Trevor Crowe

A taxonomy for homework used by mental health case managers when working with individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness

Peter Kelly et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:56:02 PST

A survey was completed by 122 case managers describing the types of homework assignments commonly used with individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness (SMI). Homework types were categorized using a 12-item homework description taxonomy and in relation to the 22 domains of the Camberwell Assessment of Need (CAN). Case managers predominately reported using behaviourally based homework tasks such as scheduling activities and the development of personal hygiene skills. Homework focused on CAN areas of need in relation to Company, Psychological Distress, Psychotic Symptoms and Daytime Activities. The applications of the taxonomy for both researchers and case managers are discussed.

Screening for mental disorder comorbidity in Australian alcohol and other drug residential treatment settings

Kane Saxon Mortlock et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:56:01 PST

There has been much international impetus to address the importance of identifying and treating clients experiencing both a substance use disorder and a mental disorder in treatment settings. Gaps in the literature still exist after a decade of research into this area. There is little research on the prevalence of co-occurring mental disorders (CODs) in the residential alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment modality. In this study, the mental disorder status of 278 participants resident in AOD treatment settings across Australia was estimated using the Addiction Severity Index—Self Report (J.S. Cacciola, A. Pecoraro, & A.I. Alterman, 2008) and the Mental Health Screening Form III (J.F.X. Carroll & J.J. McGinley, 2001). The estimated rate of diagnosable Axis I mental disorder comorbidity varied from 64% to 71% depending upon which cutoff score was used with the MHSF-III. Missing data emerged as a major limitation of the self-report version of the Addiction Severity Index psychiatric composite score in this population. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parallel processes in clinical supervision: implications for coaching menthal health practitioners

Trevor P. Crowe et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:59 PST

Can employment positively affect the recovery of people with psychiatric disabilities?

Trevor P. Crowe et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:58 PST

Objective: This study explored the relationship between employment and recoveryin individuals with psychiatric disabilities and proposed that participants whowere employed would have higher levels of recovery than participants who werenot employed. Methods: Data were analysed from a pre-existing data-set producedin a large scale NHMRC project conducted as part of the AustralianIntegrated Mental Health Initiative (AIMhi), High Support Stream. Participantswere 344 people with a range of psychiatric illnesses who received support from11 public sector and non-government mental health organizations in Queenslandand New South Wales, Australia. Scores on the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS)were compared between those participants who were engaged in paid employmentand those who were not. Results: The results revealed that there was no differencein total recovery scores between those who worked and those who didnot work. This finding indicated that higher recovery scores were not associatedwith participants who were employed. Also contrary to expectations, the resultsshowed that workers scored lower than non-workers on the RAS factor describedas "reliance on others" and there was a trend towards significance in the samedirection on the factor "willingness to ask for help." Conclusions and Implicationsfor Practice: Further research needs to be conducted to determine if the differencesbetween workers and non-workers on the above factors represent a personalvariable such as independence or self-determination that is associated withindividuals with psychiatric disabilities that are engaged in employment.Rehabilitation interventions aimed at increasing levels of employment in peoplewith psychiatric disabilities could improve recovery and employment outcomesthrough focusing on these personal variables.

Preliminary development and content validity of a measure of Australian Aboriginal cultural engagement

Stacey Berry et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:57 PST

Objectives. Aboriginal people form one of the populations most in need of mental health and substance abuse services within Australia, although many services are not adequately sensitive to, or inclusive of, relevant aspects of Aboriginal culture in their programmes. The Aboriginal Cultural Engagement Survey (ACES) was developed with the objective of assessing the level of cultural engagement of Aboriginal clients. A measure of cultural engagement is an important step in establishing an association between culture and health benefits, so that future interventions may be designed which better meet the cultural needs of Aboriginal Australians within health services. Design. The process of development of the ACES involved four stages of scale development utilising a series of group discussions and reviews with Aboriginal consultants. Assessment of content validity is conducted using the Content Validity Index (CVI). Results. The ACES was found to have excellent content validity with CVIs over 0.80 for all items in the final version. Conclusion. The ACES shows promise for being a useful tool in assessing the cultural engagement of Australian Aboriginal clients. There is a need for further psychometric assessment and field trials to assess its utility.

Screening for mental illness and mental health in drug and alcohol treatment services: prevalence and the utility of health verses illness conceptualisation

Kane Mortlock et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:55 PST

Sensitivity and specificity of mental disorder screening instruments in australian alcohol and other drug residential treatment services

Kane S. Mortlock et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:54 PST

Staff attitudes towards evidence based practice in a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation service

M J. Lovett et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:52 PST

Benchmarking in the non-government sector

Peter Kelly et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:51 PST

Change in working alliance and recovery in severe mental illness: An exploratory study

Alyson L. Hicks et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:49 PST

Background: Consumer-defined recovery from schizophrenia spectrum disorders and other recurring psychotic illnesses (“serious mental illness”, “SMI”) emphasize re-establishment of a personally meaningful life. The working alliance (“the alliance”) is highlighted as important in facilitating recovery, however there is little empirical evidence concerning the relationship between the alliance and recovery in populations with SMI. Aims: The aim is to explore the relationship between the alliance and recovery over time in a sample with SMI. Method: Sixty-one individuals with SMI receiving case management support from mental health services in Australia were recruited by their mental health workers and completed measures of working alliance and recovery. Measures were collected by the workers during regular counselling sessions on two separate occasions. The average time between measurement times was 6 months apart. Results: Multiple regression analyses indicated that changes in the alliance predicted recovery, but changes in recovery also predicted the alliance. No definitive conclusions regarding the causal direction of the relationship between the alliance and recovery could be drawn. Conclusions: The results provide preliminary evidence that improvement in the alliance positively influences gains in recovery and that gains in recovery also facilitate stronger alliance in SMI. These findings support an emphasis on the alliance.

