Counseling psychology in clinical health psychology: The impact of specialty perspective.

Not all clinical health psychologists are trained as clinical psychologists. A significant minority is trained and identifies as counseling psychologists. As a field, it is important to understand how the specialty-specific values, training context, scholarship, and parameters of practice of counseling psychology contribute to clinical health psychology. In this article, we (a) identify the core values and training context of counseling psychology, (b) review the scholarly history of clinical health psychology by counseling psychologists, (c) present the parameters of practice of clinical health psychology as identified from the extant counseling psychology literature, and (d) examine American Psychological Association membership status to investigate joint membership in the Division of Health Psychology and the Society of Counseling Psychology. Conclusions indicate that (a) an identifiable set of core values guides the training of counseling psychologists, (b) scholarly literature by counseling psychologists has contributed to the growth and development of clinical health psychology, and (c) parameters of practice reflect the specialty-specific perspective of counseling psychology. As professional psychology continues to grow as a health care profession, clinical health psychology will benefit from the knowledge, values, attitudes, competencies, and practice parameters of counseling psychology, and counseling psychology will benefit from recognizing what it brings to the practice of clinical health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 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)     

Introduction.

The three articles presented in this issue reflect different problems encountered by psychologists as each attempted to pursue a career. All three psychologists were trail blazers, developing new applications of psychological knowledge, and each faced different challenges. Stanley Moldawsky, a pioneer in the development of professional psychology, reflects on the establishment of a private practice in the 1950s. He shares how politics had to become an important concern in order to survive, gives us a glimpse of some of the hurdles that had to be crossed to establish a professional school in New Jersey, and impresses on us that professional psychology will grow only if we advocate for it. In contrast to Moldawsky, Jonathan Cummings' career was devoted to the application of clinical and counseling psychology to the medical-surgical areas of the health field. His career was focused on working in the Veterans Administration Hospital system, where he was the first psychologist who was assigned to work outside of the mental health area. Cummings' work was instrumental in the development of the field of health psychology and of the need to focus on the whole person when treating people in these settings. John Jackson, in his poignant essay, reflects on the upward climb of minorities into professional psychology. An African American, Jackson did not have the benefit of more recent civil rights legislation to assist his career. He reflects on his involvements with the American Psychological Association and how he perceives the role of minority psychologists within organized psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An introduction to psychologists treating medically ill patients: Competent practice and seeking credentials in organized health care settings for routine or incidental practice.

Psychology has been recognized as a health care science and profession, and psychologists have been working clinically with medically ill patients and within organized health care settings and hospitals for decades. The potentially daunting environment of organized health care should be seen by psychology as an opportunity to further develop and expand its scope of practice. With knowledge of that environment's rules, regulations, ethics, bylaws, and traditions, the clinically competent psychologist who is first seeking to practice in hospitals should succeed alongside psychologists with busy practices who are already exclusively or occasionally within an organized health care setting or medical facility. This article reviews issues of competency, credentialing, privileges, bylaws, and practice expansion to guide psychologists toward a successful hospital practice with medically ill patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Putting off tomorrow to do what you want today: Planning for retirement.

In this article we note that in the coming years, a larger number of people will be experiencing retirement for a longer period of time than ever before and that despite this fact, many will find themselves unprepared for this stage of their lives. We review the literature on retirement preparation, structuring our review around the key questions that need to be addressed when planning for retirement: (a) What will I do? (b) How will I afford it? (c) Where will I live? and (d) Who will I share it with? We make a number of suggestions for research and practice. We conclude that although psychology has begun to play a role in understanding and addressing retirement preparation, there are considerable opportunities for psychologists to engage with this issue in their research and applied work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Public Health and Psychology: An Important, Expanding Interaction.

The authors opine that the behavioral sciences and the field of psychology are absolutely vital in meeting the nation's needs regarding health and health policy. Psychologists have become increasingly involved in health psychology, as reflected by the establishment and rapid growth of Division 38 (Health Psychology). This expansion of psychologists' involvement in physical health research and intervention has led to increased contact between psychologists and nurses, public health experts, and nonpsychiatric physicians. With such contact, psychologists are being recruited into the faculties of schools of nursing, schools of public health, and schools of medicine. This article examines aspects of psychology's role in, involvement with, and contribution to one sector of this arena--public health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health Psychology: What Will the Future Bring?

