Psychologists Face Research Articles

Building Working Alliance on Online and Offline Counselling

Telecounseling in Indonesia can be a solution to overcome the shortage of mental health professionals to address psychological problems. Telecounseling is a new challenge for psychologists. The high public interest in using telecounseling has not been accompanied by empirical data on the challenges psychologists face in providing online counseling services, especially in establishing working alliances as a key competency for building therapeutic relationships. The purpose of this study was to understand counselor competencies in building working alliances in online and offline psychological services. Participants in this cross-sectional study were 93 counselors selected by simple random sampling. The measurements were conducted using the Indonesian version of the Therapist Interpersonal Skill Scale. In general, the counselor’s ability to provide online counseling was lower (79.58%) than when providing offline counseling (96.8%). The differences in counselors’ abilities covered all three aspects of the working alliance measured, namely 1) extra-therapeutic influence, 2) therapy skills, and 3) perception of outcomes. Because this research is cross-sectional, it can only analyze the characteristics of respondents in one-time period, but it does offer empirical data about the differences in counselor ability to build working relationships in online and offline counseling.

Adaptation of the «Physical Resilience Instrument for Older Adults (PRIFOR)» on the Ukrainian sample

Introduction. The study of the phenomenon of resilience as the individual's ability to recover is extremely relevant due to the full-scale war, which causes chronic stress, emotional and physical trauma, etc. That is why psychologists face the need for a deep and detailed study of the features of resilience as an important ability to recover after stressful and traumatic events. Aim: to adapt the «Physical Resilience Instrument for Older Adults (PRIFOR)» (Fang-Wen Hu, Cheng-Han Lin, Fang-RuYueh, Yu-Tai Lo & Chung-Ying Lin) to the Ukrainian sample, to check the instrument statements' reliability and discrimination as well as to carry out validation and standardization of its scales on the Ukrainian sample. Methods. To check the instrument's convergent validity, standardized the following questionnaires were used: «Personal Resources» (O.V. Savchenko, S.A. Sukach); «Conor-Davidson Stress Resistance Scale (CD-RISC-10)» (adapted by N.V. Shkolina, I.I. Shapoval, I.V. Orlova, I.O. Kedyk, and M.A. Stanislavchuk); «Learned Resourcefulness» (adapted by B.V. Biron). Results: The «Physical Resilience Instrument for Older Adults (PRIFOR)» by Fang-Wen Hu, Cheng-HanLin, Fang-Ru Yueh, Yu-Tai Lo & Chung-Ying Lin" was successfully adapted to the Ukrainian sample and standardized, as well as the test norms were developed, which makes it possible to use the Instrument for the analysis of the general index and individual scales of individuals' resilience. Conclusions. The Ukrainian version of the «Instrument for the Study of Resilience (IDR-14)» can be helpful for psychological assessment of and planning of work with military personnel and individuals who need recovery after stress, illness and mental and physical injuries.

Particularitățile reprezentării sociale a expertizei psihologice judiciare

Forensic psychological expertise is at the beginning of its development and establishment, being used rarely in criminal/civil proceedings. The “status” of forensic psychological expertise is undefined, mainly because of the lack of specialists, as well as because psychologists face negative and skeptical attitudes from legal workers. In this context, the purpose of this research is to reveal the social representations of forensic psychological expertise among specialists working in the legal field. The given research has involved 417 specialists in the legal field (officers of criminal investigation, lawyers, attorneys), aged between 24-62, men and women, with different professional experience in the legal field, who have completed a questionnaire (elaborated by the author). The analysis of the results emphasized the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of specialists regarding the forensic psychological expertise integrated in the structure and silent zone of the social representation.

How can educational psychology inform policy?

The authors in this special issue focus on ways educational psychology scholarship can and should strive to inform education policy. In this commentary, I describe how each of the articles speaks to policymakers’ (ranging from those in decision-making positions in school districts to legislators) use of research evidence. In addition, I present my thoughts on some of the challenges educational psychologists face in their efforts to inform policy with research. I will conclude my commentary with thoughts on the kind of training scholars must have to ensure their research is accessible to those who develop and make decisions on policy.

