Objective: This paper explores the impact of pre-migration trauma, post-migration living difficulties and social support on the current mental health of 63 resettled Sudanese refugees. Method: A semistructured interview including questionnaires assessing sociodemographic information, pre-migration trauma, anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress, post-migration living difficulties and perceived social support were administered assisted by a bilingual community worker. Results: Resettled refugees from Sudan evidenced a history of trauma. Less than 5% met criteria for posttraumatic stress but 25% reported clinically high levels of psychological distress. The results indicate that social support – particularly perceived social support from the migrant's ethnic community – play a significant role in predicting mental health outcomes. Pre-migration trauma, family status and gender were also associated with mental health outcomes. Conclusions: Refugees in Australia may constitute a particularly vulnerable group interms of mental health outcomes. Culturally specific sequelae in terms of social isolation and acculturation may be particularly problematic for these migrants.

With the increasing diversity of students attending university, there is a growing interest in the factors predicting academic performance. This study is a prospective investigation of the academic, psychosocial, cognitive, and demographic predictors of academic performance of first year Australian university students. Questionnaires were distributed to 197 first year students 4 to 8 weeks prior to the end of semester exams and overall grade point averages were collected at semester completion. Previous academic performance was identified as the most significant predictor of university performance. \ud \ud Integration into university, self efficacy, and employment responsibilities were also predictive of university grades. Identifying the factors that influence academic performance can improve the targeting of interventions and support services for students at risk of academic problems

There are increasing numbers of refugees worldwide, with approximately 16 million refugees in 2007 and over 2.5 million refugees resettled in the United States since the start of its humanitarian program. Psychologists and other health professionals who deliver mental health services for individuals from refugee backgrounds need to have confidence that the therapeutic interventions they employ are appropriate and effective for the clients with whom they work. The current review briefly surveys refugee research, examines empirical evaluations of therapeutic interventions in resettlement contexts, and provides recommendations for best practices and future directions in resettlement countries. The resettlement interventions found to be most effective typically target culturally homogeneous client samples and demonstrate moderate to large outcome effects on aspects of traumatic stress and anxiety reduction. Further evaluations of the array of psychotherapeutic, psychosocial, pharmacological, and other therapeutic approaches, including psychoeducational and community-based interventions that facilitate personal and community growth and change, are encouraged. There is a need for increased awareness, training and funding to implement longitudinal interventions that work collaboratively with clients from refugee backgrounds through the stages of resettlement.

Objective: This study documents the mental health status of people from Burmese refugee backgrounds recently arrived in Australia, then examines the contributions of gender, pre-migration and post-migration factors in predicting mental health. Method: Structured interviews, including a demographic questionnaire, the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, the Post-migration Living Difficulties Checklist and Hopkins Symptom Checklist assessed pre-migration trauma, post-migration living difficulties, depression, anxiety, somatization and traumatization symptoms in a sample of 70 adults across five Burmese ethnic groups. Results: Substantial proportions of participants reported psychological distress in symptomatic ranges including: post-traumatic stress disorder (9%), anxiety (20%) and depression (36%), as well as significant symptoms of somatization (37%). Participants reported multiple and severe pre-migration traumas. Post-migration living difficulties of greatest concern included communication problems and worry about family not in Australia. Gender did not predict mental health. Level of exposure to traumatic events and post-migration living difficulties each made unique and relatively equal contributions to traumatization symptoms. Post-migration living difficulties made unique contributions to depression, anxiety and somatization symptoms. Conclusions: While exposure to traumatic events impacted on participants’ mental well-being, post-migration living difficulties had greater salience in predicting mental health outcomes of people from Burmese refugee backgrounds. Reported rates of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were consistent with a large review of adults across seven western countries. High levels of somatization point to a nuanced expression of distress. Findings have implications for service provision in terms of implementing appropriate interventions to effectively meet the needs of this newly arrived group in Australia.

A qualitative approach was used to interview 23 Sudanese refugees residing in Brisbane, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to examine the participants' pre-migration, transit and post-migration experiences. Refugees reported traumatic and life-threatening experiences during the pre-migration and transit phases, and difficulties with resettlement during the post-migration phase. Nevertheless, participants reported using a number of coping strategies across all phases, including: reliance on religious beliefs, cognitive strategies such as reframing the situation, relying on their inner resources, and focusing on future wishes and aspirations. Social support also emerged as a salient coping strategy. The findings are useful for mental health professionals as they highlight the difficulties experienced by refugees across phases of migration as well as strategies they use to manage these traumas and stresses.

