Nmiud Doctorat of Arts in Biblical Counseling Sexual Addiction
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Assessing for Acculturation Level may Matter in Mental Wellness Care
I recently conducted a preparation on the adaptation of cerebral behavior therapy (CBT) for diverse populations for a grouping of nigh eighty-5 community mental health clinicians. The grooming was focused on equipping customs mental health clinicians on how to adapt CBT for culturally diverse clients. I was in awe of the dynamic discourse that took place. The feeling of excitement and the free energy in the room was undeniable. The clinicians seemed non only genuinely interested in the topic- only also excited. We began past going over general terms such equally ethnicity, race, privilege, and humility.
I and then realized that mayhap for some of the clinicians, it may accept been one of the few times that they had an opportunity to engage in introspection of the self -in terms of diversity issues that may influence the therapeutic procedure. They seemed to exist carried away by one of the exercises we did in which they were asked to identify diverseness factors that may label them every bit belonging to a majority or minority grouping. All clinicians spoke English and shared that they identified as beingness part of the bulk group in this matter. A handful of the clinicians shared that English was their second language, and ane of these clinicians shared that their accent, associated with their native language often lead others to ask them if they were built-in outside of the U.S. or if they were raised elsewhere. They then shared about their journey via the process of acculturation.
Acculturation is a process in which an private chooses the prefer the concept of cultural maintenance—that is to maintain their culture of origin (language, values, norms etc.) or they choose the concept of contact and participation, that is to integrate and prefer mainstream language, values and norms (Berry, 1992; Berry & Kim, 1988; Berry & Kim, 1980). The clinician shared that they had successfully integrated into the American civilisation after living in the U.Due south. for about seven years-still they accept worked with clients who accept lived in the U.S. for over twenty years who still did not speak English. I noticed a tone of judgment in their voice and kindly nudged – request them to elaborate. They shared that for this client to be most successful in the U.S. they should choose to integrate themselves more effectively into society and adopt the English language. Nosotros so had a larger room word of the pros and cons of the decision to adopt English equally a second language vs. to retain their mother tongue.
The theory of acculturation outlines that being either high or low on cultural maintenance or contact and participation leads to 4 possible strategies of acculturation: a) integration, which is likewise known equally biculturalism, b) absorption, also known as the loss of the native culture, c) marginalization, defined as the loss of both the native and dominant civilisation and lastly, d) separation, defined as increased ethnocentrism of the native culture (Berry & Sam, 1997; Berry, 1992; Berry & Kim, 1988; Drupe & Kim, 1980). Amongst these 4 strategies, research shows that individuals who adopt the strategy of integration have amend mental health outcomes compared to those who choose separation (Berry, 2013; Lee, Sobal, & Frongillo, 2000; Rogler, Cortes, & Malgady, 1991). Every bit nosotros continued on this chat, the clinician received feedbacked from other clinicians in the room such as, "as clinicians we need to respect our client's choice, regardless if nosotros hold with it or not" and, "I remember that even if the client may do better in life if they choose to integrate, information technology is still their choice, and we must have information technology". The dialogue was rich, and we could have been there for hours! At the terminate of the day, nosotros realized how much acculturation matters.
Farther, we discussed the role of acculturative stress among our clients. Acculturative stress is defined as a stress reaction in response to the process of transitioning and adopting the norms, values and language of the dominant culture (Berry, 1997; Yakishko, 2010). In this process, migrant workers may experience an acculturative stress, a stress reaction in response to life events that are rooted in the experience of acculturation (Berry, 1997). This type of stress is different from general life stress and hassles considering it is uniquely linked to migrant workers' process of transitioning and adapting to their environment, such every bit linguistic limitations and loss of social status (Berry, 1997; Yakushko, 2010). Interestingly, Berry's work has found that the greater the cultural difference, the greater level of acculturative stress (1997). This is of import as acculturative stress has been found to be associated overall negative health issues such equally poorer sleep quality, insomnia, and poorer self-reported physical health (Gonzalez-Guarda, Stafford, Nagy, Befus, & Conklin, 2021).
Needless to say that our conversation on the topic ran beyond the time allotted and nosotros just had to move on. We agreed that at the end of the day, it is upwards to the customer and as clinicians, we should support their self-determination. Nosotros as well agreed that in some way, shape or form, acculturation matters- in terms of how the client may be experiencing and navigating the process of transitioning – or not, into the dominant civilization. Another central take away from the dialogue was the power of assessment. Assessing our client's level of acculturation may bring to lite pertinent information related to their treatment plan. For more information on the matter, consider the Center for Substance Abuse and Handling, Improving Cultural Competence (2014) manual, as it offers an excellent list of instruments to measure out identity and acculturation.
References
Berry, J. (2013) Professor John Berry, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Queen'southward Academy, discusses cantankerous-cultural psychology. Prof Berry was Visiting Academic at the Eye for Applied Cross-cultural Research, Victoria University of Wellington, in 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?5=XAm0iqkZCKI
Berry, J. W. (1980). Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In A. Chiliad. Padilla (Ed.). Acculturation: Theory, models, and some new findings (pp. nine –25). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Drupe, J. W. (1992). Acculturation and adaptation in a new order. International Migration, thirty, 69 – 85. Berry, J. W. (2003). Conceptual approaches to acculturation. In K. M. Chun, P. B. Organista, & One thousand. Marin (Eds.). Acculturation: Advances in theory, measurement, and applied research (pp. 17–37). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Berry, J. W., & Kim, U. (1988). Acculturation and mental health. In P. R. Dasen, J. W. Berry, & N. Sartorius (Eds.), Wellness and cross-cultural psychology (pp. 207–236). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Berry, J. Westward., & Sam, D. L. (1997). Acculturation and adaptation. In J. W. Berry, M. H. Segall, & C. Kagitc ̧ibasi (Eds.), Handbook of crosscultural psychology (pp. 291–326). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Berry, J. Westward. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation.Applied Psychology,46, five–34. https://doi.org/ten.1111/j.1464-0597.1997.tb01087.x
Middle for Substance Corruption Treatment (Usa). Improving Cultural Competence. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (United states); 2014. (Treatment Comeback Protocol (TIP) Serial, No. 59.) Appendix B, Instruments To Measure out Identity and Acculturation. Bachelor from: https://world wide web.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK248425/
Yakushko, O. (2010). Stress and coping strategies in the lives of contempo immigrants: A grounded theory model.International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling,32, 256–273.
