Psychology Graduate Programs Research Articles

Primary mental health prevention themes in published research and academic programs in Israel.

BackgroundThe World Health Organization Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan (CMHAP) 2013–2020 proposes the implementation of primary prevention strategies to reduce the mental health burden of disease. The extent to which Israeli academic programs and published research adhere to the principles spelled out by the CMHAP is unknown.ObjectiveTo investigate the presence of mental health primary prevention themes in published research and academic programs in Israel.MethodsWe searched for mental health primary prevention themes in: (1) three major journals of psychiatry and social sciences during the years 2001–2012; (2) university graduate programs in psychology, social work and medicine in leading universities for the academic year of 2011–2012; and (3) doctoral and master's theses approved in psychology and social work departments in five universities between the years 2007–2012.We used a liberal definition of primary prevention to guide the above identification of themes, including those related to theory, methods or research information of direct or indirect application in practice.ResultsOf the 934 articles published in the three journals, 7.2%, n = 67, addressed primary prevention. Of the 899 courses in the 19 graduate programs 5.2%, n = 47, elective courses addressed primary prevention. Of the 1960 approved doctoral and master's theses 6.2%, n = 123, addressed primary prevention. Only 11 (4.7%) articles, 5 (0.6%) courses, and 5 (0.3%) doctoral and master's theses addressed primary prevention directly.ConclusionsThe psychiatric reform currently implemented in Israel and WHO CMHAP call for novel policies and course of action in all levels of prevention, including primary prevention. Yet, the latter is rarely a component of mental health education and research activities. The baseline we drew could serve to evaluate future progress in the field.

Undergraduate Psychology Students’ Knowledge and Exposure to School Psychology: Suggestions for Diversifying the Field

Trainers within school psychology have struggled to recruit racial/ethnic minority graduate students, with a recent demographic survey suggesting that racial/ethnic minorities comprise 9.3 % of school-based practitioners (Curtis, Castillo, & Gelley, 2012). Furthermore, research has suggested that school psychology training programs have also lagged behind counseling and clinical psychology in the recruitment of minority students (Fiegener, 2009). In the current study, 782 junior and senior undergraduate psychology students, representing the four regions of the USA, were included in an online study. Students’ knowledge and exposure were compared across school, counseling, and clinical psychology. Students’ intentions for applying to a school psychology program were also assessed. Results suggest that students have less knowledge and exposure to school psychology compared to counseling or clinical psychology and that students with greater knowledge or exposure for school psychology have stronger intentions of applying to a school psychology graduate program. No significant difference was found between minority and non-minority students’ knowledge or exposure to school psychology. Implications for minority and non-minority recruitment are discussed.

A Crisis in Comparative Psychology: Where Have All the Undergraduates Gone? Additional Comments,

This article identifies what I believe is a crisis in comparative psychology: the need to recruit undergraduates as the next generation of comparative psychologists. Issues to be addressed include the lack of graduate programs, only a single currently available comparative textbook, few undergraduate courses in comparative psychology, and the portrayal of comparative psychology in introductory psychology texts. Suggestions to help increase undergraduate interest in comparative psychology involve: recognition that comparative psychology is more than the study of animal behavior, that comparative psychology teaches broad-based research and critical thinking skills that can be used not only to further educational opportunities but also be useful for students who would like to directly go into business, encouraging students to create their own undergraduate major with a focus on comparative psychology, development of on-line courses, promotion of comparative-based teaching exercises, and using a track system to develop graduate programs in comparative psychology.

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE RECENT PROSPERITY OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN BRAZIL

96 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Table Normal; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Calibri;} Social psychology is currently thriving in Brazil. Yet just 45 years ago, social psychology was virtually absent as a viable discipline in Brazilian universities and in public life. This paper presents a brief commentary on the development of social psychology in Brazil in recent history. Examples are given of relevant courses presented in Brazil prior to this period by physicians, anthropologists and sociologists—none by social psychologists. The influence of journalists and novelists is cited as well in the provision of groundwork for social psychology in Brazil. The first graduate programs in social psychology were established in the early 1970’s. The Brazilian Association of Social Psychology was established in 1980, and its flagship journal at the same time. The political turmoil surrounding the military dictatorship (1964-1985), and the audacious founding of Brasilia (1960) provided conditions for the development of social psychological analyses of an important major nation in the process of transformation.

