Clinical health psychology: A health care specialty in professional psychology.

Clinical health psychology is a specialty recognized by both the American Board of Professional Psychology and the American Psychological Association. Clinical health psychology focuses on psychological and behavioral components of illness and health and promotes the understanding of psychology as a health profession. In this article the author reviews its definition, provides a brief overview of practice in the specialty, addresses its relevance for practitioners, and notes sample resources for further study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family psychology specialty practice.

The specialty of family psychology prepares practitioners to work systemically with individuals, couples, families, and larger social organizations. The specialty is defined, and a rationale is provided for its relevance to professional practice. Key concepts, competencies, and practice dimensions (e.g., assessment, case conceptualization, and intervention) are detailed, as are training and board certification in the specialty. Applications to specific problems and specialty niches are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing cognitive behavioral therapy and integrated cognitive behavioral therapy/psychodynamic therapy in group treatment for partner violent men.

This was a pilot study comparing the effectiveness of cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT; n = 18) with integrated CBT and psychodynamic therapy (CBT/PT; n = 27) in reducing partner violence. The study examined differences between the two treatment groups at posttreatment with regard to attachment dimensions, interpersonal problems, psychological/behavioral functioning, and general symptom and relationship distress. Results indicated that the CBT/PT groups showed significantly more improvement than the CBT groups on measures of partner violence, attachment, and interpersonal problems at posttreatment. Conversely, the CBT groups showed significantly more improvement than the CBT/PT groups on measures of psychological/behavioral functioning and general symptom and relationship distress. Finally, there was a significant difference between the treatment groups on recidivism rate, with the CBT/PT groups having the lowest rate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

The skew in clinical psychology.

"The group studied is the 781 psychologists whose dissertations were listed by Rabin… in his A Bibliography of Doctoral Dissertations in Clinical Psychology… . The entire group produced a total of 2,922 publications during the period studied, with a mean of 3.7 and a median of 1.6. The distribution was extremely skewed with 28.9% of the group having no publications to their credit and another 19.2% having only one publication; 10% of the group accounted for 45% of their output… . In the language of the day, the particular mixture of fact and fantasy which we have here appears to be a highly fissionable one… " (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Division of Counseling Psychology, Committee on Definition. Counseling psychology as a specialty.

"Although counseling psychology leaves to other psychologists the major responsibility for treating psychological disasters, the counseling psychologist may be found working in the full range of social settings. He has unique resources, e.g., tests and other methods of psychological evaluation, for helping individuals to achieve harmonious relationships with their environments. He is willing to work directly with other persons and groups with whom his clients must deal outside of the counseling office. His goal is to further the fullest possible self-realization of those who live in a particular social setting." 20 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrative cognitive–behavioral and spiritual counseling for rural dementia caregivers with depression.

Objective: Discuss initial evaluation of a program for training faith community nurses (FCNs) to conduct cognitive–behavioral and spiritual counseling (CBSC) for rural dementia caregivers (CGs), and present 2 case studies on the use of CBSC for treating depression in this population. Study Design: Pre–post evaluation of the effectiveness of CBSC training and a case study analysis of the effectiveness of CBSC on CG problem improvement and depression. Outcome Measures: For FCN training, we used the FCN Counseling Comfort Scale, FCN Counseling Efficacy Scale, and the FCN Counseling Workshop Satisfaction Survey. The Problem Severity Scale and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were used in the case studies. Results: Significant post-training increases in FCN counseling comfort and perceived counseling efficacy were obtained. Case study findings provided evidence of substantial improvement in caregiving problems and reductions in depression. Conclusions: Preliminary outcomes of FCN training and CBSC for dementia CGs were promising. However, replication across the sample is required to evaluate the overall effectiveness of CBSC for reducing CG depression. Specific competencies and ethical considerations in supervising this form of intervention are also addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The inadvertent emergence of a phenomenological perspective in the philosophy of cognitive psychology and psychoanalytic developmental psychology.

The phenomenological perspective described by M. Merleau-Ponty seems to be emerging in the context of contemporary developmental research, theories of communication, metaphor theory, and cognitive neuroscience. This emergence is not always accompanied by reference to Merleau-Ponty, however, or appropriate interpretation. On some cases, the emergence of the perspective seems rather inadvertent. The purpose of this essay is to ferret out some of the points which contemporary thinking has in common with Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology. Though it may appear that the examples chosen for this essay might be scrutinized separately, the thread that ties them together is Merleau-Ponty's work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effective components of TORDIA cognitive–behavioral therapy for adolescent depression: Preliminary findings.

