Screening for Domestic Violence: Recommendations Based on a Practice Survey.

How do practicing psychologists identify female victims of domestic violence? When asking about harm to self and others, do they also ask if the client is in danger of being harmed by another in an intimate relationship? A national survey of practicing psychologists revealed that 95% agreed that it is their responsibility to assist victimized clients, but fewer than 19% routinely screen for domestic violence. Psychologists report several barriers to screening at intake, which coupled with low screening rates, suggest that psychologists are missing important opportunities to assist clients who are at risk for assault. Several recommendations designed to improve psychologists' screening rates for domestic violence are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional psychologists' conceptualizations of intimate partner violence.

Psychologists' conceptualizations of intimate partner violence were studied by surveying practicing psychologists on their causal attributions and expectations for violence depicted in a written scenario. The perpetrator of violence was held by respondents to be most responsible for the violence, especially in severely violent cases. Although the victim was seen as less responsible for the violence, greater responsibility was attributed to her, especially to her character, in scenarios in which she had a previous history of being abused by a partner than when she had not. Violence severity had inconsistent effects on psychologists' expectations, in that respondents expected worse outcomes for the victim of more severe violence, but did not expect therapeutic interventions to be any less effective in ameliorating these outcomes. These conceptualizations point to dilemmas in treatment of intimate partner violence, such as empowerment without blame and the tension between hope and realistic assessment of risk. (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)     

"Dr. Future, we presume," said school psychology.

Notes that the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists have recently proposed new guidelines and revised standards for training and practice in school psychology. It is argued that school psychologists are seeking avenues for nondoctoral independent practice in an environment unlikely to be supportive of such efforts. The intersection of school psychology and American psychology is discussed. It is suggested that school psychology organizations and educators should cooperate to hasten a transition of school psychology to a doctoral specialty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychologists reflect on the usefulness of various components of graduate training.

Graduates of clinical training programs were surveyed to determine the degree to which they have found various graduate school experiences useful in their professional work. Samples of academic clinical psychologists and practicing clinical psychologists reported time allocation and preference for various professional activities, perceived usefulness of various theoretical orientations, and the influence on their current professional work of 19 different graduate training topics. Results suggest that where differences exist, academic clinical psychologists are generally more satisfied with Boulder-model-inspired scientific training than are clinical practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of the accountability practices of school psychologists.

150 practicing school psychologists (mean age 37.7 yrs) were surveyed to determine the reported current efforts of individual practitioners with regard to collecting accountability data (AD), uses that are made of the information, barriers to collecting AD, and relations between obtaining AD and various demographic variables. Results show that (1) 60% of the Ss were currently collecting AD; (2) enumerative, process, and outcome were the types usually collected; (3) approaches to collecting data were varied, but tabulation methods were the most common; and (4) approximately half of those collecting AD solicited it from administrators and teachers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identifying evidence-based interventions in school psychology: Building a bridge or jousting with windmills?

The outcomes of current efforts at identifying evidence-based interventions (EBIs) within school psychology remain uncertain. The political and professional contexts, diversity of settings in which school psychologists function, wide variety of intervention objectives, and multiple constituencies served by school psychologists present unique challenges to this endeavor. As the EBI process evolves, it is predicted that vigorous debate will continue over basic epistemological questions, methodological rigor, and professional use of EBI reviews. It is argued that such discussion is critical if the EBI project is to be relevant to both researchers and practitioners. Although a complex task, the effort to identify EBIs can facilitate a more data-based, problem-solving approach to school psychological services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managed Care: Implications for School Psychology. Comment.

Comments on the article by Sanchez and Turner (see record 2003-03405-005) examining the implications for practice and training in psychology in the era of managed care. The current author states that Sanchez and Turner should be commended. Their article amplifies and clarifies critical issues psychologists must consider while practicing within an era increasingly shaped by health insurance policies and practices. Nevertheless, the author feels that several intriguing facets of managed care were not highlighted. Discussion focuses on the impact that reimbursement and managed care is having on school (and clinical) psychologists. The author points out that it is unknown to what extent managed care may (and has) altered psychological services delivered by school psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' perceptions of school psychology: A comparison of regular and special education teacher ratings.

