Design and Build Project Success Factors: Multivariate Analysis

This study aimed to identify a set of project success factors for design and build (D&B) projects and examine the relative importance of these factors on project outcome. Six project success factors (project team commitment, contractor's competencies, risk and liability assessment, client's competencies, end-users' needs, and constraints imposed by end-users) were extracted from factor analysis of data provided by 53 participants of public-sector D&B projects through a questionnaire survey. Project team commitment, client's competencies, and contractor's competencies were found to be important to bring successful project outcome from the multiple regression findings. Contractor's competencies also contributed to project time performance. Project team members should also recognize that time and cost performance as well as quality of design and workmanship represent the key elements of overall success of D&B projects. Practitioners are advised to focus on teamwork and partnering for successful project completion. More research should be conducted to further explore the relationship between procurement method and project success factors.     

Play therapists' self-perceived multicultural competence and adequacy of training.

Explored the self-perceived multicultural competencies and adequacy of multicultural training of play therapists across the United States. Registered play therapists belonging to the Association for Play Therapy (N=134) completed the Multicultural Counseling Survey (MMCTS) (C. C. Holcomb-McCoy & J. E. Myers, 1999). Results indicate that play therapists perceive themselves as competent on Multicultural counseling competence. The results also suggest that play therapists perceived their multicultural training as less than adequate. Although results indicate no difference between play therapists' competence and training based on years of experience, there was a difference in multicultural competence and training based on coursework in multicultural counseling. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Humanistic–existential psychotherapy competencies and the supervisory process.

There has been an increasing focus in recent years on articulating foundational and functional competencies for practice in professional psychology and how a competency-based approach might inform psychology training. With the aim of contributing to the dialogue in this area, the discussion herein explores psychotherapy competencies through the lens of a humanistic–existential perspective and describes implications for psychotherapy training and supervision. Specifically, competencies pertaining to facilitating the client’s experiential awareness and use of the psychotherapy relationship to engender client change are described. Next, the foundational and functional competencies within professional psychology that are particularly salient to a humanistic–existential psychotherapy framework are discussed. Finally, the ways in which a humanistic–existential supervision framework contributes to the development of psychotherapy competencies in trainees is considered. A brief vignette is presented to illustrate the supervision process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educating and training the next generations of traumatologists: Development of cultural competencies.

Cultural competence in trauma training, education and research has become a necessity given the changes in the U.S. population and the forces of globalization. With few exceptions little attention has been paid to the cultural training of traumatologists and the development of cultural competencies in this field. This paper will focus exclusively on examining the case for cultural competence in trauma psychology. The author reviews three factors that are key in the education and training of culturally informed trauma therapists, including best practices for educating mental health professionals in this field. These include: 1) The development of a trauma psychology curricula and training practices which give a thorough account of cultural factors; 2) The meaningful inclusion of cultural context in trauma psychology research and; 3) The promotion of organizational structures and culture within psychology that support cultural competence. The author offers future practice recommendations that are based on well established cultural competencies in the field of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is there consensus among predoctoral internship training directors regarding clinical supervision competencies? A descriptive analysis.

Although psychologists increasingly provide clinical supervision, the profession has only recently begun to establish standards for competently doing so. This study was aimed at conducting a broader exploration of predoctoral psychology internship training directors’ views (n = 184) on the importance of the supervision competencies initially suggested by C. A. Falender et al. (2004). Respondents generally agreed with the importance of the competencies but showed less agreement with the importance of different types of clinical supervision training. Results reflect the need for further discussion in defining what makes for competent clinical supervision before these competencies are adopted within the profession. Practical implications of these findings are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Case presentations: A key method for evaluating core competencies in professional psychology?

The clinical psychology training literature highlights the need to evaluate student competency in core competencies (e.g., assessment, intervention, interpersonal relationships, research, ethics, supervision). One such evaluation method that allows for a broad-based examination of core competencies is the oral case presentation. The oral case presentation is not new to clinical psychology, but the use of this method to evaluate core competencies has not been extensively discussed. We conducted a Web-based survey on the use of case presentations to evaluate students in professional psychology programmes in Canada. Responses were obtained from 20 of 28 Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)-accredited programmes. Respondents reported on the use of the oral case presentations in the evaluation of students and the perceived value of case presentations. The majority of respondents (N = 14) reported that students gave an oral case presentation during the course of training. Most of these programmes required the case presentation in the fourth year (N = 8), a point in time when competency might be best assessed. Only very few programmes (N = 3) reported that the case presentation was evaluated by a committee, with formal guidelines to assess the case presentation. The case presentation was viewed as being helpful for evaluating several different abilities (e.g., case conceptualisation, awareness of metaknowledge, use of research in practice, reflective skills). Overall, the case presentation was positively evaluated, but appears underutilised in Canadian professional psychology programmes to evaluate clinical competency. To encourage further use of this method for formal evaluation, guidelines for presentations and evaluation are provided. Future directions for research are also outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Climbing the stairway to competency: Trainee perspectives on competency development.

