Solution-Focused Brief Therapy for Veterans Essay

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy for Veterans - Essay Example Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a method of counseling that centers on the patient's future and relies on solutions to be effective. As its name indicates, it is designed to be accomplished in a shorter time frame than traditional therapies. SFBT has been used on patients suffering from depression, anxiety, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Early research indicated a success rate of 77% with an average of 2.9 sessions (Rothwell 2005 p.402). Industry sponsored research has further indicated its effectiveness that has resulted in "lasting change on average in less than 5 sessions and in up to 83% of referrals" (The Brief Therapy Practice 2003). Still, there is widespread skepticism in the scientific community. Could this brief and effective form of treatment be of benefit to veterans who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan To answer this question, an examination of the function of SFBT and how it might be integrated into the current treatment of veterans i s essential. Soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are faced with numerous mental health issues. Approximately one-third of the veterans returning from these wars that seek medical treatment are diagnosed with a mental disorder (Fact Sheet). A major concern is the high rate of post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) acquired from the intense combat conditions. PTSD rates among returning veterans is as high as 15% while another 10% have symptoms of anxiety or depression (Fact Sheet). In addition there are higher than normal rates of chronic fatigue and panic disorder. It would be important to verify if the brief approach would be effective at helping these veterans overcome these major mental health issues. In addition to the major mental health disorders, returning veterans also face a wide range of other issues that affect their mental health. There may be relationship problems when returning to a family after months of absence. To avoid seeking medical treatment, veterans may self-medicate and develop a substance abuse problem. Wounded veterans face reintegrating into a civilian world with a life long disability. In addition they face the problems of relocation, isolation, and unemployment. A brief look at these issues and an evaluation of current treatment methods may be able to shed some light on the usefulness of brief therapy. The term Brief Solution-Focused Therapy (SFBT) is a broad term that encompasses many forms of the treatment. For the purposes of this paper, SFBT is defined as being brief, less than 16 weeks, and focused on a positive outcome through a sequence of changes in behavior and expectations. It is closely associated with Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Family and Marital therapy. Results of previous research using these alternative methods may infer some potential for SFBT. Brief Solution-Focused Therapy (SFBT) an Overview SFBT was originally developed as a short-term psychotherapy approach at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee in the late 1970s. Rather than focusing on problems and the basis for emotion, it focuses on the solution. Attention is drawn to goals rather than obstacles and strengths rather than weaknesses. Solution-focused therapists do not make diagnoses, try to promote insight, or analyze the past. Instead they encourage the client to recognize and implement alternatives. SFBT has been used for the treatment of alcohol and

Human perception on gambling and investing (online sports betting and Essay

Human perception on gambling and investing (online sports betting and day trading) - Essay Example ---------- has contributed greatly to making me the person that I am today. I express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, ------------ whose guidance and wisdom helped me to give a coherent shape to my material, and remain confident and optimistic throughout the entire process. His ability to incessantly identify the lacunae in my writing, served to challenge my thinking; his critical passion and intellectual humor encouraged me to keep pushing myself to the limits of my ability. If it were not for his positive attitude and encouragement, this dissertation would not have been completed. I would like to thank --------------- for her creative drive and immense generosity, and the support and trust that she had reposed in me throughout the years spent at -------, and for all the practical advice and thoughts, and for all the time that she had spent on talking and discussing various subjects with me. In addition, I would like to specifically thank the----------------- and his colleagues for their support, for the time spent on discussing my subject and area of interest, for all the advice and directions given in order to sharpen my ideas and construct my dissertation topic, and also for their unreserved sharing of knowledge with me. I have profited greatly from ----------, who helped me to develop my ideas at the initial stage of the ------ program. I was lucky to have met him at the beginning of the ---------- studies while I was still struggling with my first drafts forms. He was able to understand, much before I could, as to the objective of my thesis and what I was attempting to convey. He gave me the courage and inspiration, and also taught me to love the research and writing process. I am especially grateful to ----------------- ., first, for the impetus that she imparted to me, in order to take up the program and secondly for always