Emotional State of Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from the Cognitive and Social Well-Being (CoSoWELL) Corpus

ABSTRACT Objectives In view of the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, psychologists face a challenge to document the pandemic-related change in emotional well-being of individuals and groups and evaluate the emotional response to this fallout over time. Methodsp We contribute to this goal by analyzing the new CoSoWELL corpus (version 2.0), an 1.8 million-word collection of narratives written by over 1,300 older adults (55+ y.o.) in eight sessions before, during and after the global lockdown. In the narratives, we examined a range of linguistic variables traditionally associated with emotional well-being and observed signs of distress, i.e., lower positivity and heightened levels of fear, anger, and disgust. Results In most variables, we observed a characteristic timeline of change, i.e., a delayed (by 4 months) and abrupt drop in optimism and increase in negative emotions that reached its peak about 7 months after the lockdown and returned to pre-pandemic levels one year after. Our examination of risk factors showed that higher levels of self-reported loneliness came with elevated levels of negative emotions but did not change the timeline of emotional response to the pandemic. Conclusions We discuss implications of the findings for theories of emotion regulation.

Psychologists' Role in Addressing Healthcare Provider Burnout and Well-Being.

Burnout in health care has received considerable attention; widespread efforts to implement burnout reduction initiatives are underway. Healthcare providers with marginalized identities may be especially at risk. Health service psychologists are often key members of interprofessional teams and may be asked to intervene with colleagues exhibiting signs of burnout. Consequently, psychologists in these settings can then find themselves in professional quandaries. In the absence of clear guidelines, psychologists are learning to enhance their scope of practice and navigate ethical guidelines while supporting colleagues and simultaneously satisfying organizational priorities. In this paper we (a) provide an overview of burnout and its scope, (b) discuss ethical challenges health service psychologists face in addressing provider burnout, and (c) present three models to employ in healthcare provider burnout and well-being.

Ethics and deontology in medical psychology

Abstract. The sphere of influence of medical psychology is constantly expanding, which is due to the relevance of mental health problems for modern society and the presence of social demand for psychological assistance. Ethics in medical psychology as one of the types of professional ethics is a set of principles of regulation and norms of behavior of medical psychologists and physicians, determined by the specifics of their activities and the role and position they occupy in society. The concept of medical deontology also includes the system of relationships established in the course of treatment between a doctor and a patient, a medical psychologist and a patient. Deontology is the study of the proper behavior of medical personnel. The subject of deontology in medical psychology is the principles of proper attitude not only towards an individual but also towards society. Referring to the ethical aspects of medical psychology, the modern models of medical ethics are analyzed: the Hippocratic model (V-IV centuries BC) – the key principle of which is: "Do no harm"; the model of Paracelsus (XV-XVI centuries) – the principle of "Do good". This model implements paternalism (pater) as a type of relationship between a medical psychologist and a patient, characterized by positive psychological attachments and social and moral responsibility, "healing", "divinity" of the contact between a medical psychologist and a patient; deontological model (XVIII-XIX centuries) is a set of "proper" rules that correspond to a particular field of medical practice; biomedical ethical model (60-70s of the XX century) considers medicine in the context of human rights. It has been established that medical psychology in all its sections is based on general medical ethical principles. Medical psychologists face specific ethical issues in their work. This is the question of the need to inform the subject about the purpose and content of the psychological examination before it is conducted. Secondly, a medical psychologist must adhere to the rule of "boundaries" (the limit of acceptable behavior). Given the specifics of interpersonal interaction between a medical psychologist and a patient, it is necessary to clearly define professional boundaries of communication during psychological counseling and psychotherapeutic meetings. Thirdly, the formation of emotional attachment of the patient to the medical psychologist, which is one of the characteristics of professional interpersonal interaction, can be a difficult ethical issue. Therefore, a medical psychologist should control the interaction with the patient, being aware of their professional actions, so that emotional support does not interfere with providing the patient with the means to independently cope with difficulties and realize their life goals.

