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Morbid obesity is linked to physical and psychological well-being. Bariatric surgery has shown tremendous success with rapid weight loss in patients with morbid obesity. However, some patients experience weight regain post-surgery, which can be linked to psychological and social factors. Mental health counseling is rarely offered in bariatric surgery programs. We used a six-session individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach with patients following bariatric surgery, using a single case research design to treat four participants. We measured the effectiveness of a six-session CBT treatment and assessed for psychosocial improvements. Results indicated that each participant experienced psychosocial improvements, decreased comorbid maladaptive behavior post treatment, and lost body weight during the study. In conclusion, CBT treatment may be beneficial for post-surgery bariatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study investigated changes in Black male children's (N = 22) psychosocial functioning who participated in a school-based mental health counseling intervention at three Title I elementary schools. We collected the participating children's psychosocial functioning data before their first counseling session, after the fifth session, and again after the tenth session. The results of the analyses for this single group design identified that the participants' emotional and social behaviors changed over time, per parent report (η2 =.214). This study provides valuable implications for counselors working with Black male youth, highlighting the effectiveness of school-based mental health interventions in addressing the psychosocial needs of this population. This study's findings also suggest that interventions focused on improving social-emotional functioning can have significant positive impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of Black male children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systematic review of research shows that infidelity and marital infidelity cause the most damage to the relationship between spouses and addition to marital conflicts, it can even destroy the relationship. Despite numerous studies on the treatment of marital infidelity, there is a research gap regarding the efficacy of schema therapy based on mindfulness on the emotional reactivity and internal shame of betrayed women. Aims: The present study was conducted with the aim of the efficacy of schema therapy based on mindfulness on the emotion reactivity and internal shame of betrayed women. Methods: The method of the present research was practical in terms of purpose and semiexperimental in terms of method, pre-test-post-test with control group and three-month follow-up. The statistical population of this research included all women who needed psychological services in the second half of 2022 due to their husband's infidelity in the city of Bandar Abbas. Among all psychological and counseling service centers in Bandar Abbas city, 30 women who had referred to ten centers due to infidelity of their husbands were selected by the available sampling method and were randomly replaced in the experimental group and the control group. To collect data, emotional reactivity questionnaires (Knock et al. 2008) and internal shame (Cook, 1993) were used. The participants of the experimental group received 10 sessions of mindfulness-based schema therapy based on Van Vrieskwijck et al. (2015). Also, the data were analyzed by variance analysis with repeated measurements using SPSS-22 software. Results: The findings showed that schema therapy based on mindfulness was effective on the emotional reaction and internal shame of betrayed women. (p< 0.01). Also, the findings showed that this intervention had the greatest impact on internal shame. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, it can be argued that schema therapy based on mindfulness is effective on the emotional reaction and internal shame of betrayed women, and this therapeutic intervention can be used to moderate the emotional reaction and internal shame of betrayed women in counseling centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It seems that despite the significant role of worry and uncertainty intolerance in occurrence, maintaining and intensify the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, few interventions have targeted such variables. Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy on worry states and intolerance of uncertainty in patient with generalized anxiety disorder. Methods: The research method was a semi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a 45-day follow-up stage by control group. The study population included all people with generalized anxiety disorder referred to 40 psychological counseling centers in the 18th district of Tehran in 2023 which among those 34 cases were selected through available sampling and they were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The Experimental group received schema therapy (Young, 2008) sessions for eight 90-minutes sessions. All participants were assessed by the generalized anxiety disorder scale- 7 item (Spitzer et al, 2006), Pen state worry questionnaire (Meyer et al, 1990) and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (Freeston et al, 1994). Data were analyzed by SPSS-24 software and MANOVA with repeated measure test. Results: The results demonstrated that schema therapy is effective in reducing worry states and intolerance of uncertainty (p< 0.01) and that this effect is long-lasting (p< 0.01). Conclusion: According to the findings of the study, therapists and clinical specialists should consider schema therapy as an effective treatment strategy for generalized anxiety disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWith the increasing detection rate of Internet addiction in college students, the correlation between Internet addiction and emotional problems is further strengthened. Therefore, it is crucial to actively investigate the emotional mechanisms underlying college students’ internet addiction to foster their healthy development. This study establishes a moderated mediation model based on the relationships among experiential avoidance, internet addiction, anxiety, and difficulty describing feelings to explore the link between experiential avoidance and internet addiction, the mediating role of anxiety, and the moderating effect of difficulty describing feelings. The study collected data from 1,591 Chinese college students across seven provinces (municipalities), utilizing measures such as the Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire, the Internet Addiction Scale, the Anxiety Subscale, and the Difficulty Describing Feelings Scale. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted to further investigate the potential emotional mechanisms behind college students’ internet addiction. The results indicated that experiential avoidance significantly predicts internet addiction among college students, with anxiety mediating the relationship between experiential avoidance and internet addiction. Additionally, difficulty describing feelings moderate the relationship between experiential avoidance and anxiety. These findings further suggest that emotional disorders such as experiential avoidance, anxiety, and difficulty describing feelings are potential risk factors behind college students’ internet addiction. The study recommends enhancing psychological counseling and other intervention measures in interventions for college students’ internet addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To recognise the importance of supporting people with mental health issues to make positive changes in health behaviours • To understand the main elements of the transtheoretical model and motivational interviewing, and how nurses can apply these to support behaviour change • To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers) • To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers). The Making Every Contact Count (MECC) framework seeks to use the daily contacts between healthcare staff and the public as opportunities to promote positive changes in people’s health. MECC focuses on four domains – healthy eating, physical activity, reducing alcohol consumption and smoking cessation – which can be challenging topics for mental health nurses to raise and discuss with clients. People with mental health issues are at increased risk of various physical health issues, therefore positive behaviour change interventions are an important part of mental health nursing practice. This article provides an overview of the transtheoretical model (stages of change) and motivational