Intellectual disability and mental health: is psychology prepared?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is threefold: to document the relationship between intellectual disability (ID) and psychopathology; to raise awareness of the ongoing lag in professional training for psychologists in the area of mental health treatment for people with intellectual disabilities; and, to provide recommendations for advancing professional education and, ultimately, adequate mental health treatment availability for people with intellectual disabilities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the literature on prevalence of mental health problems in people with intellectual disabilities. At the same time, the paper reviews the training of psychologists relative to the burgeoning growth in awareness of the mental health needs of people with intellectual disabilities. Findings – The paper concludes that ID is a significant risk factor for psychopathology. In addition, the paper concludes that the education of psychologists regarding the mental health needs of people with intellectual disabilities is insufficient. The authors document the need for incorporating research and treatment advances related to intellectual disabilities and mental health into to the professional training of psychologists. The paper also describe the potential this training holds for improving both the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and the overall competence of psychologists. Practical implications – This paper provides a literature-based rationale for the need to include education in the mental health needs of people with intellectual disabilities into the general training of mental health professionals. In addition, it provides specific recommendations for how such training can be incorporated into graduate psychology programs. Originality/value – This paper provides mental health professionals with a review of the growth in understanding of the enormous, unmet mental health needs of people intellectual disabilities, and of the critical role of ID in development of mental health problems. Moreover, this paper builds the case for an important revision in the training of psychologists to include competence in understanding and treating mental health problems across the full spectrum of intellectual functioning.

Transana Qualitative Video and Audio Analysis Software as a Tool for Teaching Intellectual Assessment Skills to Graduate Psychology Students

This article draws on the author's experience using qualitative video and audio analysis, most notably through use of the Transana qualitative video and audio analysis software program, as an alternative method for teaching IQ administration skills to students in a graduate psychology program. Qualitative video and audio analysis may be useful for psychology programs to more effectively and efficiently train students on IQ administration. Through use of Transana, video and audio footage and corresponding verbal and nonverbal transcripts of student-conducted IQ administrations can be coded and organized and later retrieved by any combination of codes, file or clip identifiers, or collections of clips and presented as a simultaneous, running display of video, audio, and corresponding transcripts that facilitates rich analysis and feedback.

NAVIGATING SOCIAL NETWORKING AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY: ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONSIDERATIONS IN TRAINING PROGRAMS

Social networking and social media have undoubtedly proliferated within the past decade, allowing widespread communication and dissemination of user-generated content and information. Some psychology graduate programs, including school psychology, have started to embrace social networking and media for instructional and training purposes; however, there have not been any consistent ethical guidelines or standards among training programs relating to how trainers, graduate students, and practitioners should use social networking and social media professionally. This article draws on the current yet limited research on social networking and social media, and addresses the ethical challenges when managing both professional and personal online identities in school psychology. Two relevant case scenarios are discussed, along with suggested guidelines for developing technological policies for school psychologists. Future directions in research and practical implications for trainers, graduate students, and practitioners are explored.

Insider's guide to graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology

Preliminary discussion concerns such topics as preparation for graduate school, the application process, and methods for selecting a school. The bulk of the text is devoted to reports on individual graduate psychology programs in the areas of clinical, counseling, and professional-scientific. Report

Feminism as a Tool to Connect Latinas to Graduate Psychology Training

In this article we offer recommendations for how graduate psychology programs can use feminism as a tool to recruit and retain Latina students. Feminism is especially well suited to address this need because it considers how gender, race and ethnicity, and social class impact women's academic and professional endeavors. Recommendations offered in this article include paving a financial path for success, meeting linguistic needs in clinical training settings, increasing diversity representation amongst students and faculty, and expanding the knowledge production in the field of psychology to include the voices of Latinas.

The Education and Training of Women in Clinical and Counseling Psychology Programs: Then and Now–1960 to 2013

This article identifies eight changes or developments occurring in the past 50 years in the education and training of women in graduate psychology programs—specifically, in clinical and counseling psychology: gender composition; feminist perspectives and women's rights—expanded freedoms; appreciation of diversity and multiculturalism; theoretical developments and advancements; expanded scope of training—models, curricula, and treatment approaches; technological and communication advances; work-world and marketplace developments; and financial resources. These eight changes are discussed in the context of their impact on women graduate students as well as on women faculty.

Professional psychology competency initiatives: implications for training, regulation, and practice

Psychology in the United States has struggled with defining and specifying competencies for the practice of psychology since the Boulder Conference of 1949 outlined the first training model for graduate programs in psychology. Competency was largely defined by types of experiences and “seat time” until 1986, when the first major competency model in professional psychology in the United States was proposed. By 2000, discussions about the competencies had begun in earnest, and since that time, psychology’s focus on competencies has intensified, resulting in a shift away from a model of training that involved tracking the number of hours spent learning specific knowledge or skills to a “culture of competence” that emphasizes outcome, that is, the acquisition of the essential knowledge and skills. In order to develop this culture, competence must first be defined and described. A number of efforts to do so have been completed, initially resulting in a confusing array of different models or perspectives. Over time, however, the models have become more refined and similar in their structure and framework. This article provides an overview of these efforts and discusses the next steps in the implementation of a competency model that is comprehensive enough to be useful, but simple enough to be used. The implications of the competency development process for training, practice, and regulation are discussed.

