Suchergebnisse

A study of New Zealand clients' expectations of psychotherapy was conducted using the Psychotherapy Questionnaire (PQ). The PQ was administered to 141 New Zealand clients attending their first appointment with a clinical psychologist. The New Zealand clients' expectations were compared to previous research using a sample of USA clients who also completed the PQ prior to their first visit with a therapist. Those differences between the NZ and USA samples were consistent with previous research comparing the expectations of non-American samples. In general the NZ sample expected to be more passive in therapy than the USA sample and did not expect to have to discuss difficult or uncomfortable topics. Despite these differences there were suggestions that NZ and USA clients may have more similarities than differences with regard to their expectations about psychotherapy.

AbstractYoung people living in families impacted by familial mental illness are at increased risk of various negative mental and physical health outcomes. Prevention and early intervention programmes are useful in mitigating the risk of transgenerational transmission of mental illness. Therapeutic recreation camps constitute a novel approach to mental health early intervention and prevention for these young people, incorporating educational experiences within a peer‐based environment. This study assessed the outcomes of attending the Australian Kookaburra Kids Foundation camps for young people living in families impacted by familial mental illness. A pre‐post design was used with 237 young people between 8 and 18 years old. Mixed analyses of variance (ANOVAs) found significant improvements in young people's mental health knowledge and intentions to seek help using an anonymous telephone helpline after attending the programme. Results also revealed that males became more likely to seek help from regular contacts within their established networks after attending the programme. These findings contribute towards an increased understanding of the extant help‐seeking processes involved among an at‐risk population, with focused attention on subgroups who are less likely to seek help for their issues.

Background: Papua New Guinea is a developing country with limited resources for specialist mental health services. Little is known about the mental health and treatment services of Papua New Guinea. Aim: The aim of this study was to clarify the presenting mental health problems encountered by Papua New Guinean health workers and the common treatment approaches used. Methods: A total of 203 Papua New Guinean health workers completed a retrospective quantitative survey about their three most recent mental health patients. The survey asked about presenting symptomatology, diagnoses (including culture-bound diagnoses) and treatment approaches. Results: The major presenting mental health problems for males included schizophrenia, substance use disorder, sorcery and spirit possession. Depression was the most common diagnoses for women, followed by sorcery and somatisation. Over 65% of patients were prescribed psychotropic medication, over 50% received some form of psychological intervention and 28% were receiving traditional treatments. Conclusions: Somatic symptoms are common among both male and female Papua New Guineans; however, males may be more likely to present with psychotic symptoms and females with mood-related problems. Schizophrenia and depression are commonly identified with substance use disorder more problematic among males. Culture-specific explanations and treatment are commonly used.

Emotion identification skill (EIS) has been correlated with social support, but little research has examined the extent that EIS is a developmental precursor to supportive relationships. The present study investigated the longitudinal relationships between EIS and social support in adolescence. Participants were 903 (464 males; 439 females) Australian high school students, with 314 participating in all four waves. Students completed questionnaires annually from Grade 9 to Grade 12, including self‐report measures of (1) EIS, (2) social support network size, and (3) quality of social support. Cross‐lagged structural equation modeling supported a reciprocal influence model, with social support and EIS mutually influencing each other's development. We discuss the implications of this finding for the positive development of EIS and social support.