Promoting better social skills and behavior is a top priority for anyone who works with learners with autism--but which practices really improve outcomes? Find out in this cutting-edge volume, a reader-friendly synthesis of the latest findings from more than 20 of today's top researchers in the field. Coordinated by the highly respected…

Notes that widowed persons in the United States have little support following funeral. Describes Widowed Persons Service (WPS), service which offers one-to-one outreach to newly widowed by persons previously widowed and trained to help the newly widowed; and Talk Group, ongoing, open-ended support group for newly widowed formed by the WPS in…

The author reports an account of the method of self-therapy that he haltingly evolved over the years when faced with sensory disabilities. It presents a personal account of the tortuous routes in the evolution of this method and his confrontation with religion, work, self, middle age, death, others, marriage, and image of old age. The self-therapy…

Describes the development, nature, and potential contributions of refugee community organizations in the resettlement of Indochinese refugees. (Author/GC)

After consciousness raising, what? Women who want to alter their socialized responses may learn the necessary skills from counselors. Teaching behavioral self-management principles in the context of women's sex role enculturation is a preventive as well as corrective approach to helping women develop increased personal effectiveness. (Author)

Examines self-help groups for Vietnam veterans, the reasons for their effectiveness, typical group processes, and issues for counselors who work with these groups. (Author)

Members of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies were surveyed to assess self-help book utilization. Self-help books were used with clients by 92% of respondents (N=243) some of the time. Differences in selection criteria and practices between master's and doctoral-level respondents are noted. Frequently used books are listed.…

The role of Indochinese self-help groups in the Refugee Resettlement Program is examined in this paper. Drawing on the literature dealing with Indochinese self-help groups, the paper reviews the factors which contribute to the formation of these groups, more commonly called Mutual Assistance Associations or MAAs. In addition, the value of MAAs as…

Describes the development of the Caring Community which attempted to establish a permanent self-help growth center on a college campus. (Author)

The important role of the self-help approach in helping persons deal with medical, emotional, and practical effects of a sudden disability is considered in a discussion of the work of the Spinal Injuries Association in Britain. Services that can be provided and controlled by disabled persons are described. (Author/CB)

Alcohol abuse is a serious problem affecting not only the individual abuser, but also family, friends and society. The effectiveness of contracts as positive tools in the treatment of alcohol abuse was investigated for 15 current abusers randomly assigned to individual therapy sessions. Each subject completed a Personal History Questionnaire, the…

Burnout occurs when teachers are exposed to chronic stress without sufficient compensatory relaxation. Symptoms of burnout include physical, emotional, and attitudinal difficulties. Coping strategies for teachers include self-help groups and professional counseling. (JN)

A 5-week, 12-hour course given to the community emphasized understanding and coping with stress. At the beginning of the course several inventories were administered to the students, who also completed the instruments in a follow-up procedure 10-12 weeks after the end of the seminar. The course focused on recognition of stress signals and the…

Rational Self-Counseling, a variation of rational-emotive therapy, is a self-help therapeutic technique in which students are encouraged to be responsible for their own behavior and emotions. The primary function of self-counseling is to evaluate whether thoughts are rational. A list of questions which students might ask themselves is presented.…

Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of using paraprofessional trainers in teaching students with tension headaches to relax, thus reducing the frequency of their headaches. A technique for automated self-instructed relaxation training was compared to a paraprofessionally trained group and a no-treatment control group over a 3-week…