This commentary highlights several important themes and trends in this series of articles focusing on the future of health psychology. First, the challenges posed by changes in populations will only be met if health psychologists can develop a contextual competency. Second, with increasing evidence for the efficacy of health psychology interventions comes heightened interest in testing the effectiveness of these interventions. Third, issues of cost-effectiveness of health psychology will become increasingly important. Fourth, the growing integration of technological advances (e.g., telehealth, the Internet) into health psychology has major implications. Finally, the numerous changes outlined in this series of articles will demand that health psychologists extend and refine their theoretical models including the biopsychosocial model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social psychological research and clinical practice: An academic paradox.

Social psychological research has not had the impact on clinical practice that the nature of its subject matter indicates is appropriate. A major reason for this lack of impact is a paradox inherent in academic life. As they climb the academic ladder, social psychologists, who presumably have chosen their field of study because of an interest in the way in which people live and think, become increasingly remote from and increasingly aloof from the everyday life of normal people. Five aspects of academic training and institutional life that reinforce and maintain this paradox are identified. Two examples of a type of research that can overcome the paradox and increase the impact of social psychology on clinical practice are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interdisciplinary collaboration in outpatient practice.

Psychology has had a long history of collaboration with the medical profession. This collaboration has been greatly enhanced over the past decade or more as an increasing number of psychologists have become successful in applying the science and practice of psychology to the problems of health and illness. This article reviews and summarizes salient aspects of professional issues in practice that contribute to successful collaboration with physicians in primary and tertiary ambulatory health care settings. Practical strategies to enhance collaboration in independent practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new role for psychologists—Hospital Ethics Committees.

Over the past decade psychology has begun to appreciate that it represents more than "merely mental health care" and has become increasingly involved in the generic health care arena. The participation of psychologists in Hospital Ethics Committees (HECs) is presented as a professional activity for which psychologists are particularly well suited. The clinical mission of HECs, the historical importance of ethical considerations to psychology, and the field's specific training and psycho-social expertise suggest valuable contributions that psychologists can make in this particular area. Further, as psychology actively increases its participation in HECs, other professional disciplines outside of the mental field will systematically have the opportunity to become more familiar with psychology and its clinical and research expertise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pediatric consultation: New concepts in training.

Consultation-liaison has become increasingly important to the diversification of psychological practice. With the advent of national health proposals, the ability to service individuals (including the youth of this nation) in a variety of settings will be critical. This article describes a comprehensive training program in consultation-liaison child and adolescent psychology and encourages its adoption in other training programs. Psychology training programs will need to provide practice experiences in a variety of settings for psychologists to remain viable in an increasingly competitive mental health market place. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research and practice in health psychology.

The task force on research and practice in health psychology responded to three presentations on important issues. It was posited that clinical health psychology may represent the ideal specialty for scientist-practitioner training. There are exciting, important questions regarding health problems, health policy, and health treatment systems needing interdisciplinary research. Health psychologists are uniquely prepared to take a leadership role due to their training in both research and service delivery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural and linguistic competence: Welcome challenges from successful diversification.

The increasing numbers of ethnically diverse professionals is filling a need for service provision in agencies that provide mental health services for a diverse clientele. However, the rapid shift in professional demographics provides a sharp generational contrast; these emerging psychologists are placed in potentially ethically charged positions before their careers truly begin as a result of the gap between institutional resources (materials and supervisors) and trainees' specialized needs. The lead article reviews a broad array of points to consider when a supervisee is providing services in the native language of the client and does not know that language. The three invited commentaries highlight (a) the role of language in emotion and subsequent implications for treatment and supervision, (b) the slow institutional development to meet the training needs of emerging therapists that will treat ethnically diverse clients, and (c) the importance of following decision-making models to inform ethical supervisory practice when there is a language mismatch. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural competence and evidence-based practice in mental health services: A complementary perspective.

The need for cultural competence and the need for evidence-based practice in mental health services are major issues in contemporary discourse, especially in the psychological treatment of people of color. Although these 2 paradigms are complementary in nature, there is little cross-fertilization in the psychological literature. The present article illustrates the complementary nature of these 2 paradigms. A main point of convergence is related to the development of culturally adapted interventions in the move from efficacy research to effectiveness studies. The implications of cultural adaptations of empirically supported treatments for mental health services in terms of research and practice with ethnic/racial minority populations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The power of multiple methods and evidence sources: Raising the profile of Canadian counselling psychology research.