The Purpose of School Essay Example for Free

The Purpose of School Essay In my opinion, the purpose of school is to educate, not teach, students in certain areas of knowledge chosen by those of the Board of Education in order to create ‘functioning’ members of ‘normal’ society. The difference between to educate and to teach is how the knowledge is presented. To educate is ‘to bring up (a child, physically or mentally), rear, nourish, support, or produce (plants or animals’ basically to use verbal methods such as lectures in a class setting, or praise for young child to create a specific skill set embedded in a person, be it information or behavior patterns. To teach is ‘to show, declare, demonstrate; teach, instruct, train; assign, prescribe, direct’ basically to use physical means to create an understanding of how something is performed. A common example of the two would be university and college. University is known for its textbooks and very written/audible learning styles whereas college is known as being more hands on. An even more common example would be a child’s journey to come to understand to stay away from a hot stove. A parent could verbally warn them of the dangers, but only once the child has learned through physical interaction does the warning remain in his mind. With these definitions, the title ‘teacher’ is misleading because those at the front of the room are not using methods to involve the students in learning, they are simply showing a PowerPoint and having the students write it in their note book; ‘Educator’ would be a more appropriate term to define those who are hired to only relay thoughtless knowledge because unless there is a physical aspect, it is harder to learn. One example would be sports. Watching Gretzky play hockey day in and day out does not mean that you will be able to skate like him if you have never skated before. Only by training your muscles and learning by acting will anyone begin to skate like a professional. Another example would be learning to play an instrument or learning to speak a language. Simply watching videos or taking notes on other peoples learning does not constitute you learning those skills because there are no sensory attachments. In History class, what is stopping a teacher from throwing out the PowerPoint’s, and having students act out a revolutionary battle? Old videos with droning old voices are not involving students in what the video is presenting. Naming their classmates after leaders of opposing sides, and acting out the battle would be both interactive, and create a better visual for what really happened during that battle. These tactics are not available to the students because ‘teachers’ do not make them available. Field trips, science experiments and interactive group projects are some examples of potential teaching strategies that are used sparingly. My own science teacher set the ceiling on fire during an experiment and we had to evacuate the room. While we all had a good laugh, we all remembered for a long time what chemicals not to mix if we did not want to scorch our ceilings. Out of three and a half years of schooling, not much will be retained over the long periods of time, let alone the 5 months to exams. What is remembered is the centrifugal force explained while on a trip to Canada’s Wonderland, and experiencing it on a roller coaster. Field trips are memorable and educational, and they teach students what educators cannot. Experience has always been an advantage of human nature and will always be a part of human nature. Sitting in a desk writing words not our own is not how we as people are supposed to learn. In the past, apprenticeships were how people learned, by physically performing the task over and over, allowing not only the brain to learn, but the muscles. By testing students on their ability to learn the same way as everyone else takes away the freedom and excitement of knowledge, transforming what could have been an eager mind starving for knowledge, into a box filled with what a group of individuals determined the majority of people should know. In my opinion, school is not a place for learning; it is a place for education. School is a confined space in which students are expected to conform to one set standards. The school building is a house that its residents despise, yet continue to walk the narrow hallways like mice in a cheese maze while others ‘guide’ us to where we should end up.

