Gerald Caplan (1917–2008).

Presents an obituary for Gerald Caplan who was a world leader in the areas of preventive psychiatry; adult, child, and family psychiatry; and community mental health. His contributions to prevention, crisis intervention, mental health consultation, and social support are monumental and unprecedented. Briefly described is Caplan's life history, educational background, and scholarly accomplishments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A relational communication analysis of control in school consultation.

Examined the role of interpersonal power (defined as control) in behavioral consultation, using a modified version of the relational communication coding system by L. E. Rogers and R. V. Farace (1975). Five female and 3 male doctoral-level psychology students served as consultants to 1 female consultee each across 3 interviews. Scores for consultants and consultees on 2 measures of relational control, domineeringness and dominance, were calculated and participants' perceptions were obtained. Results indicate that consultants controlled the dyadic relationship across all stages of consultation, a finding that conflicts with generally accepted principles of school consultation. Consultants having high dominance scores tended to be judged as more effective by consultees, and consultees with high domineeringness scores were judged by consultants as less likely to collect baseline data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics and perceptions of beginning doctoral students in school psychology.

A national sample of 251 1st- and 2nd-yr doctoral students in school psychology responded to a questionnaire measuring demographic characteristics, preferences among applied specialties in professional psychology, graduate program applications, anticipated internship setting, preferred client population, personal interests, professional goals, and satisfaction with current training. Survey responses showed a clear preference for working directly with children and adolescents following graduation, a high degree of correspondence between training program emphases and student interests and goals, and a moderate degree of student satisfaction with training experiences. Results are interpreted with respect to training trends and standards in school psychology, the relationship between school and clinical psychology, satisfaction of students in clinical and counseling psychology programs, and methodology limitations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics of foveating and defoveating fast phases in latent nystagmus

PURPOSE: Under certain conditions, the fast phases of latent/manifest latent nystagmus (LMLN) can defoveate the target of interest instead of foveating it, as was thought to be their only function. LMLN fast phases in the waveforms from four subjects were studied with the goals of better understanding their characteristics and determining what triggers both foveating and defoveating fast phases. METHODS: Eye movement records were made using both the scleral search coil and infrared methods. Relationships of fast-phase sizes with slow-phase positions and velocities before and after fast phases were analyzed, as were relationships of saccade size with peak velocity and duration. RESULTS. The data showed that LMLN with defoveating fast phases occurred in the presence of higher slow-phase velocities. Also, larger saccade sizes corresponded to larger presaccadic and postsaccadic slow-phase velocities. The peak velocities and durations of LMLN fast phases were in the same ranges as normal saccades. CONCLUSIONS: Defoveating fast phases with decreasing-velocity slow phases may be the result of the addition of saccadic pulses to linear slow phases. Mechanisms are suggested to explain the switch from foveating to defoveating fast phases in LMLN.     

Caplanian mental health consultaiton: Historical background and current status.

Traces the historical roots of Caplanian mental health consultation and lists 9 aspects of the model that have proven valuable over time. A relatively new development, mental health collaboration, is discussed with reference to the internal consultant. The role of mental health consultation in primary prevention is briefly reviewed, and it is argued that consulting psychologists who conduct organization development would do well to consider explicitly the preventive aspects of their work. The paper concludes with some thoughts regarding potential problems of working through intermediary caregivers to achieve the goals of primary prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linking assessment to intervention in the 21st century.

Reviews the book, Building positive behavior support systems in schools: Functional behavioral assessment by D.A. Crone and R.H. Horner (see record 2003-02190-000). Children with behavioral disorders present to school psychologists and educators some of the greatest challenges in terms of assuring education in the least restrictive environment while preserving these children's basic rights. To address the outcomes successfully within the book's three sections and eight chapters, the authors employ several conventions, such as recurring case examples; sample completed forms, protocols, and blank drafts of these forms; and supplementary sections of additional readings and resources at the end of chapters. The authors note both the effectiveness and rewards of collecting data for evaluation purposes in this section but fail to recognize some of the barriers to data collection and to provide strategies to overcome them. The authors conclude the book by discussing the process of building a behavior support team within an individual school. Overall, the book is a valuable resource for use in creating behavior support teams in schools by practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selected interpersonal perspectives in consultation research.

Describes several established viewpoints regarding the study of interpersonal communication and points out their place in the school-based consultation research literature. The 3 major perspectives presented are control, coordination, and contextualized interaction. Each perspective is shown to constitute a tool for understanding the process of consultation and is discussed in relation to recent and future research on the process of school-based consultation. Within the control perspective, the prediction and control of the other's responses and the outcome of the situation are seen as paramount. Within the coordination perspective, self and other work together to accomplish their personal and joint goals. Contextualized interaction considers the potential impact of people who are not the primary interactants and therefore moves beyond the emphases of the other 2 perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The congenital and see-saw nystagmus in the prototypical achiasma of canines: comparison to the human achiasmatic prototype

We applied new methods for canine eye-movement recording to the study of achiasmatic mutant Belgian Sheepdogs, documenting their nystagmus waveforms and comparing them to humans with either congenital nystagmus (CN) alone or in conjunction with achiasma. A sling apparatus with head restraints and infrared reflection with either earth- or head-mounted sensors were used. Data were digitized for later evaluation. The horizontal nystagmus (1-6 Hz) was similar to that of human CN. Uniocular and disconjugate nystagmus and saccades were recorded. See-saw nystagmus (SSN), not normally seen with human CN, was present in all mutants (0.5-6 Hz) and in the one human achiasmat studied thus far. This pedigree is an animal model of CN and the SSN caused by achiasma or uniocular decussation. Given the finding of SSN in all mutant dogs and in a human, achiasma may be sufficient for the development of congenital SSN and, in human infants, SSN should alert the clinician to the possibility of either achiasma or uniocular decussation. Finally, the interplay of conjugacy and disconjugacy suggests independent ocular motor control of each eye with variable yoking in the dog.     

Behavioral consultation from a request-centered relational communication perspective.

Used J. Folger and S. Puck's (1976 [unpublished paper]) relational communication coding system to examine relationship definition aspects of behavioral consultation. It was predicted that (1) consultees would be characterized as passive, accepting, and cooperative within the relationship and (2) consultants would be shown to control the relationship through their frequent initiation of requests. 10 doctoral-level psychology students served as consultants to 1 female consultee each across 3 interviews. 7,493 total messages were coded. Results support the 2 predictions and also reveal negative correlations between consultee initiation of requests during the initial interview and consultation outcome measures. Findings are discussed in relation to social exchange theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)