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Some commentators believe that the Society of American Archivists (SAA) has turned a corner and in recent years has taken more of a leadership role in speaking out on matters of import to the archival profession. However, two recent controversies involving the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) suggest otherwise, indeed, suggest that SAA lacks the will to take any role whatsoever in matters involving archival ethics and professional standards of practice. In 2006, an independent researcher brought to light that NARA had entered into secret agreements with several government agencies to pull and reclassify publicly available records from its open shelves; the agreements stipulated that NARA would hide the reclassification program from the public. In 2008, another independent researcher made public his unsuccessful attempts to access NARA's own records, those of the Office of Presidential Libraries. He documented a course of improper handling of the records, unprofessional responses to his requests for information, and inappropriate withholding of these records. SAA's failure to take a leadership stance with respect to these situations was compounded and enabled by the majority of individual archivists who chose to remain uninformed, and silent, about issues raised that were of critical importance to their profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The counseling profession prides itself on its developmental focus. However, counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors have generally applied only phasic, and not stage, theories to counseling and supervision practice and have not incorporated developmental concepts into their teaching. This article continues the effort of rectifying this situation by explicating the relevance of R. Kegan's (1982, 1994) subject-object theory for counseling, supervision, and counselor education. The author reviews Kegan's (1982, 1994) interpersonal and institutional stages and applies the theory to promoting development beyond the interpersonal stage in 3 case illustrations: a counseling case, a counselor educator's experience, and a supervision challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns have been raised related to the intersection of gender and diagnosis, particularly with respect to biases in diagnoses made according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The authors review the literature on the prevalence of diagnoses by gender, sex bias in diagnosis, the problematic impact of particular diagnoses on women, and the relationship of diagnosis to socialization and social conditions. Alternative diagnoses, diagnostic procedures, and diagnostic foci that can help counselors to most effectively avoid gender bias are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselors pride themselves on their developmental focus: however, they have generally only applied phasic theories to counseling practice and have not incorporated constructive "stage" theories unto clinical work. This article begins to rectify that lack by explicating the relevance of Kegan's subject-object theory for counseling practice, by reviewing Kegan's "'imperial" stage, and by applying the theory to cases in which at least one of the clients operates primarily out of the imperial stage, cases that include families and/or couples in some way. This is the third in a series of articles on Kegan's theory, begun in The Family Journal in July 2006 with an interview of Kegan and an overview of his theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirituality has become increasingly important in counseling, with prayer being the spiritual intervention of choice for Christian counselors. The controversial nature of including prayer in counseling requires careful consideration of ethical issues. This article addresses the intersection of spiritual interventions, particularly prayer, with client welfare, multicultural sensitivity, values, and countertransference. The authors consider the ethical mandates, articulate concerns, and make recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiritual or religious conflicts in couples can challenge the for- ward progress of couples counseling. The statistics on the number of clients and therapists who believe in God and of clients who would like to address spiritual issues in both secular and religious counseling must persuade all counselors to become familiar with the ways to address such issues. This article adds to the literature that educates family counselors on strategies for approaching spiritual differences and conflicts in families. A case is offered as an illustration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many of the values, assumptions, and philosophies inherent in the DSM diagnostic system conflict with those of the mental health counseling profession. This article describes these conflicts; provides clinical practice suggestions for addressing these issues when using the DSM system; and offers strategies for bridging the divide between mental health counseling's professional identity, and the DSM system of conceptualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselors pride themselves in their developmental focus; however, they have predominantly limited themselves to applications of phasic, or life span development. Stage developmental theories have much to offer to understandings of individuals and families, and yet such theories are largely absent from the counseling literature. This article begins to remedy that absence by introducing one stage theory: Robert Kegan's subject-object theory. The article is followed in this journal by an interview with Kegan on applications of his theory to family work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the constructive developmental theory of Robert Kegan and his work regarding ongoing psychological transformation in adulthood. The interview offers some interesting insights and examples of individuals constructing or self-authoring their own experiences. Kegan relates his theory and recent professional work to family counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental predictors of students' ability to learn counseling skills would help counselor educators select candidates and assist admitted students in their learning. The present research examined the relationship between adult development, as measured by the Learning Environment Preferences test (W. S. Moore, 1989) and the Defining Issues Test (J. Rest, D. Narvaez, M. J. Bebeau, & S. J. Thoma, 1999), and counseling skills performance, as rated by faculty experts using the Counseling Skills Scale (K. P. Eriksen & G. J. McAuliffe, 2003). Data indicate that adult moral development contributed to 18% of the variance in students' counseling skills performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although counselors receive training in both diagnosis and cultural foundations of human behavior, little literature or research integrates these 2 areas in order to facilitate culturally sensitive diagnostic practices. The authors attempt to rectify that lack by providing a review of the literature on the controversies associated with traditional diagnosis of cultural groups that differ from the dominant culture. Practical guidelines for culturally sensitive diagnosis are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselor educators need to be able to demonstrate their effectiveness in training new counselors; however, currently few valid or reliable measures exist for assessing educators' impact. The authors describe the development of such an instrument, the Counseling Skills Scale. They began by revising an existing scale and then they solicited feedback from experts and a focus group. They used the instrument to compare beginning counselors-in-training with those who had completed a counseling skills course. Finally, they conducted an item analysis. A paired t test showed significant improvements in counseling skills (t=4.51, p < .000) from pretest to posttest. Cronbach's alpha showed internal consistency to be .90. