Research in effective teaching: Implications for school psychologists.

The purpose of this miniseries is to review research on effective instruction and to discuss the contributions of this research knowledge to the practice of school psychology. Effective schooling involves the development of optimal learning environments, sensitivity to the diversity of teacher skills and teaching styles, and the accommodation of instruction to variable characteristics among individual students, all of which lead to the provision of adaptive instruction. Thus, four general areas have been selected as the focus of the articles in this miniseries: teacher behaviors, instructional environments, individual differences among learners, and practices of adaptive education. This miniseries attempts to delineate some of these "lines within which the rules of the art" of teaching fall. Understanding conditions that affect children's learning and knowing how instructional principles and research findings operate in everyday schooling situations are important objectives for all school psychologists. It is with these objectives in mind that the following articles are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women in multiple roles: Implications for school psychologists.

Reviews the literature on some selected aspects of women's lives in order to provide an orientation for school psychologists. Both qualitative and empirical literature in the 3 main areas: the meaning of work, the timing of parenthood, and the integration of multiple roles are discussed. The exploration of work and parenting roles has been chosen because they are 2 major foci around which, it is suggested, most adult women organize their lives. The 3rd area, the integration of multiple roles, is also of immediate relevance in light of the increasing number of women who are combining multiple roles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction of correctional psychologists: Implications for recruitment and retention.

Do correctional psychologists report levels of job satisfaction consistent with that of psychologists working in other professional areas? Although the number of professionals choosing to work in correctional environments is increasing, relatively little has been written about their job-related experiences. This article explored issues pertaining to career satisfaction among 800 correctional psychologists. Overall, these professionals described a moderate level of job satisfaction. Job dimensions such as safety. job security, and relationships with clients were ranked as most satisfying, whereas opportunities for advancement and professional atmosphere were ranked as least satisfying. Psychologists working in federal prisons or less crowded facilities were comparatively more satisfied. Implications for recruiting and retaining psychologists are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schizophrenia and the brain: Conditions for a neuropsychology of madness.

Describes 3 conditions for understanding schizophrenia as a kind of brain disease. First, the disorder must cohere as a clinical entity that is distinct from other disorders. Second, schizophrenia must be linked with an identifiable neuropathology. Third, implicated brain systems must have behavioral functions that fit the psychological characteristics actually seen in schizophrenia. In each case, the evidence is weak or equivocal. However, this does not mean that neurogenic interpretations are untenable. Instead, the primacy of problems associated with the 1st condition, the need to parse schizophrenia and reduce heterogeneity, must be recognized. Progress in understanding schizophrenia depends on a neurobehavioral approach to resolving the heterogeneity problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Promoting emotional competence in children and adolescents: Implications for school psychologists.

This article articulates the central role school psychologists can play in enhancing the emotional competence of students. An overview of the theoretical basis of emotional competence is provided, as well as an exploration of the relevance of emotional competence for positive youth development. Emerging applications for the assessment of emotional competence are presented. In addition, school-based methods of enhancing emotional competence are offered. The article concludes with suggestions for future research on the development of child and adolescent emotional competence in the context of school-related behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A perspective on the nation's antitrust policies: Implications for psychologists.

In response to significant change in the health care market, federal antitrust agencies recently examined their past policies and future directions for antitrust law enforcement in the health care industry. This article reviews how the federal antitrust laws have been used to both aid and restrict the practice of psychology, psychologists' dealings with managed care, and the limits of antitrust law enforcement efforts. Finally, we argue that narrowly crafted antitrust reform would provide practicing psychologists and other health professionals with some degree of countervailing bargaining power in their negotiations with managed care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communication neuroscience as a tool for health psychologists.

