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Peer volunteers provide valuable support to foster parents. However, there has been limited research on what they consider to be valuable preparation for the role. In the present study, they were asked: “What is essential training for peer support volunteers to receive before starting?”. Fifteen participants grouped 41 different responses that were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analyses. The resulting concepts included: (a) self-care, (b) effective use of self, (c) policies and procedures, (d) finding information and (e) how to address common challenges.

The purpose of the study was to describe the challenges of working in the community from the perspective of staff hired locally by culturally-based Aboriginal organizations in high-poverty urban neighborhoods. Locally staffed and culturally based Aboriginal family service agencies operating communities with high levels of poverty have emerged in large cities. Efforts of these agencies are consistent with community economic development practice aiming to improve local quality of life and skill development and promote economic capacity. There has been little research to date exploring the challenges faced by staff working in these organizations. Participants were residents of the local geographic community and staff of one of three Aboriginal family services agencies in a large Canadian city. They were asked “What are the challenges of working in your own community?” and their responses were analyzed using concept mapping methodology. Twelve concepts emerged from the analysis including: lack of privacy, being personally affected outside of work, keeping healthy boundaries, and knowing how to help. In addition participants described the high local need and meeting the range of needs given limited funding and influence of government on operations. As well, participants identified dealing with broader structural issues, such as substance abuse and gang problems. The results indicate that staff in Aboriginal family services agencies in high poverty communities experience living in the same community as service recipients, management of personal relationships with them, diversity of need within their service area, as well as potential for traumatic experiences as particularly challenging. Staff preparation, training and support for these issues are important for funders and administrators to attend to.Keywords: community development; stress and burnout; Aboriginal; human services

Aboriginal children are overrepresented in foster care and more Aboriginal foster parents are needed. A randomized group of licensed First Nations, Metis and Inuit foster parents in a Canadian jurisdiction were asked about their spiritual needs to foster. In response to the question “what do you need spiritually to foster?” there were 55 unique responses that were grouped by participants into five concepts including: religion, practice, integration, sharing and contentment. These results were compared and contrasted with the existing fostering literature.Keywords: Aboriginal; foster care; Canada; spirituality

Demands associated with foster parenting are substantial and support is crucial. Peer support is a form of support where foster parents connect formally with other foster parents with experience who can provide knowledge, emotional and practical help. The purpose of the present study was to identify what the needs are of foster parents in that peer support role from the views of peer support volunteers themselves. Interviews were conducted with 14 foster parent peer mentors staffing a telephone consultation service for foster parents across a large geographic area. Each was asked: what do you need to be a good peer support volunteer? Results were analyzed using group concept mapping and five concepts emerged, including: Kindness, Self-care, Good People Skills, Fostering Experience, and Informed and Knowledgeable. Results are compared and contrasted with peer support literature.

The purpose of the study was to identify barriers to accessing mental health services by migrant youth in a middle-sized central Canadian city. We asked participants, “What would stop you from talking to someone about mental health stress?”. We interviewed 30 youth aged 16 to 22 who migrated from 10 different countries and lived in Canada for an average of 29 months. The data was analyzed using group concept mapping. The participants identified five concepts: fear of being misunderstood or ignored, desire for confidentiality, lack of trust and understanding, talking about it as not appropriate, and fear of the disclosure process. We compare these results with the literature.

Professionals in the field of family violence participated in telephone interviews that included the question: “How would you address content with Aboriginal men in couple counseling who use abusiv...

The journey following migration for adolescent youth can consist of psychosocial and sociocultural difficulties with acculturating and integrating into the new host society. The family unit, however, has been identified to be a source of strength and wellbeing for youth during the integration process. This study explores factors that are suggested to make the home environment more supportive after migration. Newcomer youth between 15 and 18 years of age within a medium-sized Canadian city, living in Canada for no more than 2 years were interviewed in a group setting. Mixed methods were utilized and collected data was analyzed using concept mapping. Participants stated wanting more positive feedback from and increased communication with parents, in addition to having a home that is more open and welcoming to friends. The needs of youth can be sourced in the effects of the migrant journey and acculturation process. By improving the degrees of understanding, warmth, communication and cultural integration in the home, youth and their families can develop a greater sense of cohesion which can assist with supporting their migrant experience. Implications for practitioners working with newcomer youth and their families are provided, in addition to research and policy-related implications.