Training programs have increasingly focused on development of competencies as a benchmark for trainee progress. While much writing on the subject of trainee competency has focused on programmatic implementation of competency-based training, considerably less attention has been paid to the experience of trainees in these programs. The current study sampled a cross-section of 641 graduate students enrolled in member doctoral programs of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology. These students were divided into four groups based on stage of training and reported on their development of core competencies. Overall, students entered doctoral programs reporting high levels of adaptive trainee characteristics and felt competent in a range of areas by the time they applied for internship. Competencies in research, assessment, and intervention developed over the course of graduate training. Reported competency in research was higher for trainees endorsing a goal of a research career, while reported competency in empathy and therapeutic relationships was higher for trainees endorsing a goal of clinical practice. Findings are discussed in the context of implementing competency assessment that encompasses the ratings of trainees as well as supervisors and programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multicultural competencies of doctoral interns at university counseling centers: An exploratory investigation.

In this study the multicultural competencies of 141 doctoral interns at university counseling centers were explored. Results indicated that some educational variables were predictive of multicultural competencies. Interns who had received supervision for a multicultural counseling situation, attended more multicultural workshops, or taken more multicultural course work, reported greater multicultural knowledge and skills than did interns who had no such supervision, fewer workshop hours, or less course work. Only supervision provided to interns in a multicultural setting correlated significantly with multicultural awareness, thus accounting for only 3% of the variability in interns' multicultural awareness. No significant relationships were found between multicultural competencies and demographic variables. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of training for doctoral interns and future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postdoctoral training in geropsychology: Guidelines for formal programs and continuing education.

Clinical geropsychology is a relatively new practice area. Inherent in the emergence of a new professional specialty is the development of standards for training. In this study, a qualitative analysis of 8 Veterans Affairs postdoctoral fellowship programs was completed. Results suggest a coalescence of training experiences leading to skill and knowledge competencies requisite for geropsychology expertise. Breadth of training, including assessment and intervention across multiple contexts, appears to be a key feature. The role of research and education and the problem of balancing generalist vs specialist goals are discussed. Also presented are applications of these findings to practitioners seeking additional proficiency in geropsychology through continuing education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhancing preparation among entry-level clinical health psychologists: Recommendations for “best practices” from the first meeting of the Council of Clinical Health Psychology Training Programs (CCHPTP).

Recent discussions in clinical health psychology regarding foundational (knowledge-based) and functional (applied) competencies have been guided by the cube model of core competencies (Rodolfa et al., 2005). Proposed competencies for doctoral-level clinical health psychologists were recently published (France et al., 2008). Based on the 2008 Council of Clinical Health Psychology Training Programs conference, we discuss how the proposed competencies might be incorporated into doctoral-level training. Because we view these competencies and training practices to be aspirational, we also address the challenges inherent in making curricular decisions pertaining to which competencies are emphasized in individual programs and within the context of American Psychological Association accreditation requirements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of logistical resources on prereferral team acceptability.

This study investigated the impact of logistical resources on the acceptability of student assistance team consultation to school staff. Elementary and middle school staff (N = 113) completed a measure of the acceptability of prereferral intervention team procedures while also rating the importance of five logistical supports for effective team functioning. A multiple regression analysis showed that the team process was more acceptable to staff who perceived these teams to be effective for helping students and to those who identified three supports for effective teaming: sufficient staff training in team procedures, adequate numbers of staff, and ample time. Results are discussed in the context of prior investigations, directions for future research, and implications for school practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multicultural counseling competencies: An analysis of research on clients' perceptions: Comment on Owen, Leach, Wampold, and Rodolfa (2011).

J. Owen, M. M. Leach, B. Wampold, and E. Rodolfa (see record 2010-24976-001) tested the hypotheses that (a) some therapists express more multicultural competencies (MCCs) more than other therapists and (b) clients' perceptions of their therapists' MCCs are a function of specific client or therapeutic factors. In the present analysis, the authors critiqued 3 major components of the study: conceptual and methodological underpinnings, interpretation of research findings, and implications for future research. Although the authors agree with the importance of this line of research, the authors also believe that some of the researchers' underlying assumptions are worthy of examination; alternate interpretations of the findings are possible, and several recommendations for future research are imperative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Incredible Years Parent Training Program: Promoting resilience through evidence-based prevention groups.

This article describes an evidence-based preventive group intervention, Incredible Years Parent Training Program (IY). Decades of research have shown that IY strengthens parent and child competencies and in turn reduces child risks for developing conduct problems and other negative life outcomes. The purpose of this article is to examine IY through a resilience lens and highlight how it capitalizes on group process mechanisms to serve as a model preventive group intervention. Future directions and implications for research, practice, and training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The integration of HIV training into internship curricula: An exploration and comparison of two models.

