Clergy spouses experience various life stressors, yet many cope and function effectively in the midst of their daily challenges. Mental health professionals were asked to identify wives of male clergy who exemplify emotional and spiritual health. Nominees were contacted and interviews conducted with 25 women. Each interviewee was asked about coping with normal life stressors, stressors associated with being married to a minister, and catastrophic life events. All interviews were transcribed and coded, using grounded theory. Participants emphasized the importance of spirituality, social support, limit-setting, and healthy lifestyle choices. Implications are discussed.Today's trend toward a more positive psychology has heightened psychologists' awareness of human strength, potential, and resilience. Some of the constructs within positive psychology can be described and experienced without assuming any contrasting negative experience. For example, people can experience gratitude, optimism, wisdom, hope, creativity, and self-esteem whether or not their lives are relatively free of troubles. Other constructs in the burgeoning positive psychology literature are implicitly coupled with life's challenges and difficulties. For example, forgiveness requires that some sort of distressing offense has first occurred. Similarly, problem-solving abilities presume that there is a problem to be solved. Moreover, positive coping can only be understood when considered alongside the struggles, challenges, and stresses of life. Thus, research on the positive psychology of coping (Schwarzer and Knoll 2003) also requires some awareness of issues such as stress, loss, and conflict.Clergy and clergy families provide an intriguing population for coping research because they face a good deal of stress on a daily basis (
Stigma towards substance use continues to exacerbate the opioid crisis and its detrimental effects, claiming tens of thousands of lives each year. Reducing substance use stigma through evidence-based techniques is crucial to overcoming and eliminating stigma's imposed barriers. This study, conducted in the USA, employed semi-structured interview transcripts of 32 adults with lived experience of opioid use disorder (OUD), professionals, and family members were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach to identify overarching themes for OUD stigma reduction strategies. Utilizing this lived-experience framework revealed methods to address stigma through interpersonal communication and social interactions. Specifically, using less stigmatizing language, addressing perceptions of persons who experience OUD, employing open communication about OUD to change narratives and beliefs through incorporating messages of hope and recovery, and replacing stigma with empathy and compassion to support recovery. Utilizing individuals with lived experience of OUD offered first-hand insight to identify potential solutions, advance existing literature, and ultimately combat the opioid crisis.
Background/Aims Fatigue after brain injury is common and enduring, and rehabilitation improves patient understanding and strategy development. The aim of this study was to determine whether therapy supporting fatigue management can be provided economically in groups to inpatients undertaking rehabilitation. Methods A mixed-methods study was undertaken, including a pilot randomised control trial and a parallel qualitative investigation. A total of 78 adult inpatients with moderate to severe acquired brain injury were recruited to the study; 40 were allocated to routine usual care and 38 were allocated to the intervention, which consisted of routine usual care plus four group therapy sessions that took place over 2 weeks, run by an experienced occupational therapist. Participants were aged between 18 and 65 years and were considered to be able to manage learning in a group setting. Outcome measures were collected at baseline and at the end of the therapy intervention (Barrow Neurological Institute Fatigue Scale, Quality of Life after Brain Injury questionnaire and a Fatigue Knowledge questionnaire assessing knowledge related to the aims of the education modules). A qualitative study was conducted after the quantitative investigation in the form of patient interviews. A total of 10 patients were interviewed to discuss their fatigue journey and impressions of receiving fatigue management therapy in a group. Results A repeated measures analysis of variance with time as a within-subject factor and group as a between-subjects factor showed no interaction effect of group × time for fatigue, quality of life or acquisition of knowledge; however, knowledge improved over time, irrespective of group allocation (P<0.01). Although most participants found the group work satisfactory in terms of overall knowledge development, a number would have preferred to address their specific fatigue issues in an individual session. Participants described a confusing journey understanding fatigue symptoms before therapy, but reported an improved understanding and acquiring management strategies after receiving the educational therapy sessions. Conclusions Education regarding fatigue following brain injury can be provided successfully to inpatients receiving rehabilitation in group settings. However, it may be important to build in an additional individual therapy session to address each patient's individual issues and queries.
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