Comments on the original article, Increased attention but more efficient disengagement: Neuroscientific evidence for defensive processing of threatening health information by L. T. E. Kessels, R. A. C. Ruiter, and B. M. Jansma (see record 2010-14873-005). Kessler et al present an example of Communication Neuroscience as a tool for understanding the mechanisms that lead some health messages to be processed in a way that facilitates impact whereas other messages are ignored. Kessels et al used event-related brain potentials (ERPs), a high temporal resolution method, to monitor neural activity in the moment that messages are presented. They use this technology to provide insight about the low-level attention processes through which individuals at highest risk (in this case, smokers) disengage from self-relevant health messages (threatening and nonthreatening smoking images). The findings of Kessels et al are convergent with prior theory and empirical work demonstrating that high threat messages may not achieve the desired effect if presented in isolation (Brown & Locker, 2009; Leventhal, Safer, & Panagis, 1983; Liberman & Chaiken, 1992). By using the tools of neuroscience, however, Kessels et al elucidate a mechanism that was not apparent through self-report or implicit (reaction time) measures. They demonstrate that high threat messages lead to increased attention capture, but more efficient disengagement when threatening messages are self-relevant; this in turn helps to explain why high threat messages may not have the desired effect, despite successfully capturing people’s attention. As such, this study illustrates one benefit of combining the tools of neuroscience with more familiar methods in health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interdisciplinary school practice: Implications of the service integration movement for psychologists.

The unmet needs of our nation's children and families have continued to increase, especially for impoverished and minority populations. In response, there has been growing support for a service integration approach that emphasizes interagency and interdisciplinary coordination and collaboration, particularly with respect to the role of schools. The American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Comprehensive and Coordinated Psychological Services for Children Ages 0–10 endorsed the service integration model and called for professional psychology to take a leadership role in its development, refinement, implementation, and evaluation. The APA adopted these recommendations as policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opportunities for psychologists in health maintenance organizations: Implications for graduate education and training.

This article highlights current roles and functions for psychologists in health maintenance organizations in the areas of teaching, research, and clinical service. Implications for graduate education and training are detailed. The author focuses on strengths and weaknesses of current models with respect to program content, role models, and the socialization process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Earthquakes and children: The role of psychologists with families and communities.

The 2008 Sichuan Province earthquake and 2005 Pakistan earthquake are examples of natural disasters that took an unimaginable toll on children. In such disaster management contexts, family members as well as health care and school personnel are the first-line responders and are natural sources of continued social support as children recover. Although psychologists have increasingly sophisticated understandings of post-disaster reactions and strategies for helping children and adolescents cope with trauma, models for responding to mass catastrophes are limited, particularly in geographically remote communities and in regions in which mental health services are stigmatizing. With children’s well-being subsequent to earthquakes inextricably linked to family and community, psychologists can make important contributions in 3 spheres: (a) coordinating and activating collaborations within children’s existing social contexts to develop post-earthquake interventions; (b) designing prevention and preparedness programs focused on the emotional needs of children in earthquake-prone communities; and (c) conducting research on interventions and recovery with particular attention to developmental stage, sociocultural-economic contexts, and the similarities versus differences across various types of disasters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of school violence on school personnel: Implications for psychologists.

Each year, approximately 234,000 teachers in the United States are victims of school-related violence. After a violent incident, school-based mental health professionals, psychologists from the community, and administrators appropriately intervene to provide counseling and other services for students. Unfortunately, many school personnel who have been victimized do not receive adequate treatment after such incidents occur. In this article, the authors argue that psychologists, school personnel, and mental health counselors must be aware of the needs of teachers and administrators who have been affected by these events and must, therefore, provide counseling for them as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical issues facing school psychologists working with families.

Explores the place of assessment and interventions with families in terms of the psychologist's role and school policy. As school psychologists increase family involvement, there is a need to examine potential ethical issues. Ethical concerns related to school psychologists working with families are considered in relation to the American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists (1981). Topics discussed include responsibility and welfare of the consumer, competence, confidentiality, intrafamilial issues, extrafamilial or privileged information, research with human participants, and stereotypes and values. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evolution of health care: Implications for the training and careers of psychologists.

