Team HOPE (Help Offering Parents Empowerment) supports parents of missing children by linking victims with trained parent volunteers who have been through the experience of having a missing child. Describes: Team HOPE's compassionate response training; referrals to Team HOPE; and additional avenues to help via Team HOPE's website. Explains how…

Paralleling reports of the effects of passive smoke exposure in medical journals, the term "secondary traumatization"--the emotional upset experienced by persons who come into close contact with a trauma victim--is receiving increasing attention in the mental health literature. Implications of this for family counselors are considered. (Author/KW)

Analyzes information about callers, their problems, and the responses made by counselors at a Relate (Marriage Guidance) Helpline telephone service. An assessment of the value of the telephone service is made in light of its aim, to provide a prompt response to people whose relationships are in difficulty and are unable to wait for a counseling…

In this article, the mother of 12-year-old son with autism shares two stories that highlight how her son keeps her humble and how asking for help mutually benefits the giver and receiver. It discusses the need to tell people your needs and to invite them to participate in your life. (CR)

Describes focus groups for therapists and supervisors practicing home-based therapy. Identifies eight topics challenging to therapists and necessary for home-based practice (i.e., crisis and safety issues, multiproblem families, therapist demoralization). Recommends focus group methodology as useful tool to assess training needs and for promoting…

Examined differences in suicidal ideation, depressive symptomatology, acculturation, and coping strategies based on ethnicity. Hispanic (predominantly Mexican American) and mixed-ancestry adolescents displayed significantly higher risk of suicidal ideation compared to Anglo peers, even when controlling for socioeconomic status, age, and gender.…

This article discusses the emotional aspects of hearing loss on the individual and the family. It explores the grief and guilt that parents feel, social isolation of the individual, negative effects for siblings, and emotional problems of adults losing their hearing. Suggestions for counseling techniques are provided. (Contains references.) (CR)

A survey examined the perceptions of 169 adults with low vision about their personal experiences with abuse, violence, or both. A relatively small number of respondents (56 of 35 percent) reported experiencing harm or physical abuse, but many experienced emotional abuse, and some witnessed violence in their families. (Contains extensive…

This review of the literature on the prevention of childhood trauma resulting from domestic violence lists usually short-term effects of domestic violence on children and discusses the possibility of post traumatic stress disorder and prevention of adjustment problems through immediate intervention. Suggestions for intervention with children who…

A study investigated how neighborhood and individual factors affected 400 parents from neighborhoods with different risk profiles for child maltreatment report rates. Neighborhood factors of impoverishment and child care burden significantly affected child abuse potential. Variation in child abuse potential within neighborhoods was greater than…

Assessed relationship between family instability and problem behaviors at ages 5 and 7 years. Found direct, concurrent relations between family instability and preschool children's externalizing behavior in the context of other family process variables, relations between subsequent family instability and first-grade children's internalizing…

This article details how the author deals with a student, Kenny, whose performance in school declined because of family problems. The author stresses the roles of a local school principal in the community, as someone who can help, someone with resources and answers and guidance. Despite the many times in which the school principal's judgment is…

Examination of childhood risk factors for injection drug use may provide clues as to why people progress to injection drug use and it can promote identification of at-risk youth. We surveyed current injection drug users (IDUs) and individuals who never injected drugs (non-IDUs), recruited through street outreach and snowball sampling in Denver,…

Fatal and nonfatal injuries due to suicidal behavior among younger adolescents are of growing concern for many communities. We examined the incidence and patterns of these injuries among persons aged 10-14 years using three databases, two national and a third from Oregon. Suffocation and firearm gunshot were the leading external causes of suicide;…

This study explored clinical and nonclinical predictors of inpatient hospital admission decisions across a sample of children in foster care over 4 years (N = 13,245). Forty-eight percent of participants were female and the mean age was 13.4 (SD = 3.5 years). Optimal data analysis (Yarnold & Soltysik, 2005) was used to construct a nonlinear…