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The authors describe a for-credit course for Social Work PhD students called Writing for Publication and report on a study evaluating its success in supporting students to develop and submit a paper for publication in a refereed journal. The literature-informed course design, taught in collaboration with the university's Writing Centre, includes didactic elements and a peer editing component. Seventeen of the 22 students who had taken the course completed an anonymous online survey asking whether they had submitted the paper and the outcome, whether the course had been helpful, in what ways, and in which other areas of the PhD program they were most helpful. The quantitative and qualitative data indicate that the course has been successful. A majority of students submitted an article to a peer-reviewed journal, and a majority found the course helpful in this regard as well as in other areas of the PhD program. Based on findings regarding the contributions of the course and student suggestions for improvement, we discuss considerations for strengthening the program in future.

Many survivors of child sexual abuse who engage in psychotherapy also experience physical health problems. This article summarizes the findings of a multiphased qualitative study about survivors' experiences in healthcare settings. The study informed the development of the "Handbook on Sensitive Practice for Health Care Practitioners: Lessons from Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse" (Schachter, Stalker, Teram, Lasiuk, & Danilkewich, 2009), which is intended to help healthcare providers from all disciplines understand the effect of child sexual abuse on some survivors' abilities to access and benefit from health care. This paper discusses what psychotherapists can learn from the healthcare experiences of the male survivors who participated in this project. It also offers practical suggestions for supporting male clients who experience difficulty seeking treatment for physical health concerns. (Contains 2 notes.)

A study found that students having problems in a graduate social-work program are more likely to be older, be male, have lower undergraduate grades, have more experience in social service-related work, and be rated lower in emotional maturity based on personal statements. Implications for provision of support for such students are discussed. (Author/MSE)

A total of 30 adult survivors of childhood abuse were interviewed approximately 6 months after completing a 6-week inpatient program for traumatic stress recovery. Their progress was assessed by standardized instruments that measured PTSD symptoms, general psychiatric symptoms, trauma-related beliefs, and self-esteem at discharge, 3, 6, and 12 months posttreatment. Most interviewees spoke positively about their treatment experience, and were maintaining gains at 6-month follow-up. Six (20%) of the interviewees, however, reported some negative effects from their participation in process groups, including vicarious traumatization (VT). Compared with the other 24 interviewees, the six who reported VT had more previous hospitalizations, and poorer scores on measures of treatment gains at the 6-month follow-up, as assessed by the standardized measures. Implications for screening survivors for group treatment are discussed, doi: 10.1300/J009v30n04_05 KEYWORDS. Group treatment, child abuse, vicarious traumatization, posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD

The study that reflects how the dentists should treat the patients, who are sexually abused in their childhood, is discussed.

A qualitative study explored adults' perceptions of experiences that were helpful and unhelpful to their recovery from the traumatic effects of childhood physical and sexual abuse. Results reported that barriers to recovery postdischarge were lack of follow-up support immediately after discharge, social isolation, lack of friends, problems with partners, and lack of emotional support from family.

Thirty adults were interviewed about their experiences in a 6-week program for recovery from posttraumatic stress, The most valued aspects were their relationships with staff and the staff's expertise in treating the long-term effects of abuse. They valued the structured group treatment that allowed them to process emotions with the goal of healing. A few were upset by process groups, whereas others had difficulty with the sudden loss of support at discharge from the program.

Objective: This cross-sectional controlled study investigated the association between chronic pain, health care utilization and a history of childhood sexual abuse. Subjects: Three groups, constituting 80 women in total, were studied (1) attendees at group therapy for individuals who had experienced childhood sexual abuse (n = 26); (2) Two control groups consisting of nonabused (a) psychiatric outpatients (n = 33); and (b) nurses (n = 21). Setting: The setting was a university affiliated community and tertiary care hospital in London, Ontario. Outcome Measures: Each subject voluntarily completed questionnaires documenting history of childhood abuse, pain, psychological symptomatology and medical and surgical history. Results: Sixty-nine percent of the women who had experienced childhood sexual abuse reported a chronic painful condition lasting more than three months, compared to 43% of the combined control groups (p = .026). Women who had experienced childhood sexual abuse reported a greater number of painful body areas (p = .003), more diffuse pain and more diagnoses of fibromyalgia (p = .013). They had more surgeries (p = .037), hospitalizations (p = .0004) and family physician visits (p = .046). Conclusions: Women with a history of childhood sexual abuse reported more chronic pain symptoms and utilized more health care resources compared to nonabused control subjects. Identification of such a history in the patient experiencing persisting pain may be the first step toward a successful combination of medical and psychosocial interventions.

This study examined whether adding a compassion-focused light touch digital intervention into a commercial multicomponent weight management programme improved eating behaviour, self-evaluation and weight-related outcomes. The compassion intervention significantly reduced binge eating symptomatology and dropout, and improved psychological adjustment and self-evaluation, but did not affect weight outcomes. Compassion, self-reassurance and reductions in shame and self-criticism mediated the effect of the intervention on reductions of binge eating symptomatology. Negative self-evaluation, binge eating symptomatology, susceptibility to hunger and eating guilt were significant predictors of dropout. Findings suggest that compassion-based digital tools may help participants better manage binge eating symptomatology and self-evaluation in weight management interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The Weight‐Focused Forms of Self‐Criticising/Attacking and Self‐Reassuring Scale (WFSCRS) is based on the original Forms of Self‐Criticising/Attacking and Self‐Reassuring Scale (FSCSRS; Gilbert et al., 2004, British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43, 31) and assesses the inadequate and hated forms of self‐criticism and the ability to self‐reassure when coping with attempts to control body weight, shape, and eating. The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure, consistency, and reliability of the WFSCRS in overweight and obese women. Methods: The factorial structure of the WFSCRS was examined through a confirmatory factor analysis in 724 overweight and obese women participating in a commercial weight management programme. The scale's construct and convergent validity were also examined. Results: The WFSCRS had a three‐factor structure, similar to the FSCSRS, which fitted the data well. The WFSCRS had high internal reliability, construct, and discriminant validity. The scale was positively associated with measures of shame, body image, eating‐related difficulties, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, and body mass index (BMI). The two forms of self‐criticism were significantly associated with higher BMI, and this effect was mediated by increased loss of control over eating (for both forms) and decreased flexible control over eating (for the hated self form). Conclusions: The WFSCRS is a valid measure for assessing self‐reassurance and two denigratory forms (inadequate self and hated self) of self‐criticism in people who are overweight and obese. Practitioner Points: The WFSCRS was developed to measure weight/shape and eating‐related self‐criticism and self‐reassurance.The WFSCRS was examined in a large sample of overweight and obese women attending a community‐based weight management programme.The WFSCRS presented a three‐factor structure measuring two forms of self‐criticism (inadequate self and hated self) and the ability to be self‐reassuring.The two forms of self‐criticism and self‐reassurance are differentially associated with BMI, through the mediating effect of loss of control over eating and flexible control over eating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]