Karin Jordan

Session Two Outcome of the Formula First Session Task in Problem- and Solution-Focused Approaches.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether there is a difference in treatment effects in single session process between two brief family therapy approaches: (a) the problem-focused approach, and (b) the solution-focused approach. The process of problem identification (starting with the Formula First Session Task) through the process of goal specification is evaluated using three self-report measures and one observational measure. A multivariate analysis of variance was the choice of data analysis. Findings indicate a significant difference between the two approaches when dealing with clients perceived problem improvement, outcome expectancy, session depth, session smoothness, and session positivity. Additional findings indicate no significant differences between the two approaches when dealing with personal attachment, goal identification, problem improvement optimism, clients ability to improve, and session arousal.

Counselors Helping Service Veterans Re-Enter Their Couple Relationship After Combat and Military Services: A Comprehensive Overview

This article provides an overview of the unique challenges combat service veterans deployed in Afghanistan and/or Iraq are dealing with today, and how these challenges can impact veterans’ reintegration into civilian life. Focus is also given to attachment; more specifically how the attachment bond between the combat service veteran and his or her spouse/partner often is impacted by the trauma of combat re-deployment/deployment/separation. The importance of couple counseling using Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) is addressed, as is a careful assessment at the onset of counseling.

Teaching Ethics to Graduate Students: A Course Model

Marriage and family counselors (MFCs) are challenged daily with ethical and legal dilemmas. Faculty members in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)—accredited programs have some guidance as to what knowledge base MFC students need to acquire; however, the how-to is left up to each faculty member. This article discusses the curriculum of an ethics course for MFC students, focusing on (a) course objectives and course schedule, (b) active learning techniques in the classroom, (c) homework assignments (including the use of technology), and (d) midterm and final exams. The use of active teaching techniques is encouraged for meeting today’s learning styles.

What We Learned from the 9/11 First Anniversary.

This article discusses how counselors can assist individuals, families, and communities to prepare and deal effectively with first-year anniversaries of traumatic events. These anniversaries represent psychological importance to traumatic events, so the effects need to be addressed preventively, not reactively. Counselors can become important resources in helping individuals, families, and communities in this process. This article provides specific guidelines in what needs to be considered when dealing with survivors, victims, their families and friends, communities, and the country at large to prepare and deal more effectively with the one-year anniversary of traumatic events that influence not just a community but the whole nation. More specifically, the article emphasizes five areas for counselors to consider: (a) expected anniversary reactions, (b) education that can help prepare for the one-year anniversary, (c) mental health services, (d) how counselors can help schools with the one-year anniversary, and (e) what counselors should remember.

Providing Crisis Counseling to New Yorkers after the Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center

This article provides an overview of two crisis intervention techniques used by a marriage and family counselor who served as a crisis counselor in New York City after the September 11th terrorist attack. The intervention techniques described are Critical Incident Stress Debriefing and one-on-one crisis counseling. An overview of both techniques as well as the actual application are described.

Programmed Writing and Therapy with Conflictual Couples

This paper illustrates how programmed writing lessons from a workbook can be used in conjunction with traditional talk psychotherapy. Each couple in this series was involved in inordinate arguing and frequent fighting. Benefits gained from the combination of programmed writing lessons and traditional talk therapy were enumerated.

Family Preservation through Home-Based Family Therapy: An Overview

Abstract This article provides an overview of the history and development of home-based family therapy. It addresses how home-based family therapy operates and what the family therapists responsibilities and challenges are. A case example demonstrates how home-based family therapy works.

Revising the Ethics Code of the IAMFC-A Training Exercise for Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education Students.

Mental health professionals’ knowledge of their ethics code is essential in an era in which consumerism has brought about an increased awareness of consumer rights. Ethics codes are designed to protect the public and the profession. Trainees in the mental health profession need to learn and become familiar with their ethics code during their graduate training. Reviewing and revising the ethics code of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC) is one way to provide that training. This article describes the revision proposal process undertaken by students in the Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education (CPCE) program at the University of Colorado at Denver.

Monitoring Our Own: Suggested Additions to the IAMFC Code of Ethics.

Ethical standards for instructors of marriage and family counselors have not been well defined in the International Association for Marriage and Family Counselors code of ethics. The inherent power differential in an instructor-student relationship demands an accountability structure that is currently rare to nonexistent. This article describes some abuses of this power and calls for the creation of a code of ethics for marriage and family counselor educators. There is an understandable dearth of statistics regarding this matter; however, if the experiences of this author are an indicator, then the problem is significant and needs to be addressed far and wide.