Yoon, E., Chang, C. T., Kim, Due south., Clawson, A., Cleary, S. E., Hansen, M., … & Gomes, A. M. ( 2013). A meta-analysis of acculturation/enculturation and mental health.Periodical of counseling psychology,60(1), 15.
The Spiritual Perspective of Sexual Addiction
The existent root of sexual activity habit is found in the essence of sin. Sin by nature is the failure to be dependent on God, and information technology comes from the corrupted hearts of human beings. After Adam rebelled against God, this natural human desire turned into evil. This was based upon homo's self-centeredness. People choose to worship substitute gods by suppressing the truth of God. In the aforementioned way, sex addicts are tempted by their own desire and are led off-target by individual selection; thus, they should take responsibility for their sinful behaviors. James explains the consequences of man's evil desire as such: "But each 1 is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged abroad and enticed. And then after desire has conceived, it gives nascency to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives nascence to expiry" (James one:14-15).
Even though sexual addicts take responsibility for their actions, their sinful conditions cannot exist solved by personal willpower. Sin and sexual addiction are both uncontrollable and unmanageable. In Roman seven:21-25, Campaigner Paul describes the despair of powerlessness and unmanageability as characteristics of sin. Sex activity addicts report that they cannot command their behaviors fifty-fifty though they want to practise so. By nature, they experience powerless, helpless, and worthless considering of repeated uncontrollability and unmanageability.
Christians must believe the believer has already been freed from sin considering all Christians have died with Christ. In Rom vi:2, Campaigner Paul maintains that Christians cannot live in sin whatever longer because they take already died to sin. Their death to sin is non the present or future tense but the past tense. Death to sin is non something hoped for or resolved upon by the laic. This procedure has already taken place.
In Rom vi:11, Campaigner Paul maintains that Christians must consider themselves dead to sin. What Paul presents is not Christians' immunity to temptation merely rather the fact that they are no longer slaves to sin. After Christians are crucified with Christ, buried with Him, and raised with Him, the old disappears, and Christians become new creations. Notwithstanding, their former nature all the same remains and seeks to boss them. In Rom 6:xi, because oneself expressionless to sin is expressed through daily conduct, indicating a conscious effort to maintain the process of because oneself dead to sin. Considering of habituation to sin, the laic should not let sin reign over his thinking but should instead alive with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Apostle Paul emphasizes that the believer should make a pick for righteousness by stating, "do non go on presenting the members of your trunk to sin" (Rom 6:13). This is used as a nowadays imperative, and it refers to an ongoing action to exercise right. On the contrary, he uses the phrase "presenting yourselves to God" in the aorist-imperative. To offer oneself to God as an instrument of righteousness means to brand a erstwhile deliberate pick in that direction. Thus, freedom from sin is not automatic, but a witting decision is needed every bit to whether or not the trunk volition exist allowed to become an musical instrument of service to God. There needs to exist agile and continuous obedience to God in order to live life in accordance with a new identity and condition. Past refusing obedience to sin's ability and authority, the believer can experience freedom from sin; therefore, sin cannot dominate the believer any longer.
However, not all human being beings who have a sinful nature accept a sexual addiction. Sexual sin is not equal to sexual addiction. Those who commit sexual sin practise not necessarily become sex addicts. The effect given to the trunk besides must exist considered very important in gild to sympathize sexual activity habit because humans consist of both body and spirit or soul. The Bible does non run into body and soul every bit divide from one another. Humans are unified beings. The neurological perspective considers sex addiction to be a method used to satisfy a neurological need. Repeated experiences of clan between sexual behaviors and pleasure or relief from pain form a blazon of learning known as workout. This learning is so deep and automatic at the physical level, and it forms a stronghold that is hard to break downwards.
Co-ordinate to the psychological perspective, the root of sexually addictive behaviors is found in the dysfunctional family system. The aficionado desires to escape the helplessness and powerlessness that he experienced in the past. The addict seeks temporary and firsthand relief by sexually acting out equally a way to escape from emotional discomfort. In other words, sexual habit is a destructive solution to regain command over helplessness and powerlessness. From a psychological perspective, the main root of sexual addiction is an abusive environment that provides the sex addict with emotional pain.
1 unmarried perspective does not fully identify complicated issues of sexual practice addiction. The root of sex habit has multiple aspects. Thus, a holistic approach to sex addiction is necessary for a Christian advisor to aid sexual practice addicts to recover. Mind, spirit, and body are not undifferentiated. At the same time, these properties are interconnected and linked to each other as parts of a larger network. Any attempt to bargain with a unmarried status apart from other conditions will not be successful in recovering from sexual practice addiction. It is essential for Christian counselors to discern how these 3 properties work in each individual sexual activity addict. The understanding of sex addiction as a human'south fall must be a fundamental foundation for dealing with sex addiction. Sinners cannot be freed from the power of sin without Christ. Regarding the biblical foundation, Christian counselors' approach to sex addiction should consider how psychological and neurological aspects reinforce sex activity habit within a earth that is vulnerable to sin.
Did you relish this weblog? We think you'll like the other blogs in this series, as well! Be sure you cheque out what Dr. Lee has to say about the psychological and neurological perspectives on sexual addiction in his other posts.
References
Anderson, N. T., Quarles, M., & Quarles, J. (1996). Freedom from addiction: breaking the bondage of addiction and finding freedom in Christ. Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books.
Harrison, E. F. a. o. (1984). Romans through Galatians. In F. E. Gabelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary. M Rapids: Zondervan.