Workplace bullying in Canadian graduate psychology programs: Student perspectives of student–supervisor relationships.

Workplace bullying in Canadian graduate psychology programs: Student perspectives of student–supervisor relationships.

To treat or not to treat: should psychologists treat tobacco use disorder?

The author presented this Presidential Address for Divison 18, Psychologists in Public Service, at the 2012 American Psychological Association Convention in Orlando, Florida. The address challenges public service psychologists to reduce the tobacco disease burden through their roles as researchers, leaders, educators, and practitioners and explains why treating tobacco use disorder is important and relevant for psychologists. The address discusses the prevalence and the resulting mortality and morbidity rates of tobacco use disorder, which call for effective evidence-based interventions that can be integrated by psychologists into other ongoing treatments. Treatment of the underserved populations, including those with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders, presents many barriers. In addition, education and training for tobacco use disorder in undergraduate and graduate clinical psychology programs present further barriers for psychology trainees. However, progress is being made because of the numerous resources and psychology leaders who are advocates for tobacco use disorder treatment and research. Challenges for the future include increasing awareness of the importance of treatment for tobacco use disorder, finding innovative ways to increase access to comprehensive evidence-based treatment, and acknowledging that psychologists can make a difference in reducing the tobacco use disorder disease burden. Psychologists have an ethical and professional responsibility to treat tobacco use disorder.

A Learning Journey I: Curriculum Mapping as a Tool to Assess and Integrate Community Psychology Practice Competencies in Graduate Education Programs

Curriculum mapping is introduced as a practical tool for community psychology graduate and professional education programs to assess how their curriculum addresses community psychology practice competencies and to further develop their program. Using the Applied Community Psychology Specialization as an illustrative case study, a six-step process for mapping curriculum to community psychology practice competencies is described. Implications for academic program development and limitations to the curriculum mapping process are discussed.

Preparing the New Psychology Professoriate to Teach

The movement to prepare graduate students to teach is relatively new in the history of the academy. During the past several decades, many graduate departments of psychology, like many academic departments, have gone from providing essentially no training to graduate students to teach to developing extensive training programs consisting of course work and supervision of teaching activities. Although as a whole, graduate programs in psychology have made substantial progress in preparing its students for careers in teaching, there remains much to be done in further enhancing graduate students’ preparation for teaching. I discuss and provide recommendations for addressing several key issues that currently or in the future will impede the successful preparation of graduate students for teaching including the need for more research on preparatory practices, the need for more depth and consistency in these practices across graduate departments of psychology, the importance of maintaining the primary responsibility for preparing graduate students to teach within psychology departments, and the utility of having two or more faculty lead departmental preparatory teaching programs.

The use of theoretical models in psychology supervisor development research from 1994 to 2010: A systematic review.

Training in supervision is becoming an increasingly important component of professional psychology programs. To assist students in developing supervisory competencies, knowledge of relevant research and effective training methods is required and, ideally, such knowledge should be derived from an empirical literature comprising good quality, theory-based research. To evaluate the nature of the empirical literature on supervisor development, a systematic review was conducted to determine the extent to which theoretical models have been used in this literature. Psyclnfo, Medline, CINAHL, and ERIC were searched for articles published between 1994 and 2010. Initially 3,248 abstracts were reviewed, 25 of which met the criteria of being empirical, focused on supervisor development, and having participants with graduate training in counselling or professional psychology. Of these studies, only half drew upon models of supervisory development in the conceptualisation, design, or interpretation of the research study. The most often used model was Watkins' Supervisor Complexity Model (Watkins, 1990, 1993, 1994). Approximately one third of studies examined the influence of past training and experience in supervision on current supervision practices. For competency-based training in supervision to advance, the theoretically informed evidence base needs to be greatly expanded, and much more research is needed that explicitly applies and/or evaluates models of supervisory development.Keywords: practicum supervision, professional supervision, clinical psychology, counselling psychology, systematic reviewClinical supervision has two main purposes: to ensure the integrity of clinical services and to develop service provision competence in the supervisee (Falender & Shafranske, 2004). Although many definitions of clinical supervision have been proposed, Milne's (2007) refinement of Bernard and Goodyear's widely cited work (2004) is the most comprehensive and detailed presented thus far in the literature:The formal provision, (i.e., sanctioned by relevant organisation/s) by senior/qualified health practitioners (or similarly experienced staff), of an intensive education (general problem solving capacity; developing capability) and/or training (competence enhancement) that is casefocused and which supports, directs, and guides (including restorative and/or normative topics, addressed by means of professional methods, including objective monitoring, feedback and evaluation) the work of junior colleagues (supervisees).In Canada, competency in supervision is required for licensure by some provincial or territorial regulatory bodies (see http:// www.cpa.ca/documents/MRA.pdf). Similarly, the American Psychological Association (APA) has stated that clinical supervision should be regarded as a distinct professional competency (American Psychological Association, 2006). Clinical supervision is also recognised as a key component of prelicensure training in Canada, as accreditation of professional psychology graduate programs requires doctoral students to have instruction in clinical supervision, and internship accreditation requires that interns acquire knowledge and skills in supervision (Canadian Psychological Association, 2011). As the provision of supervision is likely to be a component of future practice for many professional psychologists, graduate programs should provide training in supervision that is, ideally, built on a solid evidence base, as is the case in other areas of professional training (Hunsley & Barker, 2011).Current perspectives on graduate training in professional psychology emphasise a competency-based approach, with competency being broadly defined as the knowledge, skills, and values required to practice effectively (Falender et al., 2004). The task for educators, then, is to identify the knowledge, skills, and values that constitute a required competency such as supervision and, further, to effectively train students and professionals to develop the competency. …

