Special Aspects of Countertransference in Analytic Group Psychotherapy

The structure of health care delivery is in a period of rapid change. An understanding of psychotherapy service use patterns indicates the importance of time categories as well as the relevance of group techniques. Traditional interpersonal and psychodynamic group techniques may be modified for time-limited use without sacrificing basic values and with demonstrated effectiveness. Adapting to a more fiscally stringent practice environment requires the clinician to undertake a difficult process of transition. As professionals our task is to prepare ourselves for this challenge and to let the health care system know that proper practice guidelines are necessary to achieve effective treatment for our patients.     

Prisoners on the Fireline: The Application of Ethical Principles and Guidelines to Prison Fire Camps

Our society gives certain rights and protections to those who are punished and incarcerated, deeming them a vulnerable group in need of additional protections because they are under state control. Despite these protections, prisoners are still susceptible to mistreatment and abuse. This paper delves into one area in which prisoners are particularly vulnerable—the use of prison labor to fight wildfires in the western United States. In this paper, I first broadly discuss prison labor, before going into the current ethical principles and guidelines in the field of corrections that address the treatment of prisoners and prison labor. I argue that these principles and guidelines should be augmented to help those in corrections to make decisions about what is ethical; suggesting that how researchers evaluate proposed research projects could serve as a model for decision-making. I then introduce prison fire camps, considering whether they are ethical by research ethics principles, and suggesting how they can be changed to better reflect the values professed by our society.     

Combined individual and group psychotherapy: guidelines at the interface

The development of combined individual and group psychotherapy is split between the "separationists" and the "integrationists" with regard to therapists' handling of the interface between the individual and group sessions. To bridge the impasse, a high-benefit--low-risk series of guidelines is offered for therapists that includes techniques for analyzing patients' "cross-references" to the other component modality. The four guidelines provide for a harmonious balance that preserves the confidentiality of the individual sessions vis-à-vis the group, while enhancing the group interaction rather than draining it. The therapist guidelines maximize patient initiative in integrating parts of the self expressed in the individual and group sessions, while employing the least intrusive methods necessary to best integrate the processes into a unified combined modality.     

The Nature of Sociodynamics and Psychodynamics in a Therapy Group of Adolescents

The development of combined individual and group psychotherapy is split between the “separationists” and the “integrationists” with regard to therapists' handling of the interface between the individual and group sessions. To bridge the impasse, a high-benefit–low-risk series of guidelines is offered for therapists that includes techniques for analyzing patients' “cross-references” to the other component modality. The four guidelines provide for a harmonious balance that preserves the confidentiality of the individual sessions vis-à-vis the group, while enhancing the group interaction rather than draining it. The therapist guidelines maximize patient initiative in integrating parts of the self expressed in the individual and group sessions, while employing the least intrusive methods necessary to best integrate the processes into a unified combined modality.     

The role of professional societies: Codes of conduct and their enforcement

In discussions of professional standards and ethical values it is reasonable to consider who will develop the codes of conduct and guidelines for behavior that will reflect the standards and values of the community. Also worthy of consideration is whether the standards or guidelines are enforceable, and how and to what extent they will be enforced. The development of guidelines or professional codes of conduct is a responsibility that has been adopted by many professional societies. Useful to this discussion is an examination of the rationale behind the development of ethical codes by professional societies. The Ethics in Science Committee of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) has examined the codes of some of its member societies and some observations regarding them are pertinent. The nature and uses of ethical statements, codes and guidelines developed by professional societies are multiple and diverse. Their enforcement raises both practical and ethical concerns. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Engineering Foundation Conference on “Ethics for Science and Engineering Based International Industries”, Durham, NC, USA, 14–17 September 1997.     

The American psychological Association's practice guidelines for men and boys: Are they hurting rather than helping male mental wellness?

Introduced in 2018, the American Psychological Association's (APA) Practice Guidelines for Men and Boys was intended to provide helpful direction for practitioners when seeing male patients. This followed in the tradition of other practice and clinical guidelines for clinical work with specific identity populations. However, the practice guidelines for men and boys quickly became controversial given concerns that the guidelines were disparaging of men and boys, particularly those with traditional values and sought to impose progressive or feminist gender norms and ideologies rather than remaining focused on clinical wellness and empathy. This review finds that, though the guidelines were offered in good faith, many of the critiques are likely valid. Specifically, the guidelines failed to acknowledge significant evidence for biological influences on gender (e.g., hormonal, and hypothalamic influences on gender identity and gendered behavior), were unintentionally disparaging of traditional men and families, and were too closely wedded to specific sociocultural narratives and incurious of data not supporting those narratives. It is concluded that there are reasonable concerns that the current guidelines may do more harm than good by dissuading traditional men and families from seeking counseling.     

