Guest Editors: Yvonne A. Unrau, Ph.D. & Melinda McCormick, M.S.W.
Manuscript Submission Deadline: August 8, 2015

 

The Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare (JSSW) promotes the understanding of social welfare by applying social science knowledge, methodology and technology to problems of social policy, politics, the social ecology, and social services. JSSW announces a special issue dedicated to studies of mind-body interventions as applied to social problems to prevent adversity and promote wholeness and well-being among individuals, groups, organizations, or communities served by the social work profession.

 

Mind-body interventions include a diverse group of practices such as controlled breathing practices, meditation, yoga and practices associated with spirituality;1 and are considered one domain of practice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).2 In this special issue, we explore usefulness and effectiveness of mind-body interventions as applied to groups of marginalized individuals in society including but not limited to individuals living with conditions of homelessness, mental illness, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, poverty, incarceration and discrimination based on race or gender-identity orientation.
While all high-quality manuscripts focused on mind-body intervention research will be considered, we are particularly interested in papers that describe methods and key findings of mind-body intervention studies and discuss applications to social service practice and/or public policy. In addition, we are seeking papers that will contribute to scholarly contemplation regarding the use of mind-body approaches in the social welfare field to address issues of transformative healing and change among populations and communities marginalized by oppressive social conditions such as poverty, discrimination and violence.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Completed efficacy studies that determine the specific effects of a mind-body intervention using experimental methods;
• Completed outcomes, effectiveness and case studies that investigate the feasibility and usefulness in general populations or settings;
• Systematic methods to develop/adapt existing mind-body interventions to new populations or settings;
• Studies of implementation of mind-body interventions in community settings;
• Methodological research on mind-body interventions, including advances in methods for measuring and analyzing fidelity and dosage data in community settings.

Authors are invited to contact the guest editors Yvonne A. Unrau (yvonne.unrau@wmich.edu) or Melinda
McCormick (melinda.m.mccormick@wmich.edu) to discuss ideas for submissions.

Submission Process
We invite authors to submit manuscripts not to exceed thirty double-spaced (12-pitch font) pages (including references and tables) on any of the topics above as well as related topics. Manuscripts received by August 8, 2015 will be considered by a special issue of JSSW with an anticipated publication date in 2016. Please send MS Word manuscripts that adhere to the APA Manual, 6th edition style, electronically, as email attachments to: Melinda.m.mccormick@wmich.edu.