interviewing, explaining how nurses can use these in tandem to support clients to make positive changes in health behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this conceptual article is to explore the perceptions of Black male veterans regarding counseling for posttraumatic stress disorder. This will build upon previous research about this population by referencing the invisibility syndrome theory. A case illustration will integrate the theory with a composite of Black veterans who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. Implications and limitations for working with veteran Black men will be proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total wellness (mental and physical health) is a core element and a foundational pillar in the mental health counseling field. The counseling literature is lacking research on supporting physicians in the United States, who are a unique population facing complex mental and physical health issues. Health-based screening has notable utility for monitoring and promoting physician wellness. However, the literature is missing a package of health-based screeners with valid scores among a normative sample of U.S. physicians. We tested the psychometric properties of the following wellness-based screeners with a national sample of U.S. physicians: Mental Health Inventory-5, Lifestyle Practices and Health Consciousness Inventory-2, and Inner Wealth Inventory. Results revealed support for convergent validity and factorial invariance of physicians' scores on all three screeners by gender identity and help-seeking history. We offer recommendations for how these wellness-based screeners can edify the practice of mental health counselors when working with physician clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stigma toward accessing mental health support services exists in military culture. One of the next steps in this line of research is gaining a better understanding of the barriers or reasons behind why service members can be reluctant to seek counseling. We recruited a national sample (N = 516) of service members to test the dimensionality of scores on the Revised Fit, Stigma, and Value (RFSV) Scale for measuring barriers to seeking counseling. Results demonstrated that the meaning of RFSV scores was invariant by help‐seeking history (past attendance in counseling) and by mental health diagnosis. After establishing adequate construct validity evidence of scores, we found that the Value barrier was a significant predictor of one or more peer‐to‐peer referrals to counseling among service members. Additionally, demographic differences in the Value and Stigma barriers emerged by help‐seeking history and active duty status, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It seems that considering the role of emotions in distress tolerance and cognitive flexibility as two important dimensions of social anxiety disorder, which is one of the most debilitating anxiety disorders, using treatments that target emotions can be helpful. Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy on cognitive flexibility and distress tolerance married women with social anxiety disorder. Methods: The research method was a semi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a 45-day follow-up strage by control group. The study population included all married women with social anxiety disorder referred to psychological counseling centers in the 18th district of Tehran in 2023 which among those 34 cases were selected through available sampling and according to the inclusion criteria and they were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The Experimental group received emotion-focused therapy (Johnsano, 2008) sessions for nine 90-minutes sessions. All participants were assessed by the questionnaires of cognitive flexibility Inventory (Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010) and distress tolerance (Simons & Gaher, 2005). Data were analyzed by SPSS-24 software and MANOVA with repeated measure test. Results: The results indicated the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy on improving cognitive flexibility and distress tolerance (p< 0.01) and maintaining its effectiveness in the follow-up stage (p< 0.01). Conclusion: Considering to the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy it is suggested to focus on this therapy as one of the auxiliary, supportive and rehabilitation therapy along with drug treatment in reducing the consequences of difficulties in distress tolerance and cognitive flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjective: Better understanding how behavioral health professions students were impacted by COVID-19 can help educators inform their education practices. Participants: The present study examined the impact of COVID-19 among n = 83 students enrolled in two universities across five graduate-level behavioral health training programs – clinical mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, psychiatric nursing, and social work. Method: Participants completed the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory (EPII), and descriptive statistics were examined. Results: On average, fourteen life issues were impacted negatively by COVID-19. The most reported negative impacts of COVID-19 were more time on screens/devices, canceling/restricting family celebrations, and canceling planned travel. Participants also endorsed positive impacts of COVID-19, including increased appreciation for, and more attention paid to, personal health. Conclusions: Students have been impacted by COVID-19 both negatively and positively. Educators need to be mindful of the multifaceted impacts and continue to adjust their training considerations to adapt as needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endometriosis is the most frequent gynecological diseases and accompanied by both physical and psychological symptoms. An increasing number of studies suggested acknowledging endometriosis as a systematic disease due to the multifactorial effects throughout the body. The chronic disease significantly impacts daily life, including romantic relationships. This study aimed to investigate the associations between health-related quality of life (HRQoL), infertility-related psychological well-being (IPW), constructive communication, and relationship quality in individuals with endometriosis. Methods: A total of 627 individuals with endometriosis participated in this online cross-sectional study. We measured HRQoL in all participants and IPW specifically in those who reported an unfulfilled wish for a child. Additionally, relationship quality and constructive communication were assessed. We used Pearson's product moment correlation to examine the association of HRQoL/IPW and relationship quality. Mediation analysis was used to assess the role of constructive communication in the association between HRQoL/IPW and relationship quality. In an explorative analysis, differences between subsamples with and without an unfulfilled wish for a child were analyzed. Results: Poorer HRQoL was associated with lower relationship quality overall (p =.002) and specifically with three subscales of relationship quality: worse sexuality (p =.016), increased mistrust towards the partner (p <.001), and restriction of freedom/independence (p =.003). There was no significant association between IPW and relationship quality. The mediation analysis including constructive communication as mediator showed a full mediation between HRQoL/IPW and relationship quality. The subsamples with and without an unfulfilled wish for a child differed in HRQoL but not in relationship quality or constructive communication. Conclusion: The findings indicated an association between HRQoL in individuals with endometriosis and relationship quality. In addition, we observed a full mediation between HRQoL/IPW and relationship quality, when constructive communication was considered as a mediator. Therefore, constructive communication plays a key role in effectively managing the impact of the disease within a relationship. Individuals with endometriosis experiencing difficulties conceiving should have access to appropriate psychological counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supervision in social work is an organizational, individual need towards the wellbeing of the supervisee and the beneficiary. In general, professional supervision has gained its undeniable role, in particular, supervision in social work bears the imprint of clinical supervision and organizational supervision. The professionalization of the profession of psychotherapist has also attracted social workers interested in acquiring psychotherapeutic skills, and the social work profession is moving towards