Using Spirituality in Psychotherapy: The Heart Led Approach to Clinical Practice offers a means for therapists to integrate a spiritual perspective into their clinical practice. The book provides a valuable alternative to traditional forms of psychotherapy by placing an emphasis on purpose and meaning. Introducing a new spiritually-informed model, Heart Led Psychotherapy (HLP), the book uses a BioPsychoSocialSpiritual approach to treat psychological distress. When clients experience challenges, trauma or attachment difficulties, this can create blocks and restrictions which result in repeated patterns of behaviours and subsequent psychological distress. Based on the premise that everyone is on an individual life journey, HLP teaches clients to become an observer, identifying the life lesson that they are being asked to understand or experience. The model can be used whether a client has spiritual beliefs or not, enabling them to make new choices that are in keeping with their authentic selves, and to live a more fulfilled and peaceful life. Illustrated by case studies to highlight key points, and including a range of practical resource exercises and strategies, this engaging book will have wide appeal to therapists and clinicians from a variety of backgrounds.

'Once in a while a book is published which offers an empirically and theoretically informed analysis of an under-studied topic which helps to carve out a new field of enquiry. Such is the case with Dr Sarah Bradshaw's breathtakingly detailed, richly first-hand informed, and incisive, account of the frequently paradoxical co-option of women into the analysis and practice of ''disaster'' in developing economies. Bradshaw's eminently comprehensive, well-substantiated, perceptive and sensitive treatment of the ''A to Z'' of gender and 'disaster' in developing country contexts constitutes a 21st century volume which will be a definitive benchmark for scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and feminist activists at a world scale.' - Sylvia Chant, London School of Economics, UK The need to 'disaster proof' development is increasingly recognized by development agencies, as is the need to engender both development and disaster response. This unique book explores what these processes mean for development and disasters in practice. Sarah Bradshaw critically examines key notions, such as gender, vulnerability, risk, and humanitarianism, underpinning development and disaster discourse. Case studies are used to demonstrate how disasters are experienced individually and collectively as gendered events. Through consideration of processes to engender development, it problematizes women's inclusion in disaster response and reconstruction. The study highlights that while women are now central to both disaster response and development, tackling gender inequality is not. By critically reflecting on gendered disaster response and the gendered impact of disasters on processes of development, it exposes some important lessons for future policy. This timely book examines international development and disaster policy which will prove invaluable to gender and disaster academics, students and practitioners. Contents: Introduction 1. What is a Disaster? 2. What is Development? 3. Gender, Development and Disasters 4. Internal and International Response to Disaster 5. Humanitarianism and Humanitarian Relief 6. Reconstruction or Transformation? 7. Case Studies of Secondary Disasters 8. Political Mobilisation for Change 9. Disaster Risk Reduction Conclusion: Drawing the Links: Gender, Disasters and Development Bibliography Index

Pardeck and his contributors approach the topic of family health from a macro perspective. Family health is a holistic approach to treatment embracing aspects of family functioning not typically considered in other more traditional approaches to assessment and treatment. They place particular emphasis on the ecological context in which the family functions, including the neighborhood, community, and other larger social systems. Family health is defined as the development of, and continuous interaction among, the physical, mental, emotional, social, economic, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the family, that result in the holistic well-being of the family and its members. The chapters in the book are guided by a number of key premises, including (a) Family health social work practice is grounded in a biopsychosocial approach to assessment and treatment; (b) Family health is based in a systems-ecological approach to assessment and intervention because of the role that various systems play in the well-being of the family; (c) Family health views the family system as the most important system for promoting the growth and development of the person; (d) Family health social work practice requires close collaboration between social work practitioners and other professionals. Based on these basic premises, Pardeck focuses on the macro level issues of family health practice that include community intervention, policy and program development, and program administration. The book is an important resource for social work professionals, scholars, students, and other researchers involved with social work practice and human services.

