Burden and mental health among caregivers of veterans with traumatic brain injury/polytrauma.
This study utilized cross-sectional data from the Family and Caregiver Experiences Study, a survey of 564 caregivers caring for veterans who served after September 11, 2001, survived TBI/polytrauma during service, and received inpatient rehabilitation care in a Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between caregiver stress (i.e., veterans’ neurobehavior al problems and intensity of care required), and caregiver well-being (i.e., caregiver burden and mental health). Analyses also examined how intrapersonal, family or social, and financial resou...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - February 15, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Griffin, Joan M.; Lee, Minji K.; Bangerter, Lauren R.; Van Houtven, Courtney Harold; Friedemann-S ánchez, Greta; Phelan, Sean M.; Carlson, Kathleen F.; Meis, Laura A. Source Type: research

Perspectives of veterans with mild traumatic brain injury on community reintegration: Making sense of unplanned separation from service.
For veterans separated from the military as a result of acquired mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), the transition from a military identity to a civilian one is complicated by health, cognitive, and psychosocial factors. We conducted in-depth interviews with 8 veterans with mTBI to understand how they perceived the experience of departure from the military, rehabilitation services provided at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Polytrauma Network Site, and reentry into civilian life. Two distinct patterns of thinking about community reintegration emerged. The first pattern was characterized by the perception of a need t...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - February 15, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Libin, Alexander V.; Schladen, Manon Maitland; Danford, Ellen; Cichon, Samantha; Bruner, Dwan; Scholten, Joel; Llorente, Maria; Zapata, Slavomir; Dromerick, Alexander W.; Blackman, Marc R.; Magruder, Kathryn M. Source Type: research

Military service member and veteran reintegration: A critical review and adapted ecological model.
Returning military service members and veterans (MSMVs) experience a wide range of stress-related disorders in addition to social and occupational difficulties when reintegrating to the community. Facilitating reintegration of MSMVs following deployment is a societal priority. With an objective of identifying challenges and facilitators for reintegration of MSMVs of the current war era, we critically review and identify gaps in the literature. We searched 8 electronic databases and identified 1,764 articles. Screening of abstracts and full-text review based on our inclusion/exclusion criteria, yielded 186 articles for revi...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - February 15, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Elnitsky, Christine A.; Blevins, Cara L.; Fisher, Michael P.; Magruder, Kathryn Source Type: research

Facilitating reintegration for military service personnel, veterans, and their families: An introduction to the special issue.
As service members return from active duty and, in some cases, exit the military, they face a process of reintegration (also referred to as community reintegration) as they seek to resume participation in their life roles as civilians. Facilitating this dynamic process of reintegration for service members, veterans, and their families —including outlining potential strategies for supporting this return to civilian life and its demands, roles, and responsibilities—is the focus of this Special Issue. Reintegration has been framed as a national priority (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015) and has been a point of e...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - February 15, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Elnitsky, Christine A.; Kilmer, Ryan P. Source Type: research

Treating adult survivors of childhood emotional abuse and neglect: A new framework.
This article provides the outline of a new framework for treating adult survivors of childhood emotional abuse and neglect. Component-based psychotherapy (CBP) is an evidence-informed model that bridges, synthesizes, and expands upon several existing schools, or theories, of treatment for adult survivors of traumatic stress. These include approaches to therapy that stem from more classic traditions in psychology, such as psychoanalysis, to more modern approaches including those informed by feminist thought. Moreover, CBP places particular emphasis on integration of key concepts from evidence-based treatment models develope...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - January 11, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Grossman, Frances K.; Spinazzola, Joseph; Zucker, Marla; Hopper, Elizabeth Source Type: research

Continuing our organizational mission: A new name for a new time.
This editorial explains the need for a new name for the American Orthopsychiatric Association (ORTHO). As ORTHO continues their work into the 21st century, they want to better reflect their global membership and focus, increasing the number of partnerships with individuals and organizations, and commitment to a just society. Therefore, ORTHO is changing their name to the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice. It is crucial to underscore that, although the organizations name is changing, the values and principles that inform their work will remain the same. The mission statement of the Global Alliance for...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - January 11, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Walker, Deborah Klein; Kilmer, Ryan P.; Armstrong, Mary I. Source Type: research

Stressful life events and perceived parental control in formerly homeless families: Impact on child-internalizing symptoms.
Research has neglected the potential role of perceived parental control as a moderator between stressful life events (SLEs) and child-internalizing symptoms. Using secondary data from the Early Risers “Skills for Success” Program (August, Realmuto, Hektner,& Bloomquist, 2001), this study examined the impact of perceived parental control on the association between SLEs and child internalizing symptoms in formerly homeless families. The sample consisted of 137 families with 223 children between 4 and 12 years of age (M = 8.1, SD = 2.3) living in supportive housing sites in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Participants completed m...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - December 19, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Utr žan, Damir S.; Piehler, Timothy F.; Gewirtz, Abigail H.; August, Gerald J. Source Type: research

