Mental health consultation and Operation Head Start.

Presents the view that in most settings in which a psychotherapy model was used in consultation in Head Start, the consultation was at best disappointing. A model for community consultation is suggested as an alternative, noting the approach of Gerald Caplan which emphasizes diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. However, a more comprehensive theory of social environment and its effects on behavior is considered necessary. This would include findings from a number a fields, i.e., psychology, sociology, anthropology, education, and public health. The appropriate academic setting would be in the behavioral sciences unit of a school of public health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health consultation and psychology internship training.

Psychology interns trained in American Psychological Association-approved internship programs are expected to demonstrate an intermediate to advanced level of skill in mental health consultation. Where do students learn the skills to consult with colleagues, other professionals, or the public? This article describes a 1-year, 2-phase training experience in consultation at a university mental health service. The program is theory based, sequential, and builds over the course of the internship. Discussion underscores the positive impact of the training and reviews potential problems that may emerge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health consultation in the pediatric intensive care unit.

The need for psychosocial intervention to be integrated with medical care on intensive care units is high, but too often mental health professionals are ill-equipped by traditional training programs for such work. Medical crisis counseling provides a conceptual framework useful in developing the skills needed to effectively intervene in such settings. The pediatric intensive care unit ( PICU ) is arguably one of the most emotionally demanding and high-stress areas where mental health clinicians may be asked to consult. This article describes medical crisis consultation in the PICU setting, suggests survival strategies for the mental health consultant to the PICU, and provides illustrative case examples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changing the campus drinking culture: An initiator-catalyst consultation approach.

Psychologists serving as consultants to campus prevention efforts focused on changing students' misuse of alcohol and drugs can greatly enhance the effectiveness of such programs. This article outlines the context of substance abuse problems within college and university settings as well as the traditional models of prevention and current challenges to their effectiveness. It then goes on to describe the fundamental principles of an initiator-catalyst consultation approach, along with a specific illustration of a prevention program based on this model and data highlighting the results. While this article focuses on the issue of alcohol and drug abuse problems with college students as the consultee target group and the campus as the environment, it is suggested that the initiator-catalyst approach would easily generalize to other settings with different populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-directed program for weight control: A pilot study.

Designed a treatment program to enable 16 undergraduates to lose weight through the use of self-monitored techniques for changing their eating behaviors. All Ss achieved a stable loss in weight, and their mean loss was significantly greater than the change shown by a group of similarly motivated controls. No additional effects due to a few sessions of aversive counterconditioning were demonstrated, and no general mood changes accompanied the weight loss. The Ss reported a decreased temptation to overeat. It was suggested that similar programs of gradual habit change through self-control of stimulus conditions and reinforcement contingencies might be applied to the treatment of other addictive behaviors, which are also refractory to change. (26 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multilevel school consultation training: Preliminary program evaluation.

Recommends the acquisition of consultation skills for school psychologists but notes that this is a neglected area in the majority of training programs. To meet the need for training prototypes, a multilevel consultation training sequence with matched field experiences graduated by learning goals and previous skill development is proposed. Specifically, Level 1 of the consultation program and its matched field experience, consultation with student teachers, is evaluated as a viable means within a university setting by which novice consultants can practice diverse consultation skills. Evaluation data from 12 consultation students (doctoral candidates), student teachers, and student teaching supervisors support the effectiveness of the program for both consultants and consultees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Memphis City Schools Mental Health Center: A program description.

Describes the Memphis City Schools Mental Health Center organization, philosophy, and service-delivery system. The alcohol and drug abuse and child abuse programs are highlighted. The program, involving 117 members of the professional staff to serve 107,000 students, has increased emphasis on prevention, adolescent treatment, child sexual abuse, special education testing, and prereferral consultation and screening. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A university freshman preventive intervention program: Report of a pilot project.

Describes a preventive intervention program with university freshmen for the development of greater emotional maturity, more successful adaptation to the college community, less psychological disability, and fewer dropouts. By means of an interactive process using special questionnaires which were distributed and analyzed, the 179 participating students were provided with membership in a group which had psychological reality, were given some reference facts with which to compare themselves, and were given some intellectual tools by which they might better understand the stresses acting on them and their reactions to these stresses. Evaluation of the pilot project was generally favorable, although differences between the experimental and a comparison group (n = 585) were not large even when statistically significant. Suggestions for an improved program are presented. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health technology.

Discusses the acute need for the development of viable technologies in social-behavioral areas, e.g., mental health. Technology is defined as anything that increases the efficiency of some work process, and has the potential for being based on science. By examining the nature and historical development of established technologies, some of their problems can hopefully be avoided. The field of mental health is essentially pretechnological, although, as is true of other social-behavioral areas, potential scientific data bases and directions for technological development are not lacking. 8 such areas are identified and briefly discussed. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health: A report of the Surgeon General--Executive summary.

