The utility of interdisciplinary training and service: Psychology training on a psychiatry consultation-liaison service.

Increasing numbers of psychologists work in medical settings because of the growing acceptance of a biopsychosocial approach to illness. Do training programs prepare sufficient numbers of graduates to function effectively in medical settings? The authors describe the process of adding an inpatient medical-surgical consultation-liaison (C-L) service to a psychology internship's training rotations, the learning objectives used, and issues in the preparation of trainees for work in medical settings. Psychology trainees added significant capacity to the C-L service. These data may help facilitate the development of C-L training experiences for other programs (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of assertive training and homosexual guidance service groups designed to improve homosexual functioning.

Proposes that clinicians should develop research-based procedures for homosexuals that are designed to facilitate homosexual functioning. Assertive training is considered as such a procedure. 27 male, 17-45 yr old Ss were randomly assigned to a behaviorally oriented assertive training group or a nondirective group run by a homosexual guidance service. Pre- and postassessment on 4 self-report measures indicated improvement in both groups but no between-group differences. Behavioral measures did not show change. It is suggested that procedures to facilitate assertiveness and confidence in homosexual functioning can be effective and should be more widely explored. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The emergency service: A setting for internship training.

The Emergency Psychiatric Service is only recently being added as a training setting for clinical psychology interns within a program of varied rotations. The roles of psychology faculty and trainees on the Emergency Psychiatric Service and the importance of learning to deal with patients in acute crises are discussed. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Collaborative practice in primary care: Integrated training for psychologists and physicians.

Managed health care has forced psychologists and primary care physicians to expand their practices into areas for which they have traditionally lacked training or experience. This article describes a training program designed to foster collaboration and to bridge the gap between the 2 specialties by having psychology interns and medical residents comanage patients in a primary care setting under the joint preceptorship, of a psychologist and a physician. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal skill training in groups.

Evaluated the relative effectiveness of 2 group counseling programs, one using primarily behavioral rehearsal and contingency contracting and the other using behavioral discussion. 36 18-38 yr old self-referred male and female clients were randomly assigned to 2 treatment conditions. Four rehearsal-contracting and 3 discussion groups, with 5-6 members in each, met for 6 weekly 2-hr sessions. Assessment was based on (a) 2 self-report inventories, administered at pretreatment, posttreatment, and at a 3-mo follow-up and (b) a behavioral role-play test administered at posttreatment and follow-up periods for both conditions, with the behavioral role-play test showing significant gains in favor of the rehearsal-contracting conditions. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cost effectiveness of internship training programs: Clinical service delivery through training.

Internship training programs require a substantial investment of the host agency's resources. Such investment must be justified, in part, by an analysis of the cost effectiveness of the services delivered by interns. A means by which training staff can determine the average cost per intern trained is presented, along with a formula for comparing the cost of direct services offered by interns with that of services offered by senior staff psychologists. The formula was applied to a university counseling center training program with 6 interns. We demonstrated that interns' direct service hours were half the cost of senior staff's direct service hours, and clients' perceptions of the quality of services received from interns and staff did not show a difference in reported satisfaction. The data support the conclusion that intern training programs can be highly cost effective, as well as provide valuable nonmonetary benefits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimum service delivery to the Black client.

Replies to the comments of H. U. Ashby (see record 1986-17759-001) and P. Bronstein (see record 1986-17774-001) on the author's (see record 1985-26063-001) work on the nondisclosing Black client. Ashby's and Bronstein's objections to the term healthy cultural paranoia are addressed with assertions that the author is not the originator of the term and that the impact of the proposal on the quality of care services to Black clients was not considered by either Ashby or Bronstein. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social skills training: Behavior rehearsal in groups and dating skills.

Minimal dating, identified as a significant target problem, generally has been thought to result from either conditioned anxiety or negative self-evaluations. In the present study, minimal dating was formulated as the result of a social skills deficit. In accord with this formulation, 2 direct skill-training programs involving behavior rehearsal with and without extrasession tasks were evaluated against attention-placebo and waiting-list controls. 48 college males reporting anxiety and shyness about meeting females were carefully screened and assigned to 1 of 2 groups included in each of 4 treatment conditions. Results indicate that 3 of the 4 skill-training groups showed significant (p     

Postdoctoral education and training for clinical service providers in health psychology.

Reviews issues behind the 1983 National Working Conference on Education and Training in Health Psychology recommendation that 2 yrs of postdoctoral education and training be mandated for future licensed health psychologists. Existing pre- and postdoctoral programs are discussed in terms of academic emphasis, and a model for education, including desired competencies, residency setting and faculty, and funding issues, is presented. Implications of the growth of health psychology and the need to expand the period of clinical training to meet advances in the field are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Change in homogeneous and heterogeneous sensitivity training groups.

Assigned 77 male and 73 female undergraduates to 4 homogeneous and 4 heterogeneous t groups based on expressed and wanted control behavior scores on the fundamental interpersonal relations orientation-behavior (firo-b) scale. After 14 weekly meetings, it was found that heterogeneous groups manifest significantly more positive change on the firo-b. On rating scales devised to measure positive feeling toward the group, the initial superiority of homogeneous groups was reduced by the end of the t group, and the heterogeneous groups manifested more significant increases. Results are consistent with R. Harrison and B. Lubin's (see pa, vol. 40:2814) confrontation-support model of change. The increased use of behavioral criteria of changes and the need for follow-up investigations are advocated. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leader training and practices in groups for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Little is known about the actual practices of group leaders of childhood sexual abuse groups. A survey of 60 group leaders of CSA groups for children, adolescents, and adults found that most are adhering to ethical and training guidelines. The groups range from psychoeducational and support to counseling and therapy groups. Many of the groups are co-led, especially children and adolescent groups. The article discusses the screening, group structure, and interventions that leaders are using and suggests multiple areas for further research, as well as tips for practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assertive training in groups using video feedback.