Witherington, B., & Hyatt, D. (2004). Paul's letter to the Romans: a socio-rhetorical commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
I see you! Validation equally a Ways Towards Social Justice
A few months dorsum I recall a presentation I did well-nigh the different functions of validation. I also remember the summer of 2020 and witnessing ongoing debates by clinical professionals over the idea that "all lives matter" versus "Black lives matter". I detail comment stands out clearly; it was shared that both statements are true as both concur upwards valid points. Still, I also empathize the hurt that one may perceive when they hear that their specific indigenous group, age grouping, faith, gender "does not matter"- because "they all affair".
The power of validation rang clear to me. In these conversations I saw both sides of the dialectic. Perchance each end of the spectrum was feeling the tension that comes along with experiencing invalidation. Each polar end of the debate sought justice and goodness, yet perchance their delivery could accept used a little more than validation.
A report by Shenk and Fruzzetti (2011) institute that controlling for personal skilled ability to regulate one's emotions, individuals who experienced invalidation endorsed significantly greater levels of negative affect and heart rate compared to those who did not feel invalidation. It is no surprise to accept read such passionate soapbox about the statements, given the physiological and emotional responses to feeling invalidated.
With this in listen, I think that i way we can seek to accelerate social justice is by the constructive utilise of validation. Perhaps we may non always agree with each other politics or ideologies, notwithstanding, maybe by adopting a validating communication style, we may more than effectively land on like-minded to disagree. This in itself is better than split relationships due to opposing viewpoints. In another study between parent and child dyads, children who received validation from their parents were plant to endorse significantly stronger/positive emotion regulation, less problem behaviors and human relationship satisfaction compared to invalidating dyads (Shenk & Fruzzetti, 2014). Why so tin can't we strive to prefer the same? I encourage united states of america (speaking to myself besides), to explore the use of validation in conversations- especially around social just and social-political matters. At the cease of the 24-hour interval, we are chosen to "love your neighbour as yourself", Matthew 22:39. And personally, feeling validated equally opposed to invalidated and unseen is something I would never desire to feel.
According to Dr. Marsha Linehan, the founder of dialectical behavior therapy (1993; 2014) at that place are half-dozen levels of validation: a) middle contact and paying attention, b) accurate reflection, c) stating the unarticulated, d) validating others using their past history, due east) normalizing and looking for the kernel of truth, and level 6, f) radical genuineness. Although upon first glance level one, providing middle contact and paying attention may seem picayune, nosotros must not discount that in the midst of a heated chat in which we may feel invalidating, it may be very difficult to give eye contact and basic respectful attention. Equally we motion up the levels of validation towards the highest level, in radical genuineness we are asked to care for the other person as our equal (Linehan 1993; Koerner, 2011). This reminds me of the golden rule. Again, in Matthew 22:39, we are admonished to "love your neighbor every bit yourself", which once again, may exist difficult if nosotros are emotionally charged!
On a different annotation, mayhap y'all request yourself, "what if there is cipher to validate?" or "what if I cannot figure out what to validate?" Kelly Koerner (2011) reminds united states that it is of import to actively search for what is valid. Farther, it may be helpful to assume that there is always something valid. Koerner (2011) describes how i tin can validate the other's experience. For example, "If I were you, I would as well feel upset" or "It makes sense to me that y'all disagree and if I were you, I likely experience similar." Again, these are easiest said than done- particularly in difficult conversations.
And so, in times of heated conversations and disagreements around social justice problems, I challenge us to see each other's points of view and prefer a validating stance. Let's love our neighbour equally ourselves and choose humility. Permit's see each other!
Part 2 — Policy: Irreverent and Irrelevant or not?
This blog is part of a two-part serial, introduced here. You can read Part i here.
In today'southward lodge, simply the word politics tends to make everyone'southward hair stand up upwards on cease. It has been deemed a dirty word or forbidden territory at family gatherings and many social events. When I learned I was expected to take a policy class as a part of my education, my get-go reaction was dread every bit I did non initially pursue social piece of work to engage in politics or policy, or so I thought. I soon learned that policy influences and impacts everything I do and all whom I interact and work alongside.
Policies are the foundation of any micro, mezzo, and macro social work setting. Matthew 7:24-27 states,
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that firm; and it did not fall, for information technology was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not practice them, volition be like a foolish homo who congenital his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and shell on that house; and it fell. And bang-up was its fall" (Bible, NKJV).
This poetry offers an analogy on the importance and value of having a solid foundation through pursuing wisdom, seeking, observing, challenging, and listening. Hence, policies must be analyzed through a lens of wisdom and curiosity to investigate and inquire into the causes and consequences of public policies to ensure their stiff foundation (Segal, 2020).
Policy, much less policy assay, tin be a daunting idea to many. It can exist intimidating to search for, interpret and clarify policies. However, nosotros are impacted past public policy every solar day. Whether you are traveling, in school, or at piece of work, you are experiencing social welfare policies in action. Just think near all of the policies implemented in the by ii years because of COVID-19.
Policy, more specifically social welfare policy, refers to the well-being of club and is the collective response to social problems. Social welfare policy analysis informs and provides guidance and direction for many policymakers on a macro governmental calibration (Segal, 2020). Even further, policy analysis provides a mode for understanding how and why governments enact specific policies and their effects. Equally such, policy analysis provides researchers with a powerful tool to empathize the employ of research evidence in policymaking and generate a heightened agreement of the values, interests, and political contexts underpinning various policy decisions (Browne et al., 2018).
In social work, we piece of work to address the grand challenges such as advancing long and productive lives, ensuring healthy development for youth, eradicating social isolation, and ending homelessness throughout our do (Grand Challenges for Social Work, 2021). Grand challenges must exist grand in scope, inspiring, meaningful, and compelling. Moreover, scientific evidence should suggest how a g challenge tin can be solved. It is said that meaningful and measurable progress in addressing a challenge should be viable within a decade, which can sound daunting but not impossible. Grand challenges should generate interdisciplinary or cantankerous-sector collaboration in improver to creativity and innovation (Barth et al., 2014). A final motivation to promote national and local social policy development incorporates the social piece of work perspective, supporting social work progress and social and economic justice through adherence and incorporation of the grand challenges (Barth et al., 2014).
