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Drawing on theoretical literature on the mothering discourse, I explore how incarcerated men give meaning to their relationships with their mothers. Using 24 in-depth interviews with incarcerated adult men, I argue that adherence to the mothering discourse results in sons holding their mothers’ maternal practices to impossibly high standards while simultaneously feeling obligated to reconcile with their mothers even when doing so is tremendously difficult. I also advance the concept of “maternal fusion”—the process through which the identities of mothers and their children are intertwined—to examine how incarcerated adult sons reproduce gendered mothering ideologies in their narratives of (a) negative early childhood and adolescent relationships with their mothers and (b) reconciliation as they reflect on their relationships with their mothers as adult sons.

This article discusses why it is crucial in the cross-cultural clinical encounter to practice from both Jessica Benjamin's intersubjective frame as well as relational theory when the therapist is from the dominant White culture and the client is African American. Intersubjective and relational theories are utilized to illustrate how it is in this clinical situation, however, that some therapists may find themselves avoiding the use of a more relational practice. A case illustration is presented from the lens of Winnicott's theory of object relations to convey the dynamic complexities that may impede a therapist from practicing out of these (more relational) frames and then the case is reconceptualized from both a relational and intersubjective perspective. © 2015, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This article builds on existing knowledge of inmate resistance by analyzing formerly incarcerated women's narratives about prison food. Participants described trying to secure extra cafeteria portions, hoarding food, smuggling and stealing food, and cooking and eating in the cellsall to resist prison power and gain some control over their lives by managing what, how, when, and with whom they ate. These data shed light on prison life and suggest changes to food policy to curb inmate resistance and bolster the rehabilitative potential of correctional facilities.

For more than a century the social work profession has had a dual purpose: to promote individual well-being and social justice, but the micro-macro divide is fragmenting the profession. This article suggests that the profession's aim might best be realized by adopting a unifying purpose, a just sense of well-being. Research on complex adaptive systems conceptualizes a unifying purpose as vertical integration carried out in differentiated ways in discrete moments of practice in various settings. Interpersonal neurobiology and Aristotle's interdependence of character virtues and practical judgment inform a corresponding shift from the dualities of personal and professional to the social worker as a person with differentiated professional capacities and activities. Integration with differentiation enhances capacity to promote the profession's purpose.

Unusual events, beyond mere coincidences, may occur during the course of psychotherapy. Yet, clinical training often does not prepare therapists how to understand and potentially engage with these encounters. The aim of this report is to explore the emergence of synchronistic events in therapy, while providing two clinical case composites to illustrate the author's central points. Drawing on the Celtic concept of thin places, a new understanding of synchronicities and the therapeutic relationship is offered.

This paper examines the means by which Estonian national identity was preserved during 50years of Soviet occupation. The study upon which it is based explored such factors as family environments; memories, in the form of oral narratives; and life experiences. This research was informed by the sociocultural approach to mediated action, and it employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods. In 1993, a quota-sampling technique was used to interview a cross section of Estonian society (N=930). Descriptive statistics, and factor and multiple regression analyses were performed. Fifteen qualitative interviews were also conducted. When woven together, these personal histories create a fabric that is representative of the greater Estonian history during the occupation. The implications of these findings may reach beyond the Estonian context to further inform our understanding of the complexities and the vicissitudes of human action.

Rising inequality and concomitant economic insecurity and poverty is a continuing problem in the United States today. Enacting full employment policies would resolve this problem and would serve as a viable poverty reduction strategy. Using a more accurate measure of unemployment such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics U-6 measure would reveal the true unemployment rate. This article provides different strategies, historical and more recent, for enacting full employment with a living wage, particularly the enactment of a permanent national public service employment program administered by the states through the TANF Emergency Fund. Public sector employment expansion in the green or clean economy would benefit the urban unemployed the most. To achieve these ends, social workers, unions and community activists will need to collaborate. Finally, the Federal Reserve should review the history of the relationship between unemployment and inflation rates and develop a more accurate formula for attaining full employment while keeping inflation low. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

We conducted an exploratory research study looking at fathering interactions as they relate to the wraparound care given by the Partnership for Kids or PARK Project, a school-based system of care in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The questions posed by our research focused on how fathers' positive interaction measured by their levels of engagement and accessibility can moderate the effect of the school-based system of care intervention on the mental health outcomes of children with serious emotional disturbances. We found that, although not statistically significant, children's access to their father did have a moderating effect on CBCL scores for internalizing behaviors and total problems. There was very small change in CBCL scores for externalizing behaviors. Further, the moderating effect of father accessibility and father engagement had a lasting effect as a moderator through 12 months into the intervention, especially with regard to internalizing behavior scores.

