been a paucity of published empirical research investigating educational psychology in the province. The current study surveyed educational psychologists from the four English districts in Newfoundland and Labrador to investigate areas such as current and preferred work activities, typical assessment and counselling practices, and psychological test access and perceived test usefulness. Results highlighted a range of current and preferred work activities, with psychoeducational assessment as the most time consuming responsibility. Although some findings varied between school districts, participants overall reported preferring increased amounts of time to devote to areas such as prevention, counselling, and research. Implications for training, future research, and practice are discussed. La psychopédagogie est présentement sous examen et des changements pourraient être apportés à cette discipline dans la province de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador. Malheureusement, il y avait une pénurie de publications en matière de recherche empirique sur la psychologie de l’éducation dans la province. Cette étude a interrogé des psychologues scolaires des quatre districts anglophones de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador pour investiguer des sujets comme: les activités de travail actuelles et préférées, les pratiques typiques d’évaluation et de counselling, ainsi que l’accès aux tests psychologiques et la perception de l’utilité de ces tests. Les résultats ont fait ressortir un éventail d’activités de travail actuelles et d’activités de travail préférées; ils ont aussi démontré que les évaluations psychopédagogiques sont les plus chronovores. Bien qu’on ait observé quelques variations des résultats entre les districts scolaires, en général les participants ont rapporté préférer avoir plus de temps à consacrer aux secteurs comme la prévention, le counselling et la recherche. Des discussions en cours portent sur les répercussions de cette étude sur la formation, les futures recherches et la pratique.

Treatment outcome in psychiatric inpatients: the discriminative value of self-esteem.

Self-esteem has been identified as an important clinical variable within various psychological and psychiatric conditions. Surprisingly, its prognostic and discriminative value in predicting treatment outcome has been understudied. Objective: The current study aims to assess, in an acute psychiatric setting, the comparative role of self-esteem in predicting treatment outcome in depression, anxiety, and global symptom severity, while controlling for socio-demographic variables, pre-treatment symptom severity, and personality pathology. Design: Treatment outcome was assessed with pre- and post-treatment measures. Method: A heterogeneous convenience sample of 63 psychiatric inpatients completed upon admission and discharge self-report measures of depression, anxiety, global symptom severity, and self-esteem. Results: A significant one-way repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) followed up by analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed significant reductions in depression (η2 = .72), anxiety (η2 = .55), and overall psychological distress (η2 = .60). Multiple regression analyses suggested that self-esteem was a significant predictor of short-term outcome in depression but not for anxiety or overall severity of psychiatric symptoms. The regression model predicting depression outcome explained 32% of the variance with only pre-treatment self-esteem contributing significantly to the prediction. Conclusions: The current study lends support to the importance of self-esteem as a pre-treatment patient variable predictive of psychiatric inpatient treatment outcome in relation with depressive symptomatology. Generalization to patient groups with specific diagnoses is limited due to the heterogeneous nature of the population sampled and the treatments provided. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

Educational and School Psychology in Newfoundland and Labrador A 15-Year Follow-Up

Educational psychology is an important profession in the Newfoundland and Labrador school system. Educational psychologists have core training in the areas of education and psychology and offer a variety of services to students, families, and teachers in the school system. This article builds on Martin’s reflections by exploring the evolution of the profession over the past 15 years. The history of professional training and education within the province is highlighted along with regulatory considerations for psychology registration. The implementation of a standard of practice for the role of the educational psychologist in the school system is discussed along with practice considerations for the role. Finally, recommendations and future considerations are explored.

Establishing an online HIV peer helping programme: A review of process challenges and lessons learned

Background: Online peer support can be a valuable approach to helping people living with HIV, especially in regions with large rural populations and relatively centralised HIV services. Design: This paper focuses on a community -university partnership aimed at developing an online peer support programme in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Setting: Team members included community representatives and people living with HIV from the AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador (ACNL) as well as academic researchers. Objectives: Goals and objectives of the programme included reaching disconnected people living with HIV, reducing isolation among people living with HIV and connecting people living with HIV with support, education and professional resources. Method and Results: Through a process orientated and iterative decision-making approach, the team established the website, peer helping training curriculum, a recruitment plan as well as other core considerations. The current paper emphasises several process challenges and lessons learned from the development stage of the online support programme. Conclusion: It is hoped that this information will assist others in avoiding or overcoming similar process challenges arising during such work.