Psychology doctoral training in work and health

Psychology as a profession has an opportunity and obligation to advocate for and develop healthy work environments. This will require the design and conduct of doctoral-level training in occupational health psychology. A model for training might well be based on the assumptions that there is a viable role for occupational health psychologists trained at the doctoral level for both academic and applied work settings, and that doctoral training would be based on the integration of health psychology and public health. Issues remaining to be addressed in the development of doctoral training programs include appropriate predoctoral training, academic standards, the interdisciplinary nature of faculties, and appropriate settings for training. Future directions in establishing doctoral training in occupational health psychology will best be taken in dialogue with several other professions and institutions that share a common interest in reducing leading work-related diseases and injuries and promoting public health in the workplace.     

Workplace diversity and public policy: challenges and opportunities for psychology

This article outlines both challenges and opportunities for psychology of issues related to diversity in education and work. For the purposes of this discussion, "diverse" populations include four groups currently marginalized and disadvantaged in the U.S. workplace: women, people of color, sexual minorities, and people with disabilities. An overview of employment participation patterns for these groups is presented, workplace barriers arising from marginalized status are highlighted, and the article concludes with a discussion of work-related legislative and public policy fronts that can be informed and influenced by the contributions of psychologists.     

A survey of referral problems in 59 Ohio school districts

Feedback for the school psychologist is vital to construct and maintain remedial or preventative programs in the public schools. This study was undertaken to see if referral data would be useful as a source of such information.

Referral forms were solicited from school psychologists in 59 Ohio school districts and an analysis was made of their contents. The data obtained indicates that referral information can be used to provide school psychologists clues pertaining to referral procedures and the types of children and problems referred.

Specifically, this study indicates a greater need in the area of communication among pupil personnel workers. Further, it indicates that the psychologist in the school deals largely with problems of an academic nature thus offering a direction for in-service programming. Finally, the data reveals an interesting trend in the area of mental health which could possibly be an area of fruitful research.     

Integrating consultation and program evaluation in school psychology

Consultation approaches to providing psychological services are widely used by school psychologists. Recently, the need for school psychologists to be proficient in educational program evaluation has been recognized. The present paper discusses how school psychologists can use their existing consultation skills as an approach to program evaluation. The integration of consultation skills with evaluation results in an approach to program evaluation that is particularly useful where program goals and objectives are broad and nonspecific (as in many educational innovations). Also, the consultation approach to evaluation is easier for school psychologists to blend with their other roles in schools than the assessment-oriented evaluator role of some evaluation models. The consultation approach to evaluation is illustrated using a federally sponsored training program for school teachers and administrators.     

Gender Differences in Job Site Perceptions

Perceptions of work site characteristics have been described in school pscyhology literature. The current investigation focused on perceptions of Job Satisfaction, Job Stability, and Quality of Professional Life among male and female school psychologists. Analyses of responses from 209 professionals indicate positive perceptions of school psychological roles and functions across subjects, and specifically for female school psychologists. Of the three areas examined, the greatest differences between male and female school psychologists were found in the Quality of Professional Life category.     

Preparation of school psychologists for school-based consultation: A training activity and a service to community schools

Presents a set of training experiences to develop school-based consultation skills in preservice school psychologists and discusses problems in implementing this model of service. Based on their experience in training school psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley, the authors report on preparing students to deal with teacher and principal expectations. Also discussed are methods for mobilizing teachers to plan more precisely to meet the needs of individual pupils in the classroom. A distinction is made in the paper between school-based and community-based mental health consultation.     

Can holding a stick improve listening at work? The effect of Listening Circles on employees’ emotions and cognitions

The Listening Circle is a method for improving listening in organizations. It involves people sitting in a circle where only one talks at a time. Talking turns are signalled by a talking object. Although there are several reports regarding the effectiveness of the Listening Circle, most are based on case studies, or confounded with another intervention, and do not use theory to predict the listening-induced outcomes. We predicted that perceiving good listening decreases employees’ social anxiety, which allows them to engage in deeper introspection, as reflected by increased self-awareness. This increased self-awareness enables an acknowledgement of the pros and cons of various work-related attitudes and can lead to attitudes that are objectively more ambivalent and less extreme. Further, we hypothesized that experiencing good listening will enable speakers to accept their contradictions without the evaluative conflict usually associated with it (subjective-attitude ambivalence). In three quasi-experiments (Ns = 31, 66 and 83), we compared the effects of a Listening Circle workshop to a self-enhancement workshop (Studies 1 and 2), to a conflict management workshop (Study 2) and to employees who did not receive any training (Study 3), and found consistent support for the hypotheses. Our results suggest that the Listening Circle is an effective intervention that can benefit organizations.     

