Lay mental health counseling: The effects of lay group counseling.

8 therapeutic groups of 10 hospitalized mental patients each were seen twice a wk. for a total of 24 sessions by 5 trained lay hospital personnel. 70 patients served as controls. The lay personnel, primarily attendants, had been trained by an approach integrating the didactic approach which emphasizes the shaping of therapist behavior with the experiential approach which focuses upon therapist development and "growth." Heavy training emphasis was placed upon research scales assessing process variables, which had been predictive of positive patient outcome, rather than any particular theoretical orientation. At the end of the 3-mo period, significant improvement was noted in the ward behavior of the treatment group when compared to the control group. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Medical crisis counseling in a health maintenance organization: Preventive intervention.

Mental health clinicians can play a cost-effective role in reducing distressing psychological symptoms accompanying diagnosis of chronic illness. Medical crisis counseling (MCC) is a focal short-term intervention directly addressing illness-related psychosocial problems. A randomized clinical trial tested the effectiveness of MCC. Counseling was offered to patients who had cancer that was newly diagnosed, 1st heart attacks, or adult-onset diabetes and was contrasted with a control group receiving an HMO's standard mental health care. Significant reductions in distress attributable to MCC were noted in some patient groups. No increases in overall medical costs and some decreased mental health utilization and costs were noted with MCC use. Practitioners can easily apply MCC to improving patients' quality of life and mental health, without adding to health care costs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Online counseling: The Internet and mental health treatment.

The author asserts that the mental health profession is unprepared for the likely growth and related implications of mental health therapy delivered over the Internet. Clinical, ethical, and economic issues are addressed. Conclusions are that therapy can be done online, that it can be done ethically, and that online services might not be a serious threat to face-to-face therapy. Regulatory and professional organizations are strongly advised to cooperate with each other. Suggestions include how practitioners and educators might develop skills, how ethics and legislation might be coordinated, how research might be facilitated, and how certain support systems might be established. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Career development status as a predictor of career intervention outcomes.

Relates career status measures (the Career Decision Scale, the Vocational Identity Scale, and the Career Maturity Inventory), goals for participating in career intervention, and ego strength (Barron Ego-Strength Scale) to 6 outcomes of the administration of the Self-Directed Search (SDS). Outcomes include satisfaction with the SDS, satisfaction with posttest career choice, congruence of expressed and measured interests, and 3 self-reported behavioral indices. 48 male and 64 female undergraduates served as Ss. Stepwise regressions indicated that outcomes for males could not be predicted as effectively as those for females. The Career Decision Scale, the Vocational Identity Scale, and ratings on the goal of obtaining training information were the best predictors. Most change occurred for females high on vocational identity; most satisfaction with the SDS and job choice was attained by those low in indecision on the Career Decision Scale. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologist as a mental health center director.

The psychologist functioning as executive director (ED) of a new community mental health center must be a leader-strategist, business manager, motivator-staff developer, and organizational representative. The position requires creativity and problem solving. Frustrations of the position involve slow bureaucratic decision making, lack of control over circumstances, ill-defined expectations for services, and insecurity surrounding the ED position. Psychological training contributing to management performance includes interpersonal skills, family dynamics as a model to analyze organizations, group dynamics, applied behavioral analysis to reinforce an employee's behavior, and evaluation research for decision making. Career opportunities are in mental health centers, private psychiatric hospitals, wellness programs, and training and development departments. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symptom characteristics of counseling center and mental health service clients.

Selected university students who requested either personal counseling at the counseling center (43 males and 101 females) or psychotherapy at the mental health service (40 males and 53 females) were administered the Symptom Distress Checklist-90. This is a self-report symptom rating scale intended to assess the degree of distress associated with presenting symptoms; scores are organized along 9 symptom dimensions and 3 global indices of pathology. There was no significant difference between users of the counseling center and users of the mental health service when compared on levels of distress associated with presenting symptoms. The implications of these findings for the organization of mental health service delivery programs on a university campus are discussed. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immediate family crisis intervention as preventive mental health: The family consultant service.