Weight bias in graduate school admissions

Whether weight bias occurs in the graduate school admissions process is explored here. Specifically, we examined whether body mass index (BMI) was related to letter of recommendation quality and the number of admissions offers applicants received after attending in-person interviews. Participants were 97 applicants to a psychology graduate program at a large university in the United States. They reported height, weight, and information about their applications to psychology graduate programs. Participants' letters of recommendation were coded for positive and negative statements as well as overall quality. Higher BMI significantly predicted fewer post-interview offers of admission into psychology graduate programs. Results also suggest this relationship is stronger for female applicants. BMI was not related to overall quality or the number of stereotypically weight-related adjectives in letters of recommendation. Surprisingly, higher BMI was related to more positive adjectives in letters. The first evidence that individuals interviewing applicants to graduate programs may systematically favor thinner applicants is provided here. A conscious or unconscious bias against applicants with extra body weight is a plausible explanation. Stereotype threat and social identity threat are also discussed as explanations for the relationship between BMI and interview success.

Missing Voices: African American School Psychologists’ Perspectives on Increasing Professional Diversity

Since the mid 1960s, there has been a noticeable decrease in the percentage of African American educators. Although a sizeable literature is dedicated to understanding how to recruit African American teachers, fewer studies focus on recruiting and retaining African American school psychologists. Therefore, this exploratory qualitative study investigated factors important to African American school psychologists when they were selecting a school psychology graduate program to attend and their perspectives on strategies that might facilitate an increase in their numbers. Four major themes of Location, Raise Awareness, Recruit, and Support emerged. Based on the results, a three-prong approach for recruiting African Americans into school psychology graduate education is presented.

Growing Up in the Society of Pediatric Psychology: Reflections of an Early Career Psychologist

D, Pain TreatmentService, Boston Children’s Hospital 21 Autumn St. Boston, MA 02215, USA.E-mail: Laura.Simons@childrens.harvard.eduReceived September 29, 2012; revisions received October 30, 2012; accepted November 6, 2012As an eager undergraduate from Ohio University searchingfor the perfect clinical psychology graduate program, I hadtwo primary criteria: (1) a pediatric psychology focus and(2) one that is located south of the Mason-Dixon Line.I grew up in Ohio and envisioned graduate schools as anopportunity to not only pursue my passion to work withchildren in the medical setting but also to enjoy a warmerclimate. Although I gained valued experience as an under-graduate researcher on my honor’s thesis working in ahealth psychology laboratory with Chris France, P

The Current Status of Graduate Training in Suicide Risk Assessment

Directors and coordinators (n = 75) of graduate programs in school psychology approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) were surveyed regarding their training practices in suicide risk assessment. Respondents viewed the assessment of suicide risk as an important part of graduate instruction, and most believed that students completing training at their institutions would be adequately prepared to perform this task. Almost all directors indicated that a portion of class lectures was dedicated to addressing child/adolescent suicide risk assessment, and students were reportedly exposed to this topic in multiple courses, particularly those associated with practicum and internship. Students in doctoral and nondoctoral programs received comparable training and were judged to be equally prepared to perform suicide‐related professional activities in the schools. Gaps in training were revealed involving instruction in the use of quantitative measures of risk, large‐scale suicide prevention efforts, interventions with suicidal youth, and postvention activities.