Supervision for Counselors Working With Eating Disorders Groups: Countertransference Issues Related to Body Image,Food, and Weight

Because of similarities in age, education, and background, group counselors and members of eating disorders groups may easily identify and connect with each other. Although it can be positive, such overidentification may also create countertransference issues and demand attention in supervision. A model of supervision based on parallel process is presented to address these issues. The article describes (a) societal values related to eating disorders and countertransference; (b) specific themes in eating disorder groups and their impact on group process; (c) examples of countertransference related to body image, food, and weight; and (d) guidelines for supervision of female counselors working with eating disorders groups.     

Nonrelativist ethical standards for goal setting in psychotherapy

In this article, I discuss two principles that can be viewed as universally applicable in psychotherapy and counseling: respect for clients' welfare and respect for their self-determination. Consideration of the practical application of these principles leads to the formulation of a set of guidelines to aid therapists and counselors in making choices about instrumental and end goals. These guidelines are intended to be applicable regardless of the particular personal and cultural values of the therapist and client.     

TOWARD BETTER META‐ANALYTIC MATRICES: HOW INPUT VALUES CAN AFFECT RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SIMULATIONS

Simulations and analyses based on meta‐analytic matrices are fairly common in human resource management and organizational behavior research, particularly in staffing research. Unfortunately, the meta‐analytic values estimates for validity and group differences (i.e., ρ and δ, respectively) used in such matrices often vary in the extent to which they are affected by artifacts and how accurately the values capture the underlying constructs and the appropriate population. We investigate how such concerns might influence conclusions concerning key issues such as prediction of job performance and adverse impact of selection procedures, as well as noting wider applications of these issues. We also start the process of building a better matrix upon which to base many such simulations and analyses in staffing research. Finally, we offer guidelines to help researchers/practitioners better model human resources processes, and we suggest ways that researchers in a variety of areas can better assemble meta‐analytic matrices.     

Improving Communication of Uncertainty in the Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

ABSTRACT— The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assesses information relevant to the understanding of climate change and explores options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC reports communicate uncertainty by using a set of probability terms accompanied by global interpretational guidelines. The judgment literature indicates that there are large differences in the way people understand such phrases, and that their use may lead to confusion and errors in communication. We conducted an experiment in which subjects read sentences from the 2007 IPCC report and assigned numerical values to the probability terms. The respondents' judgments deviated significantly from the IPCC guidelines, even when the respondents had access to these guidelines. These results suggest that the method used by the IPCC is likely to convey levels of imprecision that are too high. We propose an alternative form of communicating uncertainty, illustrate its effectiveness, and suggest several additional ways to improve the communication of uncertainty.     

Research ethics committees: a regional approach

Guidelines for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) or research ethics committees exist at national and international levels. These guidelines are based on ethical principles and establish an internationally acceptable standard for the review and conduct of medical research. Having attained a multinational consensus about what these fundamental guidelines should be, IRBs are left to interpret the guidelines and devise their own means of implementing them. Individual and community values bear on the interpretation of the guidelines so different IRBs attain different levels of effectiveness. In the Caribbean and Pan American regions there are few IRBs. Obstacles to the establishment and function of IRBs are exacerbated in developing regions like these by differences in language, literacy, and local value systems; education, administrative expertise, facilities, and access to information are also limited. A regional IRB network might facilitate more uniform ethical review in developing countries, and simplify IRB procedures. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cultural Chameleons: Biculturals,Conformity Motives,and Decision Making

Prior research suggests that bicultural individuals (i.e., individuals with 2 distinct sets of cultural values) shift the values they espouse depending on cues such as language. The authors examined whether the effects of language extend to a potentially less malleable domain, behavioral decisions, exploring the extent to which bilingual individuals shift the underlying strategies used to resolve choice problems. Although past research has explained language‐induced shifts in terms of knowledge accessibility principles, the motivation to conform to observers’ norms can also drive these shifts. This article focuses on shifts in the general strategy of avoiding losses rather than pursuing gains, which is more often exhibited by Chinese than by Westerners. Five studies of Hong Kong bicultural individuals found that language manipulation (Cantonese vs. English) increases tendencies to choose compromise options in a product decision task, endorse associated decision guidelines that advocate moderation as opposed to extreme paths, defer decision making in problems where it can be postponed, and endorse decision guidelines that advocate caution rather than decisive action. A motivational explanation of these effects was confirmed.     

