The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique health and social challenges for hospice patients, their families, and care providers. This qualitative study explored the impact of the pandemic on this population through the experiences and perceptions of social workers in hospice care. A survey was distributed through national and local listservs to social work practitioners throughout the United States between May 15 and June 15, 2020. The study was designed to learn the following: (1) Concerns patients experienced as a result of the pandemic, (2) strengths/resilience factors for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (3) the personal and professional impact of the pandemic on social workers. Themes uncovered in hospice care included isolation, barriers to communication, disruption of systems, issues related to grieving, family and community support, adaptation, and perspective. The authors provide recommendations for social work practice related to virtual communication, emergency planning, and evidencebased intervention for Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder. Recommendations for policy include uniform essential worker status for social workers, telehealth reimbursement and expanded caregiver respite benefits.

Objective: Adults with serious mental health conditions (SMHC) experience higher rates of disengagement from treatment. Factors associated with engagement in treatment in general for this population include therapeutic alliance, provider empathy, and perceived coercion. This cross-sectional exploratory study addressed the question: To what extent do client perceptions of therapeutic alliance, therapist empathy, and perceived coercion explain the degree of engagement in outpatient therapy for adults with SMHC? Method: An anonymous online survey measuring study variables was completed by 131 participants. The relationship between variables was tested using multivariate regression analysis with hierarchical blocks. Results: After separating therapeutic alliance and therapist empathy in the analysis due to multicollinearity and accounting for the influence of control variables, therapeutic alliance (B = .43, p < .01) and therapist empathy (B = .25, p < .01), but not perceived coercion, were associated with the degree of client engagement. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: For adults with SMHC enrolled in outpatient therapy, therapeutic alliance explained the greatest variation in the degree of engagement. Participants appeared to use outpatient therapy as a main strategy for pursuing recovery, and engagement in therapy may be increased if providers utilize strategies to strengthen expressions of empathy and bolster alliance. Additional research is needed to enhance understanding of engagement in therapy for this population and to develop more sensitive measures for evaluating these constructs. Impact and ImplicationsThis study found that greater degrees of therapeutic alliance and therapist empathy were associated with enhanced engagement in outpatient therapy for adults with serious mental health conditions (SMHC). Providers may improve the degree of engagement in outpatient therapy for adults with SMHC by strengthening expressions of empathy and purposefully incorporating strategies to foster alliance. Given the reliance on outpatient therapy as a main strategy to pursue recovery for participants in this research, engagement in therapy is a paramount goal to support overall well-being and promote personal recovery.

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This study examines the association between cyberbullying victimization and academic satisfaction through flourishing (psychological well-being) among 188 LGBTQ college students utilizing the lens of general strain theory and positive psychology. Results indicate that flourishing as a mediator explains the association between cyberbullying victimization and academic satisfaction among LGBTQ college students. For these students, flourishing can serve as a protective factor for their academic satisfaction. This finding highlights the need for college counselors, faculty, and administrators to foster psychological well-being among cyberbullied LGBTQ college students. Practice implications will guide the development of a campus-wide cyberbullying intervention for these students.

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