Child Observation for Development Analysis

Child Observation for Development Analysis Kirsty Lynch Child Observation Study Introduction By the age of six, children are moving out of what Erikson called the initiative vs Guilt-purpose period and are moving into the industry vs inferiority-competence stage of their lives. This is a main developmental stage in the life of a child where many milestones are hoped to be achieved by. To demonstrate the developmental stage of a six year old child I have conducted this child observation study. The setting of this child observation takes place in what appears to be a computer room in a primary school. There are three students present in the room, two girls, Mackenzie and Isabella aged six and one boy, Noah who is also six years old. There is one female adult present in the observation, the children’s teacher. There are a small number of adults present in the background, this is because it is a communal computer room and these other adults are not part of the observation study. The activity that’s taking place is a teaching lesson in which the teacher is demonstra ting patterns to the children and asking the children, at first to work together to complete the pattern and then to individually finish the patterns themselves. The child who is the focus of this observation study is Noah, the six year old boy. Observations: Discussion: From observing Noah in his school environment, it is easier to see the developmental stage that he is at, the milestones that he has reached are quite evident and his developmental stage is quite clear and progressing well, however there are a few milestones which Noah should have reached by the age of six which it seems he has failed to reach, here I will discuss Noah’s Physical, Emotional and Cognitive development and I will link it in with developmental psychology to illustrate where Noah is at in his Development and where he should be. Physical Develop: Noah’s physical development seems to be normal for his age, in comparison to Isabella and Mackenzie he seems to be the same height and slightly broader which is normal for a boy of his age. By the age of six years old, children usually reach an average height of about three foot ten inches and they normally weigh about forty-six pounds. These are just average figures but from observing Noah he seems to fit into this profile, although it is hard to judge his weight from the observation, he appears a healthy weight for his height and age. At the age of six years old, children have a lot of energy and they enjoy engaging in activities which involve a lot of movement. In order to achieve these movements, children require the use of Gross motor skills (Clarke McDowel, 2006). It is evident that Noah has a lot of energy and that his gross motor skills are developing at an appropriate rate. Noah can’t sit easy, is constantly moving his arms and hands, he makes shapes with his hands and at one stage imitates a bird using hand movements. It can be seen that Noah has good muscle control and good co-ordination. Noah’s fine motor skills can also be seen. Fine motor skills require dexterity, which is the good use of hands and fingers. By six years of age children have reached the stage of being able to use many fine motor skills, such as tying their shoe laces, good hand control and good use of both of their hands (Clarke McDowel, 2006). Noah’s fine motor skills can be seen little by little throughout the observation, Noah uses both of his hands consistently to complete the puzzles and he has the ability to turn the shapes into objects, Noah does this when he makes the shape of a house out of the shapes on the table. Intellectual Development: Noah’s communication does not seem to be at the level that it should be at for a six year old child. By the age of six most children can maintain attention, concentrate and can sit quietly during activities. Noah however, lacked concentration and only paid attention when he was being giving attention for his turn; he was unable to hold his concentration during the other students turns. At times Noah’s speech was quite hard to understand, it was sometimes slightly slurred. A child of Noah’s age should have an extended vocabulary and should be able to explore the meaning and sounds of new words, their speech should be precise and clear by this age. Children tend to express themselves by using new words, making up stories and developing their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas together (Clarke McDowel, 2006). Noah did not seem to have an extended vocabulary and his speech seemed very limited at times, he only spoke when he was seeking attention or when he wanted acknowledgement or praise for completing a task. Emotional and Social Development: At six years of age children should be able to identify and convey feelings and interact with adults and other children. As children develop they learn how to show affection, manage aggravation and irritation and understand jealousy and sadness (Clarke McDowel, 2006). While Noah has reached most of this developmental stage there are a few points within this stage which Noah has not completely met yet. The milestones which Noah has achieved at this developmental stage in his emotional and social development are co-operation, solving problems, seeking attention and becoming competitive. Although he co-operated, most of the time, Noah was quite fidgety while awaiting his turn. Noah was quite competitive, which is normal for a child of his age, and he likes the attention to be focused on him. Noah asked the teacher to â€Å"look† at him a number of times and at one stage said â€Å"see, look, watch how fast I am† as he was seeking attention and praise from the teacher. His sense of security seems to be reliant on praise from adults that he trusts; in this case that was his teacher. However, Noah was also quite irritated when it was not his turn to complete the puzzle, he had to be asked a number of times to wait his turn, by this age Noah should have a sense of controlling irritation and following instructions set out by his teacher. Cognitive Development: Children play an enormous role in their own cognitive development. They do this by trying to understand what’s going on around them by organising, explaining, constructing, manipulating and predicting. We can see that Noah plays an active role in his cognitive development, he understands what is being asked of him, he knows what he is meant to do and constructs shapes and patterns with the pieces supplied by his teacher. At the age of six, children also see patterns in objects and actions of the world and they can often attempt to organize these patterns to try and explain the world. Noah demonstrates this when he sees a house in the shapes that are on the table, he then constructs a tree to go along with the house because in Noah’s perception of the world this is what is normal, houses, gardens, maybe trees in the garden or outside on the road. However, Noah also demonstrates some limitations in his cognitive development. Noah has trouble controlling his own attention, when the attention is on him Noah behaves and does what he is asked to do, he displays an intense interest in learning and takes pride in completing the patterns, but when it is Mackenzie or Isabella’s turn, Noah lacks attention, he is twisting and turning in his chair, fidgeting with his hands and looking around