Clinical or micro intervention predominates in social work education and practice. The prevailing assumption in social work practice and education is that one engages in either micro or macro intervention. In this article, we describe how these interventions may be merged into an integrated whole through social work practice with groups. The…

Positive Peer Culture (PPC) is a strength-oriented approach developed by Vorrath and Brendtro (1985) to prevent or reverse negative peer influence by building a climate of peer concern and respect. PPC operates in a range of settings including residential treatment, alternative schools, juvenile justice, and youth leadership groups. It is an…

Consulting is a type of helping relationship that usually occurs in a context whereby the consultee (teacher) is trained for the purpose of helping the client (student). The goal is to address a situation in order to solve problems within it and to empower consultees by training them to recognize needs and the resources available to them. The…

This article discusses the complexities associated with adopting a not-knowing stance in Child and Youth Care practice. By highlighting some of the challenges, it also clarifies the distinctions between practitioner lack of knowing how to proceed and an intentional, uncertain attitude when working with children, youth and families. Recommendations…

This article explores the issues surrounding medical amnesty policies in higher education beginning with the background of such policies, a summary of the current debate regarding the policies, and a discussion of research related to helping behaviors among college students. Due to the negative consequences of alcohol misuse, many student affairs…

Social workers have long been involved in identifying resources and making final arrangements for clients who die without an estate or have no heirs, who may be institutionalized or unknown to the community, or whose body may be unclaimed for burial. Absent quick intervention, these individuals are often at risk for an anonymous potter's field…

This article reports the experiences of families of children with autism in the People's Republic of China. The caregivers of 43 children with autism attending one of two short-term (3-month) intervention programmes for young children with autism were interviewed about their experiences before, during, and after the programme. Parent-to-parent…

Guided imagery is a flexible intervention whose efficacy has been indicated through a large body of research over many decades in counseling and allied fields. It has earned the right to be considered a research-based approach to helping. This article provides a brief introduction to the history of guided imagery and examples of selected research…

In this article, the authors report on the Operation Houndstooth Intervention Theory (OHIT), which fosters social awareness and utilizes the talents of the gifted to build social capital, that is, a program in which gifted students with high potential use their ability to help others. The six approaches of OHIT are described: (1) The…

Outlines a new model for applying concepts from resilience research to education, prevention, and treatment. Suggests how these concepts can guide practitioners in creating more powerful interventions and in fostering positive development for all youth. Focuses on caring relationships, high expectations and positive beliefs, and opportunities for…

Positive behavior support (PBS) represents an empirically driven concern with quality of life (QOL), support through systems change, and linkage to multiple behavioral, social, and biomedical sciences. The major impediments to QOL are problem behavior, skill deficits, and dysfunctional systems. A model for addressing dysfunctional systems is…

Despite their invaluable services, school counselors are among the first positions cut from tight budgets. The California high-school counselor profiled has a typical caseload: 450 students. She must respond to student's individual cases while making time to develop programs to improve student behavior and achievement. (MLH)

This paper offers a humorous parody of the way in which evaluation teams often enter clinical institutions to do program evaluation studies. The parody emphasizes the over-use of sophisticated techniques and methodologies; as well as expensive equipment. The authors then define evaluation as "determining the degree to which a program is meeting…

Describes the importance of four essential elements in a community's efforts to create positive youth development: connectedness, continuity, dignity, and opportunity. Identifies children who are in need and discusses what communities can do to care for and love them. Lists strategies that each community member can take to foster change. (RJM)

A middle-school teacher turned principal believes that classroom discipline problems stem from problems teachers are having with instruction. This article explains how to devise focusing activities, organize faculty study groups and turn discipline referrals into mini-writing workshops. Helping teachers is better than blaming them. (MLH)