Mark D. Newmeyer

A Standards-Based Inventory for Assessing Perceived Importance of and Confidence in Using ASGW's Core Group Work Skills.

Since the early 1980s, ASGW has promulgated standards for training group workers. Now, in their third revision, these standards establish core group work knowledge and skills to be included in all counselor training programs. To advance research on the relationship between mastery of ASGWs core knowledge and other group training and outcome phenomena, the ASGW Training Standards Committee developed the Core Group Work Skills Inventory—Importance and Confidence (CGWSI-IC) to assess an individuals valuing of and confidence in using the knowledge and skills embodied in the standards and assessed its psychometric properties.

Two Key Strategies for Teaching Prevention: Specialized Course and Infusion

Prevention is taught only rarely in counseling and counseling psychology curricula. Failure to teach it suggests that graduates may be less likely to conduct prevention. In this article, we describe two key strategies for addressing this problem, where prevention is being taught through (a) required courses, and (b) infusion within existing courses. Four training programs, two examples of each mode, are presented from the University of Cincinnati, Pennsylvania State University, Boston College, and the University of Minnesota. We describe the processes involved in developing and implementing these key pedagogical strategies that lead, we intend, to broadened application.

Path Analysis of the SCL-90-R: Exploring Use in Outpatient Assessment.

The Symptom Checklist–90–Revised (SCL-90-R) is a widely used assessment of mental health pathology; however, its factor structure has been called into question by numerous studies. This study assessed a community mental health outpatient sample (N = 336) with the SCL-90-R and analyzed the factor structure. The results indicated that the SCL-90-R measures one large factor, but the test items held together reasonably well when a nine-factor extraction was executed. A shorter 67-item variant, which was a by-product of this study, is hypothesized as having some key advantages over the original 90-item version. Implications for the assessment of the outpatient population with the SCL-90-R and its variants are discussed.

Spirituality and Religion as Mitigating Factors in Compassion Fatigue among Trauma Therapists in Romania

Emerging research suggests that, among trauma therapists, religiousness and spirituality may (a) buffer against compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout and (b) bolster spiritual growth and compassion satisfaction (Newmeyer et al., 2014). Despite findings that indicate spirituality and religion are sources of hope for people coping with painful circumstances (Pargament, 2013), research investigating the role of religion and spirituality as a protective factor (Weaver, Flannelly, Garbarino, Figley, & Flannelly, 2003) or as potentially promoting wellness for trauma therapists is limited. This study (N = 46) replicated a previous finding in which trauma therapists who endorsed a strong spiritual orientation reported increased compassion satisfaction when engaged in short-term (1–2 weeks), cross-cultural trauma work. Additionally, these short-term trauma therapists were compared to equally trained professionals working in the same context for 2 to 5 months and 6 months to 1 year (intermediate and long-term trauma therapists, respectively). The self-report instruments evidenced statistically significant increases in secondary trauma in both the intermediate and long-term trauma therapists when compared with short-term therapists. An unanticipated effect of the short-term trauma therapists’ presence was revealed: On pre- and post-measures the long-term trauma therapists reported statistically significant increases in resilience. This implies that the presence of the short-term therapists was beneficial to the long-term therapists. Thus, “respite care” for trauma therapists in long-term trauma settings might increase their capacity to thrive professionally.

Differences in Risk Scores among Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Offenders

Adult male sexual offenders are not classified easily as they are a heterogeneous population representing all professions, cultures, ethnicities, and ages. These differences make it difficult to categorize offenders into specific groups. This study examined differences between the type of adult sex offender (ie., intrafamilial, extrafamilial, biological) regarding risk scores as measured by the Static-99 and to determine if there were victim age differences for intrafamilial and extrafamilial offenders. The sample comprised 178 adult males and 14 adult females with ages ranging 18-68 years. Participants were selected from archival data of completed sex offender treatment records and specific psychological evaluations performed for individuals mandated for treatment as a condition of probation or parole in an outpatient treatment program in a southeastern state in the United States. Results indicated that intrafamilial offenders were found to have significantly lower risk factors when compared to extrafamilial offenders. No differences in risk were found between intrafamilial and biological offenders. The study also demonstrated that sexual offenders that were closer to the victim in terms of familial status were more likely to have younger victims than those who were non-related. Specifically, the average age for biological offenders was approximately four years younger than that of the extrafamilial offenders while intrafamilial offenders did not differ significantly from either group. Findings, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Screening for Developmental Needs in Pediatric Populations: An Assessment of Primary Care Physicians in Northeast Ohio

Screening for Developmental Needs in Pediatric Populations: An Assessment of Primary Care Physicians in Northeast Ohio