Psychological Difficulties Faced by Mental Health Professionals

Despite the benefits of a profession in psychology, psychologists face numerous difficulties that are not part of their work description. One study even revealed that psychologists had a higher prevalence of depression than did the general population. The aim was to study the extent to which the mental health professionals face psychological difficulties while providing their services to others. The objectives were to find about the different disorders the mental health professionals suffer from, to study the factors contributing to their difficulties, and to study their own approach towards their own psychological problems. Through the extensive review of several researches, it was indicated that mental health professionals do indeed face psychological difficulties that range from disorders like depression, suicide to burnout and compassion fatigue. However, they become reluctant to seek therapy themselves because of its potential threat to their professional competence. As psychologists’ mental health could greatly affect their clients’ mental health, it is imperative to increase awareness about the problems they face and incorporate various self-help strategies like utilizing self-care, mindfulness training, and adopting personal coping techniques. Keywords: Burnout, Self-care, mental health professionals

School psychologists and autism identification: Present challenges and potential solutions

AbstractAlthough federal law has provided guidelines for autism eligibility for special education, school‐based autism assessment and eligibility vary widely across states and identification continues to lag behind national prevalence data. The main role of the school psychologist continues to be conducting evaluations for special education eligibility, and given current barriers, some school psychologists do not feel equipped to make a recommendation for autism eligibility. This article summarizes the barriers school psychologists face when conducting autism assessments in the schools, including systemic barriers, lack of training or professional development, resulting lack of confidence, among others. We conclude by highlighting recommendations for multipronged systemic changes that will improve the capacity of special education teams and specifically support the pivotal role of the school psychologist in conducting autism eligibility evaluations in the schools.

The Value of Self-Compassion in Increasing Empathy and Life Satisfaction: A Brief Intervention for Psychologists

Psychologists face a multitude of difficulties in their daily practice with clinical populations. Surveys involving psychologists’ practice, have shown high levels of emotional and physical exhaustion, burnout and compassion fatigue. One potential factor that could protect psychologists’ prosperity and quality of life is self-compassion. A variety of surveys have proved the fundamental role of self-compassion in decreasing a variety of symptoms and increasing well-being, positive psychological health, positive emotions, satisfaction of life and empathy. The aim of this survey was to investigate the value of self-compassion for psychologists, while also examining differences in levels of empathy and quality of life, before and after the intervention. A total number of 29 individuals, psychotherapists active in practice participated in the current studies. Participants were divided in two groups, the experimental group (N=9, M=29.89) and control group (N=20, M=31.05). The division prior to the initiation of the intervention, based on their availability to participate in the intervention organized for the aim of this study. Results indicated a statistically significant difference for all six components of self-compassion for the experimental condition, showing that the level of total self-compassion was increased after the intervention, compared to the control group. Life satisfaction was also significantly increased in the experimental group. There was only one statistically significant difference for the component of fantasy (fantastic empathy) only in the intervention group. The difference between the intervention group and the control group, and the follow-measurement of self- compassion remained statistically significant.

Talking Through the Silence: How do Clinical Psychologists who Have Experienced Suicide Bereavement ‘Make Sense’ of Suicide?

There is a lack of research concerning therapists’ emotional responses to the suicide of clients and/or friends and family and yet, professionally, therapists commonly manage suicide risk of their clients and need to abide by relevant policies. Using a purposive sampling technique, twelve female clinical psychologists working in the UK were recruited via social media platforms. A qualitative method was adopted to offer an in-depth understanding into the lived experiences of losing a loved one and/or client to suicide. The semi-structured interviews took place via video-call or via telephone for up to one hour. Three themes were identified as follows: how talk is experienced as a way of making sense of suicide the messiness of being human,and an experience that helps psychologists face suicide. This study brings to light the dilemmas experienced by clinical psychologists who are both clinicians and survivors of suicide. The findings highlight the lack of conversation relating to bereavement by suicide within mental health services. This study offers insight into how clinical psychologists experience suicide bereavement, and discusses the clinical and UK policy implications.

Muslim Psychologists in Facing Challenges of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution

The 4.0 industrial revolution (4IR) is one of the biggest challenges faced by every individual, especially psychologists of this century. In this article, the authors will examine the preparation for challenges psychologists face in helping individuals deal with the psycho-social impact of the 4.0 industrial revolution. 4IR comprises of ten pillars: automation robots, simulations, system integration, multi-purpose internet, cyber security, public computing, additional material creation, reinforced reality, large data analysis, and system integration. This conceptual paper covers articles and books from year 1998 to 2020. This article aims to help psychologists become more knowledgeable about how their disciplinary expertise can assist in discussions, research, and policy initiatives relating to 4.0 Industrial Revolution. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to outline the challenges faced by the Muslim psychologists in the era of 4.0 Industrial Revolution and how to deal with the challenges diligently. Psychologists are responsible for designing and implementing interventions to deal with the psycho-social impact of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution. Psychologists’ involvement is needed to increase psychological support to individuals, in particular, and to society as a whole. Hence, the mental health and mental strength of psychologists are important in preparation for the 4IR challenge.

