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This article presents three models of counseling exceptional students from a systems perspective. The authors present their definition of counseling, the goals of counseling, and the counseling relationship from a systems perspective. Each model is described, including assessment and intervention techniques appropriate for working with children, adolescents, and their families when giftedness and learning disabilities and other disabilities are part of the context. The authors discuss implications for school counselors and provide several cases as examples.

Describes the experiences of six marriage and family therapy (MFT) interns who worked with 27 families in their homes. A model of the interns' transition from clinic-based to home-based therapy is discussed and applied to working with Head Start families. The framework is expanded to conceptualizing larger systems and community-based interventions. Recommendations for family therapists in private practice and agency settings are made. (Author/MKA)

Summarizes the experience of a two-year project to promote partnerships between 12 graduate Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) training programs and their 12 local Head Start partners. Results reflect the rich experiences of MFT faculty, supervisors, interns, and Head Start staff. Recommendations are made to improve collaboration between MFTs and community-based agencies such as Head Start. (Author/MKA)

Emotionally Focused Family Therapy provides a framework for understanding children's behaviors in terms of attachment needs of comfort and support. However, when working with young children, play therapy is often developmentally preferred over 'talk therapy.' By integrating play therapy techniques within an Emotionally Focused Family Therapy theoretical framework, therapists can help parents understand and meet their child's needs for affection and comfort. This article will discuss how play therapy techniques can be integrated with an Emotionally Focused Family Therapy theoretical framework for work with young children and their families.

Abstract Background Adhesion of platelets onto immobilized fibrinogen is of importance in initiation and development of thrombosis. According to a recent increase in evidence of a multiple biological property of antithrombin, we evaluated the influence of antithrombin on platelet adhesion onto immobilized fibrinogen using an in-vitro flow system. Methods Platelets in anticoagulated whole blood (29 healthy blood donors) were labelled with fluorescence dye and perfused through a rectangular flow chamber (shear rates of 13 s-1 to 1500 s-1). Platelet adhesion onto fibrinogen-coated slips was assessed using a fluorescence laser-scan microscope and compared to the plasma antithrombin activity. Additionally the effect of supraphysiological AT supplementation on platelets adhesion rate was evaluated. Results Within a first minute of perfusion, an inverse correlation between platelet adhesion and plasma antithrombin were observed at 13 s-1 and 50 s-1 (r = -0.48 and r = -0.7, p < 0.05, respectively). Significant differences in platelet adhesion related to low (92 ± 3.3%) and high (117 ± 4.1%) antithrombin activity (1786 ± 516 U vs. 823 ± 331 U, p < 0.05) at low flow rate (13 s-1, within first minute) have been found. An in-vitro supplementation of whole blood with antithrombin increased the antithrombin activity up to 280% and platelet adhesion rate reached about 65% related to the adhesion rate in a non-supplemented blood (1.25 ± 0.17 vs. 1.95 ± 0.4 p = 0.008, respectively). Conclusion It appears that antithrombin in a low flow system suppresses platelet adhesion onto immobilized fibrinogen independently from its antithrombin activity. A supraphysiological substitution of blood with antithrombin significantly reduces platelet adhesion rate. This inhibitory effect might be of clinical relevance.