the room. Noah becomes slightly frustrated that he has to take turns, the attention isn’t on him and the learning does not come about as quickly as he would like because he has to wait. Developmental psychology: During the Initiative vs Guilt-purpose stage children desire to copy the actions of the people around them and they take initiative in creating a play situation. Noah has reached this developmental stage as he shows that he can take instructions and copy what the teacher does, the teacher demonstrates how to do the patterns and Noah is quick to copy what she does, he is able to complete the pattern and he is able to turn the task into a play situation, he illustrates this by building a house out of the shapes that he is working with. Noah has accomplished this milestone and is moving into the Industry vs Inferiority-competence stage, which is often referred to as the latency stage. This stage allows children to learn, create and accomplish a number of new skills and Knowledge and helps them to develop a sense of industry. Noah shows that he is competent in this stage by completing the patterns that the teacher gives him with ease and he takes pride in completing these tasks. However, this is also an incredibly social stage of development, where experiences of unresolved feelings of inferiority and inadequacy among other children can have problems in relation to competence and self-esteem. Noah seems to be constantly looking for attention, he can’t sit easy if it’s not his turn and if he is not been giving attention. He is constantly looking for acknowledgement and praise for completing his tasks, it’s as if he is trying to prove that he is capable and better than the other students at completing the task., he says â€Å"See, look, watch, watch how fast I am†. Freud says that during the Latency stage sexual urges remain subdued and that children tend to play and interact with the same sex peers. In this observation Noah is with the opposite sex, however, there is no indication as to whether Noah chooses to be in this group or whether the teacher specifically put him in this group for observational purposes. If Noah was placed in this group it could account for why he felt the need to prove his capability over the girls, it is hard to tell whether Noah would have acted the same if he was in a group with boys. Piaget’s preoperational stage is just coming to an end by the time a child is six years old. Piaget states that a child should have reached the milestone of being able to use basic logic but may still not be able to understand how other people perceive the environment (Crawford and Walker, 2003). Attachment: Attachment is the close, continuous relationship with at least one other person that children need in order to develop a confident, stable, integrated personality (Fawcett, 2009). Mary Ainsworth came up with the three different types of attachment that a child could experience; Securely attached being the usual, standard attachment where children explore by themselves and can sometimes show some signs of concern when they are separated from their parents but usually settle and continue to play. , Insecure Avoidant, where children seem indifferent on whether or not the parent is there and insecure ambivalent, where children experience great upset when the parent leaves and opposing reactions when the parent returns (Ainsworth et al, 1978). Children tend to view the person that they are attached to as a secure foundation, a source of reassurance and someone who encourages them and offers them guidance (Crawford and Walker, 2003). Noah shows this attachment with his teacher. He looks to his teacher for guidance when completing the patterns, and he seeks praise and encouragement from her upon completing the task, he asks her to â€Å"look† and â€Å"see† what he has done. It is difficult to determine Noah’s attachment with his teacher in such a short amount of time, he does not ignore the presence of his teacher, nor does he cling to his teacher, although Noah does seem to constantly be looking for the teachers attention, this could indicate a lack of attention at home, or having to seek attention at home. Tentative Conclusions: From observing Noah it is clear that his development is on the right track. Noah’s physical development is normal for his age and he has accomplished many of the physical milestones that a six year old should have accomplished. His intellectual development is at a slower development rate than the average child of Noah’s age. Speech and language therapy could be used in order to help Noah develop his speech and language to an appropriate level. Noah does not seem to engage in conversation much and with the help of a speech and language therapist this could encourage Noah to engage more in conversation with his peers and his teacher. Noah seems to enjoy play and he enjoys praise for completing tasks, Play Therapy could be a useful resource to help Noah understand how to control his irritations and to help him concentrate. Noah’s development is on the right track but with a little help from the likes of a speech and language therapist or a play therapy specialist, Noah’s development could be improved to an appropriate level for a six year old child. Reflexive Piece: When beginning this observation, I had my own idea of what a six year old child should be doing and how far along a six year olds development should be. I thought back to what I was like when I was six years old, I could remember being in school and doing well in school, but other than that my memory of being six was not great. However, I myself have two younger brothers, one who has just turned seven years old and one who is turning six this year. From my own experience of my younger brother’s developmental stages, I had a preconception that all six year olds behaved in a similar way and that most six year olds had met the same developmental markers. Some of my own professional experience also influenced me in the completion of this assignment. I had previously done a placement in The National Children’s Hospital and I worked alongside Play Specialists. The children I worked with were from infants to teenagers, but the majority of the children who were involved in the play therapy sessions were aged between four years old and nine years old. From working with those children the same age as Noah I could really see what Noah was excelling in and where Noah was lacking in some developmental stages. I had previously worked with a family whose child was at a slower developing rate than his peers and the work that I participated in with that family influenced my ideas of what could help Noah. This child was also six years of age but had not reached all of the milestones expected by the age of six; similarly, Noah had not reached some of the milestones that you would expect him to have reached. Word Count: 3,299 Bibliography: Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E. Wall, S., 1978. Patterns of Attachment: A psychological study of the strange ssituation. Hillsdale: NJ: Erlbaum. Clarke, P. McDowel, G., 2006. The Developing Child. Glencoe: McGraw-Hill. Crawford, K. Walker, J., 2003. Social Work and Human Development. s.l.:Learning Matters. Fawcett, M., 2009. Learning Through Child Observation. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Ingleby, E., 2006. Applied Psychology for Social Work. Glasgow: Learning Matters.

