The design of an Internet-based system to maintain home monitoring adherence by lung transplant recipients.

Regimen adherence is a key factor in the success of home monitoring of lung transplant recipients. Patients generally adhere satisfactorily with home spirometry in the short-term, but adherence tends to decline over time. Telehealth and Internet technology provide new methods to address this issue. The unique contribution of the Adherence Enhancement Internet Program (AEIP) is the integration of multiple adherence enhancement strategies operating in a unified approach to the adherence problem, while meshing all user groups to facilitate interactions. This Internet-based program focused on promoting subject specific strategies was developed to maintain the initial high levels of adherence beyond the first year post transplant. The program provides more immediate subject feedback related to home monitoring data, reminders from the patient's health care providers, educational material, and guidance in dealing with subject specific barriers to maintaining adherence. It also simplifies communication between patients and health care providers, and supports providers in certain patient care tasks. A feasibility trial involving 12 lung transplant recipients demonstrated that subjects were able to use the AEIP with little training, found it acceptable, and were generally enthusiastic regarding it as a tool to maintain or enhance adherence.     

HIV/AIDS training and continuing education for psychologists.

The HIV infection and AIDS pandemic presents professional disciplines, including psychology, with unique challenges. The authors review the literature on education concerning HIV/AIDS in doctoral psychology programs, internships, and continuing education efforts in psychology and other disciplines. Recommendations are offered regarding the process and content of continuing education for psychologists regarding HIV and AIDS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

References on supervision in clinical and counseling psychology.

Complex issues are inherent in psychology training. This bibliography addresses diverse aspects of supervision in psychotherapy and more generally in professional psychology, especially during internship. English-language articles, books, and chapters are listed in 8 categories: books; administrative, ethical, and legal issues; evaluation; internship; professional standards and training; supervisee development, perspectives, and issues; supervisor issues and the supervisory relationship; and supervision approaches, issues, research, techniques, and theories. Citations from the counselor education, marital/familytherapy, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, school psychology, and social work literatures are also included. Most references are from the 1970s and 1980s; older citations are included to provide historical perspectives on supervision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disclosure of negative information in letters of recommendation: Writers' intentions and readers' experiences.

Do letters of recommendation contain accurate information about applicants for psychology internships? A 2-part national survey was conducted to investigate how writers of letters of recommendation for applicants for internships in psychology deal with negative characteristics of applicants when they are thought to exist. One hundred seventy-five psychologists who had recently written letters of recommendation generally claimed in their responses that they would disclose information about some negative characteristics. In contrast, a 2nd sample of 116 psychologists who had recently read letters of recommendation indicated in their responses that negative characteristics are infrequently described in letters of recommendation. Therefore, one cannot presume that letters fully disclose applicants' limitations and problems, and mechanisms to enhance disclosure are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rightsizing the workforce of psychologist in health care: Trends from licensing boards, training programs, and managed care.

The psychology workforce continues to expand despite changes within health care, such as managed care, that appear to reduce the demand for psychologists' services. Data from doctoral training and internship training are reviewed. Estimates of the psychology workforce are provided, including the authors' survey of psychology boards for 1995, which estimated there were 89,514 licensed psychologists in the United States. Growth in the field between 1988 and 1995 is estimated at 44%. Workforce estimates are applied to 3 HMO staffing models and population estimates, projecting a surplus of psychologists in many states. The authors provide suggestions for reducing the workforce, including improved monitoring of workforce size and reducing current training levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional Development: Training for Professionalism as a Foundation for Competent Practice in Psychology.

Professional development (PD) is a broad, albeit vaguely defined, construct that underlies psychologists' education and training and is intrinsic to professional functioning, or professionalism, throughout psychologists' careers. This article resulted from the deliberations of a working group at the November 2002 Competencies Conference: Future Directions in Education and Credentialing in Professional Psychology. The authors propose a definition of PD and consider professionalism to be its outcome. They then focus on 2 elements of professionalism--interpersonal functioning and thinking like a psychologist--and address related development and assessment implications for training and practice. Recommendations and implications for professional psychology organizations and for training and lifelong practices of psychologists emerged for further consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role diffusion in the supervisory relationship.

Discusses problems stemming from the supervisor's role and the power structure of the trainee–supervisor relationship when the trainees are clinical psychology graduate students. The tenets of systems theory, which present supervision as a dynamic process involving the triad of supervisor, therapist, and client, are reviewed. Ways in which supervisors are in dominant or deferent positions to their students are reviewed, parallels between the supervisory process and relationships between diagnosticians and patients, and therapists and clients, are explored. Mutuality in a mature supervisory relationship is also discussed. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client perceptions of the therapeutic relationship as a function of client and counselor age.

32 women pseudoclients from each of 2 age groups (25–35 and 60–70 yrs) met with a woman crisis counselor from 1 of the 2 age groups for a 50-min face-to-face interview. Results suggest that age of clients and counselors did not exert a significant influence on clients' perceptions of counselor facilitative skills (e.g., empathy, congruence, regard) or client satisfaction with the therapeutic interview. Age similarity between the client and counselor did not necessarily improve the working alliance. Clients of a specific age group view some counselors of a particular age as more facilitative and empathic than other counselors of that same age. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An experimental inquiry into transference roles and age.

In this psychotherapy analogue investigation, the effects of client age and therapist age on transference-like projections onto therapists were examined. Young (25–35) and older (60–70) pseudoclients compared paraprofessional therapists to significant figures in their own lives after a dyadic "helping" interview. The results provide empirical support for the phenomenon of reverse transference in therapy with older patients. Older clients were more inclined than young clients to view therapists, particularly younger therapists, as similar to their children. Young clients more willingly attributed parental qualities to older therapists. Both old and young clients may see therapists more as peers or friends than as family members. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Addressing professional competence problems in trainees: Some ethical considerations.

Psychologists working as graduate student educators and clinical supervisors often encounter trainees who manifest problems of professional competence. At times, faculty members and supervisors may experience role conflict, ambiguity, and anxiety about how to respond to trainee competence problems. Psychologists engaged in the education, training, and credentialing of trainees are ethically and professionally obligated to balance their developmental and gatekeeping roles with respect to trainees. A discussion of several systemic concerns related to psychology's approach to competence problems is presented along with 3 expert commentaries that further elucidate the core issues from the vantage point of education, training, and licensure. Several recommendations for enhancing cooperation and excellent practice among psychologists who train and credential are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)