liberalization. As in psychotherapy, psychological counseling there are models of supervision in social work. The aim of the paper is to present the functions of supervision in social work from an integrative perspective (individual, organization) and the consequences of abusive supervision in the exercise of supervisory functions in Philip Rich's model. The supervisor in social work needs a holistic view: supervisee (needs of the supervisee)- organization (organizational needs)-social, social consequences of supervision (needs of the beneficiaries). A supervision with the focus on the supervisee, organization, social will not generate favorable consequences, on the contrary, it creates the premises for abusive supervision and hence, the decrease of the supervisor's creativity, task conflicts, bournaout, social undermining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectiveMethodResultsConclusionDevelop a Psychotherapy Change Motivation Scale (PCMS) with robust psychometric properties.A literature review, semi-structured interviews, and expert evaluation were used to draft the scale. The scale was administered to participants receiving psychological counseling or therapy at specialized hospital psychological intervention centers, university mental health education centers, and social psychological counseling agencies using convenience sampling. The initial sample (n = 178) was subjected to item analysis and exploratory factor analysis, and the formal sample (n = 180) was then subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and reliability and validity testing. Criterion validity was tested using the Outcome Questionnaire-45(OQ-45) and the revised Chinese version of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA).The final scale comprised 19 items across four dimensions: Activation, Expected benefits, Agency, and Maintenance and Orientation. The Cronbach’s α coefficients ranged from 0.608 to 0.897 for the total scale and subscales; split-half reliability was 0.796; cumulative explained variance was 58.363%, with good structural validity (X2/df = 1.69, RMSEA = 0.062, GFI = 0.875, CFI = 0.915, IFI = 0.917, TLI = 0.901). PCMS scores and its four factors were negatively correlated with OQ-45 (r = −0.234 to −0.375, p<0.01) and positively correlated with the Chinese URICA (r = 0.386–0.694, p<0.01).The developed PCMS demonstrates good reliability and validity, meeting psychometric standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Method Results Conclusion Nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and suicidal ideation (SI) are widespread mental health concerns among adolescents. As fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and self‐disgust are also common psychological phenomena among adolescents, existing research suggests that there may be reciprocal predictive relationships between FNE and NSSI/SI with self‐disgust playing a mediating role. This study aimed to investigate the reciprocal relationships between FNE and NSSI, as well as FNE and SI, and the mediating role of self‐disgust.Random intercept cross‐lagged panel models (RI‐CLPMs) were employed. A total of 515 Chinese secondary school students (50.7% boys; baseline Mage = 12.31 years, SD = 0.81) completed self‐report questionnaires regarding FNE, self‐disgust, NSSI, and SI. The assessment was conducted in four waves, 6 months apart.The results were as follows: (1) There were bidirectional relations between FNE and NSSI through self‐disgust. (2) There was a unidirectional association from FNE to SI via self‐disgust.These findings have expanded the theoretical understanding of adolescent NSSI and SI, and highlighted the importance of offering personalized psychological counseling and therapy services at the intrapersonal level for adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conscience is the indestructible core of one's personal identity and their sense of agency in the world. When it passes judgment against them, it generates inner conflict (i.e., moral injury). At its core, moral injury is about trust and sacred relationships, particularly the loss of safe connection with self, society, God/Divine/a Higher Power, and the world. The clash between a person's conscience and overwhelming existential or psychospiritual experiences, which uniquely defines moral injury, alienates them from life-sustaining relationships. Healing requires more than reordering fractured belief systems. Reestablishing bonds of self-worth, trust, and life-sustaining relationships are essential. This paper presents the 6-Fold Path to Self-Forgiveness (6-FPSF), an interdisciplinary, narrative-based healing writing process for the treatment of moral injury, particularly self-induced moral injury. Self-forgiveness has been associated with psychospiritual and relational well-being. The protocol draws upon theoretical literature, evidence-based psychological interventions, spiritual-oriented practices, creative arts, and somatic exercises for mental health counseling and spiritual/religious ministration. In addition to describing the 6-component therapeutic model, the author offers intervention strategies for clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aims and Objectives Background Design Methods Results Conclusions Relevance to Clinical Practice This study aims to understand the family experiences of disabled elderly people facing adversity from the perspective of family resilience and to develop a theoretical model to explain the constitution of family resilience.Family resilience is the ability of families to cope with, adapt to, and recover from significant stressors and challenges. Although some studies have focused on disabled elderly people, the components of their family resilience have received little attention.A grounded theory.A total of 30 participants were selected by theoretical sampling, and all participants were from families with disabled elderly people in Chengdu, China. Data were obtained via semi‐structured interviews. The COREQ checklist for qualitative research was followed.A theoretical model of family resilience for disabled elderly people was established based on three categories: family organisation, family beliefs, and family relationships. Family organisations include the organisation model and resources; family beliefs include coping styles and adversity remodelling; and family relationships include communication and atmosphere.These categories suggest that there are several similar components of family resilience for disabled elderly people, which can be used to understand how families cope with this challenging experience by adjusting their roles, resources, and perspectives. Our findings are believed to offer significant theoretical and practical implications for improving the resilience and well‐being of families with disabled elderly members, improving the effectiveness of caregiving services, and guiding strategies for disabled elderly individuals, their families, caregivers, and researchers.Healthcare professionals must recognise that disability impacts not only the individual but also the entire family system. The process of disability is slowed by early intervention, and psychological counselling services are provided to relieve stress and anxiety. Training in practical skills can be provided to build social support networks to help them cope with challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression, anxiety, and stress are prevalent among medical sciences students globally and contribute to suicidal ideation. Many risk factors are associated with the mental health problems of medical sciences students. Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation, as well as their associated factors, among medical, dental, and pharmacy students in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 292 students. We collected background information and data on socioeconomic status (SES). We used the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) and the Beck Scale for suicidal ideation (BSSI) to assess depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation. The data were analyzed using a linear regression model. Results: The prevalence of medium to high-risk suicidal thoughts among all students was 56.8%, with 6.5% of students reporting high-risk suicidal thoughts. The prevalence of mild to extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress was 66.8%, 59.5%, and 52.1%, respectively. Factors significantly associated with the severity of suicidal thoughts included being single (β = -2.11), having a positive history of psychiatric illness (β = 2.64), having a positive history of chronic medical conditions (β = 4.23), and higher scores of depression (β = 1.97) and anxiety (β = 0.49). Additionally, a higher academic semester and greater interest in courses were significantly associated with lower scores of depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions: The findings of this study revealed a higher rate of depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation among medical sciences students compared to the global prevalence. This underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions to improve students' mental health. More specifically, recognizing the risk factors for suicidality and promoting access to counseling services and mental health awareness programs can help prevent suicidal thoughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to examine the views of psychological counselor candidates/counselors on the "Supervision Forms (Process Notes Technique) with Psychoeducational Content Based on the Eclectic Counseling Approach and Accommodating the Steps of Counseling Process" developed by the researcher. The study also examined the views of the clients who had received psychological counseling support. 