T. Richelle Lyon

People living with dementia (PLWD) often experience disruptions to meaning, identity, and spiritual well-being that are insufficiently addressed by existing psychosocial interventions. This study reports findings from a pilot evaluation examining the feasibility, acceptability, and descriptive quality-of-life outcomes of a non-directive nondenominational storytelling program designed to support personal identity, social connection, and spiritual well-being. A convergent mixed-methods pilot evaluation was conducted with six participants over 20 weeks. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed across three time points using the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease scale (QOL-AD). Semi-structured interviews were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, with findings integrated across methods. QOL-AD scores increased modestly from baseline to mid-program and returned to near-baseline levels at program completion, reflecting overall stability in group-level QoL alongside increasing individual variability across time. Qualitative analysis yielded two overarching themes, Finding Meaning Through Storytelling and Belonging as Healing, describing how narrative engagement and relational safety supported meaning making, identity continuity, and spiritually resonant well-being. Findings provide early evidence that non-directive, narrative-based group programs are feasible, acceptable, and clinically relevant forms of spiritually integrative psychosocial support. This storytelling-based group program offers a scalable approach clinicians can implement to support QoL and spiritual well-being in PLWD without requiring religious content or specialized spiritual training.

The objective of this correlational study was to explore the relationship between levels of self-compassion and burnout for currently practicing mental health practitioners (MHPs) in the United States. All professionals are vulnerable to burnout based on various types of organizational stressors, but burnout is of particular concern for health care service providers who may need to adopt a stance of detachment, or emotional distance, as relief from intense workloads, with clients. The data were collected through an online survey. Regression analysis found that scores from Neff’s Self-Compassion Scale were a significant negative predictor of levels of MHP burnout, as assessed by Schaufeli et al.’s Burnout Assessment Tool, p < 0.001. The implication of this finding is that cultivating self-compassion appears to be a pragmatic self-care strategy for MHPs to mitigate the negative effects of burnout. More educational and occupational training in self-compassion practices as self-care should be provided to help protect the physical and emotional well-being of MHPs. The deleterious systemic effects of burnout make MHP self-care an ethical issue, along with the need to identify protective factors, prevention, and treatment of burnout.

Many individuals suffer negative mental health consequences such as anxiety and depression following separation from a romantic partner and/or co-parenting conflict due to divorce. Consequently, treating the psychological aftermath of divorce and partner separation remains a predominant concern for mental health practitioners. According to family systems theory, high interdependence and low differentiation of self are associated with a lessened capacity for managing anxiety or adapting to stressful events since intense emotions may inhibit the ability to cope. To assess the relationship between differentiation of self and psychological adjustment to separation, 84 divorced adults completed an online survey. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that a model based on fusion with others, I-position, and emotional cutoff was a statistically significant predictor of lonely/negativity. Bivariate correlation analyses confirmed significant linear relationships between fusion with others, lonely/negativity, and co-parenting conflict. No differences between genders were found. There is a continuing need to develop interventions to address the negative consequences of divorce, help reduce emotional suffering, and encourage healthy co-parenting. Individuals struggling with psychological adjustment post-divorce, or those seeking education for managing the psychological effects of divorce and co-parenting, may benefit from counseling strategies that incorporate an assessment of differentiation of self and psychological adjustment to separation.