A total of 1533 regular education and special education teachers from eight school districts in four states rated their knowledge of and satisfaction with school psychological services. Perceived helpfulness of psychological services to teachers and children was also assessed. Finally, both groups rated their perceptions of school psychologists' roles versus school counselor roles. Regular education teachers, compared to special education teachers, reported less knowledge of school psychology, perceived school psychologists as less helpful to teachers, and reported lower satisfaction with school psychology services. These reports may have been influenced by the amount of contact each teacher had with school psychologists. Both teacher groups had a limited understanding of the broad roles and functions of school psychologists, and both groups viewed school counselors as delivering more services than school psychologists. Implications of these findings with regard to school psychology reform efforts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peripheral blood monocytes in psoriatic patients overproduce cytokines

This article reports findings from a national survey that questioned school social workers on school violence. The article focuses on personal reports of victimization, precautions taken to avoid victimization, training needs to deal with school violence, programs in schools, and social workers' involvement with violence intervention. Findings suggest that many respondents believe social skills programs are not as effective as ecological interventions. Findings also indicate that the majority of school social workers have received school violence prevention training. These skills could be used in a national effort to reduce school violence. The authors recommend specific strategies for increasing the school social workers' role in school-based violence prevention efforts.     

Strategy for selecting organization development interventions for schools.

Organization development (OD) is viewed increasingly as an appropriate function for school psychologists. OD interventions provide school psychologists with useful methods of influencing school climate and adaptability, regardless of whether the interventions are used in the context of a large-scale program or as limited, circumscribed OD efforts. Estimates of the frequency of OD in schools, however, remain low. We think that OD efforts in the schools will increase when school psychological practice incorporates the complete range of OD interventions. To this end, we present a four-step strategy for selecting among the broad range of OD interventions applicable in schools. In developing this strategy, we adapted existing classification schemes for OD interventions to serve as our selection criteria. The four steps in the selection strategy include consideration of (a) target group size and complexity, (b) breadth of organizational domains targeted for intervention, (c) depth of interventions, and (d) time requirements of interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology's role in statewide education reform: Kentucky as an example.

Education reform initiatives are being widely debated at national, state, and local levels. In response to both legislative initiatives and public opinion, our nation's schools are trying to change from old patterns of operation, which for many students have proven unsuccessful, to emerging paradigms that promote learning and human development in integrated school–community environments. Professionals concerned with the development of emerging educational paradigms are challenged to reconsider their roles in light of research findings and increased demands for accountability. In this article, new opportunities for psychologists to work with children and youth are highlighted. Particular focus is placed on psychologists engaged in education reform efforts in Kentucky, which passed sweeping statewide education reform legislation in 1990 (Kentucky Education Reform Act, 1990). Consideration is given to emerging models for psychological service delivery, and implications for psychologists trained in various specialities to contribute to national school reform efforts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward the teaching of chronic pain management in doctoral clinical psychology programs.

A questionnaire was sent to 114 graduate schools with doctoral programs in clinical psychology to gain some measure of the perceived need and importance of pain as an area of training for psychologists and to assess current educational efforts in this area. Of the 59 programs responding to the questionnaire, 13 offered a course in pain management and 46 did not offer such a course. Although 71% of all respondents agreed that a course devoted to the diagnosis of pain was needed in the curriculum, only 22% of all respondents offered such a course. Approximately three quarters of those schools without a pain course felt that material concerning pain management is not adequately covered in existing courses in the curriculum. Only 30% of all respondents agreed that pain is one of the most frequent complaints presented by patients to practicing psychologists. The implications of these findings for the place of professional psychology in the health care system are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

International School Psychology: Psychology's Worldwide Portal to Children and Youth.