17 individuals under the supervision of the researcher (Supervisor 1) in the "individual counseling practice course" participated in the study. In addition to the researcher, the opinions of 10 counselor candidates about the Supervision Forms were also examined through the mediation of two different supervisors with doctoral degrees in Counseling and Guidance. Furthermore, five clients who started and completed the counseling process were included in the study group. Thus, the study consisted of a total of 32 participants. "Form for Evaluating the Supervision Forms" and "Form for the Evaluation of Counselor Candidate/Counselor by the Client" were used as the data collection instruments. For data analysis, descriptive analysis was performed as a form of qualitative analysis. As a result of the study, the participants stated that the Supervision Forms were "detailed and explanatory", "useful", "awareness-raising", "instructive and developmental", a "guide, route map, light", "control provider and supervisory", "functional, easy and practical", "valuable, reassuring, stress-relieving" and "limited". As another result of the study, 5 clients who fully attended and completed the counseling process stated that they "felt comfortable and safe", "the counselor was respectful and objective", "they benefited from the counseling process", "they gained awareness about finding solutions to their problems and solved them" during the counseling process. The results obtained from the research are discussed in the light of the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The recurring actions and intrusive thoughts that characterise obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), a long-term mental illness, are known as compulsions. The cornerstones of conventional treatment are psychological counselling and prescribed medication; nonetheless, interest in complementary therapies has grown. This review looks at how well Ashwagandha, curcumin, milk thistle, valerian root, and St. John's wort may help with OCD symptoms. Methods: To assess these herbal supplements' potential for therapeutic benefit, case reports and clinical trials were examined. Results: Curcumin, which contains anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, has shown promise in reducing the severity of OCD symptoms. Traditionally used to treat depression, St. John's wort has shown some potential in lowering anxiety and compulsive behaviour. The herb milk thistle, which is mainly used for liver protection, did not affect OCD symptoms. Anxiolytic valerian root barely offered relief from symptoms associated with anxiety; it has only little effect on obsessions and compulsions. The adaptive Ashwagandha has demonstrated a great deal of promise in lowering stress and enhancing general well-being, which may help with symptom alleviation. Although the initial results are favourable, larger scale randomised controlled trials are necessary to validate reliability and efficacy. Conclusion: This study illustrates how herbal supplements may be used in addition to conventional medications as adjunctive treatments for OCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological distress is increasingly prevalent among university student populations and demands for university counselling services have increased over the last decade. The current systematic review was aimed at summarizing the available evidence on the effectiveness of psychological counselling for students in higher education. A systematic search was undertaken in PsycInfo, PubMed and Scopus, resulting in 42 studies identified as eligible. The results provide evidence of the utility of psychological counselling for university students, identifying benefits in terms of global functioning and some symptoms, particularly with reference to depression and anxiety. Importantly, results showed that students who experienced a greater change in psychological functioning over the course of counselling reported greater improvements in academic performance. Improvements in GPAs and academic distress, but not in retention, were also found at post-intervention. Online counselling also proved to be effective, while the data remained inconclusive on whether attending more sessions may lead to more improvement. The methodological quality of the included studies was generally moderate. Finally, research recommendations were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the schools' support service related to the Nordic ambition of inclusive education. This ambition entails a somewhat conflicted mandate, which both the schools and the support service find demanding to ensure in their collaboration. As a framework for discussing challenges and opportunities linked to a case study in Norway, the article also shows how this appears in Sweden and Denmark. The question is whether it is possible, through new forms of meetings, to develop an innovative collaboration on inclusive practice between the Norwegian Educational and Psychological Counselling Service and schools. The article builds on selected data from a larger project, using a cross-unit analysis to compare experiences from two different types of collaboration meetings in two different Norwegian municipalities. By this, we have searched for an understanding of the central prerequisites to succeed. The most significant finding is the importance of a leadership which is, under innovative conditions, capable of creating necessary psychological safety to develop the meetings towards real professional learning communities. Finally, the apparently persistent challenges of designing a suitable support service to realise inclusive education in the Nordic countries are discussed in light of a current Norwegian strategy called 'The Competence Boost for Special Education and Inclusive Practice'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mental health challenges faced by aging societies, particularly within the context of Thai Buddhist communities, underscore the urgent need for capacity-building initiatives to support monks in promoting the psychological well-being of the elderly. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a mental health training program for monks, rooted in Buddhist principles. The primary aim is to assess how well the program equips monks to counsel the elderly in Thai Buddhist society. A quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 32 health volunteer monks selected through purposive sampling. The study assessed the monks' knowledge and practical counseling skills and collected participant feedback. The results indicate significant improvements in both knowledge and practical skills, with marked progress observed from pre- to post-test scores (p < 0.001) and sustained effectiveness in follow-up assessments (p = 0.005). Approximately 71.88% of participants passed the knowledge post-test and practical skills evaluation, with 62.50% demonstrating proficiency in the follow-up assessment. These findings suggest that the program is effective in preparing monks to address mental health issues among the elderly in Thai Buddhist society. Additionally, integrating indigenous practices and beliefs into mental health interventions can enhance their cultural relevance and acceptance. This approach empowers local religious leaders and fosters culturally sensitive solutions to mental health challenges across diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosis with cancer can be a shocking, life-altering, and traumatic experience for both the affected patient and their family, which may include immediate or extended family, significant others, and caregivers. Living with or surviving cancer can negatively impact the