Objectives: This article reports the outcome of a pilot study of a cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) intervention-Vida Alegre (the contented life)-designed for use with depressed immigrant mothers living in communities with small but rapidly growing Hispanic populations. Method: The study used a pretest/posttest/follow-up design to examine whether exposure to the intervention reduced symptoms of depression. Results: Although based on a small, nonrandomized sample, the results are promising at pretest/baseline, the average Center for Epidemiology Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) score was 25; at posttest and follow-up, the average CES-D scores were 12 and 11.3, respectively. Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests showed that the pretest and posttest scores are significantly different (Z ¼ -2.22, p < .05, r ¼ .67), indicating a decline in depression. A content analysis of transcripts from three focus groups indicates the usefulness of intervention. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that an existing CBGT can be modified to address immigrant issues.
Domestic violence against migrant women entering South Korea through marriage is an emerging social problem. This article identifies the unique challenges of the migrant victims of domestic violence in the socio-cultural context of Korea. It then examines the Korean domestic violence policy response to this problem, focusing on the extent to which the government has acknowledged the challenges of migrant women, how the government attempts to remedy these challenges, and the adequacy of the government’s efforts to protect them.
Providing childcare along with interventions for disadvantaged mothers increases the benefit. However, program designers rarely focus on the implementation of that care and how it affects program participants. Using the common factors model as a lens, this paper explores the challenges that arose in the third year of an intervention that provided childcare to Spanish-speaking immigrant mothers enrolled in a Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) group when the socioeconomic status of beneficiaries and the population of children needing care changed. We used data collected by the childcare coordinator—participant observation, field notes, and administrative documentation—to examine the meanings participants assigned to problems in the childcare program, their resolution, and how it affected the therapeutic alliance. Data analysis focuses on the extent emerging themes were consistent with the concepts from the common factors approach. Four lessons for providers of interventions with similar supports emerge: attend to the physical environment, anticipate that learning from and rectifying mistakes can improve the therapeutic relationship, select and train childcare providers to understand they are clinical helpers, and recognize that participants view the childcare service as an extension of the intervention. Findings underscore the importance of support services in fostering the success of social work interventions in community settings.
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