Psychology Staff Research Articles

Embedding Psychology Themes in University Induction Using a Digital Escape Game

An “escape room” style game was developed as an induction activity for first year psychology students, encouraged by the need for icebreakers that meet specific, relevant and transparent learning outcomes. The game concept was designed using the escapeED framework for game-based-learning (Clarke et al., 2017), including consideration of narrative, participants, theme, objectives and evaluation. Groups of up to six students worked on an iPad “board” that had clickable objects on a representation of a lecturer’s desk. Students had 20 minutes to solve four puzzles that identified objects to click on and reveal digits for a padlocked bag. However, clicking the wrong objects would cause loud music that would “disrupt the staff office”. The four puzzles symbolised learning outcomes that students will develop throughout their course, such as seeking and evaluating evidence, using maths, and referencing. The puzzles also used staff profiles to promote discussion about psychology research, prompt the development of supportive networks and relationships with staff. A realistic calendar puzzle highlighted the social and academic opportunities that students should engage in as part of the psychology community, which they could also identify as by wearing the pin badge they unlocked on completion of the game. Psychology staff facilitated reflection on icebreaker activities, including themes of teamwork and leadership roles, asking for help, and learning and adapting from mistakes. A thematic analysis of three focus groups later highlighted that students resist looking at assignment feedback and are concerned about wasting staff time in office hours. This led to recruitment of senior students to facilitate the escape room, and changes in our reflective practice tutoring to address issues raised during the game. Overall, students reported a sense of fun and competition from the activities and felt better prepared for learning after the introduction to psychology skills during induction.

Exploring staff experiences of remote working in a new community rehabilitation team

Background/Aims Health services required significant adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The remote community enhanced rehabilitation team was created during the pandemic in response to faster discharges. This service evaluation aimed to explore staff experiences of remote working when implementing this new community rehabilitation team. Methods Six members of the community enhanced rehabilitation team, including nursing and psychology staff, completed qualitative semi-structured interviews about staff experiences. The interviews explored experiences of delivering clinical care, providing and receiving team support and personal impacts of remote working. Data were analysed using thematic analysis via a critical-realist approach. Results Thematic analysis from the interview transcripts revealed five main themes: anxiety related to remote working practices during a global pandemic, work–life balance, developing relationships, limits to remote working and working towards a hybrid model. Conclusions Challenges and benefits of remote working were identified along with some mitigations. Moving forward, a hybrid working model would likely benefit both service users and staff.

The Nature of Combat Stress Development During Military Operations and Psychotherapy in Extreme Situations.

The purpose of the research work is the theoretical and empirical analysis of the study of the nature of combat stress in military personnel and the assessment of psychotherapeutic methods of providing psychological assistance in extreme situations. The authors used the following methods to achieve this goal: method of analysis and synthesis, hermeneutic method, testing method, comparative method, and generalization method. The results of the research work have revealed the meaning of traumatic stress, psychological trauma, and combat mental trauma, and explained the concept of combat stress and the dynamics of its growth. The findings identified the factors of posttraumatic stress syndrome and its prevalence, tracked down the dynamics of psychoemotional disorders, and revealed the importance of military psychological selection and determination of combat readiness. The authors established the main tasks of a staff psychologist in working with military personnel, conducted an empirical study of the nature of combat stress in the military, observed main psychotherapeutic tools for the prevention of negative mental states in combat conditions, and investigated self-regulation techniques of emotional, physical, and mental health. The practical significance of the scientific work lies in the modern coverage of the phenomenon of combat stress and the classification of effective psychotherapeutic methods that will ensure the sustainable psychological preparation of the soldiers for extreme situations.