The purpose of this study was to identify services that caregivers of youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder believe would help youth with FASD succeed in school. Sixteen caregivers participated in telephone interviews that included the question: “What services would help youth be successful in school?” A concept mapping technique was employed, in which responses were grouped together by participants and the grouping data was analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Six concepts emerged from the question about services, including the following: (1) being heard by educators, (2) FASD-informed educators, (3) involvement in child’s education, (4) resources and accommodations, (5) supportive knowledge base, and (6) support and understanding at home. Concepts were compared to the existing literature.

There is a small, methodologically diverse body of research indicating that approximately 20% of families provide disproportionate amounts of foster caregiving, place fewer restrictions on characteristics of children they are willing to foster and actually do foster, and provide caregiving environments as good as or better than those provided by other foster families. Cherry and Orme (2013) conceptualized this phenomenon in terms of the Pareto Principle , also known as the 80-20 rule or the Vital Few , and they refer to these 20% of families as the Vital Few and the remaining 80% as the Useful Many . This review will examine and synthesize the available research on Vital Few foster families and explore next steps in the development of this body of research.

Caregivers of youth with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder participated in telephone interviews about their hopes for their youths as adults. Interviews with 16 birth, adoptive, and foster parents, as well as with aunts and grandparents of children over the age of 10 years, were conducted. A total of 54 unique responses were made to the question “What do you want for your child as an adult?”. Participants independently grouped all responses into themes. The groupings were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis using the concept system and resulted in four concepts. The concepts included the following: (a) education and employment, (b) positive relationships, (c) community integration, and (d) support services. The main differences between the participants’ experiences and the literature centered on different emphases on feelings relative to skills and on strengths relative to deficits.

The purpose of this study was to identify caregivers’ needs in helping youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) succeed in school. Sixteen caregivers raising a youth with FASD participated in telephone interviews that included the question: “What do caregivers need to help youth be successful in school?”. Participants then sorted responses to these questions into piles they believed to be a conceptual fit with one another, and the data was analyzed using multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Five concepts emerged: (1) Working to meet the needs of the individual, (2) educational accommodations, (3) FASD-literate schools, (4) resources, and (5) therapeutic supports. These concepts were compared and contrasted with the existing literature.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an essential enzyme that can be targeted by organophosphorus (OP) compounds, including nerve agents. Following exposure to OPs, AChE becomes phosphylated (inhibited) and undergoes a subsequent aging process where the OP-AChE adduct is dealkylated. The aged AChE is unable to hydrolyze acetylcholine, resulting in accumulation of the neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS) and elsewhere. Current therapeutics are only capable of reactivating inhibited AChE. There are no known therapeutic agents to reverse the aging process or treat aged AChE. Quinone methides (QMs) have been shown to alkylate phosphates under physiological conditions. In this study, a small library of novel quinone methide precursors (QMPs) has been synthesized and examined as potential alkylating agents against model nucleophiles, including a model phosphonate. Computational studies have been performed to evaluate the affinity of QMPs for the aged AChE active site, and preliminary testing with electric eel AChE has been performed.

[Image: see text] The orexin system, which consists of the two G protein-coupled receptors OX(1) and OX(2), activated by the neuropeptides OX-A and OX-B, is firmly established as a key regulator of behavioral arousal, sleep, and wakefulness and has been an area of intense research effort over the past two decades. X-ray structures of the receptors in complex with 10 new antagonist ligands from diverse chemotypes are presented, which complement the existing structural information for the system and highlight the critical importance of lipophilic hotspots and water molecules for these peptidergic GPCR targets. Learnings from the structural information regarding the utility of pharmacophore models and how selectivity between OX(1) and OX(2) can be achieved are discussed.

In this comparative study, students from inclusive schools in Canada and Saudi Arabia shared their beliefs about factors associated with learning difficulties. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with 36 Canadian and 62 Saudi elementary students in Grades 5 and 6. Thematic analysis uncovered six themes: lack of knowledge, achievement or academic skills; cognitive and social-emotional barriers; lack of attention and/or motivation and behavioural issues; home and parental concerns; teacher-related issues; and physical/sensory disabilities and innate conditions. Although participants from both countries had a general understanding of the factors associated with learning difficulties, Canadian students showed a deeper understanding of cognitive and social-emotional factors associated with learning difficulties. Educational and research implications are discussed.