In this report, we conducted a secondary analysis of the Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA) study to explore the impact of specific cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment components on outcome. In TORDIA, 334 youths (ages 12 to 18 years) with major depressive disorder who had failed to respond to an adequate course of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication were randomized to a medication switch (either to an alternative SSRI or venlafaxine) with or without 12 weeks of adjunctive CBT. Participants who had more than 9 CBT sessions were 2.5 times more likely to have adequate treatment response than those who had 9 or fewer sessions. CBT participants who received problem-solving and social skills treatment components, controlling for number of sessions and other confounding variables, were 2.3 and 2.6 times, respectively, more likely to have a positive response. These preliminary findings underscore the importance of receiving an adequate number of sessions to attain an adequate clinical response. Finally, social skills and problem solving may be active elements in CBT for adolescent depression and should be considered in treatment by those working with seriously depressed youths. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Medical psychology: Contributions to behavioral medicine.

Reviews the book, Medical psychology: Contributions to behavioral medicine edited by Charles K. Prokop and Laurence A. Bradley (1981). This book is another generally commendable entry on a growing list of books that overview the field of Medical Psychology, Health Psychology, or Behavioral Medicine. The book is divided into four sections: An Introduction, Assessment of Medical Disorders, Treatment and Prevention of Medical Disorders, and Special Topics in Medical Psychology and Behavioral Medicine. The second and third sections account for the bulk of the volume and comprise critical reviews of psychological approaches to assessment and treatment of specific health problems. Both assessment and treatment are mentioned by the editors as areas in which medical psychology has made unique contributions to behavioral medicine. Other issues described as important contributions--issues such as prevention and evaluation--are covered only briefly. This book is a highly useful source book. It is especially valuable to the applied researcher or practitioner who works with several departments in a medical school or other health setting. For such individuals, this volume can provide research and treatment programs in the specialty areas represented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The intentionality model: A theoretical integration of psychodynamic talking and relating with cognitive–behavioral interventions.

The intentionality model is a model for integrative practice that links the awareness of clients to the interventions of therapists. The model is experientially based because psychological distress is assessed in terms of mental processes, or intentionalities, which create complex outcomes of emotion, repetitive patterns of maladaptive relating, and persistently negative mood. Intentionality refers to the many ways in which consciousness is aware. Accordingly, psychological interventions become recognizable as preparing for and creating changes in meaning by helping clients obtain new experiences and occupy new perspectives on what already exists. The intellectual background is the classical phenomenological psychology of Edmund Husserl, a theory of mind. Given that psychological suffering and health concern the awareness of meaning, and the intentionality of consciousness refers to the many ways in which people can be conscious of the same object of attention, it is argued that therapy concerns making changes in the forms of being aware. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use and nature of present-focused interventions in cognitive and behavioral therapies for depression.

To improve cognitive and behavioral therapies (CBT) for depression, several approaches recommend an increased focus on the occurrence of problems as they occur in the therapeutic relationship or in relation to the live therapy process, referred to as present-focused. A lingering question has been the degree to which CBT therapists already engage in present-focused work. This study utilized sessions from recent trials of CBT for depression and, in Phase I, raters identified present-focused interventions on a turn-by-turn basis. Phase II raters used a qualitative analysis to determine categories of present-focused interventions. Results indicated that therapists rarely focused on the therapeutic relationship; when they did, it was often transient and lacking in the elaborations suggested by newer approaches. Therapists more often performed therapy process and emotion focused interventions, but these also tended to lack elaboration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The image of women in psychology textbooks.

In an analysis of the content of ten recently published textbooks in psychology, the author concludes that most textbooks contain the implication that psychologists are male by using language and illustrations reinforcing this suggestion, and by citing women authors less frequently than their number and eminence would suggest. Experiments and studies reported in psychology textbooks frequently fail to indicate sex of subjects or, alternatively, are based on male samples. The results of such studies are then frequently generalized to both sexes. The image of psychology as presented in textbooks is biased, therefore, toward the study of male behaviour by male psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating evidence-based practice, cognitive–behavior therapy, and multicultural therapy: Ten steps for culturally competent practice.