Now that nosotros take gained an understanding of what specifically social welfare policy is, too as the importance of social welfare policy assay, how does one analyze policy, you may be request? There are multiple approaches to the analysis of policies that can differ depending upon the policy and its context. I general approach includes identifying the social issue or problem, understanding what the public reaction is to the issue, what policy or legislation was adult in response to the issue, how the policy was implemented, identification of the public expectations and perception, and assessment of the policy effects and intended impact. Finally, assessing if there were unintended outcomes, and if then, asking what could be done to remediate the unintended consequences (Segal, 2020).
I example of policy analysis in action was in 2014 when Tennessee passed SB1391, a fetal assault police allowing a adult female to be prosecuted for using a narcotic while pregnant. The policy was created to reduce the prevalence of Neonatal Forbearance Syndrome (NAS), a condition where newborn babies experience withdrawal and other effects from opioids and other drugs. As a result of this bill, women arrested and charged would face up a punishment of up to fifteen years in prison house and the loss of child custody. However, the bill allowed women enrolled and participating in a long-term habit recovery plan to be exempt from prosecution. July ane, 2016, the constabulary ceased to be in effect due to constructive policy analysis. Unfortunately, the law negatively affected prenatal intendance and had trivial to no touch on the prevalence of NAS diagnoses across the land. Hence negative consequences of the law identified included a refuse in prenatal care, an increase of in-home births, an increment in out-of-state births, an increase in fetal mortality, and an increment in neonatal intensive intendance unit of measurement (NICU) admissions. While the constabulary was enacted with the best intentions, it ultimately resulted in numerous unintended consequences.
Phew! Now, if this feels overwhelming, or yous feel as though you are at present cross-eyed after reading this, know you are not alone. Then only ask yourself this, what policies are affecting you on a daily basis? Take you ever stopped to wonder if these policies are beneficial or harmful? The policies that come to listen, how are they affecting you and others? Understandably so, it can be intimidating to ask ourselves these questions. However, suppose nosotros begin to ask ourselves these questions on a micro level and utilize the approach listed above. In that case, nosotros will naturally transfer these skills to a macro level and begin to secure firm, strong foundations so badly needed.
So don't exist similar me and think that policy has cypher to do with social work considering it has everything to do with social work and social work practice.
Part one — How do you know the bread is whatever good?
This web log is part i of a ii-office series, introduced here.
What do blistering bread and program evaluation have in mutual? More than you might think. During the pandemic, nosotros started a new family tradition, baking homemade bread on Sundays. One Sunday, I pulled out the recipe and ingredients like I had done dozens of times earlier. I read through the recipe, mixed the ingredients, and put the breadstuff in the Dutch oven. However, much to my surprise, instead of the delicious tender bread my family had grown to wait, all I had to offering them was a dense, flat, slightly burnt loaf. I immediately set to work analyzing where I went wrong. I checked the ingredients in the recipe and walked dorsum through the steps I had taken. Based on the less than impressive outcome, I hypothesized and subsequently confirmed that I was missing an ingredient to the whole procedure, the yeast. Now that I had identified the errors in the blistering process, I followed the same steps, ensuring that I used the right ingredients, resulting in the expected consequence, delicious fresh breadstuff. However, examining the outcomes of a social program or treatment intervention may not be as credible every bit tasting burnt bread.
Although seemingly complicated on the surface, programme evaluation is very like to the scientific method you have been engaging in throughout your undergraduate career. The scientific method requires u.s.a. to enquire a question, course a hypothesis, test that hypothesis, come to a determination, and finally evaluate the conclusion. Social research methods follow the same steps but focus on answering questions that pertain to individuals and club. Program evaluation is when we implement social research methods to clarify the effectiveness of a plan. (Rossi et al., 2019). Plan evaluation allows united states to apply research for a specific purpose and respond the question, "How do you know y'all are doing any good at all?" Using program evaluation, we tin can clarify several aspects past conducting focused evaluations similar procedure and consequence evaluations. Program evaluations can place ways to improve a program, support the plan's effectiveness or ineffectiveness, and provide more information about a plan'southward implications.
Programme evaluation can be broken into 2 parts process and outcome. Process evaluation is when we evaluate to determine if a plan is being implemented every bit designed. Withal, consequence evaluation evaluates whether the program achieved its intended goals. If we revisit the bread-making instance, seeing the burnt bread was the result evaluation, only reviewing the steps and ingredients was the procedure evaluation. Information technology is essential to conduct both process and issue evaluations when implementing social services and behavioral interventions because the information they provide is complementary and gives a complete flick of a program'south overall effectiveness and wellness. For instance, a process evaluation tin monitor implementation and help offer alerts to problems that might negatively bear upon the outcome. Result evaluations tin can provide the data to decide the overall program effectiveness. If the outcome evaluation proves that the program did not meet its intended goals, a process evaluation can help place implementation issues. Alternatively, if the outcome evaluation reveals positive outcomes, the process evaluation provides information for programme replication. Had I been proactively engaging in program evaluation, I could have adapted to avoid the bad outcome before it was besides late. However, in social science and behavioral interventions, the result tin be bad outcomes for families.
While the results of my burnt bread were disappointing, no one was harmed (except perchance my ego). All the same, the consequences could be devastating when nosotros deliver social services or behavioral interventions that result in unintended outcomes. Children could stay in unsafe homes and go along to exist abused, and parents might not go the help they need to reunify with their children; veterans could experience additional trauma while seeking care.
Using program evaluation, nosotros can analyze several aspects by conducting focused evaluations like procedure and outcome evaluation that all become hand in hand to provide a comprehensive picture of a program'southward overall function and health. Program evaluations tin identify means to ameliorate a program, provide support for the programme'south effectiveness or ineffectiveness, and provide more information virtually a programme's implications.