Особенности личностного ресурса школьников: предикторы ненормативного поведения и причины учебной лени

The purpose of the study was to investigate the connection between the non-normative forms of behaviour of schoolchildren with young people's satisfaction with the attitude of significant persons (parents, teachers, peers), as well as personal traits, such as self-confidence, accountability and self-regulation. The study is based on the views of the ecopsychological approach to the study of mental development and was conducted in a comprehensive school. The study involved 698 students of grades 8–11. The author used own methods ‘Personal Resource of Schoolchildren’ and ‘Academic Indolence, or Reasons for Reluctance to Learn’. Results of descriptive statistics and validation permitted us to proceed to the research tasks. The hypothesis of a significant association between dissatisfaction with the attitudes of significant persons and disturbing use of digital devices (teachers ,458; parents ,431), tendency to violate rules (teache­rs ,422; parents ,417) and tendency to suicidal feelings (teachers ,434; parents ,692; peers ,452) at a significance level of p<0.001 was confirmed (Spearman). Such personal traits as self-confidence, accountability and self-regulation can be viewed as a condition of normal behaviour. Applied value of the results of the study lies in the development of psychological tools to prevent abnormal behaviour of young people by educating teachers on the harmonization of relationships. The developed methods may be of interest for the school psychology staff.

Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research: Jennifer C. Wolff.

This award is given to a psychologist whose research has led to important discoveries or developments in the field of applied psychology. "Jennifer C. Wolff serves multiple roles as a licensed psychologist in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. She is an associate professor at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, a staff psychologist at Rhode Island Hospital and Bradley Hospital, and director of the Adolescent Mental Health Collaborative. Dr. Wolff's program of research involves three primary aims: (a) delineating social, cognitive, and affective mechanisms underlying adolescent psychopathology; (b) translating these findings into treatments; and (c) implementing these treatments in real-world settings. She focuses on emotional and behavioral dysregulation as well as suicide prevention. Her current projects include large-scale data collection in the inpatient setting and improving routine practices and quality of care in inpatient and community settings. She also investigates the use of technology in dissemination and implementation research. Dr. Wolff has pioneered a cognitive behavioral therapy program for inpatient adolescents that includes scaling to train hospital staff. She is an active member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the Division 53 Special Interest Group for Acute, Intensive, and Residential Services. She has served as a peer reviewer/ad hoc reviewer and has authored or coauthored several articles and book chapters. Dr. Wolff's work demonstrates an exceptional combination of clinical practice and applied research and is therefore well-deserving of this distinguished award." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Knowledge and attitudes about conduct disorder of professionals working with young people: The influence of occupation and direct and indirect experience.

Knowledge and attitudes of professionals both pose a potential barrier to diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. However, knowledge and attitudes about conduct disorder in professionals working with young people are poorly understood. Little is known about the impact of occupation, direct and indirect (training and education) experience, or the interrelationship between knowledge and attitudes. We conducted an online survey of 58 participants, including Psychology Staff, Teaching Staff, Care Staff, and Other Non-Clinical Staff. A questionnaire comprising three subscales (causes, treatments, and characteristics) measured knowledge. A thermometer scale measured global attitudes. Open-ended response measures were used to measure four attitude components: stereotypic beliefs (about characteristics), symbolic beliefs (about the holder's traditions), affect, and past behaviour. Primary analysis explored the impact of occupation, direct experience, and indirect experience on outcome measures. A secondary exploratory analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between knowledge and attitudes. Psychology Staff had significantly more favourable global attitudes (F = 0.49, p = 0.01) and symbolic beliefs (F = 0.57, p = 0.02) towards those with conduct disorder than Teaching Staff; there were no other significant group differences in attitudes. Psychology staff had more knowledge about conduct disorder than other groups, though the differences were not significant. Direct and indirect experience were associated with greater knowledge (direct: d = 0.97, p = 0.002; indirect d = 0.86, p = 0.004) and favourable global attitudes (direct: d = 1.12, p < 0.001; indirect: d = 0.68, p = 0.02). Secondary exploratory analyses revealed significant positive correlations between: all knowledge variables with global attitudes; total knowledge with past behaviour; and affect and knowledge of causes with past behaviour. Psychology-based staff may have more favourable attitudes towards children with conduct disorder than teachers, primarily due to direct and indirect experience with the disorder. Our sample may have been too small to detect overall or within-group effects of knowledge or attitudes, however exploratory analyses showing a positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes suggest education may be critical in supporting teachers and other groups in their approaches to this challenging group of young people.