Investigated the effectiveness of group assertive training with 16 male and 16 female college students who were nonassertive (as measured by the College Self-Expression Scale, Galassi et al, 1974). Ss were assigned randomly to 2 experimental and 2 control groups. Experimental Ss received 8 training sessions consisting of videotape modeling; behavior rehearsal; video, peer, and trainer feedback; bibliotherapy; homework assignments; trainer exhortation; and peer-group support. All Ss were posttaped enacting role-playing situations. Significant differences were found between experimental and control Ss on the College Self-Expression Scale, the Subjective Unit of Disturbance Scale, eye contact, length of scene, and assertive content, but not on response latency. Significant pretest effects were evident for several of the behavioral dependent variables. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parentline: A demonstration program for graduate practicum training and community service in clinical child psychology.

Describes a telephone consultation service for parents with questions about their children's developmental, behavioral, and learning problems. First-year graduate students participate as staff after having completed an intensive 10-wk training program that provides a knowledge and skill base in assessment, empathic responding, child development, parenting techniques, and change theory. Staff members learn to propose interventions that include providing information, developing individualized management programs, or offering referral assistance. Community utilization of the program as well as the impact of this practicum training experience on graduate students' professional development are discussed. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term small group intervention for college freshmen.

99 freshmen were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment conditions or to a control condition. Ss were given questionnaires designed to assess social life satisfaction, social anxiety, and self-esteem. One treatment condition focused on the universality of social adjustment stress among freshmen, whereas no such emphasis was made in the "regular" condition. Half the sample was designated as particularly vulnerable to transition stress on the basis of Ss' concern about their social adjustment. The effect of group participation differed as a function of Ss' vulnerability. The social adjustment of vulnerable Ss was significantly enhanced by group participation, whereas nonvulnerable Ss were unaffected. No differences were found between universality-focused and regular groups. Results demonstrate the value of a small group experience in facilitating the transition to college of vulnerable freshmen. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal skill training for dating couples: An evaluation of an educational mental health service.

In a previous study by S. Schlein (1971) of a preventative mental health program which stressed relationship improvement by maximizing empathy and self-disclosure, the efficacy of the program in improving communication and the general quality of the relationship between 48 college dating couples was demonstrated. The present reanalysis of Schlein's data shows that the experimental group, compared to the control group, also improved significantly on 2 key behavior rating scales by R. R. Carkhuff which are widely used to assess the efficacy of general helping relationship skills. As a result of less than 20 hrs of training, participants moved from providing levels of skills typical of college students to levels provided by typical counselors. The Empathy scale was highly correlated with 2 other Carkhuff scales, Respect and Immediacy. The trained Ss also showed a significantly greater increase in self-disclosure. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acute stress management with public safety personnel: Opportunities for clinical training and pro bono community service.

Public safety personnel are exposed to high levels of chronic stress, and at times they experience intense emotional reactions to critical incidents that can severely impair their ability to provide emergency services to the public. Critical incident stress management (CISM) involves directly intervening in these cases, using a team composed of both mental health professionals and peer support personnel. Involvement with a CISM team offers psychologists an opportunity to intervene in a substantial community health problem. Because services are provided free of charge, psychologists can offer pro bono work to their communities, which is consistent with their ethical obligations to the public. CISM teams also present an excellent in vivo setting for training psychology interns about psychological trauma, and the teams offer the interns a chance to become involved in community-based interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academia and the training of human service delivery program evaluators.

Many think the demand for high-quality evaluation personnel has reached the point where universities should consider the development of program evaluation curricula. Although much of this article focuses on the training of evaluators for the mental health service delivery system, the suggestions made are applicable to the training of evaluation specialists who will function in a variety of public and private human service settings. Among the several issues considered are the body of knowledge to be taught in program evaluation curricula, the specific concepts and skills needed by the evaluator to function effectively, and whether training should be structured as an interdepartmental or intradepartmental specialty. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychoeducational groups for young adults with genital herpes: training group facilitators

Genital herpes is one of the sexually transmitted diseases that can have serious long-term psychological and physical consequences for young adults who contract the disease. Because of the chronic, reoccurring nature of genital herpes, these young adults need education about the transmission of the herpes virus and about safer sexual practices in addition to emotional support. Psychoeducational groups have shown to be a nursing intervention that can effectively provide this education and support. Yet community health nurses may not be knowledgeable about or comfortable with using this type of intervention. In this article we explain the process of training community health nurses to be nurse facilitators who conduct psychoeducational groups for young adults with genital herpes. The training consisted of a 1-day workshop and three follow-up sessions. The content and format of this training workshop and the follow-up sessions is presented in addition to recommendations to enhance this nursing intervention.     

Effects of counselor and peer-led group assertive training on Black adolescent aggression.

48 8th–9th grade Black males, selected for their aggressive classroom behavior, were randomly assigned to professional or peer counselor assertive training groups, professional or peer counselor discussion groups, and a no-treatment control group. All Ss were administered a pretest and posttest battery measuring assertive skill level, anger level, a projective assessment of aggression, and classroom aggressive behavior. Results suggest that professional counselors and peer counselors are equally effective in teaching assertive skills and that Ss who learn assertive responses will exhibit significantly less aggressive behavior. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)