Congress failed to pass legislation in 1994, but the general principles guiding reform are clearly embedded in state-level legislation and the inexorable movement toward managed care in the private employer–insurer markets. These principles, legislated by statute or realized incrementally through private market reforms, present challenges and opportunities to psychology as a science and a profession. Psychologists must significantly modify the way they currently work, and university-based training programs must modify the way they educate future psychologists. The issues go beyond the dominant concern with benefit plan coverage and professional prerogatives and affect the very organizational structures in which psychologists work and the ways they get paid. Psychologists now share with every health-related science and profession the public's demand for research-based evidence of cost-effective solutions to individual and community-wide health problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implications for school psychologists: The challenge of Public Law 94-142.

Public Law 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act; 1975) is challenging the traditional model of school psychology. The child-advocate model at times conflicts with the school psychologist's responsibility for supporting a public school system in its attempts to comply with the law. Based on field experiences in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area, the following training needs in the profession are identified: (a) broadened familiarity with assessment instruments and procedures, (b) increased competencies in remediative advisement, and (c) enlightened understanding of legal issues and due process. School psychologists can assist in clarifying misinterpretations of current federal legislation if provided appropriate professional training. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health as a value: Implications for practice.

Health is identified as a value, and therefore techniques aimed at changing preventive health behavior (PHB) inevitably involve values. PHB includes both reducing the frequency of behaviors that put one at risk of illness and increasing preventive behaviors that may reduce one's chances of disease. Caution is suggested when undertaking such interventions, and it is recommended that the issue of health value be discussed, especially when health is not the presenting problem. It is concluded that presenting clients with the relevant facts, openly discussing health value, and heightening clients' awareness of the interrelation between physical and mental health will likely enhance commitment to participation in PHB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical practice guidelines for managing major depression in primary care practice: Implications for psychologists.

Clinical practice guidelines are being developed by professional and governmental bodies to improve the quality of health care. The guidelines developed by the US Public Health Service Agency for Health Care Policy and Research seek to improve the primary care physician's ability to diagnose and treat major depression. Clinical, educational, and research implications for psychologists are considered in light of how the recommended guidelines potentially will influence the nature and quality of care provided for mood disorders by generalist physicians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commentary: Computer technologies and postsecondary students with disabilities: Implications of recent research for rehabilitation psychologists.

Computer and information technologies have the potential both to enhance the lives of people with disabilities as well as to deny them equality of access to education, jobs, and community life. In particular, these new technologies have the potential to enable or to create difficulties for people with disabilities in the new knowledge-based economy. Concerns about these technologies and their accessibility are evolving issues for the next decade. The authors summarize the findings of a 5-year research program that involved over 1,000 participants from postsecondary educational institutions across Canada. They then highlight emerging issues. Finally, they make broad-based recommendations to rehabilitation psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology as a Health-Care Profession: Implications for training.

This article places a magnifying glass on psychology's current training realities in the context of global health developments, particularly those of the Canadian health-care system. The authors argue that curriculum review and revision is needed to solidify psychology as a true health care profession; such a review should be proactive and must consider the likely changes in our overall health-care system. In preparing for anticipated changes in health care, it is proposed that curricula modifications be made to better reflect how psychology can contribute (in a broad fashion) to the health of Canadians. Two particular models for psychology's future role are offered for discussion: a) a modified, comprehensive parallel/vertical model that sees psychologists similar to other health-care providers; versus, b) a more innovative horizontal/cross-cutting model in which psychologists provide a unique blend of education, innovation, teaching, system consultation, prevention, as well as direct service provision, to patients with physical and mental health problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The comparison of White racial identity attitudes among faculty and students: Implications for professional psychologists.

Research on the influence of racial differences in multicultural therapeutic relationships has shown racial identity attitudes to be a critical factor in determining therapeutic relationship quality and therapeutic outcomes, such as premature termination (J. E. Helms, 1990). The Racial Identity Interaction Model was proposed to explain cross-cultural relationships in social dyads and groups where power differentials exist (Helms, 1990). Results are combined from 2 previously published studies to determine whether differences in racial identity exist in the faculty–student relationship. White racial identity attitudes of faculty and students were examined, and differences were obtained. Gender differences in attitude were also found. Implications for providing psychological services in an environment with increasing racial tensions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)