The service employs mental health personnel who work closely with the police in order to respond immediately to family-related crises. This paper reports a preliminary evaluation of the program with respect to 5 issues: (a) whether the program is redundant with existing community services, (b) the advantages of early intervention approaches, (c) whether the program is a preventative service to any degree, (d) the evaluation of the program by the police and social agencies, and (e) whether cooperation between mental health and law enforcement professionals is enhanced. Available data collected over a 2-yr period concerning these 5 issues indicated the success of the program. It is concluded that it can serve as a model for community prevention approaches to family crises and mental health problems. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culturally adapted mental health intervention: A meta-analytic review.

There is a pressing need to enhance the availability and quality of mental health services provided to persons from historically disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups. Many previous authors have advocated that traditional mental health treatments be modified to better match clients' cultural contexts. Numerous studies evaluating culturally adapted interventions have appeared, and the present study used meta-analytic methodology to summarize these data. Across 76 studies the resulting random effects weighted average effect size was d = .45, indicating a moderately strong benefit of culturally adapted interventions. Interventions targeted to a specific cultural group were four times more effective than interventions provided to groups consisting of clients from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Interventions conducted in clients' native language (if other than English) were twice as effective as interventions conducted in English. Recommendations are provided for improving the study of outcomes associated with mental health interventions adapted to the cultural context of the client. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A randomized trial of a brief mental health intervention for primary care patients.

This randomized trial is a first evaluation of a brief psychotherapeutic intervention for primary care patients. Sixty-two participants were randomly assigned to the intervention or to treatment as usual. As compared with treatment as usual, the intervention led to significant reductions in symptoms of anxiety and depression. The reduction was maintained for 3 months after the end of treatment, but some return of symptoms occurred by 6 months after treatment. The treatment was well accepted by patients. This study provides good preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of this intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of supervision in assuring quality mental health services in university counseling centers.

Conducted a survey to explore the relation between the role of supervision and practitioners' experience, training, and certification and to determine how these factors affect quality assurance in university counseling centers. Ss were 185 counselors. Findings indicate that time spent in supervision was not significantly related to the dependent variables of educational level, experience, or licensure, and that unlicensed practitioners were less likely to seek supervision. The lack of supervision and licensed practitioners may be inconsistent with the value placed on supervision as a quality control procedure. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training in crisis intervention for students in the mental health professions.

An interdisciplinary training program in crisis therapy is described in terms of its teaching model, its structure, and its implications for facilitating professional growth. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychologist as front-line mental health consultant in a general hospital.

Describes the experiences and diverse functions of a psychologist who acts as an independent mental health consultant in a general hospital. Particular attention is paid to problems that arise when psyche and soma interface, because these problems require knowledge of biology as well as of psychology. The appropriateness of this role for the psychologist and its acceptability to referring physicians are examined. The particular strengths of the psychologist as a behavioral scientist and the need for continuing education in differential diagnosis when psychological and physiological factors interact are also explored. Professional boundaries and role relations between psychology and related professions are reviewed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex-role stereotyping as a factor in mental health standards among counselors-in-training.

Examined the possibility of multiple standards of mental health due to sex-stereotypic expectations in 45 male and 45 female counselors-in-training. 22 Ss were doctoral students and 68 were in the master's program. On a shortened version of the Stereotype Questionnaire, female Ss held an approximately uniform standard for healthy males, females, and adults (sex unspecified); male Ss subscribed to this standard for healthy males and adults but held another, more stereotypically feminine standard for healthy females. Possible restrictive effects of a double standard upon female clients, the need for determining by research the prevalence and forms of sex-biased attitudes and behaviors among counselors, and ways of reducing sex biases through counselor training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Passages: Career ladders for college counseling center psychologists.

