Objectives
Most existing research on the family context of psychosis focuses on the ‘burden’ of caring for people experiencing psychosis. This research is the first to ask young people experiencing ...early psychosis to ‘map’ and describe their experiences and understandings of their family relationships, and how they have related to their psychosis and recovery.
Design
The research took an inductive, multimodal hermeneutic–phenomenological approach (Boden, Larkin & Iyer, 2019, Qual. Res. Psychology, 16, 218‐236; Boden & Larkin, 2020, A handbook of visual methods in psychology, 358‐375).
Method
Ten young adults (18–23), under the care of early intervention in psychosis services in the UK, participated in an innovative relational mapping interview (Boden, Larkin & Iyer, 2018), which invited participants to draw a subjective ‘map’ of their important relationships. This visual methodology enables subtle, complex, ambivalent, and ambiguous aspects of the participants’ experiences to be explored.
Results
Findings explore the participants’ accounts of how they love, protect, and care for their families; how they wrestle with family ties as they mature; and their feelings about talking about their mental health with loved ones, which was typically very difficult.
Conclusions
This paper advances understanding of recovery in psychosis through consideration of the importance of reciprocity, and the identification and nurturance of relational strengths. The capacity of a young person to withdraw or hold back when trying to protect others is understood as an example of relational agency. The possibility for extending strengths‐based approaches and family work within the context of early intervention in psychosis services is discussed.
Practitioner points
Young adults experiencing early psychosis may benefit from support to identify their relational strengths and the opportunities they have for reciprocity within their family structures, where appropriate.
Relational motivations may be important for a range of behaviours, including social withdrawal and non‐communication. Services may benefit from exploring the young person’s relational context and subjective meaning‐making in regard to these actions.
Young adults experiencing early psychosis may benefit from opportunities to make sense of their family dynamics and how this impacts on their recovery.
Attachment‐based and relationally oriented interventions that increase trust and openness, and reduce feelings of burdensomeness are likely to support family functioning as well as individual recovery.
Background
Studies show that student mental health has continued to deteriorate over the years. Developing strengths‐based approaches could aid educators in the development of Psychological Capital ...(PsyCap) and positive protective factors in students to support their mental well‐being and aid in their success; however, little is known of the subject experience of educators who attempt this.
Aims
This study aims to understand the experience of award‐winning educators; both in their attempts to cultivate positive protective factors in students and in challenges to the pursuit of that goal during the shifting academic landscape at the emergence of COVID‐19.
Sample
Six award‐winning educators from a British university.
Methods
Participants were interviewed over video calls in this research design using semi‐structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.
Results & Discussion
The results showed two major themes; pressures for academics and strength‐based approached to cultivating PsyCap. These themes reflected that educators saw an urgent need for students to develop resilience as they struggle to handle subjective failure and that students struggle with imposter syndrome. The educators identified the challenges as feeling taken for granted, having unmanageable workloads along high expectations placed on them.
Conclusion
COVID‐19 has added significantly to the workloads of educators and demonstrated students' need for resilience. This research identifies the experiences of educators trying to improve strengths‐based practice while identifying the challenges of pursuing that goal in the changing pedagogy post–COVID‐19.
People who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may have to live with permanent sequelae such as mental health problems, cognitive impairments, and poor social participation. The strengths-based ...approach (SBA) of case management has a number of positive impacts such as greater community integration but it has never been implemented for persons with TBI. To support its successful implementation with this population, it is essential to gain understanding of how the key components of the intervention are perceived within the organization applying the approach.
Documenting the barriers and facilitators in the implementation of the SBA as perceived by potential adopters.
A qualitative pre-implementation study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with community workers and managers of the community organization where the SBA is to be implemented. Data were analyzed using a deductive approach based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).
The major barriers are associated with the intervention (e.g. adaptability of the intervention) and the external context (e.g. the impact of the pandemic). Perceived facilitators are mainly associated with the internal context (e.g. compatibility with current values).
The barriers and facilitators identified will inform the research team's actions to maximize the likelihood of successful implementation.
Despite rapidly increasing presence of international students seeking career guidance and opportunities in the United States, existing counseling literature offers limited perspectives on how ...counselors can support this community using strengths‐based and culturally responsive approaches. Addressing this long‐standing gap, we offer this conceptual scholarship discussing career mapping as a dialogical and critical‐constructivist strategy for career counselors to help international students understand their life story, strengths, and barriers in the context of career development, and plan their actions accordingly. Implications for practice are also offered.
This study presents a strengths-based framework for designing virtual reality experiences tailored to the needs and abilities of autistic individuals. Recognizing the potential of virtual reality to ...provide engaging and immersive learning environments, the framework aligns the strengths and preferences of autistic users with the affordances of virtual reality platforms. Drawing on the existing literature and empirical findings, the framework highlights key areas of alignment, including visual perception, anxiety management, attention to differences, concrete thinking, and response to positive feedback. The framework emphasizes the importance of involving autistic individuals in the co-design and co-creation of virtual reality technologies to ensure a more tailored and preferred user experience. By adopting a strengths-based approach and actively involving autistic individuals, the design and implementation of virtual reality interventions can better address their unique needs and foster positive outcomes. The study concludes by advocating for continued research and collaboration to advance the field of virtual reality technology for autistic individuals and to work toward shared goals with the autistic community.