During the past decade, 3 major developments in psychotherapy have been converging: the establishment of evidence-based practices in psychology (EBPP); enormous growth in cognitive–behavior therapy and research (CBT); and increasing recognition of the impact of multicultural influences, as highlighted in the field of multicultural therapy (MCT). Cognitive–behavioral research has produced many empirically supported treatments used in the establishment of the scientific research base of EBPP, and MCT research has provided a wealth of qualitative information that balances this scientific emphasis with recognition of the importance of culturally competent clinical judgment, expertise, and experience. This article describes the advantages and potential limitations involved in the integration of CBT and multicultural considerations, with limitations reframed as opportunities to improve the relevance and effectiveness of psychotherapy. Ten suggestions are provided for integrating multicultural considerations into the clinical practice of cognitive–behavior therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Being fit: The ethics of practice diversification in performance psychology.

The ethics of practice diversification in the field generically described as performance psychology--including sport psychology, organizational consulting, and performing arts psychology--is examined. Since the field is in the process of development and psychologists come to this type of practice from a variety of paths, ethical issues in this type of practice bear particularly careful attention. This article reviews the primary ethical issues involved, including preparation for diversified practice; competence; interpersonal and relational issues; and presentation to the public. Currently emerging concerns are also discussed. The article concludes with specific suggestions for the practitioner interested in this field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explorations in ecological psychology.

The "great diversity of coupling between psychologists and psychological phenomena can be divided into 2 types which produce data of crucially different significance for the science of psychology." (1) Psychologists as Transducers—T Data: The psychologist transforms data and in effect is a translating machine. (2) Psychologists as Operators—O Data: The psychologist "achieves control which allows him to focus upon segments and processes of particular concern to him, via data that refer to events which he, in part, contrives." Psychologists "as operators and as transducers are not analogous, and… the data they produce have fundamentally different uses within science. A central problem of our science is the relation between ecological events (the distal stimuli) at the origin of E-O-E [environment-organism-environment] arcs and the succeeding events along these arcs." There "are a number of reasons for avoiding the role of transducer in psychological research… . The skills and personality attributes required of a successful transducer are different from those of a successful operator… . The techniques of the transducer are in many respects more difficult than those of the operator." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The crisis in clinical psychology training.

"The directors of university clinical-psychology training programs and state-level psychologists of the 10 northeastern states met in Princeton in June 1962 to consider joint responsibilities, focusing particular attention on the nature of internships. Analysis of fact sheets, completed by both university and state participants prior to the meeting, indicated an acute shortage of doctoral clinical-psychology candidates and of qualified students accepting internships." Suggestions of participants "included (a) expansion of present doctoral training programs, (b) additional training programs including retooling of current masters' programs, (c) and experimental development of professional schools." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generality and behavioral correlates of cognitive styles.

Factorial confirmation of 2 cognitive styles, defined as relationships between abilities within individuals, was sought in the within-individual variations of task performances. The cognitive styles, 1 termed "Conceptual versus Perceptual-motor Dominance," the other, "Strong versus Weak Automatization," were factorially isolated in each of 2 samples of adult normal males, and in 1 sample of adolescent male and female twins. The results are similar to those obtained by British factor analysts using hierarchical group factor method. Examination of the relationships of the factors to education and occupational levels in the adult normals revealed that the Strong Automatizers had higher occupational levels than the Weak Automatizers although the 2 groups of Ss did not differ in general intelligence or education. (35 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching values and psychology.

"Why do colleges fall short in stimulating students to think in terms of their life values when academicians have so clearly stated such goals for them?" Psychologists in teaching "are concerned verbally with the growth of values in their students; in contrast to this relative clarity there seem to be few specific testable hypotheses concerning the stimulation of the growth of values in students or widespread empirical students on the nature of mature values in our culture. These areas need the same attention from our profession as is given to other current problems such as defense, health, and commerce." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some comments on psychology and psychophysics.

Historically the development of psychophysical procedures was instrumental in fostering the growth of psychology and its emergence as a discipline separate from philosophy. At the present time, while psychophysical studies are still performed extensively, there has been a diminution of interest in them among psychologists and a misunderstanding of them among some other disciplines. The article discusses some of the problems faced by the psychologist engaged in psychophysical research. It is argued that there are two major areas of difficulty that are apparent. The first is the trend away from a psychological framework for psychophysics and the second is ignorance about sensory psychology and the methods it uses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)