Uses the stages of adult development set forth by G. Sheehy (1976) as a model for analyzing the careers of counseling psychologists. The careers of counseling center personnel are traced from graduate school days to the period Sheehy refers to as resignation or renewal, and the following conclusions are made: (a) The counseling center career ladder is short, forcing many psychologists in their early 30's into other job avenues; (b) the flexibility provided by counseling center positions is a 2-edged sword, producing disadvantages in later career stages; (c) reward systems should be developed to keep competent therapists in the counseling center; (d) administrative training should be provided during graduate school for future counseling psychologists; and (e) renewal alternatives need to be developed for burned-out counselors and counseling center directors in the midlife transition. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Promoting and protecting mental health as flourishing: A complementary strategy for improving national mental health.

This article summarizes the conception and diagnosis of the mental health continuum, the findings supporting the two continua model of mental health and illness, and the benefits of flourishing to individuals and society. Completely mentally healthy adults--individuals free of a 12-month mental disorder and flourishing--reported the fewest missed days of work, the fewest half-day or greater work cutbacks, the healthiest psychosocial functioning (i.e., low helplessness, clear goals in life, high resilience, and high intimacy), the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease, the lowest number of chronic physical diseases with age, the fewest health limitations of activities of daily living, and lower health care utilization. However, the prevalence of flourishing is barely 20% in the adult population, indicating the need for a national program on mental health promotion to complement ongoing efforts to prevent and treat mental illness. Findings reveal a Black advantage in mental health as flourishing and no gender disparity in flourishing among Whites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vocational relevance as a factor in counseling.

Determined whether the estimation accuracy of 120 undergraduates engaged in individual counseling, group counseling, or control conditions would improve more on test scales of high than of low or intermediate vocational relevance. The battery of tests included the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, Kuder Preference Record, Form C, the Strong Vocational Interest Blank, and a vocational assessment form. Results indicate no differences in the estimation accuracy of the 3 groups at any level of vocational relevance. Categorization of test scales by vocational relevance did not advance estimation accuracy as a criterion of vocational counseling outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of interpretation as a counseling technique.

Through the use of videotaped, simulated counseling situations, the reactions of 50 4th-grade, 10 10th-grade, and 50 graduate school males toward the technique of interpretation were examined. The feelings of Ss toward interpretation were compared with their feelings toward the techniques of reflection, advice giving, and probing. A significant number of Ss of each educational level expressed negative feelings toward the use of interpretation. Implications of the use of interpretation in counseling are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of a counseling intervention program for teaching career decision-making skills.

Developed a career decision-making model and program to provide a counseling intervention and teaching materials to aid students in improving their career maturity and decision-making skills. The model and program were piloted and evaluated to determine program effectiveness. 334 academic and nonacademic student groups were part of a quasi-experimental–control design to measure career maturity and decision making. Data indicate that students in the program significantly increased their Career Maturity Inventory scores, career maturity was significantly related to decision making, and more nonacademic program than academic groups increased their decision-making scores. Students reported they found the program useful in evaluating future career choices. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identifying at-risk, ethnically diverse stroke caregivers for counseling: A longitudinal study of mental health.

Purpose: This study examined (1) causality in the relationship between stroke caregiver mental health and care-recipient functioning, and (2) the prediction from stroke caregiver and care-recipient variables 5 months and 11 months later. Research Method: Questionnaire, interview, and observational data were collected from 124 ethnically diverse stroke caregiver/care-recipient dyads in the homes of care recipients at 1, 6, and 12 months after discharge. Results: The magnitudes of the causal pathways between stroke caregiver mental health and care-recipient functioning were not significantly different. At 1 month after discharge, the best predictors of poor caregiver mental health 11 months later were care-recipient low daily functioning and caregiver low sense of coherence, high burden, and high depression. Conclusions: Caregiver mental health and care-recipient functioning may have reciprocal causal influence on each other, so one of the first steps in stroke rehabilitation may be providing counseling to the primary caregiver. Caregivers with high burden, a low sense of coherence, and a low-functioning care recipient are those most at risk for poor mental health outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)