There is often more than meets the eye where politics, religion and money are concerned. This is certainly the case with the Faith-Based Initiative. Section 104, a small provision of the 1996 Welfare Reform bill called "Charitable Choice," was the beginning of what we now know as the Faith-Based Initiative. In its original form, the Initiative was intended to ensure that small religious groups were not discriminated against in the awarding of government funding to provide social services. While this was the beginning of the story for the initiative, it is not the end. Instead Charitable Choice served as the launching pad for growing implementation of Faith-Based Initiatives. These new policies and practices exist despite the fact that all levels of government already contract with religious organizations to provide social services. Nevertheless, government actors have been implementing the Initiative in myriad ways, creating new policies where none appear necessary.
Using data from multiple sources this book examines how and why states have been creating these policies and practices. The data reveal three key aspects of faith-based policy implementation by states: appointment of state actors known as Faith-Based Liaisons, passage of legislation, and development of state Faith-Based Policy conferences. These practices created a system in which neither the greatest hopes of its supporters, nor the greatest fears of its opponents have been realized. Supporters had hoped the Faith-Based Initiative would be about solving problems of poverty and an over-burdened welfare system, while opponents feared rampant proselytizing with government funds. Instead, these initiatives by and large did not offer substantial new fiscal support to those in need. In the place of this hope and fear, and despite the good intentions of many, these initiatives became powerful political symbols in the fight to reshape church/state relationships and distribution of political power.

When a disaster strikes, having every possible resource available is an urgent need for those practitioners and government officials put in charge of aid and recovery to those in need. Managing Crises and Disasters with Emerging Technologies: Advancements offers the most vital, up-to-date research within the field of disaster management technologies. Since the first disaster information network was set up nearly fifteen years ago, information technologies have advanced at an exponential rate, allowing those managing emergencies, crises, and disasters to effectively manage and utilize data in a safe, efficient way. This collection includes research and updates from authors from around the world, with a variety of perspectives and insights into the most cutting edge technology the field has to offer.

Phyllis saw the thread that the Lord had woven through her life-a thread of His faithfulness and strength to uphold her in the worst tragedy she could imagine.

All of this led to His calling for her to write and speak about His compassionate love for His children.

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:21-23)

"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth." (Job 19:25)

In a world of earthquakes, tsunamis, and terrorist attacks, it is evident that emergency response plans are crucial to solve problems, overcome challenges, and restore and improve communities affected by such negative events. Although the necessity for quick and efficient aid is understood, researchers and professionals continue to strive for the best practices and methodologies to properly handle such significant events. Emergency Management and Disaster Response Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships bridges the gap between the theoretical and the practical components of crisis management and response. By discussing and presenting research on the benefits and challenges of such partnerships, this publication is an essential resource for academicians, practitioners, and researchers interested in understanding the complexities of crisis management and relief through public and private partnerships.

This textbook features a groundbreaking collection of chapters co-written by Aboriginal authors. Informed by current field expertise, it provides an innovative teaching resource that recognizes and appreciates Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing, and demonstrates a commitment to decolonizing and reconciliation within social work and Allied Health. Aboriginal Fields of Practice explores many areas that have not been discussed before in contemporary Australia, including discussion of practice in criminal justice and an understanding of rural and remote practice. This valuable text will provide an excellent grounding for students and practitioners working with Aboriginal peoples.

There is a way the church can help the wounded move beyond their hurts, habits, and hang-ups to experience the forgiveness of Christ. Celebrate Recovery helps the church fulfill its role as Christ's healing agent. You don't have to lead alone. To lead people forward in spiritual, physical, and emotional restoration is to walk in the footsteps of Christ. And that's why the Celebrate Recovery Leader's Guide is so important. With everything you need to encourage lasting life-change, the leader's guide is the best way to facilitate Celebrate Recovery in your church and help people look forward to a whole new future. The Celebrate Recovery Leader's Guide includes: Fresh testimonies A 90-day start-up strategy A clear, easy-to-follow format Step-by-step instructions for each meeting Guide for conducting leader training Teaching notes for the 25 lessons of The Journey Begins (Participant Guides 1-4) Overview of the 25 lessons of The Journey Continues (Participant Guides 5-8) Along with a willing heart, this leader's guide is invaluable for leading men and women forward in complete restoration and transformation through Christ.

What was lost when Kids Company imploded last summer? More than reputations. The charitys founding vision, that there is a gap called love in how the state responds to abused and abandoned children, also vanished. In this book, the founder of Kids Company lays out the thinking behind a model of care that broke the cycle of neglect for thousands of vulnerable children. She reveals the true scale of Britain's failure in children's services, making public two decades of candid exchanges with prime ministers and senior politicians to explain why the sector has not improved since Victorian times. She also reveals the deceits used by local authorities to stop the magnitude of the problem becoming known. This is a book of hope, however. Calling on a plethora of moving case histories, it presents the science that gives cause for optimism; proof that even the most troubled young lives can be turned around. Looking forward rather than back, the book shows how a new model of support could be cheaper and far more effective than existing provision. Kids Company has gone. And yet something like it must be the future.It is imperative that the breakthroughs in understanding that came from its work are now shared with the widest audience. This book is an unusual collaboration between two outstanding individuals. One author is Camila Batmanghelidjh, who spent thirty years working with troubled families. The other is an award-winning journalist, Tim Rayment, who was sent to investigate Camila but decided instead that the real public interest lay in hearing her vital, life-changing message.