Some other critical attribute of program evaluation is that it provides external validity and allows us to distribute our findings to funders and stakeholders with greater confidence (Moye, 2016). Social service programs need to demonstrate positive outcomes, and external validity is of import considering funders require it. Funding for programs is data-driven and volition require bear witness. As demand for social services increases, securing ongoing funding has grown more than complicated. Grant funding to address the grand social challenges has become more competitive, and accountability measures are stricter. With financial demand often outweighing the supply, social workers must continue demonstrating their effectiveness. It is essential to clear the demand for social service programs and interventions to stakeholders, which is done through evidence. What theory and design is the program grounded? What are the program's processes, impact, and outcomes? Plan evaluations can produce do-based prove that leads to evidence-based practices. (Fynn et al., 2020).
Plan evaluation is non just limited to social services programs in the macro setting focusing on system-level interventions and mezzo settings that focus on the customs-level interventions. Programme evaluation can be used on the micro-level to determine if clinical interventions are serving their intended purpose. Program evaluation should matter to all bookish scholars because it allows united states to determine if the programs, we are providing are doing any good all . Because at the end of the day, nobody wants to swallow burnt bread.
Check out part ii of this series here.
Ii-Role Series: Applying Scientific Enquiry Methods in Social Work Practice Introduction
Every bit social workers, we appoint in inquiry and utilize scientific enquiry methods in many ways. Two important means we employ research methods are in program evaluation and policy assay. As practitioners, it is incumbent upon u.s. to know what types of policies, programs, services, and interventions are about constructive for our clients. Well researched interventions that demonstrate efficacy are referred to as evidence-based practices or best practices. Notwithstanding, when we implement these evidence-based interventions, variables or extraneous factors (known and unknown) may interfere with our ability to replicate the types of results the intervention had produced in the published literature. For this reason, we demand to appoint in programme monitoring, or what we call program evaluation.
Programme evaluation ensures we produce the intended results and do not create unintended consequences. Additionally, funders typically require program evaluation and data reporting. At that place is increasing oversight and accountability for social and behavioral services practitioners and the demand to demonstrate positive outcomes. Programme evaluation helps ensure quality service and continued funding.
Some other important way social workers apply research methods is in policy analysis. Policy analysis involves understanding why the policy was created, who it was intended to affect, how it was implemented, and ultimately, what the policy's outcomes were. Policymakers demand to know if the policy had the intended outcomes and if there are any unintended consequences? Researchers use the results of policy assay to advocate for support, needed changes, and new policy.
At CBU in the Department of Social Piece of work, we recognize the importance of both policy assay and plan evaluation. All MSW students spend a semester studying each of these subjects. In this ii-role serial, I worked with two of my MSW mentees* to write nearly their agreement and experiences with program evaluation and policy assay. In the first part of this blog series, Natasha Alsobrook relates program evaluation to breaking staff of life in her commodity "How do you lot know the bread is whatsoever good?" In the second part, Bailee Ann Cameron discusses the value of policy analysis and the real-life impact on our children and families in her article "Policy: Irreverent and Irrelevant or not?"
*In the Masters of social work programme at CBU, all students are assigned a faculty mentor. Kinesthesia Mentorship is a distinctive feature of the CBU MSW Program. The purpose of the Kinesthesia Mentor is to:
- Model social work values
- Model Christian faith and ethical social work do
- Assistance students set proactive patterns of self-care
- Assist students select a social work track that is best for them (generalist yr)
- Aid students cull a Capstone Project topic (specialization year)
- Empower students to Live their Purpose
- Communicate educatee feedback into the programme
- Help students access all the CBU resources (i.e., counseling middle, student services, writing back up, financial help, campus ministries, career center, recreation center, global service opportunities, etc.)
- Guide students on their organized religion and professional journey
Want to excel in life? Get to sleep
Yesterday someone asked me, "What are you doing more of lately to exist more constructive?" … Initially, I wanted to share that I have tried to exist more organized and stick to my to-practise list or that I have reorganized my filing organization. Notwithstanding, what I ended up sharing was my desire to get better sleep and prioritize sleep hygiene. Information technology is so extremely hard to do this when we live in a order in which we may feel pressure to "exist a winner", "get things done" and "there is no time to sleep".
Dissimilar my partner, I am a night owl and dear the quietness and solidarity of the nighttime where I can sneak away into my role and have complete uninterrupted time to be super productive. These evenings often end up creeping into my bedtime and before I know it, its 11:45pm! The reinforcer is being able to cheque off my to-exercise listing and the sense of accomplishment. At the same fourth dimension, later on a productive belatedly night I detect that sometimes I accept a hard fourth dimension falling asleep. I notice myself up worrying most things I may need to become back to and edit (on the work I but completed!) or continuing to add items on to-do list. Unfortunately, my body besides experiences consequences as a result. Equally they say, "no pain, no gain". After a long night working spree, I discover myself showing upwardly the next day feeling less energetic and a need for an extra cup of coffee.
If you chronicle, I think it is important to become educated or remind ourselves about what the lack of sleep may be doing to our bodies. Research shows that related to lack of sleep, our attending can be contradistinct in that there are lapses in which we neglect to pay attention (Lim & Dinges, 2010), and we may experience a more difficult time making decisions (Killgore, Balkin, & Wesensten, 2006). We may likewise experience delayed cognitive performance and effects on mood (Ferrara & De Gennaro, 2001). Interestingly, we do see differences when nosotros take a closer await and consider diversity variables such as gender and age. For instance, on average, men appear to slumber less than women and sleep duration appears to decline with historic period (Jonasdottir, Small, & Lehmann, 2021). Regardless of these differences, the literature is strong in the negative outcomes associated with chronic sleep deprivation (Jonasdottir, Minor, & Lehmann, 2021; Pourmotabbed et al., 2020; Brusk, Berth, Omar,Ostlundh, & Arora, 2020).
And then, now what do we practise with all of this? Are at that place any do-able interventions too forcing yourself to attempt to get to bed at an before time? There is hope friends! A contempo meta-analysis found that cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has shown positive outcomes in addressing unhelpful and worry thoughts that may be the culprit to keeping some of us upward at night. The written report institute that CBT-I targets repetitive negative thinking (RNT) which are unhelpful thoughts such as, "this is horrible, I am never going to catch up on work, and at present I tin can't even fall asleep" (Ballesio et al., 2021). The written report notes that rumination and thoughts most not beingness able to fall asleep are oftentimes associated with insomnia.