Essay --

A1. Documents ïÆ' ¼ Fourth quarter balanced scorecard attached with excel spreadsheet. ïÆ' ¼ Balance sheet attached with excel spreadsheet. ïÆ' ¼ Income statement attached with excel spreadsheet. B1. Adequacy of Funds According to Ralph Estes’ Dictionary of Accounting (1981), a pro forma financial statement is described as â€Å"a financial statement created on events and transactions that are assumed, but has not yet happened.† On the other hand, a historical financial statement gives organizations financial measurements on how well the company has performed in the past. For that reason, without financial statements it would be difficult for management, investors, executive board members, and customers to analyze and evaluate how well a company does financially. The format in pro forma financial statements are similar to historical financial statements, but primarily focuses on the future theories and not past factual financial information. Also, a budget is a financial disposition to control future aspects in operations of money. Therefore, having a financial budget is extremely important especially when starting a business. During my simulation, I focused more on using a financial budget throughout to predict how much money I would spend during the expansion process of building the company. I kept my financial risk managed, so the company would not have any debt in the process. Unfortunately, this also backfired against me when I needed to invest more for the future of the company. The two points in my balanced scorecard are how well I did against the average companies. (Below is part of the final Balanced Scorecard for Investment in Future and Financial Risk). Average Typhoon Investment in Future 85.62 1.00 Financial Risk 0.91 1.00 Now... ...tion provided a purchase of the market search, but could have used a better overview of what tools or directions a business owner could use to succeed. There are many ways to achieve the ultimate goal of perfection towards the customer’s expectation in my simulation and benchmarking would have been an impactful improvement to achieve quality assurance goals. That being said, in the simulation there should be some evaluation of defects of the units that were sold to the customers. In a few of the quarters, feedback review of the quality of the product would also be another part of the simulation. Therefore, the quality assurance from the customer’s standpoint is vital in order to gain revenue and manufacturing growth for a company. Benchmarking would be an impactful improvement towards new business owners for this simulation to achieve quality assurance goals.