An audit of psychology risk screen completion across five time points and consideration of risk content

This paper describes an audit of completion of psychology risk-screens by psychology staff across a 20-month period, taken at five time-points, in a single North London Borough. A dramatic improvement in completion rate was observed over this period. For the final audit period (May, 2022) the extent of co-occurrence of self-harm/self-injury (SIB) and aggression was assessed and a strong positive association was observed.Easy to read summaryIn our learning disabilities team we need to make sure the people we meet are safe. We ask people if they hurt themselves or other people. We need to keep a note of this so we can try to help. This is called a risk assessment. We had a look at our notes to see if we were good at doing risk assessments. To start with we noticed that we were not doing many. We tried harder. Every few months for nearly two years we checked. In the end we had got a lot better at doing risk assessments. We also found that if someone hurts themself it is more likely that they might try to hurt someone else, even if they do not do this on purpose.

Introducing a group-based psychoeducation intervention for older people in an inpatient mental healthcare setting.

This article reports on a service evaluation of a group-based psychoeducation programme for older people in an inpatient mental healthcare setting. It sought to explore how the programme was experienced by patients and staff, as well as its acceptability and the feasibility for implementation in the longer term. Via questionnaires, views were gathered from patients and staff. A focus group interview with staff facilitating the group sessions was also undertaken, and patient attendance records for sessions were collected and compared with demographic data relating to the two wards housed in the unit where the programme took place. The programme was generally viewed as a positive addition to care delivery by staff and patient respondents in offering an adjunct to pharmacological treatment, increasing familiarity with psychology staff, encouraging patients to develop a greater degree of mastery regarding their health and fostering mutual support among the patient community. The role of the ward environment in supporting access to group-based intervention is also considered.

The Structured Trauma-Related Experiences and Symptoms Screener (STRESS): Assessing factor structure and clinical utility in a juvenile justice sample.

High prevalence of traumatic event exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among justice-involved adolescents has necessitated the use of trauma screening in juvenile justice settings. The present study explored the psychometric properties, factor structure, and construct validity of a trauma screen, the Structured Trauma-Related Experiences and Symptoms Screener (STRESS), in a detained adolescent sample. Prior to the current study, psychometric characteristics of the STRESS were evaluated only in a child welfare sample (Grasso et al., 2015). The sample consisted of 132 adolescents in secure detention facilities in a southeastern state. Participants were included in the study if they engaged in the mental health screening process at intake and a follow-up assessment process with facility staff psychologists. Data consisted of de-identified, archival records. The STRESS total symptom and 4 criterion symptom count scores demonstrated high internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the STRESS had excellent fit with the DSM-5 four-factor PTSD model. Equally strong evidence was found for a higher order PTSD model, thus reinforcing the use of both STRESS PTSD total and criterion symptom count scores with justice-involved adolescents. Additionally, preliminary evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was supported. Findings support the STRESS as a reliable and valid trauma screen for use with detained adolescents. Results suggest that both STRESS total symptom and criterion symptom count scores have clinical utility for intake-level mental health decisions in juvenile detention settings. Implications for expanding use of the STRESS to inform appropriate interventions for justice-involved adolescents are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Depression Screening Implementation: Quality Improvement Project in a Primary Care Clinic for First Responders.