Resource workers are child welfare workers who work closely with foster parents following placement of a child placed in care. One of the challenges they experience is reluctance to their involvement. Resource workers from a large metropolitan area were asked: “What do you do when foster parents are reluctant about your involvement?” Responses to this question were analyzed with multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Nine concepts resulted, including: Recognize Problems, Build Trust, Go the Extra, Be Positive, Broaden their Network, Find Commonalities, Set Limits, Understand Them, and Reinforce Accountability. These concepts were compared and contrasted with the available literature.

The purpose of the study was to identify the positive aspects and strengths experienced by newcomer youth within their home environments. Youth between the ages of 15 and 18 years old who immigrated within the previous 2 years and were living in a medium-sized Canadian city were interviewed. Group interviews were conducted with participants at a local community centre. Analysis of the data was completed using concept mapping (Trochim, 1989) which included multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Similar to the literature, results indicated that newcomer youth felt secure and experienced positive familial connections. Youth viewed their families as a source of support, while also acknowledging their need for autonomy. Differences between study results and the literature were found in relation to family rules and integration with Canadian culture. Implications of the findings are discussed within a counseling framework for mental health practitioners to better understand the protective resources of resilience available to newcomer youth.

Syringomycin E (SRE) is a cyclic lipodepsinonapeptide with potent antifungal activity and is produced by certain strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. In this study, its potential as an organic-compatible agrofungicide and vegetable seed treatment against the soilborne pathogen Pythium ultimum var. ultimum was examined. A variant of P. syringae pv. syringae strain B301D with enhanced SRE-producing capabilities was isolated and grown in a bioreactor with SRE yields averaging 50 mg/l in 40 h. SRE was extracted and purified through a large-scale chromatography system using organic-compatible processes and reagents. The minimum concentrations of the purified product required to inhibit 50 and 90% of P. ultimum oospore germination were determined as 31.3 and 250 μg/ml, respectively. Drench treatment of cucumber seeds in P. ultimum-infested potting medium (500 oospores/g) with 50 μg/ml SRE or water with no SRE resulted in 90.2 ± 4.5% and 65.7 ± 4.6% germination rates, respectively. Seed coating with 0.03% (w/w) SRE allowed 65.7 ± 4.6% seedlings to germinate on naturally infested soil while 100.0 ± 0.0% of non-coated seeds were unable to germinate due to Pythium infection. Organic-compatible and scalably produced SRE is potentially a novel organic fungicide seed protectant.

Birth, foster and adoptive parents raising a child with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder know their children best and are well positioned to inform professionals how to help alcohol-affected children. Telephone interviews with 32 parents were conducted to explore strengths of caregivers raising a child with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and responses analyzed using concept mapping methodology. Four themes emerged from 74 unique responses: ‘change parenting strategy for different children’, ‘use non-verbal, sensory and physical strategies’, ‘stay patient and understanding’ and ‘locate and maintain external supports’. Results were compared and contrasted with the existing literature. Although many responses were consistent with the literature, strengths previously unreported by caregivers in the literature included cultural practices, communication, generalizability of skills, soothing music and use of a service dog.

An ideology is what is believed to be right. A worldview is what is believed to be true. Worldview is a lens through which self and reality are interpreted, including beliefs about what can be known and done. Personality is a way of being, with styles of feeling, thinking, and acting. These qualities relate to perceptions of human nature, social relationships, and relationship to the natural world. Each of these has implications for how counselors and psychotherapists view themselves, their roles, and their clients.

Compassion in counseling and psychotherapy communicates caring, engagement, and helpfulness. It also has potential emotional costs. Secondary traumatic stress has a rapid onset and includes symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. Vicarious traumatization develops over time and exposure to traumatic experiences presented by clients. Stress is the perceived demands of a situation that require more than the possessed resources to manage successfully. While the objective characteristics of the situation may be consistent, the experience of that situation varies considerably across individuals’ cognitive, emotional, physiological, and interpersonal processes. Burnout concerns the perceptions of stress held by the individual. While challenges are inevitable, there is also the potential for personal growth in the forms of compassion satisfaction, vicarious resilience, and thriving.

Counseling and psychotherapy in a diverse society necessitate awareness of social location. This chapter discusses the locations of class, race, and ethnicity. Class refers to standing and resources. Role and possessions also reflect class. Additionally, class is a judgment of status relative to others. Definitions of race refer to physical characteristics. In contrast, ethnicity is a social construction and matter of choice as well as lineage. Together, these social locations play a role in the dynamic interplay between therapists and their clients.

