Applying Gerontological Social Work Perspectives to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Social workers are familiar with the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic; and we apply three gerontological social work perspectives that might increase our chances of minimizing negative outcomes and improving health and quality of life for everyone. First, the reality that the older population is very heterogeneous challenges ageism and age-stereotyping that has surfaced with COVID-19. Second, concepts of cumulative disadvantage and intersectionality offer clear explanations of the disparities that are being illuminated and lead us to advocate for fundamental changes to reduce disparities in later life and for people across the life course. Third, a strength-based perspective highlights the assets of the older population and the opportunities for positive developments coming out of the crisis. We can capitalize on momentum to increase advance care planning, to reduce social isolation, and expand the use of on-line technology for service provision. We can bolster our arguments to support older workers, volunteers, and caregivers. The fact that these social work perspectives are so applicable to the coronavirus situation reminds us of their fundamental relevance. Gerontological social work has much to offer in our roles as researchers, educators, practitioners, and advocates during this crisis, and our foundational principles serve us well.

Positive youth development: current perspectives.

This review outlines the current perspectives on positive youth development (PYD). Besides presenting the diverse theoretical roots contributing to PYD approaches, this review also introduces several PYD perspectives, including Benson's 40 developmental assets, Lerner's 5Cs and 6Cs conceptions, Catalano's 15 PYD constructs, social-emotional learning (SEL) and the "being" perspective (character and spirituality). A comparison of the different PYD models in terms of theoretical orientation, the role of community, spirituality, character/morality, thriving, "being" versus "doing" and origin is also presented. The review suggests three future research directions, including the development of spirituality and character approaches to PYD, differentiating the role of "being" versus "doing" in PYD and construction of PYD models as well as conducting related research in non-Western contexts.

Self-Care Practices and the Professional Self.

Consistently and actively engaging in self-care has been shown to improve the performance of mental health practitioners by reducing burnout, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and other stress-related psychological problems. Not only is this important to the individual practitioner's well-being, but ethical standards also mandate the recognition and remediation of any physical, mental, or emotional self-impairment to maintain high standards of care for clients. Professionals in small communities, like the Deaf community, however, confront unique challenges in attending to their self-care. This article investigates these challenges-as well as the rewards-experienced by Deaf and hearing counselors working in mental health care with deaf clients.

Holding Resilience in Trust: Working Systemically With Families Following an Acquired Brain Injury.

The conceptualization of resilience following acquired brain injury needs to remain sensitive to the complex nature and enduring dimensions of trauma, loss, and stress. It is essential that a systemic and dynamic view be maintained with a focus on the key adaptation tasks that families face: grieving, restructuring, identity redefinition, and growing through adversity. These tasks are explored in a case example illustrating how these challenges reemerge across the life cycle. The key theme in this contribution is that resilience is a fluid property, a potential that practitioners and service systems can listen for, support, strengthen, and hold in trust.

An Exploratory Study of a Computer-Assisted Abuse Awareness and Safety Planning Program for Men With Disabilities: The Men's Safer and Stronger Program.

Interpersonal violence (IPV) is a serious and often unrecognized problem for men with disabilities (MWD). However, abuse awareness programs and outcome measures have not been systematically evaluated in MWD. This article reports findings from an exploratory study (n = 31) of the Safer and Stronger Program for Men with Disabilities (Men's SSP), an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) abuse awareness program. Preliminary findings suggest it is sensitive toward detecting abuse and it allows MWD to privately and independently self-identify IPV experiences. Preliminary psychometric data on a battery of abuse and safety awareness outcome measures suggest that they are reliable in this population.

Understanding the challenges to providing disabilities services and rehabilitation in rural Alaska: where do we go from here?

American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) suffer from some of the highest rates of health and mental health-related disabilities. Despite high rates of disabilities experienced among this population, services available to treat the disabilities are extremely limited, especially within the rural Alaska context. Additionally, limited research exists regarding the perceived barriers to receiving disability services, the importance of treating disabilities within one's own community, and individual and community-level strengths that exist to help cope with the lack of services. This article attempts to bring awareness to these issues, as well as propose tangible solutions to help mitigate the barriers.