Prescribing Psychologists in Integrated Primary Care: Introduction to the Special Section

The authority to prescribe could differentiate psychologists from other non-physicians in primary care, achieving a significant step for the growth of our profession. Psychologists are currently prescribing in primary care settings in a number of public service venues, as well as medical school training facilities. In this Special Section of the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, results of a survey of physicians working with a prescribing psychologist indicate that the psychologist is highly valued and seen as a competent prescriber. A series of papers providing case examples demonstrate how psychologists are evolving in these new clinical roles, as well as participating in behavioral and psychopharmacology training of primary care physicians.     

School psychologists' services in special education programs

Reviews school psychologists' services in special education programs. Fifty-eight credentialed school psychologists in 10 school districts were interviewed individually about background and training, professional duties, favored clinical techniques, and opinions and recommendations for improved services. According to self-reports, the bulk of time was devoted to activities directly related to assessment of pupils with little involvement in research, in-service training, or other clinical activities. Professional association memberships were primarily local. Assessment techniques tended to be limited to a few standardized tests. Overall findings support sample psychologists' expressed concerns as to need for changes in preservice and in-service training.     

Administrator Perceptions of Actual and Desired Time Spent by School Psychologists in Different Roles and Satisfaction with School Psychologists

Abstract

A total of 512 elementary and secondary administrators in Ohio were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the time spent by school psychologists in 15 role functions, the percentage of time they desired school psychologists to spend in these 15 roles, and their satisfaction with their school psychologist. Results indicated that administrators desired school psychologists to spend less time in assessment and administrative activities than they were perceived to be spending in these areas, and desired school psychologists to spend more time than they were perceived to be spending in all other roles surveyed. Six variables were found to be significant predictors of administrator satisfaction: discrepancy between actual and desired time spent administering and interpreting psychoeducational tests (negatively related), discrepancy between actual and desired time spent providing services to prevent student problems (negatively related), percentage of time spent working with parents and families (positively related), discrepancy between actual and desired time spent performing administrative duties (negatively related), discrepancy between actual and desired time spent conducting inservice activities (positively related), and discrepancy between actual and desired time spent counseling for career/vocational issues (negatively related). Results are discussed in terms of their implication for role expansion in school psychology.     

Consultative services in the schools: A model

A model Child Evaluation Center was established in a regular public school to demonstrate alternative methods for providing psychoeducational services. In addition to its service/demonstration function, the center functioned as a psychoeducational field training clinic for the training of school psychologists. The center was successful in encouraging teachers to utilize consultative services, and, in the process, reducing the number of referrals for formal psychological evaluation.     

A workshop model for training the school psychologist in drug education and intervention techniques

Proposed to: (1) design a model drug training program specifically for graduate student school psychologists, (2) implement the program on a pilot basis, and (3) demonstrate an approach to evaluate the program's effectiveness. A 26-hour drug education workshop was presented to 12 graduate student school psychologists as a model training program including a variety of teaching procedures and extensive evaluation. On prepost questionnaires, improved scores reflected increased understanding of drug-related laws and terminology. While participant's ratings of their knowledge about drugs did not increase, they did rate themselves as more competent regarding drug problems. The workshop's affective climate and many of the teaching techniques were rated positively. The contributions of this workshop were its focus on training techniques and the development of one approach for evaluating training projects for school psychologists.     

Perceptions of school psychology services from a staff perspective

This investigation examined how staff in an elementary school district perceived their school psychologists and how these perceptions differed across components of service and staff groups. We developed a School Psychological Service Questionnaire and then analyzed responses from regular education teachers, special education teachers, principals, and school psychologists in an urban school district. Although the findings are numerous, most noteworthy are, first, that consumer groups in the district had different perceptions than school psychologists about how school psychologists allocate their time and how this time should be allocated in the future. Second, consumer perceptions of school psychologists' knowledge generally were favorable. Third, in terms of domains appropriate for involvement by school psychologists, a factor analysis of consumer ratings revealed three relatively clear dimensions of recommended service provision — special education activities, interpersonal or school-climate activities, and administrative responsibilities. Fourth, the helpfulness of school psychologists, as perceived by consumers, related positively to frequency of contact. Fifth, differences in perception of school psychological services were evident across staff groups. Finally, comparisons between master's level and doctoral level school psychologists suggested numerous differences in how the staff perceived these service providers.     