We examined the trends of quantitative research over the past 10 years in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (JMFT). Specifically, within the JMFT, we investigated the types and trends of research design and statistical analysis within the quantitative research that was published in JMFT from 2005 to 2014. We found that while the amount of peer-reviewed articles have increased over time, the percentage of quantitative research has remained constant. We discussed the types and trends of statistical analysis and the implications for clinical work and training programs in the field of marriage and family therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the experiences of seven diverse therapists in a supervision course as they wrestled with the real-world application of multicultural supervision. Existing literature on multicultural supervision does not address the difficulties that arise in addressing multicultural issues in the context of the supervision relationship. The experiences of six supervisory candidates and one mentoring supervisor in addressing multicultural issues in supervision are explored. Guidelines for conversations regarding multicultural issues are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to develop an outcome measure evaluating the effectiveness of the Adults and Children Together (ACT) Against Violence training program by collecting pre-, post-program, and follow-up data. A two-part questionnaire was administered to 37 child care providers in a pre- and post-test control group design. Changes in the knowledge and skill level of participants were analyzed. Results of the first part of the questionnaire showed that time and group status made a difference in the average total scores. In the second part of the questionnaire, time had a significant effect but group did not. Thus, the first part may be more promising to detect participants' skill and knowledge gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is scant literature in couples and family therapy about the impact of culture in couple therapy. This paper reviews current literature in counseling, multicultural counseling, family therapy, and gender and cultural studies to provide an overview of the significant and pertinent issues related to culture and the couple therapy setting. The paper reviews several aspects of culture including race and ethnicity, gender, social class, and sexual orientation. While by no means a complete review of these issues as they relate to couple therapy, this paper attempts to provide an opening to future dialogue and discourse in this area of clinical interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adhesion of platelets onto immobilized fibrinogen is of importance in initiation and development of thrombosis. According to a recent increase in evidence of a multiple biological property of antithrombin, we evaluated the influence of antithrombin on platelet adhesion onto immobilized fibrinogen using an in-vitro flow system. Methods: Platelets in anticoagulated whole blood (29 healthy blood donors) were labelled with fluorescence dye and perfused through a rectangular flow chamber (shear rates of 13 s-1 to 1500 s-1). Platelet adhesion onto fibrinogen-coated slips was assessed using a fluorescence laser-scan microscope and compared to the plasma antithrombin activity. Additionally the effect of supraphysiological AT supplementation on platelets adhesion rate was evaluated. Results: Within a first minute of perfusion, an inverse correlation between platelet adhesion and plasma antithrombin were observed at 13 s-1 and 50 s-1 (r = -0.48 and r = -0.7, p < 0.05, respectively). Significant differences in platelet adhesion related to low (92 ± 3.3%) and high (117 ± 4.1%) antithrombin activity (1786 ± 516 U vs. 823 ± 331 U, p < 0.05) at low flow rate (13 s-1, within first minute) have been found. An in-vitro supplementation of whole blood with antithrombin increased the antithrombin activity up to 280% and platelet adhesion rate reached about 65% related to the adhesion rate in a non-supplemented blood (1.25 ± 0.17 vs. 1.95 ± 0.4 p = 0.008, respectively). Conclusion: It appears that antithrombin in a low flow system suppresses platelet adhesion onto immobilized fibrinogen independently from its antithrombin activity. A supraphysiological substitution of blood with antithrombin significantly reduces platelet adhesion rate. This inhibitory effect might be of clinical relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on counseling the gifted comes mainly from an individual- and pathology-based approach with roots in clinical psychology. This study investigated the application of a systemic and resource-based approach with roots in a postmodern orientation to counseling for gifted families. Two sets of participants were interviewed: three counselors and three families who had recently completed counseling using a postmodern approach. A multiple case study was conducted, using constant comparison of the transcripts of interviews to develop themes describing the experience of participants in counseling. Readings of the transcripts produced categories of themes related to roles and goals of counseling. The themes indicated that counselors saw a process of negotiating expectations, while client family members felt that they received the type of service they expected when they began counseling. The findings suggest that clinicians may want to be overt in their theoretical orientation with clients and be aware of how they are meeting or not meeting the clients' expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family therapy has been recommended as a counseling modality for gifted adolescents and their families. The purpose of this article is to propose and discuss 3 guiding questions that can help counselors conceptualize and differentiate family therapy with gifted and talented adolescents: (1) What is the problem? (2) Who is in the room? and (3) What approach to family therapy will be most effective? For each question, we first summarize relevant family therapy theory and research. Then, we provide recommendations based on a small, but growing literature on counseling with families of gifted and talented youth plus our own clinical experience as family therapists working with families of gifted and talented adolescents. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this literature for clinical practice, counselor training, parents of gifted adolescents, and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents findings from an exploratory qualitative study, which used individual interviews and a focus group to investigate how women in Black-White interracial heterosexual partner relationships retrospectively described their racial identity development and the influence of gender identity development on this process. Social constructionist, feminist, and racial identity development theories guided the grounded theory methodology. Participants described both constraining and empowering racial identities. Salient constraining racial identities were being a "sell-out" or "traitor," being a "rule-breaker," having a masked reference group orientation, needing to prove reference group orientation, and having minority family status. Empowering racial identities included refusing to take sides, being "not racial," being neutral, identifying by respect rather than by race, having a multiple reference group orientation, being strong, and being an educator and mediator. Gender identity themes of strength and resiliency emerged as significant influences in racial identity development. Suggested questions for use within a narrative therapy context provide a clinical application of findings from the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents preliminary findings evaluating the relationship between marital cohesion, pregnancy outcome, and gender and the level of stress and depression experienced by individuals pursuing infertility treatment. Women exhibited more stress and depression than men prior to treatment did, yet the level of change (pre-post) in depression and stress after treatment did not differ by gender. Pregnancy outcome helped predict post-treatment depression in women and men, and post-treatment stress for women. Clinical suggestions for pre- and post-cycle consultations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared the clinical rating scales from the Circumplex Model (CCRS), the McMaster Model of Family Functioning (MCRS) and the Family Health Scales (FHS). A central purpose was to investigate whether observational rating scales designed to measure family functioning can also be used to assess couple functioning. One hundred and sixty-six drug abusing women, receiving primary drug treatment in two metropolitan drug agencies in the southwest of the US, and their partners were videotaped while engaged in three couple tasks prior to receiving any treatment. The main findings indicated that all three rating scales have: (1) sufficient interrater reliability; (2) good construct validity, as reflected in factor analyses; and (3) very good convergent validity. However, there was some concern about whether these scales are as discriminating when measuring couples as they are when assessing families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the question of how parents grieve the loss of a child through miscarriage and stillbirth. Stress and grief as relevant variables in studies of perinatal loss; Gender difference in the reactions to perinatal loss; Use of Hill's ABC-X family crisis model; Bonding of fathers and mothers with the baby/fetus during early pregnancy.