Depression in the U.S. population affects approximately 17.5 million people, with an approximate annual economic cost of US$326 billion. The overall objective of this quality improvement program was implementation of a standardized screening protocol using a validated screening instrument to identify depression in first responders in a primary care setting. This program applied the Knowledge-to-Action framework utilizing the 9-question Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) screening tool. The outcome measure was screening completion with a process measure of depression questionnaires provided to patients, and balance measures of time of visit and referral rate. In a pre-/postintervention project design, clinic staff were trained on depression screening. PHQ-9 questionnaires were placed in all exam rooms for patients and providers to discuss. Referrals were made to the staff psychologist or to medical providers based on evaluations. From pre- to postintervention, screening increased from less than 1% to a screening rate of 92%. Appointments for depression intervention increased to 50%, 44 patients for counseling and 12 for medical therapy. A standardized screening protocol using a validated self-assessment tool improved depression surveillance and increased referrals for treatment. A training program with an accompanying policy was designed to sustain this program and may serve as a model for other programs serving first responders.

Clinical psychologists’ well-being and experiences of home working during COVID-19

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to explore the well-being and experiences of working from home (WFH) for psychology staff across a range of specialties working within one health board in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 161 clinical psychology professionals took part in an online survey that explored experiences of WFH during the COVID-19 pandemic and assessed well-being during this period.FindingsA number of challenges with WFH were identified, including challenges with carrying out clinical work (e.g. communication difficulties, risk assessment) and fewer opportunities for collaborative working and technical/equipment issues. During the WFH period, 46% experienced fatigue, 45% felt stressed and anxious and 30% felt lonely and isolated, compared to normal. Physical health complaints were also common with 37% experiencing aches/pains in back compared to normal and 40% experiencing headaches or migraines.Practical implicationsRemote therapy should be directed to those with less complex needs or who require straightforward assessments. There should be increased access to occupational health assessments and provision of ergonomic furniture when WFH, and all staff should be supported to access well-being resources available within the health board. Further evaluation should be carried out to support evidence-based practice of remote clinical work.Originality/valueFew studies have explored the experiences of WFH and/or remotely from the perspectives of clinical psychologists in a Scottish health board. It is expected that this way of working will continue, albeit to a smaller extent; therefore, WFH policy will be informed by the findings.

Prepare the psychiatric inpatient unit for COVID-19 pandemic.

Prepare the psychiatric inpatient unit for COVID-19 pandemic.

Reflections of psychology staff working on a mental health crisis phone line

In this article, we reflect as a group on our experiences working on a mental health crisis line as members of the psychological workforce. These reflections came from supervisions, team meetings and informal, day to day conversations between practitioners.

Emotionally based school non-attendance: two successful returns to school following lockdown

ABSTRACT Emotionally based school non-attendance (EBSNA) needs are complex, with a distinctive combination of risk factors affecting each individual. This study presents an exploration of the perceived facilitators to successful returns to school for two primary-aged children who had previously experienced anxiety around school attendance. The perspectives of parents, school staff, and educational psychologists were gathered using semi-structured interviews to identify effective support. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to generate themes. Findings demonstrate that the support in each case was highly individualised. Key facilitators considered to achieve this included: effective home-school communication; taking a functional approach; engaging other professional support; cultivating positive relationships; and practitioners regularly reflecting on their practice. The significant overlap between themes supports an interactionist, ecological model of early identification and intervention for EBSNA difficulties. Implications for practitioners include the need to ensure a reflective, individualised approach, and the importance of facilitating the home-school relationship.