Grapes Of Wrath :: essays research papers

Okies Vs. Californians   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, is a novel depicting the Okies migration to California during the period in history known as The Dustbowl. In this novel Steinbeck attempts to display the tensions between the Okies and the Californians. This display can be closely compared to today’s tensions between citizens born in the US and the Immigrants. Great pieces of literature are timeless in the lessons they teach and the controversy they portray.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The tensions between the Okies and the Californians were heated, as are most tensions dealing with land and immigration. The Okies wanted only two things: food and land. â€Å"†¦the new barbarians wanted only one thing – land and food: and to them the two were one.† The â€Å"barbarians† only moved out to California to escape the treacherous conditions of Oklahoma and surrounding states suffering from the Dustbowl; the were attempting to create a better life for their families. The Californians wanted all the luxuries in life, they were living in a land free of Dustbowl worries. â€Å"†¦the Californians wanted many things, accumulation, social success, amusement, luxury, and a curious banking security†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Californians had already established the conditions that the Okies were in search of. They were now attempting to attain extras, and feared that the arrival of the Okies would halt this endeavor. The Okies motives wer e much nobler than the Californians’; but the Californians still felt that the Okies had no right to invade their land. â€Å"And whereas the wants of the Californians were nebulous and undefined the wants of the Okies were beside the roads, lying there to be seen and coveted†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Californians did not know what they wanted; their dreams were very unclear. The Okies intentions, on the other hand, were very clear and important.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This tension still exists today between Immigrants and US born citizens. Immigration is a constant topics of discussion among politicians, and the US population as a whole. US born citizens become tense with the arrivals of Immigrants; the US citizens are attempting to achieve their American Dream; these Immigrants are, in their minds, and obstacle on their path to success. Like the Californians in the Grapes of Wrath; the Americans have already attained their needs and are attempting to secure luxuries.

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie real name was Agatha Mary Clarissa was born in 1890. She was a fictional crime writer with about 80 detective novels credited to her.   Her father was a rich stockbroker; while her mother was British aristocrat; while her sister and brother older than her. Her father died when she was young that lead her mother to resort to Agatha Christieing.Her writing career spanned more than 50 years; where she wrote more than 80 detective works including short stories and plays; such as The Mousetrap that opened in London in 1952 and is still running.   Her first novel was The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published in 1920; where she created the famous detective Poirot.This was her famous character which was depicted in more than 33 novels and 54 short stories. Another of her famous character was Miss Maple that appeared in more than 12 novels and 20 short stories.Agatha Christi has been considered the best selling writer of all times in the Guinness Book of Records. She w as been the only writer that has competed the Shakespeare as her books has reached about one billion sold copies.Her books have also been translated into many languages including French. For example; she is considered all time best seller as over 40 million copies have been sold in France.Due to her enormous success and popularity she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Christi died at the age of 85 on 12 Jan, 1976 of natural causes in her home at Cholsey parish in Oxfords hire (UK).ReferenceKatheen Gregory Klein, Great Women Mystery Writers: Classic to Contemporary. : Greenwood, 1994.Earl F. Bargainnier, The Gentle Art of Murder: The Detective Fiction of Agatha Christie . Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1980.Patricia D. Maida, Nicholas B. Spornic, Murder She Wrote: A Study of Agatha Christie's Detective Fiction . owling Green State University Popular Press, 1982.â€Å"Queen of Crime.† http://uk.agathachristie.com/site/about_christie/quee n_of_crime.php. 10 Nov 2007