This surgeon general's report is the first ever issued on mental health. Two messages are conveyed in the report: Mental health is fundamental to health, and mental disorders are real health conditions. The surgeon general's report summarizes the Office's detailed review of more than 3,000 research articles, plus 1st-person accounts from individuals who have been afflicted with mental disorders. Two main findings emerged from the research: (a) The efficacy of mental health treatments is well documented, and (b) a range of treatments exists for most mental disorders. On the basis of these findings, the Office of the Surgeon General recommends that people seek help if they have a mental health problem or think they have symptoms of a mental disorder. Themes covered in the report include adopting a public health perspective, accepting that mental disorders are disabling, and seeing mental health and mental illness as points on a continuum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health: A shared concern of the international community.

Describes socioeconomic aspects affecting mental health in the world, such as the massive growth of cities, migrations of people, and the shrinking of the family unit in developed countries. International comparisons that examine differences and similarities between developing and industrialized countries are discussed. The needs of children and the elderly are discussed, and some examples of service delivery to these groups include improving daycare facilities, ensuring that schools foster psychosocial development, finding new roles for the elderly, and preventive and curative health services. Mental health services in Canada are highlighted, and some suggestions are proposed regarding areas of contribution of Canadian psychologists. (French abstract) (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical and nonclinical aspects of program development consultation.

Although program development can have therapeutic benefits for an organization and for its members, it is inappropriate to assume that consultation is simply therapy for groups; there are differences in goals and in methods. Organizational consultants can make errors if they work with organizations as therapists do with groups or treat organization members as if they were patients. On the other hand, both organizational consultants and psychotherapists need clinical sensitivity and skills at developing a setting of trust and openness. Both professionals encourage specificity and checking of assumptions and try to make explicit that which had been covert. Both groups find it effective to work with the "client system" rather than a specific "identical patient." Consultants working with groups can profit from clinical insight about the resistance of individuals and groups to change. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contemporary issues in mental health consultation.

Introduces readers to this special issue of the Consulting Psychology Journal, which focuses on current approaches to the provision of mental health consultation in a variety of settings and from varying theoretical persuasions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The training program of the National Institute of Mental Health: Its implications for mental health programs.

The year 1956 marked the tenth anniversary of the Training Grants Program of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). From very meager beginnings in 1948 they had advanced to the very substantial position which they now occupy in fiscal year 1957. This article looks backward briefly to when the National Mental Health Act was passed with the goal of improving the mental health of our nation. It describes the objectives and growth of the NIMH mental health program, which was established to help attain this goal. The article also describes several ongoing public mental health programs that reflect NIMH training grant support and problems in program implementation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health correlates of criminal victimization: A random community survey.

Interviewed a representative sample of 2,004 women (aged 18 yrs and older) about victimization experiences and mental health problems. After classification of the women into victimization groups, the occurrence of 3 mental health problems was compared across type of crime. Rates of "nervous breakdowns," suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts were significantly higher for crime victims than for nonvictims. Victims of attempted rape, completed rape, and attempted sexual molestation had problems more frequently than did victims of attempted robbery, completed robbery, aggravated assault, or completed molestation. Problems were not mediated by income and were affected only marginally by age and race. Nearly 1 rape victim in 5 (19.2%) had attempted suicide, whereas only 2.2% of nonvictims had done so. Most sexual assault victims' mental health problems came after their victimization. Findings suggest that crime victims are at risk for the development of major mental health problems, some of which are life threatening in nature. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health values of professional therapists: A national interdisciplinary survey.

We conducted a national survey of clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, social workers, and psychiatrists to assess values pertinent to mental health and psychotherapy. The survey revealed considerable agreement among mental health professionals about this specific values domain. There was a strong relationship between their views of a value's importance for a positive, mentally healthy life-style and its usefulness in guiding psychotherapy. Differences in the characteristics of therapists were correlated with differences in their values. We also found factors related to value differences between professional groups. Implications for therapeutic philosophy and practice are considered, and the need for explicitness concerning values is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent training and consultation: An analysis of a homework intervention program.

Examined the effectiveness of a homework intervention training for parents of 4 male children in Grades 4 and 6 with at least average skills and ability who were nominated by teachers because of severe homework completion problems. The intervention involved a series of 5 individual parent-consultation training sessions to teach the use of specific homework interventions, including a structured home study time. The intervention was evaluated in a multiple baseline design across Ss. Data on student work completion and accuracy, collected throughout the duration of the school year, indicated clinically and socially significant change with work completion rates of problem students rising to within the range of normal peers. Accuracy of work completion remained high over the duration of the research project. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)