This handbook offers a comprehensive review of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for working in integrated pediatric behavioral health care settings. It provides research findings, explanations of theoretical concepts and principles, and descriptions of therapeutic procedures as well as case studies from across broad conceptual areas. Chapters discuss the value of integrated care, diversity issues, ethical considerations, and the necessary adaptations. In addition, chapters address specific types of pediatric conditions and patients, such as the implementation of CBT with patients with gastrointestinal complaints, enuresis, encopresis, cancer, headaches, epilepsy, sleep problems, diabetes, and asthma. The handbook concludes with important directions in research and practice, including training and financial considerations.Topics featured in this handbook include: Emotional regulation and pediatric behavioral health problems. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for pediatric medical conditions. Pharmacological interventions and the combined use of CBT and medication. CBT in pediatric patients with chronic pain. CBT for pediatric obesity. CBT-informed treatments and approaches for transgender and gender expansive youth. Medical non-compliance and non-adherence associated with CBT. Training issues in pediatric psychology. The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Pediatric Medical Conditions is an essential resource for researchers and graduate students as well as clinicians, related therapists, and professionals in clinical child and school psychology, pediatrics, social work, developmental psychology, behavioral therapy/rehabilitation, child and adolescent psychiatry, nursing, and special education.

This guy is tough, and so is his message.(By Ruben Rosario, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN August 2011. Edited for length)Like the U.S. Postal Service, apparently nothing keeps Larry Bauer-Scandin - foster dad to 125 - from his self-appointed rounds.Not the weather. Not the heart ailments or the genetic neurological disorder that robbed him of movement and rendered him legally blind. The 64-year-old Vadnais Heights resident just gets up and does it."My life was normal for the first nine years of my life until 1957 when my foot went to sleep, except that my foot never woke up," Bauer-Scandin told a group of inmates from the 3100 unit at the Dakota County Jail.But that's not the main message that Bauer-Scandin, a retired probation officer and jail counselor, wants to deliver on this day. "Whom do you blame for your problems?" he asks the group of 34 men, who are members of IMC, or Inmates Motivated to Change. Under the program, inmates with chemical dependency or mostly nonviolent offenses sign an agreement to take part in several programs and pledge not to make the same mistakes that keep landing them in lock-up."What people need to do is stand in front of a mirror and ask: 'How much of the problem is mine and how much is it somebody else?' "I first wrote about Bauer-Scandin five years ago. It was centered on his life as a foster parent. As he told the inmates, two of his former foster kids are cops, one in St. Paul. Two are soldiers deployed to Iraq. One's a millionaire. One's an author. Most are raising families or staying out of trouble in spite of hardships.But "15 are dead," said Bauer-Scandin, author of "Faces on the Clock," an engrossing memoir about his life. The dead include suicide victims, including an 11-year-old, others from AIDS and "my last one, they found in three or four pieces, as I understand."Bauer-Scandin's worth writing about again for what he continues to do at great pain and sacrifice without pay or fanfare. He didn't sugarcoat or pull punches with his audience."What I'm afraid is still happening is that the system is trying to figure out how to get tighter," he told them. "The sentences are getting tougher."And it's not the police, the sheriffs, the courts or even the folks in state and county-run corrections that are responsible for the race to incarcerate."It's the legislature," Bauer-Scandin said. "And legislatures have been known to do very stupid things."He also faults the media and a gullible public that forms opinions and dehumanizes people strictly on what they watch on TV and not on real-life experiences or knowledge."What do they see?" he said. "They see the Charlie Mansons. They see the unusual. They see the extreme. Most of you aren't that way. But that's what makes the news."Yet he doesn't divert from his main message: It's up to the inmate to take a positive step and choose the right way."Get yourself back into a position where you can influence those people, to be able to go to a school board or a city council or legislative meeting and have your voice heard."You can't fight the system from in here," he concluded. "You have to be out there."The inmates applauded and, one by one, stood in line to shake his hand on his way out the jail complex.His progressively debilitating disorder is taking more of a toll these days. But he steered the scooter inside the van and deftly wiggled his frail body into the driver's seat. He has no complaints, he told me. He will continue to go out and speak as long as God and his wife allow him."I hope something stuck," he tells me before he drives off.I hope so too, Larry.