Stress-management training: Evaluation of effects on school psychological services

School psychologists participated in a cognitive-behavioral stress-management training program. The data showed decreases in self-reported anxiety and increases in job satisfaction of school psychologists as a result of the training. In addition, teacher satisfaction with school psychological services increased after participation in teacher inservice workshops generated as a result of training the school psychologists.     

National Study of School Psychologists’ Use of Evidence-Based Assessment in Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study aimed to better understand predictors of evidence-based assessment practices for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Nationwide, 402 school psychologists were surveyed for their knowledge of and training and experience with ASD on assessment practices, including reported areas of training needs. The majority of school psychologists reported that they did not engage in comprehensive assessment of ASD, which was defined as assessments that consider all areas of development in addition to the use of ASD-specific instruments. Results from logistic regression revealed that experience and training, working with young children with ASD, and geographic location predicted use of evidence-based assessment practices. Experience and training with ASD was the strongest predictor of evidence-based assessment. No differences in training needs were indicated by school psychologists whose practices were consistent with evidence-based assessment and those whose practices were not. Overall, the results identified gaps between best and current practices by school psychologists and highlight areas of need for additional training and professional development.     

Barriers to evidence-based treatment: developmental psychopathology and the interdisciplinary disconnect in school mental health practice

Reframing the role of school psychologists and related school professionals in a public health and primary prevention model represents a proactive antidote to their more traditional reactive stance to mental health problems. Two additional concepts, developmental psychopathology and complex comorbidity, are suggested as critical to complete this transition, and illustrations of these concepts for more effective school mental health services are provided.     

Training needs of prospective school psychologists: The practitioners' viewpoint

Based on a national sample (N = 516) of practicing school psychologists who are members of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), present and future training needs for prospective school psychologists are addressed. Data from five research questions dealing with preferred course work, current course trends, rankings of categories of courses, practica, and internship are analyzed. The results indicate that, although assessment remains the dominant training need, roles for school psychologists have greatly expanded. The discussion is centered around roles expansion and how the profession may want to address the question of securing training, certification, and accreditation both now and in the future.     

Survey of School Psychologists' Attitudes,Feelings, and Exposure to Gay and Lesbian Parents and Their Children

Abstract

School psychologists' attitudes and feelings toward gay and lesbian parents were surveyed in relation to their training and exposure, and professional services offered to gay and lesbian parents and their children. The relationship between attitudes, feelings, training, exposure, and demographic characteristics was explored as well. A stratified random sample of 500 school psychologists who were members of NASP was surveyed using a 30-item questionnaire. Out of the 500 surveys sent, 267 school psychologists (53.4%) returned them. Overall, school psychologists have positive attitudes and feelings toward gay and/or lesbian parents. More specifically, school psychologists who were female, homosexual/bisexual, or living in the Western region of the United States had significantly more positive attitudes and feelings toward gay and/or lesbian parents. Although few school psychologists (30%) received any formalized training, those who had some training indicated more positive attitudes. The majority of school psychologists (89.4%) reported having personal associations with homosexual individuals. More exposure to homosexual individuals by a school psychologist indicated more positive attitudes as well as feelings. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.     

Is the Role of the School Psychologist in Early Childhood Truly Expanding? A National Survey Examining School Psychologists' Practices and Training Experiences

Historically, the role of school psychologists in early childhood settings has been limited to the identification and evaluation of children who may be in need of special education services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It has been suggested that the role should reflect a more proactive model; specifically, it should continue to expand to include involvement in school readiness and early intervention for all students. The purpose of this study was to examine the present role of school psychologists in early childhood settings and investigate the graduate-level training provided to school psychology graduate students. Results of the survey found that a significant percentage of school psychologist practitioners continue to spend a substantial portion of their professional time completing special education evaluations. Furthermore, respondents reported minimal to moderate graduate training in the area of early childhood populations. Implications for school psychology practitioners and school psychology graduate training programs are discussed.