In counselling psychology, research and practice are viewed as mutually informative, and Canadian counselling psychologists conduct research in a wide range of areas, utilizing a wide range of research methods. However, there are few Canadian publications that give prominence to counselling psychology scholarly work. Over the past decade, two trends have become more prominent in the practice of counselling psychology: evidence-based practice and outcome-focused intervention. Traditionally, empirical evidence for the efficacy of practice interventions has come from randomized controlled trials. This fails to reflect the diversity of methods and practice that Canadian counselling psychologists utilize. To address this discrepancy, in this article we provide some alternate ways for obtaining empirical support for the predictive efficacy of counselling interventions. We conclude by addressing some challenges currently facing counselling psychologists in Canada (i.e., publication venues, funding for research, the connection between research and practice, preparation of students) and describing some ways for raising the profile of counselling psychology research and practice in Canada. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Child health psychology": Erratum.

Reports an error in "Child health psychology" by Dennis Drotar, Suzanne Bennett Johnson, Ron Iannotti, Norman Krasnegor, Karen A. Matthews, Barbara G. Melamed, Sharon Millstein, Rolf A. Peterson, Debbie Popiel and Donald K. Routh (Health Psychology, 1989, Vol 8[6], 781-784). The name of the author, Sharon Millstein, should be Susan Millstein. It appears correctly in this record. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2008-09118-001.) The term child health psychology refers to the field of research on the behavioral aspects of children's health and illness. At this time we need to continue the work of the child health psychology special interest group and to draw into the Division of Health Psychology a much larger number of developmental psychologists, who need to be informed about the relevance of their scientific training to child health issues. We call the Division's attention and that of granting agencies such as the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the following high-priority child health research issues: adherence to pediatric medical regimens; child health promotion; family influences on child and adolescent health and disease; and stress and coping in childhood illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the future.

Asked 9 distinguished psychologists to comment on psychology and the future. Predictions for the future included (a) program evaluation research will expand; (b) students preparing or the practice of psychology will increasingly seek the PsyD degree; (c) psychology will be more responsive to real-life crises such as pollution, energy resource depletion, urban decay, and international conflict, and will receive more federal support to the extent that it can contribute to the solution of such problems; (d) continuing education is likely to flourish; (e) the discipline of psychology will become still more fractionated; and (f) the future will bring a merging of humanistic and scientific orientations in psychology. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists as managers: Overcoming old guilts and accessing innovative pathways for enhanced skills.

Management roles for psychologists now offer promising career opportunities for using psychological techniques for enhancing the health as well as the productivity of organizations and their employees. Although many psychologists recognize this, they lack more specific information about bridging the gap between the desire to become a manager and the taking of concrete steps to actually become one. Emerging practice arenas, support systems, and training opportunities for psychologists who want to become managers are discussed. Psychologists can learn to be better managers and can benefit by tying into managerially oriented, educational, and professional networks. At the same time, old guilts about being a managerial or entrepreneurial psychologist may linger and need to be overcome. Specific opportunities for psychologists in innovative areas of practice, research, and consultation that require managerial knowledge and skills are identified. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health psychology and public policy: The political process.

During the past 20 years, psychologists have successfully modified federal statutes, resulting in recognition of the profession's clinical and research expertise. Despite these successes, professional psychology's training institutions have largely failed to address basic issues in health policy and the implications of national health policy for psychology. The importance of public health programs under Title VII of the Public Health Act and the significance of full inclusion of psychology in all federal health programs, including Titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid), are poorly understood by most health psychologists. Federal health policy decisions, including management of excessive federal health spending, will dictate the growth and opportunities for health psychologists. Understanding federal health spending and recent federal initiatives such as Resource Based Relative Value Scale, Diagnostic Related Groups, and practice guidelines will be of benefit to health psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

About This Special Issue.

This issue of the American Psychologist is devoted to what is probably the timeliest legislative topic confronting psychology today--national health insurance. In one way or another it affects all psychologists, and the way professional psychologists and the American Psychological Association address the problem has potentially far-reaching implications not only for psychology but also for society. The Congress of the United States will eventually determine the structure of national health insurance. That word has yet to be written, and with it will be determined whether national health insurance will include a mental health benefit of any substance and, if so, whether it will include the services of qualified psychologists. The articles in this Special Issue are by no means definitive. They are intended to be representative of the three groups who have a substantial interest in the topic, in the hope of stimulating discussion and involvement of the broader APA membership in the issue of national health insurance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)