Lay abstract
Virtual reality has been studied for its potential in supporting individuals with autism, but existing research often focuses on deficits and lacks consideration of individual preferences and strengths. This article introduces a framework that emphasizes the strengths and abilities of autistic individuals when designing virtual reality interventions. It builds upon an existing taxonomy of educational technology affordances and extends it to align with the unique needs of autistic individuals. The framework provides guidance for incorporating virtual reality technology that supports and amplifies autistic strengths, such as visual perception and response to positive feedback. The framework has implications for practice, research, and policy. For practitioners, it offers a tool for designing virtual reality experiences that cater to the strengths of autistic individuals, enhancing engagement and educational outcomes. Researchers can utilize the framework to guide the development of user-centered virtual reality interventions and expand our understanding of the potential benefits of virtual reality for autistic populations. Policymakers and educators can consider this framework when incorporating virtual reality into educational settings, ensuring that virtual reality technology is used in a way that aligns with the strengths and needs of autistic learners. Overall, the framework promotes a strengths-based approach in utilizing virtual reality technology for individuals with autism, fostering inclusivity and maximizing the benefits of immersive experiences.
Aims
To elucidate key considerations for effective health promotion with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males in remote Northern Territory.
Context
Despite the significant disparities in ...health outcomes amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males, particularly in remote Northern Territory, investment in health promotion policy and practice has been inadequate. Progressing towards self‐determination with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males, and to meet the unique health and well‐being needs of this marginalised demographic, consideration for staff retention and training, strengths‐based approaches, and implications of divergent masculinities must be considered when devising and delivering culturally responsive and appropriate health promotion interventions. Health promotion needs to be conducted in a collaborative manner, and in less conventional settings, to better engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males.
Approach
This commentary draws on the author's reflections about working in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy, practice and research contexts in Northern Australia. It brings together diffuse strands of scholarship about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male health; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health promotion; and health promotion in rural and remote contexts. In doing so, we identify and discuss strategies that have potential to strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male health promotion in rural and remote Australia.
Conclusion
Health services and professionals in remote Northern Territory must leverage the inherent strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males to imbue service delivery with both meaning and capacity for self‐determination. In doing so, this might ultimately help to alleviate the marginalisation of this demographic.
•A situated understanding of inclusive education (IE) at a remote school in India.•Intersectionality and capability approach help in examining marginalisation and IE.•Participatory research builds on ...the strengths of marginalised school communities.•Structural forces undermine the pursuit of IE in rural schools.•Policymakers and educators should focus on teaching-learning processes at school.
This article presents the multiple perspectives of school community members at a remote, rural government school in Uttarakhand, India, by using a strength-based participatory and multiple perspectives approach. By incorporating the capability approach and intersectionality to conceptualise inclusive education, qualitative data were generated with ten students using photographs/drawings/writings, and seven parents, three teachers, and one school leader using in-depth interviews. Reflexive Thematic Analysis helped construct the participants’ shared beliefs in the value of schooling, the development of diverse valued capabilities, the role of teachers as agents of social justice, and school as an equalising space. Simultaneously, adverse conditions of teaching and learning were identified that posed significant risks in the creation of inclusive and equitable educational opportunities at the school.
Abstract The recent focus on extending risk assessment and treatment in forensic mental health with protective factors relates to the increasing interest in strengths-based approaches in various ...professional disciplines: law (e.g. human rights), criminology (e.g. desistance), mental health care (e.g. recovery), forensic psychology (e.g. the Good Lives Model), special needs education (e.g. Quality of Life) and family studies (e.g. family recovery). In this article, we aim at discussing the available knowledge with regard to strengths-based approaches for offenders with mental illness, in relation to these different disciplines. Several dilemmas are observed across these disciplines: (1) “Living apart together”: the integration of different disciplines; (2) “Beyond Babylonian confusion and towards more theoretical research”: conceptualization of strengths-based practices in different fields; (3) “No agency without autonomy”: the individual in context; and (4) “Risks, strengths and capabilities”: the search for an integrated paradigm. In our view, these different disciplines share a shift in how mankind is viewed, respecting agency in the interaction with people who have offended. Yet, differences apply to the objectives that the disciplines strive for, which warrants not to eclectically consider strengths-based working in each of the disciplines as ‘ being small variations of the same theme ’.
•This paper reports the co-creation and review of a program designed to offer parents of children with disabilities a new world view of their lives.•Programs like this should be reviewed by people to ...whom the program is directed, but who have not been involved in their initial development.•The arms-length perspectives of these ‘outside’ parents proved very valuable, and validating, to the research team.•This integrated Knowledge Translation approach enabled the team to have confidence ENVISAGE was consistent with the perspectives of parents.
This study reports parents’ perspectives of, ENVISAGE: ENabling VISions And Growing Expectations. ENVISAGE – co-designed by parents and researchers – is an early intervention program for parents raising children with neurodisability.
Using an integrated Knowledge Translation approach, this feasibility study explored parents’ perspectives of the comprehensibility, acceptability, and usability of ENVISAGE workshops. Participants were Australian and Canadian parents of children with neurodisabilities, ≥12 months post-diagnosis, who independently reviewed ENVISAGE workshops using an online learning platform. Parents completed study-specific 5-point Likert-scaled surveys about individual workshops. Following this, qualitative interviews about their perceptions of ENVISAGE were conducted. Survey data were analysed descriptively, and interviews analysed inductively using interpretive description.
Fifteen parents completed surveys, of whom 11 participated in interviews. Workshops were reported to be understandable, relevant, and meaningful to families. ENVISAGE was judged to empower parents through enhancing knowledge and skills to communicate, collaborate and connect with others. Pragmatic recommendations were offered to improve accessibility of ENVISAGE.
ENVISAGE workshops address key issues and concerns of parents of children with neurodisability in a way that was perceived as empowering. Involving parents as reviewers enabled refinement of the workshops prior to the pilot study.
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