Research related to attainable telephone app interventions of CBT-I is adequately new and growing. The adept news is that in that location are phone apps within our attain and that they may assist us aid ourselves! To learn more almost some of them, bank check out a curt story on National Public Radio https://world wide web.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/08/654883409/some-apps-may-help-adjourn-indisposition-others-simply-put-you lot-to-sleep. The question now is…are we willing to put our work away and instead explore interventions such equally CBT-I and prioritize our slumber health?
References
Ballesio, A., Bacaro, 5., Vacca, M., Chirico, A., Lucidi, F., Riemann, D., … & Lombardo, C.
(2020). Does cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia reduce repetitive negative thinking and sleep-related worry beliefs? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Sleep Medicine Reviews, 101378.
Ferrara, K., & De Gennaro, 50. (2001). How much sleep do we demand?.Sleep medicine
reviews,5(2), 155-179.
Jonasdottir, Due south. Due south., Small-scale, K., & Lehmann, S. (2021). Gender differences in nighttime sleep
patterns and variability across the developed lifespan: a global-calibration wearables report.Sleep,44(2), zsaa169.
Killgore, West. D. S., Balkin, T. J., & Wesensten, North. J. (2006). Dumb conclusion making following
49 h of sleep deprivation.Periodical of Sleep Enquiry, 15,vii–13. http://dx.doi.org/ten.1111/j.1365-2869.2006 .00487.x
Lim, J., & Dinges, D. F. (2010). A meta-analysis of the affect of short-term slumber deprivation on
cognitive variables.Psychological bulletin,136(three), 375.
National Public Radio (2018, October 8).Some Apps May Help Adjourn Indisposition, Others Just Put
Y'all To Sleep.https://world wide web.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/x/08/654883409/some-apps-may-assist-curb-indisposition-others-just-put-y'all-to-slumber.
Pourmotabbed, A., Boozari, B., Babaei, A., Asbaghi, O., Campbell, 1000. S., Mohammadi, H., … &
Moradi, S. (2020). Sleep and frailty risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Sleep and Breathing, ane-xi.
Short, Chiliad. A., Booth, S. A., Omar, O., Ostlundh, L., & Arora, T. (2020). The relationship
between sleep duration and mood in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Slumber medicine reviews,52, 101311.
The Psychological Perspective of Sexual Addiction
Many sexual addicts feel lonely, abandoned, and aroused. They desperately long for love, intimacy, affirmation, and nurture. Just they discover that their needs aren't being met. Consequently, in many cases, the behavior of sexual addicts becomes a substitute for true intimacy and honey. Emotional discomfort such as helplessness, powerlessness, loneliness, and hopelessness are ane of the primary catalysts in bringing about sexual addiction. These feelings may begin in an unhealthy and dysfunctional family with affliction and wounds during babyhood. The sex aficionado has difficulties expressing emotions appropriately or solving emotional discomfort in their family unit of origin. Thus, the aficionado has immature skills in identifying emotional feelings. The aficionado yearns to escape the emotional pain they have experienced in the past. A sense of helplessness or powerlessness drives them to take a strong desire to repair these emotional discomforts and becomes an uncontrollable forcefulness to the aficionado.
Many researchers posit that abusive family backgrounds, including abandonment, abuse, and neglect, can crusade children to develop painful emotions and problematic behavioral patterns, leading to sexual addiction. Abandonment is experienced primarily in the family unit-of-origin when both parents practice non fulfill children's needs. Children learn how to have an intimate relationship with others through parental love and acceptance, such as appropriate physical touching and verbal encouragement. Lack of parental love and nurture obstructs the fulfillment of a child's natural desires. Children whose emotional needs accept non been met feel powerless and insecure in such an surround. The consequences of emotional pain drive them to discover other methods of satisfying their desires.
Abuse is another aspect that can pb to sexual addiction. To be abused by a parent or family member leads to feelings of feet, fearfulness, anger, and confusion. Children who are driveling question their cocky-worth and rubber. Shame, one of the contributing factors of sexual addiction, can overwhelm an private and exist internalized in one'south heart. The message shame gives abused children is that they are a mistake and worthless. Abused children do not know how to cope with abuse and make an effort to bury horrifying memories. It is very difficult for the abused to confront past hurting considering it is painful to recall these emotions. An adult who has been abused during babyhood seeks to escape the painful feelings.
Neglect is too recognized as a root cause of sexual habit. Fail indicates a parent'south irresponsibility towards the child'south spiritual, physical, emotional, or sexual evolution. Spiritual neglect frequently stems from the absence of parents' necessary education and information nigh God and Christian life. Physical neglect is a lack of appropriate physical health care. A child whose emotional needs are non met can create a propensity for emotional numbness. Children need approval, praise, and encouragement. A lack of these experiences causes children to become emotionally numb. Children who are emotionally neglected may want to please themselves with false intimacy. Sexual neglect comes from the absenteeism of appropriate and salubrious sex education in the family. Children who are sexually neglected in the family unit receive an unhealthy and distorted bulletin from the current culture and mass media. Early sexualization, without proper cognitive power or development to take sexual stimuli and feelings, influences children to lose control of futurity sexual encounters because of their early dealings with the subject.
How can sexual activity addicts who experienced these wounds equally children be treated? Sexual addicts who have experienced abuse or fail in a human relationship can be cured through salubrious relationships. Sexual addiction is hard to treat on its own. Since emotional needs have not been met, information technology is necessary to sympathize those feelings and express them appropriately. Since they use sex to bargain with their emotional pain, they demand to learn more appropriate and good for you ways to bargain with more negative emotions. In particular, sex addicts demand to accept that God has made them beautiful creatures and value their existence in God's love in dealing with shame for themselves. Sexual addicts tend to demean themselves and view themselves pessimistically due to the wounds they have received, so they have difficulty finding the value and meaning of their lives. Therefore, sexual addicts should believe that God tin use their difficult life experiences meaningfully. Information technology is also essential to take the loss of sufficient love and care in the lives of sexual activity addicts. Sexual addicts are poor at establishing healthy relationships because they take not experienced caring and nurturing in past relationships. It is of import to experience intendance and credence through good for you relationships through sharing their pain in a healthy community. By experiencing acceptance when they testify their faults and weaknesses to others, they can exist honest in front of others and trust others. The love and acceptance experienced through a positive relationship with God and others play a vital role in recovering sex addicts suffering from inappropriateness and shame.