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselors who work with conservative Christians may ask how to respect a client's values when "God" seems to be saying something contrary to what the counselor believes is in the client's best interests. In a managed care era of decreasing choice about one's counselor, referral of such clients to a conservative Christian counselor is not always an option. "Working with God" when counseling conservative Christian clients requires counselors to understand conservative Christian beliefs. This article portrays conservative Christianity as a culture and articulares conservative Christian beliefs that may challenge the counseling process, suggesting options within the framework of these beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate whether follow-up services for stroke survivors could improve functional outcome and reduce readmission rate. In this paper results of functional outcome are reported. Design: Randomized controlled trial allocating patients to one of three different types of aftercare: (1) follow-up home visits by a physician, (2) physiotherapist instruction in the patient's home, or (3) standard aftercare. Subjects: Stroke patients with persisting impairment and disability who, after completing inpatient rehabilitation, were discharged to their homes. Outcome measures: Six months after discharge, functional outcome was assessed with Functional Quality of Movement, Barthel Index, Frenchay Activity Index and Index of Extended Activites of Daily Living. Results: One-hundred and fifty-five stroke patients were included in the study. Fifty-four received follow-up home visits by a physician, 53 were given instructions by a physiotherapist in their home and 48 received standard aftercare only. No statistically significant differences in functional outcome six months after discharge were demonstrated between the three groups. However, all measurements showed a tendency towards higher scores indicating better function in both interventions groups compared with the control group. Conclusion: Follow-up services after stroke may be a way of improving functional outcome. The results of the present study should be evaluated in future trials. More research in this field is needed, especially studies of how to support stroke survivors to resume social and leisure activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When transgender individuals struggle with living as the other gender, their families also struggle. Often, however, these individuals, their families, and their counselors have difficulty finding information about the transgender experience to help them with their struggles. Because little professional literature exists on such experiences, this article provides information about treatment options for transsexuals, transgenderists, and those with gender dysphoria. It discusses the experiences of families and individuals during the discovery and treatment process, and it offers lists of resources helpful to transgender individuals and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tells the story of one woman's search for a family through having a child. This personal journey through infertility, assisted reproductive technology (ART), other efforts to overcome infertility, and the delivery of a child includes the woman's trials, joys, relationships, and experiences with ART, as well as the doctors delivering it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constructivist and developmental metatheories offer foundations for prevention- and health-oriented counseling approaches that target the whole population. In the assessment model proposed here, the counselor is directed toward 4 specific dimensions of human construction and development. They are the following: social context, life phase, constructive s style. It is proposed that such assessment be infused into everyday counseling practice in schools, mental health settings, and colleges while also being a ground for the counselor education curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that generated a broad understanding of the ways in which counselors advocate for their profession. Essential elements of an advocacy effort; Strategies for advocating; People or organizations counselors target when advocating; Method and procedures.

Many counselors aspire to licensure, but not all reflect on or evaluate the purpose and process of licensure. This article offers the marriage and family therapist licensure requirements state by state for those who aspire to licensure. It also offers a brief literature review and observations about the purpose of and problems associated with licensure. In particular, it points out potential problems with current marriage and family counseling licensure laws. Finally, it makes recommendations about how marriage and family counselors might address these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Danish Poison Information Centre (DPIC) regularly receives inquiries about nursing home residents who have been exposed to a medication error. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to describe and discuss the types and consequences of these errors. Data were collected from 1 March 2018 to 31 March 2019. Registered data included characteristics of caller and resident, data related to the suspected medication error, risk assessment and recommendation. Consequences and clinical outcomes were assessed by follow‐up telephone calls. Over the study period, the DPIC was consulted about 145 medication errors occurring at Danish nursing homes. The median number of substances administered by error was two (interquartile range 1‐5). Hospitalization was recommended in 21% of cases. In one‐third of the cases where consultation with the DPIC was done with the resident either on his/her way to or in hospital, hospitalization was found unnecessary, and the resident could have stayed in accustomed surroundings for observation. Follow‐up demonstrated that very few medication errors had a severe outcome. This prospective study illustrates that consulting with a poison information centre can qualify risk assessment and potentially reduce hospital admissions following medication errors in a nursing home setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are numerous ethical considerations inherent within the process of assigning a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) diagnosis. In this article, general ethics considerations such as informed consent and confidentiality, accuracy of diagnosis, and multiple relationships are examined as they relate to clinical mental health counselors' use of the DSM-IV-TR. The article concludes with the authors' suggestions for ethically sensitive diagnostic practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed consent and confidentiality are discussed in the context of counselors' use of the DSM diagnostic system. Considerations that can facilitate counselor diagnostic decision-making related to informed consent and confidentiality are identified in a case application. Suggestions that can enhance ethical diagnostic practices are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mercury has been measured in Danish medieval bones interred at several cemeteries. Bone diagenesis is estimated to play an insignificant role based on measurements of soil samples taken vertically and horizontally away from the thighbone at three graves. Our study shows that mercury-containing medicine has been administered in 79% of the leprosy cases and 40% of the syphilis cases. A substantial number of the monks interred in the cloister walk of the Cistercian Abbey at Øm show heavily increased mercury levels, whereas none of the friars interred in the Franciscan Friary of Svendborg show elevated mercury concentrations. This is interpreted as originating either from exposure to mercury-containing red ink in the scriptorium of the Abbey, or perhaps slightly more likely, from preparing or administering mercury-containing medicine in the hospital of the Abbey. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]