Hope, meaning and responsibility across stages of recovery for individuals living with an enduring mental illness

Vedrana Copic et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:48 PST

This study reports on the relationship between stage of recovery and hope, meaning and responsibility for individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness. Methods: Seventy-seven people with a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder of at least 6 months’ duration participated in the study. Participants completed the Self-Identified Stage of Recovery (SISR) scale, measures of component processes of recovery (Hope Scale; Positive Interpretation of Disease, SpREUK; Active Involvement, Personal Health Management Questionnaire (PHMQ) and the Recovery Assessment Scale-short (RAS). Results: Hope, meaning, Personal Confidence and Hope and Not Being Dominated by Symptoms varied significantly across stages of recovery; however, neither in a parallel nor linear fashion. Hopefulness and sense of meaning in relation to the experience of mental illness increase before personal confidence and resilience in the face of setbacks. Conclusions and implications: Symptoms appear to take less prominence in individuals’ lives in later stages of recovery. Greater insight into the relationship between stage of recovery and component processes may allow for more targeted recovery-oriented support for individuals at different stages of recovery. Keywords: psychological recovery, stages of recovery, hope, meaning.

Using the theory of planned behavior and barriers to treatment to predict intention to enter further treatment following residential drug and alcohol detoxification: a pilot study

Peter J. Kelly et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:47 PST

There has been limited research examining the impact of clients’ behavioural beliefs on whether they intend to access further treatment following residential drug and alcohol detoxification. Treatment post-detoxification is generally recommended to reduce relapse and for more sustained positive outcomes. The present pilot study examined the extent to which (1) primary components of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), (2) perceived barriers to accessing treatment and (3) the participants’ previous involvement in substance abuse treatment predicted intentions to enter further treatment following residential detoxification. One hundred and sixty eight participants accessing Salvation Army detoxification units in Australia completed a survey measuring the primary components of the TPB and treatment barriers. Logistic regression analyses indicated that the attitudes and perceived behavioural control components of the TPB significantly predicted intent to enter treatment following detoxification. The implementation of a longitudinal study to examine whether these intentions actually lead to people accessing further treatment is recommended, and possible clinical strategies to enhance intention are discussed.

Case note practices

Daniel Billingham et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:45 PST

Validation of the differentiated transformational leadership inventory as a measure of coach leadership in youth soccer

Stewart A. Vella et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:42 PST

This paper describes the validation of The Differentiated Transformational Leadership Inventory (DTLI) within a participation youth sports context. Three hundred and twenty-two athletes aged between 11 and 18 years completed the DTLI. Using a confirmatory factor analysis, the DTLI yielded an underlying factor structure that fell short of cut-off criteria for adjudging model fit. Subsequent theory-driven changes were made to the DTLI by removing the 'high performance expectations' subscale. Further data-driven changes were also made on the basis of high item-factor cross-loadings. The revised version of the DTLI was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and proved to be a good fit for the obtained data. Consequently, a Differentiated Transformational Leadership Inventory for Youth Sport has been suggested for use within the participation youth sport context that contains 22 items, and retains six subscales.

Drop out from residential treatment: is it all bad news?

C Morgan et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:39 PST

Effects of supervision modality and Intensity on alliance and outcomes for the supervisee

Danielle Livni et al. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:55:38 PST

Objective: Clinical supervision within the health professions is an important quality control mechanism to ensure good client care. The purpose of this study was to assess how supervision structure and process affect supervision outcomes for the supervisee. Design: A repeated measures within groups and between groups (individual or group supervision) design was used to explore the effects of a 6-month supervision program for staff of public sector drug and alcohol health services. Ten supervisors and 42 supervisees were allocated to either individual or group supervision conditions. Measures were completed at 3 points over a 9-month period, including a 3-month waitlist control period of no supervision. Results: Mean supervisee ratings indicated positive evaluations for supervision satisfaction and perceived effectiveness in individual and group conditions. Although an increase in burnout and decrease in wellbeing was observed during the period of supervision, these changes are hypothesized to be related to extraneous organizational issues. Enhanced perceived supervision effectiveness and positive supervisory alliance were associated with lower levels of burnout and higher levels of wellbeing and job satisfaction within the individual supervision condition. Supervisee ratings of alliance were strongly correlated with ratings of perceived supervision effectiveness in individual and group conditions. Conclusions: These results suggest that supervision can have important positive impacts on the supervisee's functioning and wellbeing when that supervision involves a positive alliance.