Reference
Carnes, P., & Carnes, P. (2001). Out of the shadows : understanding sexual habit (3rd ed.). Eye City, MN: Hazelden Information & Edu.
Laaser, Yard. R. (2004). Healing the wounds of sexual addiction: Zondervan.
Did you lot enjoy this blog? We retrieve you'll like the other blogs in this series, too! Be certain you check out what Dr. Lee has to due south ay about the neurological and spiritual perspectives on sexual addiction in his other posts.
The Neurological Perspective of Sexual Addiction
Growth of the Internet makes information technology easy for surfers to access hundreds of thousands of pornography web sites, which are now the main source of pornographic materials in the globe. Every bit pornography plant in the Internet is almost incommunicable to avert, bug with pornography among people are rapidly growing and condign increasingly severe. As a result, the number of people who struggle with sexual addiction is increasing and seek counseling in individual, group, and couple therapy settings. In order to help a sex addict in his or her recovery, a comprehensive understanding of sexual addiction is essential to a Christian counselor. Sexual addiction can exist understood through the following perspectives: biblical, neurological, and psychological. One unmarried perspective does not fully identify complicated issues of sexual addiction. The root of sexual addiction has multiple aspects. Thus, a holistic approach to sexual addiction is necessary for a Christian counselor to help the sexual practice addict recover. Outset, this blog explores the neurological perspective of sexual addition.
Sexual addiction from a behavioral psychology viewpoint focuses on considerately observable behavior, learning, and habit information. If a sexual behavior or fantasy provides people with pleasance or relief from hurting; then, the body learns how the attachments occur. This behavior so tends to occur more frequently and repeated behaviors become a habit. Repeated experiences of clan betwixt sexual behaviors and attachments course a blazon of learning known as conditioning. The procedure of learning is so deep and automatic at the physical level, that the conditioning is highly hard to pause and extremely powerful.
Neurological science besides has a similar mechanism to behavioral psychology. The nervous arrangement is an essential part of the homo body. Sexual addiction is maintained past mood-altering chemicals which stimulate the trunk. Sexual addicts become neurochemically tolerant to the chemicals that sex produces, such as adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. For sex addicts, sexual behavior or fantasies becomes the primary fashion sexual addicts condition their brains to meet their neurological needs. Sexual behavior or sexual fantasy creates an contradistinct country. The encephalon of sexual addicts craves more and want to attain this same state because it becomes less sensitive to pleasance that the addiction creates in the encephalon. A repeated altered state leads to neurological conditioning. Tolerance develops afterwards condign desensitized to the chemicals that sexual addiction creates in the brain. If sexual addicts' brains practise not generate enough neurochemicals to attain the same consequence, then the sexual addict will pursue neurological balance through sexual activities or fantasies.
Information technology is very important for a Christian advisor to consider the neurological condition of sexual addicts in order to help them recover because the brain is the largest sexual organ humans accept. If a counselor merely evaluates sexual addiction from a psychological or spiritual perspective without considering the neurological perspective, treatment for the sex addict volition not be effective. For sexual addict's recovery, new pathways in the brain must be created because the sexual aficionado has neurologically conditioned the brain with sexual stimuli. The sexual addict must learn how to stop sexual fantasies and take relational sex. The sexual aficionado's sexually and neurologically conditioned brain must be changed and reconditioned by a new healthy life blueprint.
Another attribute of the neurological agreement of sexual habit is that the brain never completely forgets its by learning and conditioning. Fifty-fifty later on breaking a sexually addicted habit or reconditioning, the potential for relapse always exists in the sex addict. The new neurological conditioned systems can never obliterate the erstwhile systems that take been formed in the brain. As times goes on, addictive behaviors will not exist as intense. However, the brain is quick to exist reminded of old patterning and workout through slight stimulus and momentum considering the brain does not forget old patterns. Thus, the recovery of sexual addiction is not a one-time healing but an ongoing process.
Why is the neurological perspective of sexual addiction is important?
Sin pollutes non only the individual's spirit but also his body. It is easy for a Christian to downplay the value of the body. Yet, the effect given to the body also must be considered very important in order to sympathize sexual addiction considering humans consist of both body and spirit or soul. The Bible does non see body and soul every bit separate from i another. Humans are unified beings. A spiritual nature is not completely independent from the body. In the Sometime Testament, the almost frequent give-and-take isbasar ("flesh"), which refers to the torso as a whole. A human existence'due south bodily nature indicates not only i's mortality with concrete needs, but it besides provides the plane of assault for sin. In the New Attestation, the body is not only mortal, but it also serves equally the place of proper worship and the temple of the Holy Spirit. A Romans 12:1 says, "I urge you therefore, brethren, past the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship." A divine soul is not liberated from the body but offers the body in service to God. The Apostle Paul also argues that the inner life is as important as the outer life, and both are related to each other. Thus, sexual habit rules the torso too as the heart.
Did you enjoy this blog? We think yous'll like the other blogs in this series, too! Be certain y'all check out what Dr. Lee has to say about the psychological and spiritual perspectives on sexual habit in his other posts.
Reference
Erickson, Grand. J. (2013).Christian theology (third ed.). Chiliad Rapids, Mich.: Bakery Book Firm.
Struthers, W. M. (2009).Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Digital Addictions
The "60-day Lifestyle Projection" is an assignment given in ane of my classes that requires students to pick 1 skillful habit that they want to create (e.g., exercising more, drinking more water, reading the Bible regularly) and to keep doing that same action every day for 60 days. As a professor, it has brought me smashing joy to see many of my students building skillful habits successfully. In just a few years of experience with this project, I establish that one of the most popular activities students chose was to reduce their screen time. Since we are living in the digital age, information technology is impossible to imagine our lives without digital products. But my experiment has been providing evidence that many people are realizing that they are spending more time on screens than necessary.