Reflective practice is exploring the taken-for-granted. It includes the identification and challenge of therapist assumptions and clinical interpretations. Reflective practice includes assumptions about reality is, how it relates to other knowledge, compares to an ideal, and forms a complete understanding of a particular phenomenon. Schon (The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Routledge, New York, NY, 1983) can be credited with the first use of the term. Reflective practice a set of techniques and a way of thinking about one’s practice. The concepts of hot spots, blind spots, and soft spots are areas for continued reflection, personal, and professional development.

Reflective practice is a means by which to improve consistency between espoused theories and theories-in-use. Theories-in-use are evidenced by behavior. Espoused theories refer to the theory that an actor believes to be operating from. All theories rest on assumptions. Development of critical consciousness requires an assessment of assumptions made by a theory relative to one’s personal values.

Counseling and psychotherapy in a diverse society necessitate awareness of social location. In this chapter, the topics include gender and sex, ability, and age. Gender is a social construction, while physical characteristics determine sex. Disabilities may indicate limitations in the environment or limitations possessed by an individual. The medical model of disability is prominent in psychology. Age may be defined physically, emotionally, and intellectually as well as subjectively. Together, these social locations play a role in the dynamic interplay between therapists and their clients.

Kimberle Crenshaw first wrote about intersectionality to theorize about how race, class, and gender interact and affect the ways that women of color experience oppression. Power is always present in relationships. It is important to recognize the power that therapists represent in the therapeutic relationship, in the context of their profession, agency, and community. Empowerment is to capitalize on the power that a client possesses to strengthen, expand, and apply it.

Without the therapist’s openness and responsivity to a client’s emotional experience, counseling and psychotherapy are mechanistic and without compassion. Countertransference is the automatic emotional reaction of a therapist toward a client that occurs within the therapeutic encounter. Cultural background, personal experiences, and socialization contribute to countertransference responses. Values, theories, as well as biases and prejudices, all play a role in the responses and affect the therapy.

Social privilege and disadvantage reflect the differential life chances for members of some groups relative to others. The social, economic, and political structures reinforce these advantages and disadvantages. Social norms are evidenced and sustained by perceptions and treatment of others. Counselors and psychotherapists may engage in activities outside of the therapeutic encounter that promotes access to local resources and community building through case networking, outreach, and advocacy. Group work that has a community-building purpose beyond the therapy itself can be one means by which to reduce isolation and increase social support. Social action is an umbrella category for a wide range of efforts for making community change. Social change efforts occur as a series of steps. The steps include preparation, organization, momentum building, as well as taking and sustaining action.

The purpose of this study was to explore and identify key themes related to a child’s experience of anger. The existing literature on children’s emotional experiences stems from adult perceptions and interpretations; this study was envisioned to investigate the experience of anger among children using their own words. Furthermore, this study was designed to illustrate a contextual perspective of children’s emotional knowledge, so that teachers, social workers, counsellors and other child mental health professionals may be able to relate and interpret children’s emotional experiences. Participants were male and female students, aged 8–9 years and in a regular grade three classroom within a community school. Through the use of semi-structured interview focus groups conducted over a span of 10 weeks, participants were invited to disclose their understandings of anger and how they experienced it. Results were analyzed via a content analysis that resulted in five themes. These themes consisted of understanding anger, origins of anger, consequences of anger, regulation and resolution of anger, and finally relations with others. Results and implications of the findings were discussed.

There is little research on the experiences of foster parent resource workers. Resource workers in foster care are the staff members who work most closely with foster parents. Foster parent resource workers in a large metropolitan area were asked the question: “What makes for a good relationship between a resource worker and a foster parent?”. The results were analyzed using concept mapping and resulted in eight concepts. Resource workers needed foster parents to follow through on expectations of their role through licensure and agency guidelines and agreements. They described the need for flexibility in their own role and actions. They focused described the need for common ground with foster parents, have respect for their knowledge and contributions, as well as to provide recognition and thanks. Resource workers needed to be attentive to foster parents, clear about their role and be good communicators. There was a great deal of overlap in the qualities of a good relationship from the perspectives of resource workers in the present study and the perspectives of foster parents as reflected in the existing literature. However, differences that appeared in the literature but not in the present study focused on the importance of resource provision by resource workers to foster parents, and in the results but not the literature focused on the evaluative aspects of resource workers’ role with foster parents.