Counseling the Hispanic Client: Cuban Americans,Mexican Americans,and Puerto Ricans

This article describes a general framework that may be used when counseling Cuban American, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican clients. The psychological and sociocultural characteristics of these populations are described. Both differences and similarities among the 3 groups are reviewed. The identification of the client's worldview, cultural values, and family values provides a specific framework for counseling these clients. Specific and general guidelines are provided for the psychological assessment of Cuban American, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican clients.     

From the lab to the police station. A successful application of eyewitness research

The U.S. Department of Justice released the first national guide for collecting and preserving eyewitness evidence in October 1999. Scientific psychology played a large role in making a case for these procedural guidelines as well as in setting a scientific foundation for the guidelines, and eyewitness researchers directly participated in writing them. The authors describe how eyewitness researchers shaped understanding of eyewitness evidence issues over a long period of time through research and theory on system variables. Additional pressure for guidelines was applied by psychologists through expert testimony that focused on deficiencies in the procedures used to collect the eyewitness evidence. DNA exoneration cases were particularly important in leading U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to notice the eyewitness literature in psychology and to order the National Institute of Justice to coordinate the development of national guidelines. The authors describe their experience as members of the working group, which included prosecutors, defense lawyers, and law enforcement officers from across the country.     

Psychological Aspects of Aging Edited by John E. Anderson

Supervision and training groups have advantages over dyadic supervision and training that include factors to promote group learning and interaction within a sociocultural context. This article focuses on the gender aspects of group supervision and training. It provides a review of feminist theoretical developments and presents their application to group supervision and training in the form of eight guidelines that are illustrated by clinical examples.     

DNA-sequence patenting: National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) position paper

In November 2000, the Genetic Services Committee of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) convened a working group to draft a position paper on patenting of DNA-sequences. The mandate of the group was to produce general position statements that support the perspective and needs of consumers of DNA-based genetic tests and therapies (our patients and their families) and participants in DNA-based genetic research. After review and discussion of the literature on DNA-sequence patenting issues, the working group drafted position statement points that support current United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) guidelines; broad licensing of DNA-sequence patents; nonenforcement of DNA-sequence patents in noncommercial research; reasonable royalty rates; an informed consent process for research participants that discloses whether they can share in any financial rewards relating to the project; the development of guidelines for licensing of DNA-sequence patents; and the establishment of oversight organizations to monitor licensing of DNA-sequence patents. These position statements were approved by the NSGC Board of Directors in the fall of 2001.     

Guidelines for flash card instruction

Flash card drills provide students with a means to memorize information such as sight words, math facts, state capitols, foreign language vocabulary, and equations. Because of the utility of flash cards in educational practice, information on behavioral strategies to increase the effectiveness of their use may be especially valuable to teachers. This article provides guidelines for flash card instruction based on current research. These guidelines are to: a) intersperse known items, b) minimize errors, c) use feedback for correct and error responses, and d) select an instructional arrangement (e.g., group format) that will enhance responding. Future research may refine these guidelines to improve teaching effectiveness.     

Resistance in long-term cancer support groups

This article describes the common resistance patterns that occur in ongoing cancer support groups. These resistances, which can often go unrecognized, are a normal part of group development and group life in such groups, rather than the result of a few "problem" group members. The thesis of this article posits that the identification and working through of these resistances creates openings to deeper engagement among members and to overall greater group cohesion. Technical guidelines are offered for working with these resistances in the group-as-a-whole, in members, and also in the therapist.     

Effects of federal human subjects regulations on data obtained in environmental stressor research

A series of experiments on environmental noise was performed over a 3-year period. Those experiments in the series that incorporated federal subjects guidelines concerning informed consent failed to replicate the negative aftereffects of noise found earlier by Glass and Singer. The experiments that were performed before implementation of the federal guidelines, however, successfully replicated the Glass and Singer findings. To clarify this pattern of results, a final experiment was performed on two groups of subjects treated identically except that one group gave informed consent while the other did not. The results confirmed that the subject procedures involving informed consent as defined by the federal guidelines prevent the emergence of negative aftereffects of noise, possibly because these procedures give the subjects what amounts to control over the stressor. Similar phenomena may occur in research on other environmental stressors, such as crowding and electric shock, in which subject's perception of control is a critical variable. Possible techniques for performing future research of this type are discussed.