I am delighted to introduce three interesting articles successfully submitted to Applied Practices. I trust you will enjoy reading them all and find parallels to your own practice that you can draw on. All papers fit the key criteria for Applied Practices, and they provide excellent starting points for potentially more rigorous future studies. Interestingly, two of these articles are from international authors, bringing multicultural richness to us as readers.
The article ‘ACT for Adolescents: Impact of a Pilot Group Intervention on Psychological Wellbeing' explores a group Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention with 10 adolescent girls in a school setting. As the authors note, there are few studies reporting ACT-informed programs with students in schools, even though the context is potentially ideal. While certain important limitations are acknowledged, positive and significant changes in terms of reduced anxiety and increased psychological flexibility were observed.
Another article that examines a rarely addressed area is ‘Writing Intervention: A Comprehensive Program for Primary School Children'. We expect all children to be able to write well but rarely provide students who have difficulties with specific interventions to achieve a level of competent writing. The authors address the issue in a Spanish-speaking (and writing) sample of children, and they explore a range of writing elements, including motivational factors. The article describes a well-constructed program, setting the scene for broader experimental evaluations.
The third article in Applied Practices was written by a group of students undertaking their first professional experience during their training to become school counsellors, noting that they all also had psychological qualifications: ‘First-Year School Counsellor in Training Professional Experience in NSW: A Qualitative Study'. Professional experience is a balance between students engaging in real activities under supervision, and an attempt to ensure that the range of school counselling contexts and the opportunity to gain and/or practise skills are explored. Key issues, including the importance of private reflective practice, given that the supervisor is also an evaluator, were highlighted. Examining the components of school counsellor training is critical for the development of the profession, and I commend this article to practitioners and school counsellors in training, who may find it helpful to incorporate elements suggested here as part of their own practices.
Finally, can I encourage potential authors and remind persons of the key requirements for papers submitted to Applied Practices.
In this section of the journal, articles need to have an applied focus, with scope for colleagues to offer papers such as:
Small-scale evaluations of practice where the findings are interesting and noted as preliminary and worthy of further exploration, even if these are not methodologically at the standard required for contributions to the main journal (e.g., no control group).
Conceptual or research literature reviews with implications for practice, with a specific reflective argument addressing practice, possibly provocatively.
Linked case studies in therapeutic, learning and behaviour areas of intervention integrated around a common theme.
Review guidelines include the following:
1. The article is of interest and relevance to members.
2. It is well written, properly referenced using APA 7th edition guidelines, and is grammatical.
3. It has a literature base supporting the work's findings and/or thinking.
4. It is approximately 3000 words.
5. It may contain a 120-word abstract.
6. It has a clearly articulated argument and looks to future directions; thus, the work is beyond simple description, and needs to be analytical and critical in its approach.
Please submit via Scholar 1: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jgc
I am keen to support Professor Campbell's wish for more papers to be submitted to this section of the journal. You can all write about an area of your practice or an issue that interests you, and share your work with your peers as well as become a published author. I can guide and advise people who are prepared to write. Contact me for support or to run ideas past me.
