Attitude, knowledge, and skill competencies for practice in professional geropsychology: Implications for training and building a geropsychology workforce.

Professional geropsychology is a growing area of practice and training. To meet the mental health needs of an aging population, increasing numbers of psychologists need to develop competence to work with older adults, their families, and related care systems. The Pikes Peak model for geropsychology training (Knight, Karel, Hinrichsen, Qualls, & Duffy, 2009) delineates attitude, knowledge, and skill competencies for professional geropsychology practice and makes recommendations for training. In this paper, we define and illustrate the Pikes Peak geropsychology practice competencies through a case example. In the case, an older man with complex needs seeks care through a generalist psychologist in an outpatient setting. The attitudes, knowledge, and skills that the psychologist needs to consider, and implications for training, are reviewed. Training recommendations and resources are provided, with a focus on the training needs of psychologists who wish to expand their practices to include older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clients' sexually inappropriate behaviors directed toward clinicians: Conceptualization and management.

Sexually inappropriate behaviors in clinical settings are relatively common occurrences that may negatively affect the therapeutic process. For example, more than half of female psychologists have reported at least 1 incident in which a client responded in a sexually inappropriate manner. Thus, it is important for clinicians to understand inappropriate behaviors and respond in a manner that is both personally satisfying and helpful to the client. A framework for conceptualizing these behaviors is proposed, as well as components for, and examples of, therapeutic responses. Recommendations are provided for preventive measures to decrease the likelihood of inappropriate behaviors and for systemic approaches to benefit professional training in regards to these issues. Our aim is to stimulate further discussion of sexually inappropriate behaviors specifically by facilitating psychotherapists' ability to address clients' within-session sexual behavior, facilitating speculation of the antecedents of and motivations behind such behaviors, and facilitating discussion of such behaviors within supervision and, more broadly, within training programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Endogenous depression in the elderly: Prevalence and agreement among measures.

Describes agreement among diagnoses made according to 5 definitions of endogenous depression in a sample of 99 depressed elders and discusses the relationship among these systems and selected demographic and clinical characteristics. Poor to fair agreement was generally demonstrated, except for Research Diagnostic Criteria (R. Spitzer et al, 1978) and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III—Revised (DSM-III—R), which demonstrated excellent agreement. Mostly, demographic and clinical variables (e.g., severity of depression) were unrelated to endogeneity diagnoses. The conclusion was reached that these criteria are not all measuring the same construct in older adults and that the relationship between depression severity and endogeneity should be discussed in terms of specific definitions rather than in general terms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Solicitation of elderly depressives for treatment outcome research: A comparison of referral sources.

Investigated differences among 725 elderly Ss (aged 60–80 yrs) solicited by traditional, semitraditional, or nontraditional methods for a clinical trial of psychotherapy for unipolar depression. 307 Ss from the initial sample completed the Beck Depression Inventory and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and were interviewed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia; of these, 112 Ss were invited to participate, 67 of whom completed 16 wks of psychological assessment. Traditional referrals were defined as those coming from typical channels used by agencies and therapists, with no direct appeal to clients; semitraditional referrals included those coming from channels used to inform community members of available mental health services; and nontraditional referrals included direct media-related appeals aimed at potential clients. Demographics, treatment history, pretreatment status, treatment completion, and outcome were examined across referral source categories. Among the 112 Ss meeting inclusion criteria and the 67 Ss completing treatment, no significant differences were observed across referral source. It is suggested that the use of the media for recruitment may be beneficial in providing educational information to elderly individuals who are often reluctant to seek psychological services. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pilot-Scale Evaluation of Ozone vs. Peroxone for Trihalomethane Formation

Both the direct ozone reaction and the indirect hydroxyl radical reaction are important in the ozonation of drinking water. This paper investigates the effectiveness of ozone versus ozone coupled with hydrogen peroxide (peroxone) with respect to trihalomethanes formation. The investigation was conducted on a pilot-scale at various H₂O₂:O₃ dose ratios of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.35 and change in peroxide addition point (pre- and post-ozonation). It was observed that the addition of peroxide, either before or after ozonation, increased trihalomethane concentrations and that increasing H₂O₂:O₃ increased trihalomethane concentrations. In comparing the addition point of peroxide, addition prior to ozonation better controlled trihalomethane formation than after ozonation.     

Induction of depressed mood: A test of opponent-process theory.

To test whether R. L. Solomon's (see record 1980-26727-001) opponent-process theory of acquired motivation can be applied to the induction of depressed mood, 100 female undergraduates completed the Depression Adjective Check Lists before, during, and after a depression-induction procedure or 1 of 2 control conditions. Results are not totally consistent with the opponent-process interpretation, suggesting that this model may not be applicable to depressed mood. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical implications of "subthreshold" depressive symptoms.

There is active debate regarding whether diagnosable depression exists on a continuum with subthreshold depressive symptoms or represents a categorically distinct phenomenon. To address this question, multiple indexes of dysfunction (psychosocial difficulties, mental health treatment history, and future incidence of major depression and substance abuse/dependence) were examined as a function of the extent of depressive symptoms in 3 large community samples (adolescent, adult, and older adult; N?=?3,003). Increasing levels of depressive symptoms were associated with increasing levels of psychosocial dysfunction and incidence of major depression and substance use disorders. These findings suggest that (a) the clinical significance of depressive symptoms does not depend on crossing the major depressive diagnostic threshold and (b) depression may best be conceptualized as a continuum. Limitations of the present study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonspecific improvement effects in depression using interpersonal skills training, pleasant activity schedules, or cognitive training.

Gave 66 depressed outpatients treatment focusing on either interpersonal skills, cognitions, or pleasant events. In each treatment modality, approximately half of the patients received immediate treatment and half received delayed treatment. Patients were assessed at 4 intervals to determine response to treatment and follow-up status. Results indicate that all treatment modalities significantly alleviated depression. However, no treatment modality had specific impact on the variables most relevant to its treatment format. Instead, all patients improved on most dependent variables, regardless of whether the variables were directly addressed in treatment. Results are discussed in terms of A. Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy model. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recommendations about the knowledge and skills required of psychologists working with older adults.

This article is an initial attempt to furnish recommendations for the skills and knowledge psychologists need to work competently with older adults. We use two levels of competence across seven broad areas that are most relevant for professional practice. The fast competence level is that required of general psychologists who provide some professional services to older adults; the second level is that needed by more specialized experts in the field for practice and training. This article is not fashioned as a "how to" document and is not intended to disenfranchise anyone. Recommendations are proposed that delineate the types of competence needed for specific geropsychology activities that are relevant to a variety of settings providing mental health services to older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Competency-based geropsychology training in doctoral internships and postdoctoral fellowships.

Opportunities for geropsychology training in doctoral internships and postdoctoral fellowships have slowly grown over the years. There will be a need for more geropsychology training programs as the U.S. population ages concurrent with increased demand for mental health services from older adults. This article provides recommendations for competency-based geropsychology training that derive from the Pikes Peak Model for Training in Professional Geropsychology. We believe the recommendations provide useful guidance to existing internships and postdoctoral fellowships that offer geropsychology training, as well as to those who would like to establish programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)