An amphiphilic basket of type 1 (339 Å(3)) has been found to assemble into unilamellar vesicles in water. The assembled host encapsulates organophosphonates (OPs) (119-185 A(3)) with a particularly high affinity (Ka ∼ 10(5) M(-1)) toward dimethyl phenylphosphonate (185 Å(3)) whose size and shape resemble that of soman (186 Å(3)). Importantly, the entrapment of OPs prompts a phase transformation of vesicular 1 into nanoparticles or larger vesicles as a function of the shape of the host-guest complex.

Background Reasons underlying the social exclusion of children with intellectual or learning disabilities are not entirely understood. Although it is important to heed the voices of children on this issue, it is also important to consider the degree to which these ideas are informed. The present authors invited educators to evaluate the content of children's ideas on the causes of social exclusion. Method Educators thematically sorted and rated children's ideas on why classmates with intellectual or learning disabilities are socially excluded. Sorted data were analysed with multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. Results Six thematic clusters were identified differing in content to those provided by children in an earlier study. Educators generally rated children's ideas as showing somewhat uninformed ideas about why social exclusion occurs. Conclusions Educators indicated that children need to be better informed about intellectual and learning disabilities. Limitations and implications are discussed.

We used isothermal titration calorimetry to investigate the affinity of basket 1 (470 Å(3)) for trapping variously sized and shaped organophosphonates (OPs) 2-12 (137-244 Å(3)) in water at 298.0 K. The encapsulation is, in each case, driven by favorable entropy (TΔS° = 2.9 kcal/mol), while the enthalpic component stays small and in some cases endothermic (ΔH° ≥ -1 kcal/mol). Presumably, a desolvation of basket 1 and OP guests permits the inclusion complexation at room temperature via a "classical" hydrophobic effect. The amphiphilic basket 1 shows a greater affinity (ΔG° ≈ -5 to -6 kcal/mol), both experimentally and computationally, for encapsulating larger organophosphonates whose size and shape correspond to VX-type agents (289 A(3)). Importantly, baskets assemble into a vesicular nanomaterial (DH ≈ 350 nm) that in the presence of neutral OP compounds undergoes a phase transition to give nanoparticles (DH ≈ 250 nm). Upon the addition of an anionic guest to basket 1, however, there was no formation of nanoparticles and the vesicles grew into larger vesicles (DH ≈ 750 nm). The interconversion of the different nanostructures is reversible and, moreover, a function of the organophosphonate present in solution. On the basis of (1)H NMR spectroscopic data, we deduced that neutral guests insert deep into the basket's cavity to change its shape and thereby promote the conversion of vesicles into nanoparticles. On the contrary, the anionic guests reside at the northern portion of the host to slightly affect its shape and geometric properties, thereby resulting in the vesicles merely transforming into larger vesicles.

Foster parent resource workers are those staff members in foster care who have dedicated support and monitoring functions. Resource workers in a large metropolitan Canadian area were asked the question “What do you need to be a good resource worker?” A total of 68 participants generated responses and those responses were analyzed using the concept mapping method. The result was 7 concepts, including: good conflict management, understanding of family functioning, knowledge of policy and practice, voice in decisions, confidence, self awareness, and right kind of personality.

Interventions for family violence in Aboriginal communities should take a culture-based approach and focus on healing for the whole family. The purpose of this research was to identify risk issues from the perspective of service providers for couples counseling with Aboriginal clients following intimate partner violence. A total of 25 service providers participated in over the phone interviews concerning risk with Aboriginal men in couple counseling. Five concepts emerged including (a) collaterals, (b) commitment to change, (c) violence, (d) mind-set, and (e) mental health. It was concluded that culturally competent interventions should involve the entire community and have a restorative approach. The concepts were compared and contrasted with the available literature.

Professionals in the field of family violence participated in telephone interviews that included the question: “How would you address safety with Aboriginal men in couple counseling who use abusive behavior toward their intimate partner?” Four concepts emerged from the responses: personal responsibility, community involvement, mandatory reporting, and separate support for women. Results of the analysis were compared and contrasted with the available literature.

Aboriginal children are overrepresented in care. Aboriginal foster parents are underrepresented. There is a need to recruit and retain Aboriginal foster parents. In the study, Aboriginal foster parents were asked: “What do you need emotionally to be a good foster parent?” The results were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis, leading to eight concepts, including: awareness, contentment, self-assurance, appreciation, resolve, space, caring, and commitment to one's values. These results were compared with the existing foster parent literature. Similarities and differences were described.