Examining the effects of emotional and cognitive desensitization to community violence exposure in male adolescents of color.
The current study examined pathways in a model of desensitization, the Pathologic Adaptation Model, in adolescent males of color. Specifically, the current study examined depressive symptoms and deviant beliefs as mediators of the association between community violence exposure and subsequent violent behavior. The current study included 250 African-American (67%) and Latino (33%) male adolescents (T1 mean age = 15.32) from the Chicago Youth Development Study. Consistent with the Pathologic Adaptation Model, results demonstrated that depressive symptoms mediated the association between the quadratic violence exposure term i...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - December 15, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Gaylord-Harden, Noni K.; So, Suzanna; Bai, Grace J.; Tolan, Patrick H. Source Type: research

Strengths and weaknesses of the Young Black Men, Masculinities, and Mental Health (YBMen) Facebook project.
The Young Black Men, Masculinities, and Mental Health (YBMen) project is a Facebook-based intervention that provides mental health education and social support to young Black men. The YBMen project was created to better understand and address the pressures and needs of young Black men, particularly with regard to issues related to their conceptualization of masculinity and mental health. Black men from a 2-year liberal arts college in the Midwest (United States) enrolled in the YBMen pilot project. The purpose of this study is to report what participants in the YBMen pilot project liked and disliked about the intervention,...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - December 15, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Watkins, Daphne C.; Allen, Julie Ober; Goodwill, Janelle R.; Noel, Blake Source Type: research

What children think about their rights and their well-being: A cross-national comparison.
Recent years have brought a growing social and public commitment to the promotion of children ’s rights and children’s well-being around the world, and these have become important goals of all those striving to improve children’s lives. In spite of the intimate ideological connection between the concepts of children’s rights and children’s well-being, they have evolved separately b oth theoretically and empirically. In the current article, we present a study exploring the empirical association between these 2 concepts based on data from the International Survey on Children’s Well-Being. This unique survey explo...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - December 15, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Kosher, Hanita; Ben-Arieh, Asher Source Type: research

Adaptation and implementation of a trauma-focused cognitive behavioral intervention for girls in child welfare.
This study describes the process of adapting and implementing Girls Aspiring toward Independence (GAIN), a trauma-focused, group-based therapy adapted from Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) for girls in child welfare. Descriptive data were examined on 3 outcomes: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and social problem-solving skills among adolescent girls in the child welfare system. Qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized to inform the adaptation of the CBITS intervention, evaluate feasibility, treatment fidelity, and acceptability, and to test the effects of the inter...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - December 15, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Auslander, Wendy; McGinnis, Hollee; Tlapek, Sarah; Smith, Penny; Foster, April; Edmond, Tonya; Dunn, Jerry Source Type: research

Substance use and psychological distress is related with accommodation status among homeless immigrants.
Discussion groups with care resources practitioners and service users, were followed by in depth interviews combined with psychometric questionnaires. Results show clear interrelations between stressful life events, alcohol and drug use, psychological distress, and the duration of (current) homelessness. This information, and especially the contextualization which took place within the analytical framework of this project, may provide practitioners and policymakers with information that can help overcome barriers preventing homeless immigrants ’ full citizenship and social participation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 201...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - November 27, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Navarro-Lashayas, Miguel Angel; Eiroa-Orosa, Francisco Jose Source Type: research

State psychology licensure questions about mental illness and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
State licensing boards have obligations to protect the public from impaired professionals and to protect the rights of professionals applying for licensure. Competently functioning professionals who have or have had a mental health diagnosis or are being treated for a mental health condition should not be screened out, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A review of case law shows applicable precedents from discrimination among physicians and lawyers but not, to date, among psychologists. An examination of psychology licensure application materials from all 50 states and the District of Columbia reveale...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - November 16, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Boyd, Jennifer E.; Graunke, Bruce; Frese, Frederick J.; Jones, James T. R.; Adkins, Jennifer W.; Bassman, Ronald Source Type: research

Accomplishments of 77 VA mental health professionals with a lived experience of mental illness.
We present descriptive productivity metrics such as publications, presentations, funding, initiating and leading programs, training and supervising other clinicians, and performing community work outside VHA. Very few have asked for accommodations at work. Two thirds have not disclosed their lived experience to any of their patients. On average, respondents have disclosed to only 16% of their colleagues, and about one third have not disclosed to any of their colleagues. Qualitative data show that participants see their lived experience as an asset, whether or not they disclose it. They advocate being conscientious about se...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - November 16, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Boyd, Jennifer E.; Zeiss, Antonette; Reddy, Shilpa; Skinner, Stephanie Source Type: research

Provider lived experience and stigma.
This article reports on a continuing education needs assessment of 101 mental health providers, including evaluation of (a) knowledge about recovery-oriented care, (b) work engagement, (c) provider lived experience with mental health challenges, and (d) stigma, measured as disidentification. In this group of providers, recovery knowledge, lived experience, and work engagement were associated with less stigma toward clients. Recovery knowledge and work engagement were associated with less stigma toward other providers with lived experience, but having lived experience was not associated with stigma toward other providers wi...
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - November 16, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Harris, J. Irene; Leskela, Jennie; Hoffman-Konn, Lisa Source Type: research