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The objective of this article is to determine if there are perceptual differences regarding the importance of elements deemed imperative for successful service dog partnerships in the workplace (Glenn, 2013) between those who have experience with dogs for mobility/stability and those for medical alert/response. Thirty individuals completed this online survey (mobility/stability: n = 18; medical alert/response: n = 12). Participants rated the importance of elements in response to the question, “How important to do you think this item is in the OVERALL process?” The mobility/stability group rated the Co-Worker Preparation and Legal Knowledge clusters as significantly more important than the medical alert/response group. This opens up a need for research on the unique needs of subgroups of the population of people using service dogs. Differences may exist because of the size of dogs and the issues around privacy for the person with the disability seeking accommodations on the job.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with increased risk for suicide. This study addressed 1 factor that could influence the relationship between PTSD and risk of suicide: rural origin. Suicide rates are elevated in rural compared to nonrural areas. Reluctance to seek mental health care and other factors thought to contribute to high suicide rates in rural locations also may be associated with increased risk of suicide for individuals from rural compared to nonrural areas who are experiencing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PSS). However, little research has examined this relationship with an emphasis on location of origin. We hypothesized that rural origin would moderate the relationship between PSS and suicide risk (as measured by the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised), such that growing up in a rural area would result in an amplification of this relationship. Analyses revealed a significant interaction between PSS and rural origin in the prediction of suicide risk. However, the relationship between PSS and suicide risk was weaker for individuals from rural areas than nonrural areas. The results of this study suggest that posttraumatic stress symptoms are less likely to be associated with suicidality among individuals who were raised in a rural versus nonrural area.

Counselors are expected to have certain personal attributes and professional skills to be effective in their work. Personal wellness is viewed as a significant contributor to counselor effectiveness and is included in the expectations of instructors, advisors, supervisors, and employers. The purpose of the present study was to identify characteristics of effective and well-balanced counselors by directly engaging those who have provided clinical supervision to this population. Twenty-seven counseling supervisors (encompassing rehabilitation, school, addictions, and mental health specialty areas) brainstormed 71 elements in response to the following question: What are the characteristics of a counselor in your field who is effective and well-balanced? These were condensed to 37 elements, and supervisors then categorized them into four categories: Counseling Skills, Solution Focused, Personal Characteristics, and Taking Care of Self. The academic research team independently sorted these clusters into four categories: Counseling Skills, Organization and Management Skills, Personal Characteristics, and Well-being. Comparisons of the products created by the two groups revealed a difference in perceptions in the arena of Personal Characteristics. The academic team was more likely to use the Personal Characteristics category than the field supervisors. Implications for counselor education and supervision regarding the conceptualization of skills vs. traits are discussed.

Rural people are less likely to seek help for psychological distress than their urban counterparts, despite comparable rates of psychological symptoms between the two groups. The association between limited accessibility and reduced mental health care utilization in rural adults has been well documented. Less studied is the reason (or reasons) for reduced use of mental health care services in rural persons. This study examined associations among willingness to seek help and religiosity, mental health knowledge, confidentiality concerns, and self-reliance. In this sample of 140 rural residents, mental health knowledge was the sole predictor of help seeking in stepwise regression analyses. Clinical implications of this association are addressed, as are potential approaches to increase help seeking behaviors in rural persons with psychological symptoms.