Counseling Across the Lifespan: Prevention and Treatment
SAGE Journal Articles
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Article 1:
Le'Roy, E. R., & Vera, E. M. (2007). Culturally Relevant Prevention The Scientific and Practical Considerations of Community-Based Programs. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(6), 763-778.
Abstract:
For over a decade, there have been increasing efforts in counseling psychology and other areas of applied psychology to understand the role of culture in preventive and mental health services for ethnically, economically, and religiously diverse communities. In this Major Contribution, the authors offer examples of three prevention programs in which cultural relevance and competence were central to each program’s development, implementation, and evaluation. The interventions each focus on an ethnic minority population, and they are offered in diverse settings. Participants differ in age and contexts in which they receive the intervention (e.g., individual, family, or classroom). Each article highlights similarities and differences likely in any prevention effort with diverse populations. In this introduction, the authors discuss the theoretical and empirical rationale for such interventions, as informed by literature on cultural competence and social justice, and the disproportionate health, educational, and economic disparities that poor and ethnic minority groups experience.
Questions to Consider:
- Explain the importance of utilizing culturally relevant and competent models of prevention in the mental health field.
- Discuss the process of program development and cultural adaptation as it relates to mental health prevention.
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the culturally relevant prevention programs described in the article? Which are you more likely to implement or adapt? Why?
Article 2:
Herman, K. C., Reinke, W. M., Stormont, M., Puri, R., & Agarwal, G. (2010). Using prevention science to promote children’s mental health: The founding of the Missouri Prevention Center. The Counseling Psychologist, 38(5), 652-690.
Abstract:
Decades of research have demonstrated, now convincingly, that emotional and behavioral syndromes and many of their antecedent risks can be prevented. Much of this progress can be traced to the founding and expansion of the relatively young field called prevention science, an interdisciplinary field that emerged in the early 1990s to address the need for an integrated model for prevention related research. The present article is intended to provide a specific example of prevention science in action for counseling psychologists. To illustrate key preventive science principles, the authors describe the formation and activities of the Missouri Prevention Center, a program that uses prevention science to promote children’s mental health. In particular, the authors use research produced by the center to highlight the various phases of prevention intervention research. They conclude with implications for counseling psychologists.
Questions to Consider:
- Describe the interaction of individual and family support for the successful promotion of mental health with children in this sample.
- Discuss the benefit and challenges of the interdisciplinary nature of the field of Prevention Science.
- How can you expand your current or future role in the counseling profession to include more of an emphasis on prevention?