Frain, Michael

Motivation can foster engagement in the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program leading to benefits that can potentially result in sustainable employment. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Motivational Interviewing using the Motivation Curriculum for Vocation Rehabilitation Consumers (MCRC) on stages of change, self-determination, functional disability limitations awareness and life satisfaction on minority and non-minority VR clients with disabilities that had open cases with The Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of motivational interviewing
(MI) counselor training in a public vocational rehabilitation (VR) setting. Data were
collected from a total of 347 participants (67 counselors and 280 clients) in the
experimental and comparison groups, during the pre-and-posttests. The counselors in the
experimental group received a 4-hour standardized MI training and a 4-week follow up
coaching sessions. Results of this study indicated that counselors in the experimental
group demonstrated significant gains in their MI competence scores compared to the
comparison group. The clients of the experimental group’s counselors significantly
improved their engagement in VR services and working alliance with their counselors.
Also, counselors’ education level and CRC status showed strong correlation with the
posttest MI competence total scores. Finally, working alliance was found to be a
significant predictor of client engagement. This study established the preparatory knowledge for the relationship between MI
counselor training, client engagement, and counselor-client working alliance in a public
rehabilitation setting. The results of this study contribute to the rehabilitation literature by
providing evidence-based knowledge and tools designed to improve the quality of VR
service outcomes, such as employment, for people with disabilities. With the findings of
this research, there is evidence available to provide rehabilitation administrators to justify
investing time and other resources into training rehabilitation counselors on the use of MI
intervention.

Attachment strategies are patterns of attachment that develop over the lifespan, and provide a
description of interpersonal behavior along with a functional system for diagnosing psychopathology.
Genetic factors, in the context of development and the environment regulate the maturation process. As
the brain matures, it synthesizes past memories with present experiences in order to judge the behavior
of others in future relationships. This is significant because the purpose of the attachment figure is to
provide protection and aid the child in “making sense” of information made available to them. Research
in adult psychopathology continues to show a correlation between adult psychopathology, cortisol, and
disruptions in the childhood attachment system. This study will examine how the Dynamic Maturation
Model theory of attachment strategies influence care that mothers give to their infants, and if cortisol
serves as a moderator. The Adult Attachment Interview and Infant Care Index will be administered to
mother/infant dyads. Attachment strategies and quality of infant care indicated by both measurements
will be coded , correlated, and cortisol measured. If findings indicate a correlation, treatment
interventions can be designed for post- postpartum mothers to prevent long term child and adult mental
health psychopathology and associated social problems that may have their etiology in childhood.

This article seeks to determine the effectiveness of rehabilitation counseling in the
adjustment to disability process of returning Iraq and Afghanistan military service members with
disabilities. Psychosocial adaptation to disability is the process by which individuals respond to
changes (e.g., functional, psychological, social) that occur subsequent to the onset of disability or
chronic illness (Bishop, 2005). The ultimate goal of rehabilitation counseling, as it relates to
psychosocial adaptation to disability, is to help clients achieve a state of overall adjustment
whereby they move beyond physical losses to value existing abilities (Livneh & Antonak, 1997;
Wright, 1983). Veterans are one of the groups that benefit from rehabilitation counseling.
Approximately 2.2 million U.S. military personnel have deployed as part of the Iraq and
Afghanistan operations (Institute of Medicine March 2013 Report). It is estimated that for every
military personnel killed in these wars, there are at least sixteen wounded, and many will return
to the United Sates with some type of disability (Frain, 2010). Rehabilitation counselors work in
numerous Department of Veterans Affairs settings: rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient clinics,
and Veteran Benefits Administration’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program
(Patterson, 2009). Through these services, rehabilitation counselors assist veterans with
disabilities to prepare for and find jobs, or improve the quality of their lives. The research will
explore the correlation between injured veterans’ adjustment to disability levels and participation
in rehabilitation services. In this ongoing research the data is being collected through an internet
survey.

Memories of early relationships and attachments are coded into the brain as an internal working model These models include expectations, appraisals, and rules for processing or excluding information that remain throughout development. The process is also known as Mentalization and involves the child developing the capacity to correctly interpret the behavioral cues of others through use of reflective functioning. Children with secure attachments develop the capacity to mentalize and develop minimal psychopathology that follows them into adulthood. Insecure attachments in children are consequential due to the parent’s failure to incorporate their own reflective functioning capabilities into their child rearing practices which results in ineffective parenting.
<br>Possible consequential long term effects include: child and adult psychopathology, learning difficulties, and overall societal decline as children repeat the negative trajectories of their parents due to the failure of the parent and child to effectively use their reflective functioning abilities. These children are high risk to develop adult personality disorders, particularly Borderline Personality Disorder
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the
brain's nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills,
and results in behavioral changes and lack of communication. Family members and
caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease can assume added responsibilities and
stress due to the progressive and degenerative component of this disability and places an added strain on the family system. This study was designed to examine predictors of
quality of life of persons living with AD and to examine caregiver burden and predictors
of quality of life of persons living with AD. This study hopes to empower the caregivers
and test the resiliency model of family stress, sense of coherence and social support while incorporating individual patient and family needs by surveying caregivers involved with working with patients with AD. Specific aims of the study include validating
relationships of the resiliency model while determining the importance of family
resiliency, the sense of coherence, social support and the role of psychosocial
interventions specifically Validation Communication Intervention (VCI), to reduce
caregiver burden and to predict the quality of life in persons with Alzheimer’s disease.