International school psychology is discussed in reference to scholarly and professional development within psychology, the emergence of an international association of school psychology, its efforts to promote school psychology, prevailing characteristics of school psychologists, and additional efforts needed to further enhance its development. Nine issues that will help shape the future of international school psychology are also identified. The importance of psychology, including school psychology, in promoting children's needs and rights is underscored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Through a new lens: Contemporary psychological perspectives on school completion and dropping out of high school.

In 1996, the American Psychological Association (APA) recommended that the association work to "increase the participation of psychology and psychologists in assisting in national, state, and local efforts to prevent school drop-out" (APA, 1996). The purpose of this special issue is to describe the psychological scholarship that must underlie these efforts, as it has been reflected in the work of an Interdivisional Task Force on School Dropout Prevention. This article describes the complex understanding of high school completion that emerged from Task Force discussions, and the implications this has for efforts to prevent school dropout and promote school completion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Department of Defense Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project: Fellows' perspectives on didactic curriculum.

Involvement in the Department of Defense Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project (PDP) was a fascinating process for those psychologists immersed in the novel health science curriculum based in a traditional model of medical education. The PDP may be viewed as the compression of several years of medical school and residency training into a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship for practicing psychologists. In this article, 2 graduates describe the evolution of the PDP didactic curriculum, characterize the PDP paradigm, contrast it with a psychological model, provide comparisons with emerging civilian programs and the American Psychological Association's model curriculum, and highlight "lessons learned" during their 1st year in the PDP. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Assessment and programming for young children with low-incidence handicaps.

Reviews the book Assessment and Programming for Young Children With Low-Incidence Handicaps (1983) by C. R. Reynolds and J. H. Clark. The enrollment of children with low incidence handicaps in the public schools is a relatively new phenomenon; many practicing school psychologists completed their training when instruction in development, assessment, and programming for this population was not available. The challenge facing the editors is to introduce this relatively experienced audience to the critical concepts, theories, and practical applications unique to education for low incidence handicaps. The book consists of 10 selections adopted from papers presented at the Nebraska National Conference on Assessment and Programming for Infants, Preschool, and School Age Children with Low incidence Handicaps. It is a multidisciplinary effort, written for all professional educators; this review only considers its usefulness for the practicing school psychologist. Although it includes valuable insights into the evaluation of hearing impaired children, it is incomplete in its view of other resources for their assessment and educational programming. Also, the book is flawed with several distracting misprints, typos, omitted sentences, and missing references. The book lacks the precision and excellence necessary to serve as a sourcebook for low incidence handicaps; it may serve as a useful reference for school psychologists with specific interests in the handicapping conditions of physical and motor deficits or visual handicaps. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists in state mental hospitals: Problems and recommendations.

Psychology as a discipline has contributed significantly to the development of new treatment methods for severe behavior problems such as those found in the chronically mentally ill. Nevertheless, there are relatively few psychologists practicing in state mental hospitals, and it is difficult to attract and retain young qualified psychologists in these settings. The current article examines some of the more common problems that psychologists face in state facilities, with specific focus on organizational, physician-related, and staff-related issues. Recommendations are provided on ways to cope with problems in these three areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence on multicultural training in school psychology: Recommendations for future directions.

School psychology training programs are required to provide multicultural training to preservice school psychologists; however, trainers have had difficulty adequately including multicultural content into the curriculum. Thus, there is a gap between the requirements and the training that many school psychologists receive. Training programs have grappled with multicultural training because of difficulty identifying the structure and content of such training for school psychologists. To advance multicultural training in school psychology, guidance is needed regarding the content and structure necessary to adequately develop multicultural competence. Hence, the purpose of this article is to critically review the evidence on multicultural training in school psychology and provide a synthesis of the best evidence for preparing multiculturally competent school psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)