Objectivity or Advocacy? The Ethics of the Scout Mindset in Psychoeducational Assessment.

Psychologists often act as advocates when conducting diagnostic evaluations, using their reports as a way to assist clients in achieving their goals. At times, this comes at the expense of objectivity. The “soldier” and “scout” mindsets are useful metaphors for biased and unbiased reasoning, respectively, and they apply well to the practice of conducting psychological evaluations. Psychologists face several strong incentives for adopting a soldier mindset, but these can lead to unethical practices. Cultivating a scout mindset of actively open-minded thinking, in which a wide variety of assessment data are obtained, considered fairly and in an evenhanded manner, and presented with appropriate degrees of confidence, is critical for ethical psychological evaluations. There are certain types of advocacy that can coexist with such practices, but any attempts at advocacy must respect objectivity as a higher goal.

Understanding ethical drift in professional decision making: dilemmas in practice

ABSTRACT Educational psychologists face challenging decisions around ethical dilemmas to uphold the rights of all children. Due to finite government resources for supporting all learners, one of the roles of educational psychologists is to apply for this funding on behalf of schools and children. Tensions can emerge when unintended ethical dilemmas arise through decisions that compromise their professional judgement. This paper presents the findings from an exploratory study around educational psychologists’ understandings and concerns around ethical dilemmas they faced within New Zealand over the past 5 years. The study set out to explore how educational psychologists manage the ethical conflicts and inner contradictions within their work. The findings suggest that such pressures could influence evidence-based practice in subtle ways when in the course of decision making, practitioners experienced some form of ethical drift. There is seldom one correct solution across similar situations. Although these practitioners experienced discomfort in their actions they rationalised their decisions based on external forces such as organisational demands or funding formulas. This illustrates the relational, contextual, organisational and personal influences on how and when ‘ethical drift’ occurs.

Climate Change, Migration, Urbanization, and the Mental Health of Children at Risk in the European Union

Abstract. Psychologists face a growing mental health challenge, calling for innovative large-scale interventions. World population growth and industrialization are causing climate change, forcing families to migrate into rapidly expanding cities, and suffer in refugee camps. European in-country migration from rural villages adds to urban growth. This rapid shift in adaptation between uprooted families and their new environments tends to increase the risk of family system disorganization, poor child attachment, and child abandonment. The paper presents demographic data and projections concerning the effects of urban life on childbirth frequency, marital constancy, how early in life children are cared for outside the home, and the placement of children in Alternative Care. European Federation of Psychologist’s Association initiatives addresses new questions. How can research recommendations be applied in cross-professional interventions? Can e-learning open new channels for dissemination? The author presents how a European Union Lifelong Learning grant project in 10 member countries later developed into the Fairstart Foundation’s partnerships with world NGOs and government agencies. Five hundred twelve partner staff in 26 countries have been educated in 6-month online classrooms and trained the foster parents and group home staff of some 40,000 children in attachment-based care. Lessons learned for interventions are discussed, to inspire further developments.

Stress-Coping Behavior of the Individual as a Psychological Problem in the Context of the Application of Sanogenic Health Thinking

Psychologists face an urgent task - to teach a person to effectively deal with stressors, which he encounters every day. The aim is to investigate the features of sanogenic thinking as a factor of stress-coping behavior of the individual. The test-persons were of cadets in the amount of 345 people, of whom women - 167 people and men - 178 people. As a result of a formative experiment to teach the skills of sanogenic thinking, the article investigated the presence of changes in the degree of stress using the methods of "Psychological Stress Scale PSM-25" and the questionnaire "Fatigue-Monotony-Satiety-Stress". It is determined that the formation of sanogenic thinking skills as a result of the formative experiment, helps to reduce the level of fatigue, monotony, satiety and stress in the individual. Relationships between the level of development of sanogenic thinking and coping strategies used by the individual are revealed. Regression analysis showed that the study of personality theory and practice of sanogenic thinking allows you to expand awareness of emotional mental operations and acquire skills and abilities to introspect their own emotions, experiences in overcoming stress. That is, sanogenic thinking can be a factor in stressful behavior of the individual.