Discusses apprenticeship programs and the impact of handicraft training of young people in Germany. Advantages of apprenticeship programs; Skill categories in handicrafts trade; Evaluation of the program.

This study examined factors that influence family therapists to include children in or exclude them from therapy sessions. We hypothesized that therapist comfort, child problem type (internalizing vs. externalizing), family composition (one- vs. two-parent families), and presenting problem (child-oriented problem vs. adult-oriented problem) affect therapists' inclusion of children. A survey of clinical members of AAMFT found that half of the therapists excluded children on the basis of their comfort and that those who felt more comfortable were more likely to include children in sessions. Therapists included children more frequently in cases of an internalizing vs. an externalizing child, more with single-parent than two-parent families, and more often when the presenting problem focused on a child than on an adult. Implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the author's personal narrative of his childhood to illustrate how messages and meanings of family stories from the past can be transferred into one's current life and future plans. The author says that as he sits in his university office ready to tell people this story, he looks up over his computer screen and notice three pictures. Each represents something important from his past that makes up a meaningful part of who he is in the present, personally as well as professionally. Straight above the computer, his eye meets a larger collage made of straw and colored cloth. It shows, two frightened children holding each other tight while facing an old woman who leans on a crooked stick and stares at the children wickedly. A pigeon is flying over the house and an owl watches from a nearby tree. In front of the house, a boy and a girl look at the entrance in fearful excitement. Rediscovering the magic of the past can empower people in the present and make them hopeful for the future. Counseling and therapy are wonderful tools and contexts to recreate and translate inner truths of clients in ways that give them more control over their lives.

Family counselors have viewed the use of standardized family assessment instruments with considerable ambivalence. This article briefly describes this ambivalence and argues that the use of self-report questionnaires and observational rating scales can enhance a practitioner's clinical assessment in three ways. First, it complements the practitioner's initial assessment; second, it helps in the development of treatment goats; and third, it provides information for evaluating treatment effectiveness. Furthermore, the author contends that the use of assessment instruments can create a collaborative working relationship between client and family counselor. The clinical report and its instruments are discussed, and a case example illustrates the application of the clinical report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares the Clinical Rating Scale (CRS) and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES III), derived from the Circumplex Model used in family assessment. The Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems is an attempt to bridge family theory, research, and practice. Two central dimensions of family behavior are integrated in the model: family cohesion and family adaptability. The two dimensions with their four levels are arranged into the two-dimensional Circumplex Model, which yields 16 possible combinations of cohesion and adaptability. The four types in the center of the model are called "balanced" because they are hypothesized to be most viable for healthy family functioning. The four extremes are generally seen as most problematic in terms of family functioning. Until recently, practitioners primarily used self-report questionnaires when they relied on assessment instruments at all. The results of the present study suggest that the Clinical Rating Scale (CRS) is a very useful observational instrument that is derived from a theoretical model (Circumplex Model) and that has excellent reliability and validity.

Mit der Schmackhaftigkeit der Linsen steht und fällt der Wohlgeschmack der württembergischen Leib‐ und Magenspeise „Linsen mit Spätzle und Saitewürst". Gleichwohl wie zuverlässig Württembergs Metzger saftige und schmackhafte Saitewürst in Därme füllen und so meisterhaft die Liebhaber der Spätzle den Teig wirken, so entscheidend ist bei der Linsenauswahl der Landwirt des Vertrauens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]