БУЛІНГ ЯК ОДНА З ФОРМ ДИСКРИМІНАЦІЇ ДИТИНИ

The article is devoted to the research of the current state of manifestations of bullying as one of the most widespread forms of discrimination against children. Relevance of the investigated topic is caused primarily by the realities of today, which are related to the ways to combat discrimination in any of its manifestations. Nowadays gender nervousness, bullying, harassment, hacking and other phenomena that infringe on the honor, dignity, health, lack of freedom and life of people are actively condemned by the world community, which actualizes this research. The purpose of this article is to define the essence of the concept of bullying. To outline the current state of manifestations of bullying as one of the most widespread forms of discrimination against children and ways to improve the mechanics of combating and preventing bullying. As a result of the study of anti-bullying laws and different points of view of scientists, the main features of bullying, which consist in the presence of the parties (the bully, the victim of violence and the witnesses) the intention in the buller's actions, which consists in dominating the victim and humiliation of the victim; the systemic nature of brutal behavior, and its consequences. The article analyzes the current state of manifestations of bullying, as a result of which a high rate of cases of bullying in recent years in the period from the adoption of new anti-bullying legislation to the present day, indicating that the mechanism of combating and opposing bullying is not fully developed. It is suggested, taking into account the experience of anti-bullying legislation of foreign countries, to consider introducing into the national legislation a norm that provides for liability for participation in bullying of witnesses, which can contribute to a significant reduction in the occurrence of aggression among young people. The position on the improvement of the mechanism of prevention and prevention of bullying, which consists in the implementation of anonymous testing in educational institutions, which is systematic in nature, by students and their parents, is substantiated, as well as testing to identify an uncomfortable atmosphere in the team, with the involvement of staff psychologists, which will contribute to the timely response of the authorities to violations of the rights and legitimate interests of the child. It is argued the feasibility of creating online resources for anonymous appeal, both for people who were physically or psychologically abused and for witnesses, The victims were not able to report the fact of bullying in another way to the relevant persons as a result of the attacks.

Prison as Home: Characteristics of Control within General Prison and Solitary Confinement Environments

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore stakeholder’ perspectives of control within general correctional and solitary confinement environments with findings focused on trust, sound, views to nature, routine, and time. Research was conducted at two medium security prisons in a large US state with male inmates. Using a survey methodology, interviews occurred with 10 inmates, 10 correctional officers, two superintendents, one staff psychologist, one nurse, and two correctional design architects. Observations and photography followed while visiting and leaving the prisons. Using grounded theory as a data analysis tool identified the themes of trust, views to nature, sound, time, and routine viewed through the overarching premise of control. Incongruence between rehabilitation and punitive environmental goals were found. Correctional officers who emphasized fear and trust valued visual surveillance despite its ability to lead to austere indoor and outdoor spaces. Inmates craved outdoor views along with personal possessions as these items established a more meaningful passage of time. Sound, as noted by the correctional architects, was not designed as a rehabilitative tool, but instead was used to denote impending attacks. And routine, so valued by inmates, was often taken away as a form of control. Implications suggest that the US prisons observed in this study exemplified control, dominance, and punishment. Future prison design should embrace the rehabilitative and healing strategies used in European models to help lower rates of recidivism which are problematic in the American prison system.

Ruth Matarazzo (1926–2020).

Presents the obituary of Ruth Matarazzo (1926-2020). She was Professor Emeritus of Behavioral Neuroscience at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). Matarazzo went to Pembroke College for women at Brown University graduating in 1948 in psychology and stayed on for a year in graduate studies. There she met Joseph (Joe) Matarazzo, also in graduate psychology, and married him in 1949. She earned her Ph.D. from Washington University in 1955 and became the first woman admitted to the St. Louis Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Clinical Psychology Internship Program. She later joined Harvard Medical School as a research fellow and staff psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. As an educator, Ruth taught and supervised psychology interns and residents in medical psychology, residents in psychiatry, mentored female medical students, and published widely. Some of her greatest achievements was her leadership in helping women in medicine and science. She arrived at the Portland Medical School eight months pregnant and worked until she gave birth to her first child. Her example helped to change policy for working women at the school, particularly nurses, allowing them to work longer during their pregnancies if they chose to do so. She also was a founding member of the Portland Opera. In 2007 she received the Presidential Award of the American Psychological Association for her lifetime of professional contributions and public service. In her spare time, she was active in civic affairs and clubs. She is survived by her husband Joe, son Harris, daughters Elizabeth and Sara, and five grandchildren. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Quality of life in multiple sclerosis is dominated by fatigue, disability and self-efficacy