Psychiatry in the time of the pandemic. Is COVID-19 changing the discipline?

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The research conducted to date has focused mainly on the somatic complications of the disease, while only a few studies look at the potential direct mental health effects of the virus and its neurotropic potential. The COVID-19 pandemic is also a psychologically significant stressor, affecting not only every aspect of an individual's life, but also economic and social sectors around the world. The deterioration of mental health can be caused not only by the fear of illness, death, or job loss, and uncertainty about the future, but also social isolation resulting from the loss of structured educational activities, professional activities and sanitary regime. We are slowly beginning to see the progressing effect of the current pandemic - not only the increasing symptoms of panic, anxiety and depression, but also somatization disorders, disadaptive syndromes, chronic fatigue syndrome, psychoactive substance abuse, and possibly also fixed post-pandemic personality disorders. Nosophobia, when it comes to the pandemic, takes the form of "coronaphobia". The protracted duration of the pandemic poses a threat to mental health. It causes a growing failure of psychological mechanisms for coping with the current situation. The study attempts to identify especially mentally vulnerable social groups, including the impact on health protection professionals from the perspective of a physician specializing in psychiatry. Disturbing social phenomena, highlighted by the pandemic, were identified, and practical aspects of the pandemic discussed - the new tasks that psychiatrists and psychologists face.

Admitted for an Eating Disorder: Challenges Clinical Psychologists Face in Working with Patients and Their Families on a Consultation-Liaison Service in a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital.

Eating disorders are one of the most common causes of pediatric hospitalizations due to primary mental health diagnoses. The purpose of this article is to discuss the challenges clinical psychologists face in working with patients with eating disorders and their families during medical admissions. Using the Psychiatry Consultation Service at a tertiary pediatric academic medical center in the Northeast as a framework, authors present the responsibilities of clinical psychologists on this service and their role within the larger, interdisciplinary team. Topics addressed also include systemic challenges, medical and psychiatric comorbidities, and differential psychiatric diagnoses. Case examples are provided to highlight various challenges as well as potential solutions and approaches. Clinical implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.

THE INTERRELATION OF PRACTICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS’ WORLDVIEW WITH THEIR DIFFICULT LIFE SITUATIONS

The article analyzes the concept of «Difficult life situations» which is dependent with the practical psychologists’ personal worldview of. Personality characteristics are described that help to overcome difficult life situations. Examples of difficult situations that practical psychologists face in their personal life are also given. The empirical studies results are described, which says what type of worldview is relate to a specific type of complex life situation. Personality characteristics that come to the fore in interpreting situations from the viewpoint of personal world perception are highlighted. The article states that the situation is a condition for activating the individuals’ internal activity. It is also indicated on the use of competence in the form of the ability to freely navigate in difficult life situations, be able to rationally evaluate further choice, predictable risk and not to be afraid to take risks, anticipate the consequences of personal actions, to be able self-regulate after difficult life situations. Various characteristics of complex and difficult life situations are given which is depend on the psychological orientation of the subject. Characterization of four types of worldviews is also given. Among them, there are: external easy and the internal simple; external hard and internal simple; external easy and internal difficult; external heavy and internal difficult.

Konstanz Method of Dilemma-Discussion (KMDD®) an its application in the process of ethical education of psychologists

Psychologist are the representatives of a profession in which a wellbeing of a person is the paramount. Helping activity requires of psychologists to follow not only professional ethics but also moral norms. Not rarely do psychologists face the necessity to consider moral dilemmas connected with the practice of delivering psychological services. In such cases, a psychologist should be able to use not only professional knowledge, but also a moral competency allowing him or her to put in practice the assumptions of autonomous morality which is in agreement with his or her personal and professional identity. It is hard to find formal programs of stimulation of moral competence dedicated directly for psychologists. However, there is a possibility of using Konstanz Method of Dilemma-Discussion (KMDD®) in order to achieve this goal. Konstanz Method of Dilemma-Discussion developed by professor Georg Lind from the University of Konstanz – a student and a critic of L. Kohlberg – is used in many countries all over the world in order to increase the level of moral development by developing moral competency mainly in the area of education. An increasing interest of researchers in the method also results in searching for new possibilities of applications of the method. An example of such application would be an area of psychologists’ work. The article aims to promote the KMDD® method in the course of ethical and professional education and self-development of psychologists.