patient and their family members individually, and it can also result in negative effects on the patient-family dyad. In the US alone, the American Cancer Society anticipates approximately 2 million new cases of cancer in 2024; moreover, as many as 25% to 30% of cancer survivors experience anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Although healthcare providers are often pressed for time during routine initial and follow-up appointments, exploration of the person with cancer's journey through the disease course must be a priority and a collaborative effort. Prompt identification of mental health disorders, including substance use disorders, in people with cancer and their family members is essential to the well-being of the dyad. Many primary care providers provide both primary care services and survivorship care, such as posttreatment preexisting and secondary cancer surveillance, to cancer survivors. Primary care NPs are therefore well positioned to screen, assess, and treat mental health conditions in the cancer survivor and their family. The primary care NP also may have a greater opportunity to interface with patients' family members, thereby promoting healthier families and societies. Living with or surviving cancer can negatively impact the patient and their family members individually, and it can also result in negative effects on the patient-family dyad. Exploration of the person with cancer's journey through the disease course must be a priority and a collaborative effort. Prompt identification of mental health disorders is essential to the well-being of the dyad. Primary care NPs are well positioned to screen, assess, and treat mental health conditions in the cancer survivor and their family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examined the topic of online psychological counselling, focusing on the perspectives of both clients and professionals. In light of the widespread adoption of computer‐mediated psychological support during the COVID‐19 pandemic, the research analysed how it has taken shape in the collective consciousness, the role of trust, and perceived effectiveness. Method: The sample consisted of 133 professionals (M = 46) and 716 patients (M = 33), recruited through non‐probabilistic snowball sampling. Data, collected through two ad hoc questionnaires, were analysed using the EVOC 2005 software (for social representations) and SPSS (for quantitative data). Results: Overall, regarding the social representation of online psychological support, in the central core of the therapists' representation there seems to be a structured idea of the emotional distance that online therapy inevitably brings with it. In the core of the patients' representation, the idea of online support has been structured as a form of assistance that has shown its full usefulness during the pandemic. Quantitative data reveal a perceived efficacy of online psychological support comparable to in‐person therapy. Efficacy is enhanced by an already‐established trust relationship. The adoption of the online mode seems to have favoured the deployment of new resources by therapists and patients, attesting to an adaptation to this new way of conducting therapy. The online mode, in particular, will continue to be chosen by both, along with face‐to‐face meetings, as a mode of psychological support post‐pandemic. Conclusion: Based on these findings, this study holds strong potential for practical application in the field of remote therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spiritual counselling techniques can offer individuals a sense of new meaning and a way to cope with difficulties. However, no prior study has specifically examined the effectiveness of a spiritual intelligence counselling programme on suicidal ideation and self‐concept among retired individuals. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate how a new counselling programme focusing on spiritual intelligence helps retired individuals deal with suicidal ideation and self‐concept. Materials and Methods: A total of 40 retired individuals were split into two groups: one that received the counselling programme (experimental group = 20) and one that did not (control group = 20) based on their initial scores of suicidal ideation and self‐concept scales. The experimental group went through a 10‐session counselling programme, meeting for 90 min each week from April to June 2023. Results: Based on means, standard deviations and analysis of variance, results found significant differences in scores between those who underwent the counselling programme and those who did not. The experimental group revealed a decrease in suicidal ideation and an improvement in self‐concept after completing the counselling programme. Males seemed to benefit more from the spiritual intelligence‐based counselling programme than females in reducing suicidal ideation. There was no difference between males and females regarding self‐concept. Discussion: The spiritual counselling programme improves self‐concept and reduces suicidal ideation among retired individuals. Conclusion: The results suggest that the spiritual intelligence‐based counselling programme shows promise in addressing mental health issues among retired individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Mental health suffered during the COVID‐19 pandemic lockdown in Scotland. While there was limited availability for face‐to‐face counselling, online counselling was available via telephone, videoconference, email, one‐to‐one chat and group basis. Existing research has failed to examine inter‐modality comparisons of client experiences of online counselling during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: Scottish participants (n = 94) who received online counselling during the COVID‐19 pandemic completed an online survey using quantitative methodology, which explored their experiences of one of five online counselling modalities measured by two reliable scales: the Working Alliance Inventory‐Short Revised and factor one of the Satisfaction with Therapy and Therapist Scale. Additional exploratory analysis investigated whether age, gender, choice of online counselling modality and pre‐COVID‐19 pandemic familiarity with online counselling affected these outcomes. Results: Working alliance and satisfaction outcomes were positively correlated. No significant differences between working alliance and satisfaction scores were found between the five modalities. Female participants, and those who received their preferred choice of counselling modality, had significantly greater working alliance than those who did not. Conclusion: These findings provide insights to clients and practitioners about the variety of synchronous and asynchronous online platforms that can facilitate good therapeutic outcomes. The importance of participant choice of counselling modality was reiterated. The broader implications of the findings and the future direction of a hybrid online and face‐to‐face counselling model were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The goal of this project was to determine the feasibility of a Community of Practice (CoP) model to support behavioural health (BH) clinical supervisor professional development. Approach: Fourteen supervisors participated in 13 CoP‐focused workshops focused on supervision within the Primary Care Behavioural Health (PCBH) model over a 4‐year period. These workshops occurred twice a semester (in person and virtually) for supervisors hosting students participating in a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Behavioural Health Workforce Education Training (BHWET) grant. The program focused on preparing masters‐level clinical mental health counselling students to function as Behavioural Health Consultants (BHCs) in primary care settings in rural and urban areas. Supervisors completed post‐workshop surveys on their satisfaction with the content and the impact of the workshop content on building their PCBH supervision skills. Evaluation: Supervisors were satisfied with the content presented during the CoP workshops as well as indicated improvements in their confidence with providing supervision within the PCBH model. Areas of improved confidence and competence included supervision in integrated health care settings, topics discussed in primary care, and telehealth visits. Implications: Overall, this demonstrates an approach to building supervisor confidence in working with pre‐licensure trainees within the PCBH model. CoP workshops show promise as an approach that institutions of higher education and health care organisation can adopt to improve clinical teaching and supervision in primary care as well as support supervisors in the community who work with trainees in