Why We Do What Nosotros Do
Why are we spending excessive time on digital screens? Basically, we do what we practice because nosotros wish to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Therefore, we apply digital products as a way to brand ourselves feel amend. Moreover, such products are useful in many means, and they can increment our productivity to a certain indicate. But once you pass that threshold, your productivity really decreases i. Even though you might recognize the harmful furnishings of digital products on your productivity and well-beingness (such as distracting our attention from very of import things, including studying, taking intendance of our kids, and working), information technology is hard to reduce or stop this behavior. Uncontrolled and heavy consumption of applied science disrupts the pleasure command arrangement, leading to the bad habit condign an addiction. Yous might exist uncomfortable naming this beliefs along with other astringent forms of addiction, such as substance corruption; however, the ii have much in common in terms of their definition and in how they work.
Defining Addiction
The root discussion addict comes from the Latin give-and-take addictus, which ways "to devote, sacrifice, sell out, beguile, or abandon." In Roman police, an aficionado was a person that became enslaved through a court ruling—a secondary derivation from its legal usage that persisted as descriptive and no longer literal2. The modern definition of addiction is a "persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful." While the modernistic and Latin definitions are quite dissimilar, a connection tin can certainly be fatigued between the ii. Inquiry has shown that addiction is a disease that chemically alters your brain, making yous "a slave" to a behavior or substanceii.
Brain Disease Model of Addiction
In the past 2 decades, inquiry has increasingly supported the view that addiction is a disease of the brain3. The brain affliction model of addiction holds that addictions are chronic, relapsing brain diseases and that the relapses are symptoms—and part of the expected course—of the affliction. Equally with other diseases, addictions tin can be caused by multiple factors, which tin can be behavioral, environmental, and biological. The brain disease model of addiction suggests that addiction can be explained past findings on the desensitization of reward circuits, which dampen the ability to feel pleasure and the motivation to pursue everyday activities; increasing strength of conditioned responses and stress reactivity, which results in increased cravings for alcohol and other drugs, likewise every bit negative emotions when these cravings are non sated; and weakening of the brain regions involved in executive functions such as conclusion making, inhibitory command, and self-regulation, leading to repeated relapses3.
Digital Addiction
Behavioral addiction is a lot similar substance addiction in many ways; however, it is much newer. Although such behavioral addictions practice not involve a chemical intoxicant or substance, a grouping of researchers has posed that some core indicators of behavioral addiction are similar to those of chemic or substance addictioniv. Beginning of all, information technology is similar to substance habit in that the addiction develops when we have a psychological need. Nosotros use substances when we are bored or feeling lonely (these are the moments when you are looking for what some people call the "adult pacifier"). Second, excessive use of digital products bears striking similarities to those diagnosed with substance abuse in terms of dopamine stimulation. While nosotros are trying to remain connected by ways of texting, tweeting, surfing the web, online shopping, and gambling, these actions activate the aforementioned neural circuits in our brains involved in the utilize of substances4. Although not as intense as a hit of cocaine, the extensive apply of digital products similarly results in a release of dopamine, reinforcing whatsoever behavior preceded it. Thus, users discover themselves unable to stop, for when they are not using their devices, they are in a country of dopamine deficit 5.
How to Break the Bad Habit?
Is there any way to interruption the bad addiction? This is a big question to answer hither, merely enquiry has found some factors that can increase the possibility of success. People with a certain social status, meaningful jobs, spouse, and people who have brilliant futures are less likely to become addicted and stay fond to something. In other words, people who have more things to lose are more than likely to exist resilient to addiction. Fortunately, this could use not only to their concrete status merely also to their psychological mindset and what they believe. To illustrate, if nosotros believe that we take a lot of potential things to lose (eastward.g., if you know who you actually are in Jesus Christ), and so we volition be less likely to become fond and will have more of a chance to break the bad habits 6.
Digital products aren't going anywhere anytime soon, so it is upward to u.s. equally users to decide how much of our time we desire to dedicate to them. If you believe you are experiencing harmful furnishings from overusing digital products, why don't you try some of the tricks that have been successful for my students. For instance, some of them have set up a fourth dimension limit use on their phones, placed their phone in a locked drawer, designated screen-free zones, and so on. More chiefly, we need to remind ourselves of what we are losing while we are on screen.
References
1. https://www.brookings.edu/enquiry/the-economy-and-the-cyberspace-what-lies-alee
two. Richard J. Rosenthal & Suzanne B. Faris (2019) The etymology and early on history of 'addiction', Addiction Enquiry & Theory, 27:5, 437-449, DOI: ten.1080/16066359.2018.1543412 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epub/10.1080/16066359.2018.1543412?needAccess=true
3. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra1511480
4. Alavi, S. S., Ferdosi, M., Jannatifard, F., Eslami, M., Alaghemandan, H., & Setare, M. (2012). Behavioral Addiction versus Substance Habit: Correspondence of Psychiatric and Psychological Views. International journal of preventive medicine, three(iv), 290–294.
https://world wide web.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/manufactures/PMC3354400/pdf/IJPVM-3-290.pdf
five. Constant craving: how digital media turned us all in to dopamine addicts https://www.theguardian.com/global/2021/aug/22/how-digital-media-turned-the states-all-into-dopamine-addicts-and-what-nosotros-tin can-do-to-suspension-the-cycle
half dozen. Myles, D. (2020). The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Large Business organization DAVID T. COURTWRIGHT Cambridge, USA: The Belknap Press of Harvard Academy Press, 2019 ISBN: 9780674737372, 336 pp. Hardcover. Price: U.s.$27.95.Drug & Alcohol Review,39(iv), 428–429.
https://doi-org.libproxy.calbaptist.edu/10.1111/dar.13047
Source: https://blogs.calbaptist.edu/cshb/category/cshb-faculty/
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