Background and objectiveQuality of life in multiple sclerosis (MS) reflects complex relationships between symptoms (fatigue, spasticity pain, and bladder or vision dysfunction), disability, health perceptions, and self-efficacy. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, a self-report questionnaire pack of patient reported outcome measures was collected from 5695 people with MS (pwMS) alongside clinical data from their neurologists. Each patient reported outcome measure was converted to interval-scaled estimates following fit to the Rasch model. The patient reported outcome measures, as well as perceived health, age, disease subtype and gender, were then subject to path analysis to analyse their relationships with quality of life (QoL), guided by the Wilson and Clearly conceptual framework. ResultsThe final model explains 81.2% of the variance of QoL. Fatigue is clearly dominant, suggesting a means to intervene and improve QoL. The next most influential factors were disability and self-efficacy, which have similar effect levels. The model can be replicated for pwMS on disease modifying therapy and is largely invariant for gender and disease subtype. Age had an insignificant effect. ConclusionsIn order to promote better QoL, MS care should include management of fatigue, interventions to ameliorate disability, and support to enhance self-efficacy. The range of skills needed for these treatments will require input from medical, nursing, therapy and psychology staff, so these findings provide evidence substantiating the need for pwMS to be provided with care by comprehensive multidisciplinary teams.

Continuity of Care in the Epicenter of a Global Pandemic: How One New York City Rehabilitation Psychology Outpatient Service Met the Challenge of COVID-19

To provide useful insights for future crises by describing the large-scale rapid deployment of telehealth services which provided continuity of psychological care for rehabilitation outpatients living in New York City (NYC), the epicenter of the global COIVD-19 pandemic. Case Study. Interdisciplinary general rehabilitation facility located in the heart of NYC. A large-scale rehabilitation psychology service providing individual and group psychotherapy and cognitive remediation to adult outpatients with acquired brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other disabling health conditions. Implementation of telehealth services on an urgent basis after NYC’s “lockdown” went into effect on March 22, 2020. At this time, NYC began enforcing Matilda’s Law, which restricted travel outside the home for vulnerable individuals including those over 70 and those with chronic health conditions. Number of patient visits completed. Patient and staff satisfaction with telehealth services. After declining by over 50% as the pandemic shut down much of NYC, the number of clinical encounters rebounded to 100% of pre-COVID levels with the introduction of telehealth services. Approximately 75% of staff psychologists reported satisfaction with delivering psychological services via telehealth, including the provision of essential continued care, while addressing social isolation and other emergent mental health concerns for vulnerable rehabilitation outpatients self-quarantining in their homes. Similarly, a majority of patients reported satisfaction with the ability to continue their psychological treatment during the lockdown, while avoiding risk of exposure to the coronavirus. This case study provides useful insights for future crises that require rapid responding and change to clinical program structure in order to meet the needs of vulnerable outpatients with disabilities.

Defining Benchmarks in Pediatric Burn Care: Inception of the Pediatric Injury Quality Improvement Collaborative

Pediatric burn care is highly variable nationwide. Standardized quality and performance benchmarks are needed for guiding performance improvement within pediatric burn centers. A network of pediatric burn centers was established to develop and evaluate pediatric-specific best practices. A multi-disciplinary team including pediatric surgeons, nurses, advanced practice providers, pediatric intensivists, rehabilitation staff, and child psychologists from five pediatric burn centers established a collaborative to share and compare performance improvement data, evaluate outcomes, and exchange best care practices. In December 2016, the Pediatric Injury Quality Improvement Collaborative (PIQIC) was established. PIQIC members chose quality improvement indicators, drafted and approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU), data use agreement (DUA) and charter, formalized the multidisciplinary membership, and established a steering committee. Since inception, PIQIC has conducted monthly teleconferences and biannual in-person or virtual group meetings. A centralized data repository has been established where data is collated and analyzed for benchmarking in a blinded fashion. PIQIC has shown the feasibility of multi-institutional data collection, implementation of performance improvement metrics, publication of research, and enhancement of aggregate and institution-specific pediatric burn care.