primary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to determine factors associated with cannabis discontinuation, to assess the impact of mental health and addiction interventions on cannabis discontinuation during pregnancy and to investigate the neonatal impact of cannabis discontinuation. This is a 10-year cohort study in a tertiary hospital in Barcelona, Spain, including women with self-reported cannabis use during pregnancy. Main outcome was cannabis discontinuation based on biological sample testing. Secondary outcomes were neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, preterm birth, birth weight and bottle-feeding. When cannabis use was detected during pregnancy, 32 out of 81 (38.3%) discontinued cannabis during pregnancy vs. four out of 61 (6.6%) when detected at birth (p <.001). Multivariate binary logistic regression showed that null parity (OR: 6.95, p =.011), detection of cannabis use during pregnancy (OR: 5.35, p =.018) and early detection and referral to mental health care for counseling on cannabis cessation and interventions on the first trimester (OR: 25.46, p <.001) increased cannabis discontinuation. Risk for preterm birth <37 weeks (11.4% vs. 30.8%) and NICU admission (25.7% vs. 54.2%) were lower when discontinuation. Early detection of cannabis use during pregnancy, cessation counseling with mental health interventions, and null parity are predictors for cannabis discontinuation during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, I used single case research, specifically, multiple baseline design to test the effectiveness of implement the reading of hip-hop and rap lyrics in mental health counseling. Data was collected through self-reported assessments to demonstrate causation between variables. The assessment tools consist of Outcomes Rating Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Sessions Rating Scale. There were five Black and African American college-aged men between ages 18 and 24. The results provided evidence supporting the use of hip-hip and rap music intervention to enrich the wellbeing among the population. The purpose of this research study, which was part of my dissertation, was to provide an overview of current empirical research utilizing hip-hop and rap in counseling, create a manual to assist with implementing hip-hop and rap as a treatment intervention, and test the effectiveness of the treatment intervention to assist counselors with a new cultural based intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Inonu University Journal of the Faculty of Education (INUJFE) is the property of Inonu University Journal of the Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

School psychology professionals rely on professional literature to access information on scientifically supported practices. Counseling is certainly one of those practices. The purpose of this review was to determine how many articles published in prominent peer-reviewed school psychology journals have addressed providing effective counseling services to children and youth. We wanted to determine the types of counseling approaches that were described in those articles and which approaches garnered the most attention. Findings revealed that there were relatively few articles about counseling in prominent school psychology journals. Interestingly, most studies employed quantitative rather than qualitative designs and analyses. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) was the approach that was implemented the most in empirical studies across the school psychology journals. Empirical studies mainly included elementary and middle school students from diverse racial and ethnic groups who were receiving counseling services in a small group (tier 2) format. Implications for the profession of school psychology are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of university counselors' work effectiveness in the new era aims to assess their performance in areas such as ideological and political education (IPE), psychological counseling, academic support, and daily management. The evaluation typically includes counselors' performance in guiding students' thoughts, promoting mental health, crisis intervention, and career planning. A scientific and comprehensive evaluation system can improve the quality of counselors' work and promote students' holistic development. The work effectiveness evaluation of university counselors is multiple-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM). Recently, Exponential TODIM (ExpTODIM) and TOPSIS approaches have been introduced to address MAGDM. The 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic sets (2TLNSs) have emerged as a powerful tool for representing uncertain data, particularly in the evaluation of university counselors' work effectiveness. In this paper, we propose a 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic Exponential TODIM-TOPSIS (2TLNN-ExpTODIMTOPSIS) approach to solve MAGDM problems with 2TLNSs. A numerical study on the work effectiveness evaluation of university counselors is presented to validate the 2TLNN-ExpTODIMTOPSIS approach. The major contributions of this research are outlined: (1) Information entropy based on score and accuracy functions is developed using 2TLNSs to determine weight information; (2) The 2TLNN-ExpTODIM-TOPSIS approach is integrated to handle MAGDM; (3) An illustrative example of university counselors' work effectiveness evaluation is provided to demonstrate the 2TLNN-ExpTODIM-TOPSIS method; (4) Comparative analyses are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the 2TLNN-ExpTODIM-TOPSIS approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Special Education & Rehabilitation (2314-8608) is the property of Association of Arab Universities and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND METHODS RESULTS CONCLUSIONS Mental health care is critical to improving mental health but factors associated with student utilization are poorly understood.Data were from high school students (N = 2933; mean age = 15.7 ± .6) enrolled in a California cohort. We examined associations of sociodemographic factors, substance use, and mental health symptoms at baseline (Fall 2021) with mental health care at follow‐up (Spring 2022).At follow‐up, 7.7% of students reported out‐of‐school therapy, and 16.0% reported in‐school counseling. Generally, therapy was more common for female and gender minority (vs male), some sexual minority youth (vs heterosexual), black, non‐Hispanic white, and multi‐ethnic (vs Asian), and English language speakers. Higher socioeconomic status was associated with greater use of out‐of‐school therapy, but not in‐school counseling. Students with clinical levels of mental health symptoms, or alcohol or e‐cigarette use had greater odds of mental health care (ORs = 1.42‐2.61;ps <.05), though utilization was less than 20% for out‐of‐school therapy and less than 30% for in‐school counseling among these students.Mental health care is underutilized, and disproportionately used by certain student sub‐groups. Findings indicate a need to increase mental health care utilization in‐ and out‐of‐school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To understand the current status of psychological therapy and counseling services in mental health institutions in mainland China so as to provide reference basis for developing subsequent relevant policies. Methods From May to June 2021, the National Mental Health Project Office conducted a survey using a self-designed questionnaire on 3 833 institutions providing psychological therapy and counseling services in 31 provinces in mainland China. The data was collected by the mental health project offices at all levels and submitted to the National Mental Health Project Office. Results 2 214 (57.76%) institutions provided psychological therapy or counseling services to both outpatient and inpatient patients. In 2020, we served over 21.86 million people, with outpatient patients slightly higher than inpatients. 2 685 (70.05%) institutions charge fees, of which 1 206(44.92%) reported that their psychological therapy services are included in medical insurance. The fee standards for psychological therapy and counseling services vary greatly among different institutions, with psychological therapy services ranging from 5 yuan RMB to 3 000 yuan RMB per session and psychological counseling services ranging from 5 yuan RMB to 2 400 yuan RMB per session. Conclusion Residents have low utilization of psychological therapy or counseling services within medical institutions. The prices of psychological therapy or counseling services vary greatly, and the medical security needs to be deeply implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents experience numerous changes, both psychologically and physically, and they are also the age group with a high prevalence of mental problems that need counseling help. The study aims to assess the difficulties and the needs for psychological support, factors affecting the need to use psychological services among adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 672 high school students in Thu Duc City, Vietnam. