Phyllis A Swint

Introduction: Increasing the substance use workforce is vital in addressing the many complexities of opioid use among families. The purpose of the present research was to examine 6-month outcomes of a training program focusing on opioid use among families, for master-level family therapy (MFT) and community mental health counseling (CMHC) students. Method: In total, 58 students participated in self-reported survey assessments at baseline and 6-month follow-up across the following domains: attitudes about substance use, interpersonal professional collaboration, trainee confidence, professional quality of life, and cross-cultural counseling competence. Results: The study results indicated a significant improvement between scores on attitudes of working with families impacted by substance use disorders from baseline to follow-up. There was a significant positive change in cross-cultural competency, interprofessional competency, and trainee confidence from baseline to follow-up. Discussion: The findings contribute to extant literature by examining the potential role of participating in substance use training for graduate-level MFT and CMHC trainees and considerations for implementing specific substance use training components among graduate-level trainees.

Using a feminist postmodern perspective and the sensitizing concept of split loyalties from Contextual Theory, the primary purpose of this qualitative study was to develop a better understanding of how adult female adoptees from closed adoptions negotiate relationships with their adoptive and biological mothers post-reunion. We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with nine adult female adoptees, ages 28-52, who were adopted prior to the age of two. Six were Caucasian, three were African American, and the average age at reunion was 29. Grounded theory techniques were used to code the qualitative data, in particular the constant comparative method of analysis. Four main categories emerged: (a) Negotiating Mother-Daughter Relationships, (b) Relating to Mothers Equitably, (c) Loyalty, and (d) Adoptees' Emotional Needs. Our findings suggest the adoptive mother-daughter relationship has a salient effect on adoptees' relationships with biological mothers post-reunion. Loyalty to the adoptive mother seems to influence the evolving relationship and closeness displayed toward the birth mother. Adult female adoptees from closed adoptions described struggling with managing their two mother-daughter relationships and need clinical help addressing their own emotional needs.

This study examined the effect of family therapy and prison-based substanceabuse treatment on recidivism outcomes for women in custody at a Philadelphia adultcorrectional facility. The quasi-experimental design of the study used quantitativeanalysis of archival data to isolate the independent effect of family therapy treatment onretention in prison-based substance abuse treatment and recidivism. Survival regressionanalyses were used to predict time until rearrest. For comparison, a sample of 100 femaleinmates were divided into two study groups comprising those who received substanceabuse treatment only, and those who received substance abuse treatment and familytherapy. Background information including sociodemographic (race/ethnicity, age, andeducation), criminal history, substance abuse, mental health, and trauma histories wasabstracted from the Philadelphia Prison's Integrated Jail Management System and theForensic Family Therapy Treatment Program's client records. Prison-based treatmentinformation and post-release recidivism was coded from prison-maintained computerizedcustody and criminal history reports. While there was no significant differences betweengroups in binary comparisons on risk factors associated recidivism, or the positiveinfluence of family therapy on treatment retention in the prison-based therapeuticcommunity, results did indicate a delay in time until recidivism for women who receivedtreatment during incarceration. Survival findings showed that of the N = 100 women inthe sample who received long-term prison-based behavioral health treatment (substanceabuse treatment and/or family therapy) only 30% recidivated post release from prison,which falls well below national recidivism averages at 66% for parolees. These findingssuggest several relevant implications for policy and clinical practice that potentially couldlead to system-wide cost benefits for the state.