Supervision of psychotherapists and counselors, especially in the early years of practice, is widely accepted as being important for professional development and to ensure optimal client outcomes. Although the process of clinical supervision has been extensively studied, less is known about the impact of supervision on psychotherapy practice and client symptom outcome. This study evaluated the impact of clinical supervision on client working alliance and symptom reduction in the brief treatment of major depression. The authors randomly assigned 127 clients with a diagnosis of major depression to 127 supervised or unsupervised therapists to receive eight sessions of problems-solving treatment. Supervised therapists were randomly assigned to either alliance skill– or alliance process–focused supervision and received eight supervision sessions. Before beginning treatment, therapists received one supervision session for brief training in the working alliance supervision approach and in specific characteristics of each case. Standard measures of therapeutic alliance and symptom change were used as dependent variables. The results showed a significant effect for both supervision conditions on working alliance from the first session of therapy, symptom reduction, and treatment retention and evaluation but no effect differences between supervision conditions. It was not possible to separate the effects of supervision from the single pretreatment session and is possible that allegiance effects might have inflated results. The scientific and clinical relevance of these findings is discussed. Zusammenfassung Klinische Supervision: Ihr Einfluss auf Klienten-Einschätzungen der Arbeitsbeziehung und die Symptomreduktion in Kurzzeittherapie von schwerer Depression Supervision von Psychotherapeuten und Beratern, besonders in frühen Jahren ihres Praktizierens, wird weithin als wichtig für die professionelle Entwicklung und das Erreichen optimaler Therapieergebnisse angesehen. Obwohl der Prozess der klinischen Supervision ausführlich untersucht wurde, ist weniger über ihren Einfluss auf die psychotherapeutisch Praxis und die Reduktion von Symptomen bekannt. Diese Untersuchung bewertete den Einfluss von klinischer Supervision auf die Arbeitsbeziehung der Klienten und die Symptomreduktion bei Kurzzeittherapie von schwerer Depression. Die Autoren haben 127 Klienten mit schwerer Depression dem Zufall nach 127 supervisierten oder nicht supervisierten Therapeuten zugewiesen für eine Problemlösungsbehandlung mit acht Sitzungen. Supervisierte Therapeuten wurden dem Zufall nach einer Allianzfähigkeits-Supervision oder einer Allianzprozess-Supervision zugewiesen und erhielten acht Supervisionstrainings. Vor Beginn der Behandlung bekamen die Therapeuten eine Supervisions-Sitzung mit einem kurzen Training des Arbeitsbeziehungs-Supervisions-Zugangs und den spezifischen Charakteristika aller Klienten. Standardmasse der therapeutischen Allianz und der Symptomveränderungen wurden als abhängige Variablen verwendet. Die Ergebnisse zeigten einen signifikanten Effekt für beide Supervisionsbedingungen auf die Arbeitsbeziehung von der ersten Therapiesitzung an, auf die Symptomreduktion, den Verbleib in der Therapie und die Bewertung, aber keinen Unterschied zwischen den Supervisionsbedingungen. Die Effekte der Supervision und der kurzen Einführung zum Vorgehen der Behandlung waren nicht zu trennen und es ist möglich, dass Loyalitätseffekte die Ergebnisse verstärkt haben. Die wissenschaftliche und klinische Relevanz der Ergebnisse wird diskutiert. Résumé La supervision clinique : son influence sur l'alliance de travail évaluée par les clients et la réduction des symptômes dans le traitement bref de la dépression majeure La supervision des psychothérapeutes et conseillers, surtout dans les premières années de leur pratique, est largement acceptée dans son importance pour le développement professionnel et pour assurer un effet clinique optimal pour les clients. Bien que le processus de la supervision clinique ait été largement étudié, on a moins de connaissance sur l'impact de la supervision sur la pratique psychothérapeutique et les résultats cliniques des clients. Cette étude a évalué l'impact de la supervision clinique sur l'alliance de travail des clients et la réduction des symptômes dans le traitement bref de la dépression majeure. Les auteurs ont attribué au hasard 127 clients avec un diagnostic de dépression majeure à 127 thérapeutes supervisés ou non supervisés pour un traitement de 8 séances d'un traitement de solution de problèmes. Les thérapeutes supervisés étaient assignés au hasard à une supervision focalisée soit sur l'habileté soit sur le processus au sujet de l'alliance et ils recevaient 8 séances de supervision. Avant de commencer le traitement, les thérapeutes recevaient une séance de supervision pour une formation brève dans l'approche de la supervision de l'alliance de travail et pour des caractéristiques spécifiques de chaque cas. Des mesures standard de l'alliance thérapeutique et du changement de symptômes étaient appliques en tant que variables dépendantes. Les résultats montraient un effet significatif pour les deux conditions de supervision sur l'alliance de travail de la première séance thérapeutique, la réduction des symptômes ainsi que l'adhésion au et l’évaluation du traitement, mais pas de différence dans l'effet des deux conditions de supervision. Il n’était pas possible de séparer les effets de la supervision des la séance unique de pré-traitement et il est possible que des effets...