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between grades 10–12 in student's difficulties (DS) and a statistically significant difference in needs for psychological services (NPS, RPS). Additionally, there was a statistically significant difference in academic performance for DS. The findings also implied that RPS was predicted by a DS, NPS, and factors affecting the need to use psychological services (FA), in which NPS and DS were mediators in the relationship between FA and RPS. The study significantly contributes to research practices and the theoretical framework that the parliament and the government use to make counselors mandatory in schools. Meanwhile, the study suggested that school counselors, educators, and teachers must appropriately evaluate students' counseling needs and psychological difficulties; this is essential to providing support and interventions when students deal with challenges promptly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study aimed to explore whether behavioral synchrony (BS) and inter-brain synchrony (IBS) could serve as potential biomarkers for alliance quality or outcomes among clients with different adult attachment styles. Method: We assessed the clients' self-report working alliance and clinical outcomes as well as simultaneously measured BS using motion energy analysis (MEA) and IBS with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) among 37 secure (N = 21) or dismissing (N = 16) clients with their counselors during the first psychological counseling meeting. Results: Dismissing dyads manifested significantly higher late-stage counselor-led and client-led IBS (p =.018) than secure dyads. Adult attachment style served as the moderators in the correlation of both whole-stage client-led BS with bond dimension of alliance (p =.015) as well as in the correlation of both whole-stage no-lag IBS with CORE-10 score changes (p =.022). Moreover, increases in the whole-stage client-led BS were significantly associated with decreases in early-stage, late-stage and whole-stage no-lag IBS (all ps ≤ 0.01). Conclusion: These findings revealed the potentially impeding role of interpersonal synchrony in alliance quality for dismissing clients, at least during the first psychological counseling meetings. They also might partially validate the relationship between different modalities of interpersonal synchrony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignancies in women and imposes a significant health burden globally. According to data from the World Health Organization, the incidence of BC has been increasing steadily over the years. It has become one of the leading causes of cancer-related death among women worldwide. OBJECTIVE: This work was to evaluate the combined intervention effect of psychological care along with the use of ondansetron, dexamethasone, and promethazine hydrochloride in breast cancer (BC) patients undergoing chemotherapy, including their impact on nausea and vomiting control, quality of life (QoL), and psychological status. METHODS: 64 BC patients undergoing chemotherapy were collected and randomly rolled into a control group (Group C) and an intervention group (Group I). Group C received ondansetron combined with routine psychological support and counseling therapy, while Group I received a combination of ondansetron, dexamethasone, promethazine hydrochloride, and psychological care therapy. Self-assessment scores for anxiety, QoL ratings, white blood cell counts, and incidence of adverse reactions were assessed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Group I showed better control of nausea and vomiting versus Group C (P < 0.05). Marked improvements were also observed in the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores, white blood cell counts, and nursing satisfaction in Group I versus Group C (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, the two groups had no significant difference regarding QoL scores (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: the combination of psychological care with ondansetron, dexamethasone, and promethazine hydrochloride effectively controls nausea and vomiting symptoms in BC patients undergoing chemotherapy and provides higher levels of clinical nursing satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been continuously advancing and finding extensive applications, with one of its core technologies, machine learning, being increasingly utilized in the field of healthcare. OBJECTIVE: This research aims to explore the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in psychological counseling and utilize machine learning algorithms to predict counseling outcomes. METHODS: Firstly, by employing natural language processing techniques to analyze user conversations with AI chatbots, researchers can gain insights into the psychological states and needs of users during the counseling process. This involves detailed analysis using text analysis, sentiment analysis, and other relevant techniques. Subsequently, machine learning algorithms are used to establish predictive models that forecast counseling outcomes and user satisfaction based on data such as user language, emotions, and behavior. These predictive results can assist counselors or AI chatbots in adjusting counseling strategies, thereby enhancing counseling effectiveness and user experience. Additionally, this study explores the potential and prospects of AI technology in the field of psychological counseling. RESULTS: The research findings indicate that the designed machine learning models achieve an accuracy rate of approximately 89% in analyzing psychological conditions. This demonstrates significant innovation and breakthroughs in AI technology. Consequently, AI technology will gradually become a highly important tool and method in the field of psychological counseling. CONCLUSION: In the future, AI chatbots will become more intelligent and personalized, providing users with precise, efficient, and convenient psychological counseling services. The results of this research provide valuable technical insights for further improving AI-supported psychological counseling, contributing positively to the application and development of AI technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health has become increasingly important for the applied sport psychologist, a factor which may include screening, promoting literacy, individual support, and educational programs. However, despite of this importance, few checks have been made on the perceived preparedness of sport psychologists to undertake this work and whether differences may exist between those recently qualified compared to experienced practitioners. Underpinned by the theoretical domains framework, 62 Health and Care Professions Council registered practitioner sport and exercise psychologists (30 females: age: M = 46.13 years and SD = 10.44 years and 32 males: age: M = 43.25 years and SD = 10.47 years) completed an online survey to assess whether they felt equipped to address the mental health dimension of their work. The survey comprised three sections: Demographic and background information, a series of statements (n = 31) adapted from the determinants of implementation behavior questionnaire, and three questions with space for free text comments, inviting participants to explain their level of preparedness to incorporate and deliver mental health interventions. A 6 × 12 analyses of variance yielded significant differences between domain ratings but not across levels of experience or interactions. Data from free text comments were analyzed thematically and categorized into the following three themes: (a) complementing the performance role, (b) awareness of professional boundaries, and (c) importance of further continued professional development. Combined, although practitioners emphasized importance, preparedness ratings ranged from neutral to somewhat agree, calling for further specific sport psychology‐based mental health training. Highlights: An online survey, underpinned by the theoretical domains framework, was used to assess whether registered sport and exercise psychology practitioners in the United Kingdom felt prepared to undertake the mental health dimension of their work.Analysis through ANOVA yielded no significant differences across experience or interactions, suggesting