Psychologists are becoming increasingly involved in HIV disease prevention and intervention. Developing the competencies to work effectively with this population requires dedicated educational commitment. It can be challenging to get HIV experience during graduate school, and few programs have faculty devoted to HIV endeavors. The authors propose the internship year as a reasonable time to develop HIV competencies within a broader internship curriculum. To explore this idea further, the authors examined two internships that offer specialized HIV training. To increase psychology's capacity to provide HIV training, recommendations are proposed for the application of these models to other internship sites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A∕E∕C Teamwork: A Collaborative Design and Learning Space

This paper describes an ongoing effort focused on combined research and curriculum development for multidisciplinary, geographically distributed architecture∕engineering∕construction (A∕E∕C) teamwork. It presents a model for a distributed A∕E∕C learning environment and an Internet-based Web-mediated collaboration tool kit. The distributed learning environment includes six universities from Europe, Japan, and the United States. The tool kit is aimed to assist team members and owners (1) capture and share knowledge and information related to a specific project; (2) navigate through the archived knowledge and information; and (3) evaluate and explain the product's performance. The A∕E∕C course offered at Stanford University acts as a testbed for cutting-edge information technologies and a forum to teach new generations of professionals how to team up with practitioners from other disciplines and take advantage of information technology to produce a better, faster, more economical product. The paper presents new assessment metrics to monitor students' cross-disciplinary learning experience and track programmatic changes. The paper concludes with challenges and quandaries regarding the impact of information technologies on team performance and behavior.     

Relationship between White racial identity attitudes and self-reported multicultural counseling competencies.

Tested a multicultural competency training model's hypothesis that counseling students' White racial identity development strongly influences their attainment of multicultural counseling competencies (H. B. Sabnani et al; see record 1991-16743-001). 128 White counseling graduate students completed measures of White racial identity development and self-reported multicultural counseling competencies. Students' White racial identity development, educational level, and clinical experience demonstrated moderate correlations with multicultural competencies. Regression analyses indicated that racial identity attitudes explained variability in competencies beyond that accounted for by demographic, educational, and clinical variables. Results suggest that racial identity attitude development should be considered an integral component in the planning of multicultural counseling training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude, knowledge, and skill competencies for practice in professional geropsychology: Implications for training and building a geropsychology workforce.

Professional geropsychology is a growing area of practice and training. To meet the mental health needs of an aging population, increasing numbers of psychologists need to develop competence to work with older adults, their families, and related care systems. The Pikes Peak model for geropsychology training (Knight, Karel, Hinrichsen, Qualls, & Duffy, 2009) delineates attitude, knowledge, and skill competencies for professional geropsychology practice and makes recommendations for training. In this paper, we define and illustrate the Pikes Peak geropsychology practice competencies through a case example. In the case, an older man with complex needs seeks care through a generalist psychologist in an outpatient setting. The attitudes, knowledge, and skills that the psychologist needs to consider, and implications for training, are reviewed. Training recommendations and resources are provided, with a focus on the training needs of psychologists who wish to expand their practices to include older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Required skills and training needs of recent counseling psychology graduates.

Surveyed 183 recent graduates (mean age 38.2 yrs) in counseling psychology to determine which activities and competencies were important for effective job performance and to what extent doctoral training programs provided adequate training in those areas. Responses indicated significant differences between ratings of importance and adequacy of training for several competencies. Although overall discrepancies between job needs and training needs were moderate, it is suggested that training efforts should extend toward competency building in the less traditional areas (e.g., consultation, special population) without jeopardizing effectiveness in traditional curriculum areas. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Life-long competency development in clinical health psychology.

A model for defining competencies in clinical health psychology has recently been proposed (France et al., 2008), focusing on the core foundational and functional competency domains outlined by the Cube Model (Rodolfa, Bent, Eisman, Nelson, Rehm, & Richie, 2005). The model characterizes competencies expected of graduates of doctoral training programs with emerging interests and expertise in clinical health psychology. The current paper extends the model by specifically considering the third dimension of the cube model, namely the developmental perspective, with an emphasis beyond the parameters of doctoral training to the predoctoral internship, postdoctoral residency, and postlicensure continuum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of self-reported multicultural competencies: Counselor multicultural social desirability, race, social inadequacy, locus of control racial ideology, and multicultural training.

Self-reported multicultural counseling competencies (MCCs) of 176 university counseling center staff were assessed. A 1-model multiple regression analysis, using a 4-step forced-entry method, accounted for 34% of the variability in MCCs. As hypothesized, after the significant contributions of multicultural (MC) social desirability and race were taken into account, attitudes of feelings of social inadequacy and locus of control racial ideology overall and individually made significant contributions. Then, MC training variables overall and number of minority and international clients, MC research projects, and MC courses individually made significant contributions. Hispanics had significantly higher Multicultural Counseling Inventory scores than did Whites. Minority groups scored differently than Whites on the variables measured, and MCCs increased with training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)