G.E. Kawika Allen

Previous research has shown that psychological services designed to assist clients in coping with stressful
or traumatic events are more effective when aligned with clients cultural values, practices, and
worldviews. However, limited research is available regarding the preferred coping strategies of Polynesian
Americans. In examining collectivistic coping styles and their association with previous distress
among 94 Polynesian Americans, we found that participants were highly likely to use family support and
religion/spirituality to buffer the initial and residual effects of impairment attributable to distressing
events, and private emotional outlets, such as psychotherapy, very infrequently. The use of private
emotional outlets was associated with lower impairment from distress, although family support was much
more predictive of lower impairment and positive psychological well-being. Mental health professionals
can align their services with the cultural values of Polynesian Americans by accounting for collectivistic
coping styles and family dynamics.

The purpose of this article is to describe an overall strategy and specific plans for
bringing spiritually oriented treatment approaches into the health care mainstream. We
describe Bridges, a practice-research network created in 2012 that is devoted to helping
practitioners, researchers, educators, and pastoral professionals collaboratively pursue
this goal. We describe the achievements of Bridges thus far, which include a website
for networking, an online psychotherapy research system, several completed studies,
and grant funding for future collaborative research studies. We conclude with an
invitation to health care professionals around the world to join with us in efforts to
mainstream spirituality into clinical practice so that spiritual sources of change and
healing are never again neglected in the health care professions.

This article presents an in-depth single case study of 8 sessions of spiritually integrated
psychotherapy with a 20-year-old woman recovering from an Eating Disorder. The
inclusion and utility of session-to-session outcome data as well as systematic follow up
data in conjunction with in-depth qualitative interviews are shown. Dr. H and clients
perspectives are highlighted over the course of treatment. Clinical areas of focus were
extracted from the the qualitative interviews and the therapeutic process is described.
Single-case study statistical analyses were conducted to highlight clinical gains and
maintenance.

This study examined the relationships and interactions between legalism, scrupulosity, family
perfectionism, guilt, and shame among 421 Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormons). The results
showed that scrupulosity fully mediated the links between legalism and guilt, as well as
legalism and shame. A moderated-mediation effect was found, in which family discrepancy
(maladaptive perfectionism) intensified the scrupulosityshame association in the mediation
model of legalism and shame by scrupulosity. Family discrepancy was not a significant
moderator for the mediation model of legalism and guilt by scrupulosity. Additional results
are provided and implications of these findings are outlined.

There is a paucity of research on the mental health of Pacific Islanders living in the United States, including those of Polynesian descent. This study examined coping strategies, attitudes toward seeking mental health counseling, public and self-stigma toward seeking mental health services, and
psychological adjustment among 638 Polynesian Americans. On average, participants held neither favorable nor unfavorable attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, but men endorsed moderate self-stigma
about mental illness and women endorsed high levels of public stigma about mental illness. Women showed relatively more favorable attitudes than men about seeking help from professional mental health providers. Participants
reported benefitting more from culturally congruent practices for coping with distress (accepting, reframing, striving, family support, and religiosity/spirituality) than from seeking assistance from private emotional outlets
(e.g., therapy) or avoidance and detachment. Mental health professionals need to build cross-cultural bridges and culturally adapt services to address concerns among Polynesian Americans.

Perceived attitudes between mental health therapists and local congregational LDS religious leaders regarding
the value, function, and efficacy of mental health therapy were qualitatively examined. Qualitative data emerging
from 4 LDS religious leaders (all male; 3 bishops and 1 stake president) and 7 mental health therapists (5
females, 2 males) were analyzed. Results showed differences in attitudes related to the collaboration process as
well as the efficacy and process of counseling between local mental health therapists and LDS religious leaders
in a specific Southwest region of the U.S. Additional results are reported. Implications are discussed related to
these findings.

Given the increasing number of Chinese international students attending American universities, it is important to consider potential problems arising during their initial transition period, and their experiences acculturating into the American culture and educational system. Thirteen Chinese international students participated in qualitative interviews conducted in participants native language, Mandarin Chinese. Data analysis followed the hermeneutic circle. Based on their personal perspectives, participants reported their experiences encountered during their initial transition into the U.S. They described how they made sense of their experiences and how their ways of thinking and behaving changed as a result of being influenced by their experiences interfacing with U.S. culture. Participants also shared their strategies they perceived as helpful in specific situations. Based on an analysis of participants interviews, emerging themes included (a) difficulties and challenges they faced as new immigrants, (b) differences they encountered with respect to their homeland and the new environment, including language/communication, culture, academic study and learning, living in the U.S., and psychological adjustments, (c) positive growth they acknowledged from facing challenges and adapting to their new environment, and (d) help they received from a variety of individuals and organizations. Additionally, participants offered suggestions to future Chinese international students, emphasizing the importance of more proactively seeking and receiving assistance. Implications for American universities, including counseling centers, to more actively assist and include Chinese international students are also discussed. An increased understanding of and sensitivity to international students challenges will help professionals strengthen outreach services.

Limited psychological research has disaggregated the experiences of Asian American (AA) from international Asian (IA) college students seeking psychotherapy. When combined, important differences between these groups are overlooked. We examined archival data collected from AA, IA, and European American (EA) students at a large, Western, university counseling center. Results indicated no significant differences between groups related to maximum number of psychotherapy sessions attended or likelihood of treatment discontinuance. However, we found significant differences between these groups on a number of items related to presenting concerns and to severity of presenting distress, with IA students presenting with the most distress, followed by AA, and finally EA. We also found significant differences between groups in treatment improvement, with EA students experiencing most improvement, followed by AA, and IA students. Future research should continue to investigate how specific concerns and experiences of AA and IA students are similar and different.

There is a lack of research on the effects of racial discrimination on the mental health of emerging Polynesian American adults. Broadly, the aim was to examine the intersections of racial discrimination, depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, anger, forgiveness, and satisfaction with life in a sample of 423 Polynesian emerging adults through an online Qualtrics survey. Specifically, this study also sought to examine the effects of racial discrimination and the indirect effects of forgiveness on mental health among this Polynesian American group. Elevated experiences of racial discrimination were linked to increased levels of anger as well as negative psychological outcomes including depression, anxiety, and stress. Furthermore, experiences of racial discrimination were inversely correlated with forgiveness and self-esteem. Participants with a high school education or less were more likely to report experiences of racial discrimination. Forgiveness mediated the relationship between racial discrimination and depression, anxiety, stress, and satisfaction with life. Implications are provided regarding the psychological impacts of racial discrimination among Polynesian emerging adults.