that preparedness and implementation do not differ regardless of whether recently qualified or experienced practitioners. Furthermore, average ratings across all domains revealed practitioners feel only "somewhat prepared" to address client needs in this area.Free text comments provided additional insight to levels of preparedness where practitioners noted the frequent necessity to offer mental health support, why it complements the performance focus, and how they are uniquely placed to understand the specific contextual demands, yet were cognizant of their competencies, knowledge base, and boundaries.Calls for further specific sport psychology‐based mental health training are warranted by the professional bodies in the United Kingdom to ensure practitioners feel equipped to address this increasingly important factor of their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the American Counseling Association (ACA) Advocacy Counseling Competencies (ACC), this article describes how clinical mental health counselors (CMHC) can advocate for juvenile offenders (JO) across the micro, meso, and macro service levels. The importance of collaboration between the mental health system and juvenile justice is described throughout, alongside the importance of intentional collaboration across all levels of the ACA ACC. The specific needs of the JO population including severity of mental health, high rate of marginalized identities, and impact of systemic racism are described, indicating this population is highly vulnerable. We offer specific suggestions for using the ACA ACC for CMHC in various settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of traditional psychological counseling, sessions have typically taken place face-to-face between counselor and client. However, clients often hesitate to seek assistance due to the scrutiny of those around them, and the counselor's appearance or mannerisms may inadvertently unsettle the client. To address these challenges, numerous studies have explored online psychological counseling systems. In line with this, this study introduces a system designed to enhance counseling sessions within a metaverse environment by incorporating additional services featuring recreated derivative content like music, videos, and images, all protected by copyright. this research aims to achieve four key objectives. Firstly, this study proposes an algorithm aimed at bolstering counseling effectiveness by integrating messaging and derivative works into metaverse counseling sessions. Secondly, this study aims to control avatar positioning within the metaverse space. Thirdly, the system ensures a stable configuration even amidst changes in the client and counselor's locations within the metaverse. Lastly, this system dynamically adjusts the placement of derivative works based on real-time satisfaction indices, allowing for the continuous monitoring of client satisfaction during counseling sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nisar: Journal of Religious Studies / Dini Tetkikler Dergisi is the property of NISAR and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs) have opened new possibilities for developing conversational agents (CAs) in various subfields of mental healthcare. However, this progress is hindered by limited access to high-quality training data, often due to privacy concerns and high annotation costs for low-resource languages. A potential solution is to create human-AI annotation systems that utilize extensive public domain user-to-user and user-to-professional discussions on social media. These discussions, however, are extremely noisy, necessitating the adaptation of LLMs for fully automatic cleaning and pre-classification to reduce human annotation effort. To date, research on LLM-based annotation in the mental health domain is extremely scarce. In this article, we explore the potential of zero-shot classification using four LLMs to select and pre-classify texts into topics representing psychiatric disorders, in order to facilitate the future development of CAs for disorder-specific counseling. We use 64,404 Russian-language texts from online discussion threads labeled with seven most commonly discussed disorders: depression, neurosis, paranoia, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and borderline personality disorder. Our research shows that while preliminary data filtering using zero-shot technology slightly improves classification, LLM fine-tuning makes a far larger contribution to its quality. Both standard and natural language inference (NLI) modes of fine-tuning increase classification accuracy by more than three times compared to non-fine-tuned training with preliminarily filtered data. Although NLI fine-tuning achieves slightly higher accuracy (0.64) than the standard approach, it is six times slower, indicating a need for further experimentation with NLI hypothesis engineering. Additionally, we demonstrate that lemmatization does not affect classification quality and that multilingual models using texts in their original language perform slightly better than English-only models using automatically translated texts. Finally, we introduce our dataset and model as the first openly available Russian-language resource for developing conversational agents in the domain of mental health counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in online counseling for children with single-incident trauma. Method: A qualitative case study method was employed. The research was conducted with two volunteering children and their parents. The sessions were transcribed by the authors, and code names (Ipek and Eylül) were assigned to protect the participants' identities. İpek's traumatic memory was explored through drawing pictures with tactile bilateral stimuli and Eylül's traumatic experience was addressed using tactile bilateral stimuli during the EMDR therapeutic story technique. The Child Revised Impact of Events Scale (CRIES-8) was used for pre-test, post-test, and follow-up testing to support the session descriptions. Results: The results indicated that post-traumatic symptoms were reduced and remained at a low level for an extended period in both clients. Conclusions: It is suggested that future studies should explore various bilateral stimulation methods in online EMDR, conduct larger-scale studies with children who have experienced different types of traumatic events, and investigate the impact of various EMDR protocols on children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health counseling is a significant challenge in contemporary society, primarily due to issues such as cost, stigma, fear, and limited availability. Emotions play a crucial role in conveying information in this context, making emotion detection essential for a deeper understanding of an individual’s mental well-being. Utilizing generative machine learning models in mental health counseling could potentially lower barriers to access and improve outcomes. This paper proposes the development of a deep learning-based emotion-detecting chatbot named Serenity. The approach involves combining a pre-trained deep neural model, RoBERTa, with a multi-resolution adversarial model, EmpDG, to enhance the accuracy of detected emotions and generate more empathetic responses. RoBERTa has been trained on a dataset of thousands of tweets from Twitter. Additionally, an interactive adversarial learning framework is introduced to leverage user feedback and assess the emotional perceptivity of generated responses in dialogues. The study aims to demonstrate that a machine learning-based mental health chatbot like Serenity has the potential to serve as an effective complement to traditional human counselors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is aimed at ascertaining the prevalence and predictors of common mental disorders (CMD) among Brazilian graduate students (N = 5266) during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Employing the Self‐Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ‐20), the study found that CMD prevalence was 63.5%. Variables such as not feeling well psychologically in the past year, the necessity to take leave of absence from activities, residence in different regions, female gender, studying for a master's degree, extension of deadlines, experience of setbacks in education, COVID‐19 risk group membership, self‐medication practices, seeking medical assistance, and prior psychological counseling emerged as predictors of CMD. The findings reveal the vulnerability of graduate students to CMDs and risk factors amenable to institutional intervention. To this end, the study provides support for strategies promoting mental health in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]