title: Get out of your mind and into your life: Using a self-help book to improve wellbeing in adolescents

authors: Lisle, Nicole

abstract: Mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety are becoming increasing prevalent in an adolescent population. In New Zealand, public mental health services have long waitlists to access support from a clinician and private clinicians are often costly. This creates a barrier for many adolescents to receive support, particularly those who are experiencing subclinical concerns. There is also some evidence to suggest that many people do not benefit from traditional therapy approaches. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an alternate to traditionally used treatment approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and uses techniques such as values, acceptance and mindfulness to help improve wellbeing. Using ACT in a self-help format helps to reduce barriers for adolescents to access support. 
The overall purpose of this study was to address the question “Does the self-help book Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for Teens improve wellbeing in adolescents?”. In particular, the research sought to find out i) if the book was effective in improving well-being in adolescents, ii) if there were any gender differences in outcomes and iii) understanding if adolescents found the book useful by evaluating if it was easy to work through and relevant to them. Participants were between the ages of 16 and 18 years (N=16, average age= 16.6), with nine females and six males. A total of 14 participants completed the intervention. The study was conducted using a multiple baseline design. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires which focused on wellbeing and ACT techniques at 4 time points (before the baseline period, after a two week wait before they began the intervention, on completion of the intervention and at a two month follow up), specific areas assessed by the questionnaires were depression, anxiety, strengths and difficulties, thought control, acceptance and mindfulness. During the intervention period, participants worked through the book and engaged in weekly meetings. Participants also filled out a number of questionnaires specific to wellbeing and ACT at four time points. When the group data as well as individual change scores were analysed, statistically significant improvements were found for depression, thought control and acceptance. There were no gender differences in response to the intervention. The majority of participants felt that the intervention was relevant and useful. They also reported that they were able to use some of the skills from the intervention in their everyday lives. These findings indicate that this intervention was effective for improving general wellbeing with adolescents who are experiencing sub-clinical levels of distress. Furthermore, it demonstrates that adolescents were able to learn ACT based techniques from the self-help book and that they found the book useful and relevant. In conclusion, this study has shown that ACT based self-help interventions may be used as an alternative and cost-effective method of offering support to adolescents. It also shows that adolescents will engage in this type of intervention and can use the techniques they learn in their everyday lives. This information will hopefully be of use to professionals who work with adolescents who are experiencing mental health concerns.

text: Get out of your mind and into your life: Using a self-help book to improve wellbeing in adolescents Mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety are becoming increasing prevalent in an adolescent population. In New Zealand, public mental health services have long waitlists to access support from a clinician and private clinicians are often costly. This creates a barrier for many adolescents to receive support, particularly those who are experiencing subclinical concerns. There is also some evidence to suggest that many people do not benefit from traditional therapy approaches. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an alternate to traditionally used treatment approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and uses techniques such as values, acceptance and mindfulness to help improve wellbeing. Using ACT in a self-help format helps to reduce barriers for adolescents to access support. 
The overall purpose of this study was to address the question “Does the self-help book Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for Teens improve wellbeing in adolescents?”. In particular, the research sought to find out i) if the book was effective in improving well-being in adolescents, ii) if there were any gender differences in outcomes and iii) understanding if adolescents found the book useful by evaluating if it was easy to work through and relevant to them. Participants were between the ages of 16 and 18 years (N=16, average age= 16.6), with nine females and six males. A total of 14 participants completed the intervention. The study was conducted using a multiple baseline design. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires which focused on wellbeing and ACT techniques at 4 time points (before the baseline period, after a two week wait before they began the intervention, on completion of the intervention and at a two month follow up), specific areas assessed by the questionnaires were depression, anxiety, strengths and difficulties, thought control, acceptance and mindfulness. During the intervention period, participants worked through the book and engaged in weekly meetings. Participants also filled out a number of questionnaires specific to wellbeing and ACT at four time points. When the group data as well as individual change scores were analysed, statistically significant improvements were found for depression, thought control and acceptance. There were no gender differences in response to the intervention. The majority of participants felt that the intervention was relevant and useful. They also reported that they were able to use some of the skills from the intervention in their everyday lives. These findings indicate that this intervention was effective for improving general wellbeing with adolescents who are experiencing sub-clinical levels of distress. Furthermore, it demonstrates that adolescents were able to learn ACT based techniques from the self-help book and that they found the book useful and relevant. In conclusion, this study has shown that ACT based self-help interventions may be used as an alternative and cost-effective method of offering support to adolescents. It also shows that adolescents will engage in this type of intervention and can use the techniques they learn in their everyday lives. This information will hopefully be of use to professionals who work with adolescents who are experiencing mental health concerns.