Recent emphasis has been placed on the central role of the therapeutic relationship in successful treatment. One aspect of the development of an effective relationship is the clinical social worker's use of self. We argue that the use of self happens both consciously and unconsciously and is a dynamic and evolving process in psychotherapy. This evolution can result in the clinical social worker shifting from a stance of doing to being. Drawing from a Japanese tradition of learning, three stages of learning provide a framework for understanding how therapists may transition from a state of doing to being in the therapy. Through this process, the conscious use of self may develop into unconscious use of self. Two case examples demonstrate how expanding and using one's self-awareness and the new knowledge through meaningful learning experiences can shift a clinical social worker's ability to develop and enhance his or her use of self, inviting therapeutic presence and depth. © 2015, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Prison foodways narratives can expand knowledge about cultural beliefs and perceptions of correctional systems. This exploratory analysis, based in qualitative interview data, seeks to initiate dialogue about the ways in which formerly incarcerated women in the US deploy racialized food narratives when describing the acquisition, preparation, and consumption of prison food. The participants’ food narratives construct prison as a non-white space that is better matched for African-American and Latina women, reinforcing and enacting larger cultural notions about incarceration. This opening analysis calls for more research and deliberation about how prison foodways narratives contribute to understandings about and perceptions of correctional systems and incarcerated people. © 2015, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Common factors are conditions and processes present in, among, and surrounding participants in clinical work. In the past 20 years, increasing attention and research on common factors has generated a great deal of discussion in clinical psychology, psychiatry, marriage and family therapy, and to a lesser extent, social work. While there is no single definition of common factors, they are generally discussed as the non-technical aspects of therapeutic work-such as the relationship between the practitioner and client and the expectancy of the client-that have been shown to be associated with successful outcomes. Common factors also include attributes of the practitioner and client, the support system of the client, the institutional and organizational conditions in which the practitioner practices, and also the strategic actions employed by the practitioner, client, and all those involved in the work that promote change. This paper will discuss key concepts in a common factors practice perspective and how evidence is used by common factors practitioners, highlight features of common factors practice, and suggest implications for developing a common factors practice approach.

There is a growing divide in social work between those that believe social work interventions should be based on either art or science. We argue that these positions create a false dichotomy within the profession, possibly due to the language associated with clinical work and research. In this introduction article of the Special Issue: Beyond the Manual, we outline the debate within social work around the art and science split and then offer a new approach to framing the issue. We argue that social workers are regularly approaching their work with clients using art and science simultaneously and describe a new frame for the profession. In an effort to articulate and promote this new frame, this special issue was born. This introductory article concludes with a brief description of the topics and articles included in the issue to orient the reader to the content included within it.

In this final article of the special issue Beyond the Manual: Using Data and Judgment in Clinical Social Work Practice, we extend the discussion regarding the use of data and judgment. We discuss the multiple sources of data used in practice, including research evidence, client perspectives and experience, moment-by-moment process observation, and client feedback regarding progress towards specific, desired outcomes. We move beyond current debates purporting one framework over another to propose a synthesizing framework that situates evidence-based practice, empirically supported interventions and common elements/mapping and adapting practice within a common factors scaffolding framework. This framework provides a way for social workers to effectively make sound judgments using research and client data within the demands of contemporary practice. The article provides a brief overview of the four practice approaches followed by the proposed scaffolding framework and rationale, and concludes with implications for practice, professional education, and research.

The present study examined the cumulative effects of risk and protective factors on internalizing and externalizing problems for a sample of youth who were diagnosed with a severe emotional disturbance and enrolled in an urban school-based system of care. The sample included 139 Latino and African American children (ages 5-19; 65 % male) and their families. After controlling for demographic variables, the results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that cumulative risk and protection were significantly related to internalizing problem behaviors, and cumulative protection was negatively related to externalizing problem behaviors. The findings support the importance of including or increasing strength building approaches, in addition to risk reduction, in order to maximize prevention and intervention efforts for system-of-care populations.

Children with emotional and behavioral disturbance often have difficulties in multiple symptom domains. This study investigates the relationships between child symptoms and caregiver strain and parenting stress among 177 youth and their caregivers participating in a school-based system of care. Youth were grouped by symptom domain and included those with low scores on both internalizing and externalizing symptoms, those with only high internalizing symptoms, those with only high externalizing symptoms, and those with high symptoms levels in both internalizing and externalizing domains. Results revealed significant group differences on measures of caregiver strain and parenting stress. Caregivers of youth with symptoms in both internalizing and externalizing domains reported the highest levels of strain and stress; however, there was some variation in group differences by caregiver outcome. The results of this study emphasize the importance of providing not only services for youth but also support services for their caregivers.