year: 2019

title: Continuing professional development systems for medical physicists

authors: Round, W. Howell

subjects: education

abstract: A survey of all the continuing professional development (CPD) systems used internationally was conducted in 2011 as a precursor to developing a policy on CPD by the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics. The results of the survey are presented in this paper.
CPD of medical physicists throughout their careers is fundamental to ensure that they are up to date with current practices to ensure that they can perform their duties with competence and professionalism. The medical physicist professional societies support the concept, but only a fraction of them have adopted formal systems to ensure that clinical physicists keep their CPD up to date. In a few cases, licences to practice are only renewed if physicists can demonstrate that they have undertaken sufficient CPD.
In the majority of cases CPD systems are points-based where physicists are awarded a number of points for each activity they participate in. There is a requirement that they accumulate a number of points for various activities over a set number of years. In other systems where there is an emphasis on quality of CPD rather than quantity, physicists just keep a record of their activities which are audited periodically. It is difficult to achieve a ‘perfect’ system that balances the amount and quality of CPD undertaken by an individual. However, guidelines to how to assess CPD can be developed.

text: Continuing professional development systems for medical physicists A survey of all the continuing professional development (CPD) systems used internationally was conducted in 2011 as a precursor to developing a policy on CPD by the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics. The results of the survey are presented in this paper.
CPD of medical physicists throughout their careers is fundamental to ensure that they are up to date with current practices to ensure that they can perform their duties with competence and professionalism. The medical physicist professional societies support the concept, but only a fraction of them have adopted formal systems to ensure that clinical physicists keep their CPD up to date. In a few cases, licences to practice are only renewed if physicists can demonstrate that they have undertaken sufficient CPD.
In the majority of cases CPD systems are points-based where physicists are awarded a number of points for each activity they participate in. There is a requirement that they accumulate a number of points for various activities over a set number of years. In other systems where there is an emphasis on quality of CPD rather than quantity, physicists just keep a record of their activities which are audited periodically. It is difficult to achieve a ‘perfect’ system that balances the amount and quality of CPD undertaken by an individual. However, guidelines to how to assess CPD can be developed.

year: 2011

title: Joseph Harris Smallman

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Born to a mining agent and trained as a mining surveyor, in 1864, less than a year after the birth of his first child, Smallman left England for New Zealand to establish a ‘Mining business’, promising that his family would join him once it was successful. But they were never asked to join him, and after 1870 he ceased to write to his wife. 
The ‘Mining business’ never eventuated, but in 1865 he prospected at Thames, unsuccessfully seeking alluvial gold. Although criticized for living off Maori and doing little prospecting, with his partner he investigated several areas of the Hauraki Peninsula, again unsuccessfully. When the Thames goldfield was opened, with his encouragement, two years later, he mined there for some years, proving himself to be a competent miner but not making his fortune. After working elsewhere, by the mid-1870s he was living with another man’s ‘half-caste’ wife on her land near Te Aroha, having five children with her. Happy to be described as a Pakeha Maori and closely associated with the local hapu, he supported them over land dealings and the development of the district. Despite spending most of his time farming, he remained interested in prospecting, and made some explorations in districts closed to Pakeha. After gold was found at Te Aroha, for a short time he worked with Maori partners in unprofitable claims.
Either before or after his second wife had a child by another man in 1886, he left New Zealand to return to his English family; and remarkably, despite his first wife knowing that his liaison had produced children, she accepted him back after his long absence, and they remained together for the rest of their lives.

text: Joseph Harris Smallman Born to a mining agent and trained as a mining surveyor, in 1864, less than a year after the birth of his first child, Smallman left England for New Zealand to establish a ‘Mining business’, promising that his family would join him once it was successful. But they were never asked to join him, and after 1870 he ceased to write to his wife. 
The ‘Mining business’ never eventuated, but in 1865 he prospected at Thames, unsuccessfully seeking alluvial gold. Although criticized for living off Maori and doing little prospecting, with his partner he investigated several areas of the Hauraki Peninsula, again unsuccessfully. When the Thames goldfield was opened, with his encouragement, two years later, he mined there for some years, proving himself to be a competent miner but not making his fortune. After working elsewhere, by the mid-1870s he was living with another man’s ‘half-caste’ wife on her land near Te Aroha, having five children with her. Happy to be described as a Pakeha Maori and closely associated with the local hapu, he supported them over land dealings and the development of the district. Despite spending most of his time farming, he remained interested in prospecting, and made some explorations in districts closed to Pakeha. After gold was found at Te Aroha, for a short time he worked with Maori partners in unprofitable claims.
Either before or after his second wife had a child by another man in 1886, he left New Zealand to return to his English family; and remarkably, despite his first wife knowing that his liaison had produced children, she accepted him back after his long absence, and they remained together for the rest of their lives.

year: 2016