Theoretical Orientations of New Zealand Psychologists: An International Comparison

Registered practicing psychologists in New Zealand (n = 221) were surveyed concerning their predominant theoretical orientation. Results were compared with findings obtained among Australian psychologists by Byrne and Reinhart (1990), British psychologists by Garrett and Davis (1995), and North American psychologists by Norcross, Karg, and Prochaska (1997a). The results showed that while New Zealand psychologists use cognitive approaches more often than both British and North American psychologists, they use behavioral and psychodynamic approaches less often. Overall, it was found that the eclectic approach is the most popular theoretical orientation obtained in surveys of Australian, New Zealand, and North American psychologists, in that no group subscribed exclusively to a single theoretical orientation.     

Operant behavioral consultations as conducted by master's and doctoral level psychologists in Virginia

Compared the similarities and differences between the steps engaged in by master's and doctoral level school psychologists in Virginia as they conducted operant behavioral consultations. The data used in the comparisons came from a questionnaire completed by 42 master's level psychologists and 24 doctoral level psychologists. Two of the 12 major steps in conducting operant behavioral case consultations revealed significant differences, with the doctoral psychologists reporting a higher frequency of baseline observations being conducted and a greater frequency of observation during treatment. The doctoral psychologists also reported committing almost three times as much time to each case as did the master's level psychologists. Some discussion and questions are raised with regard to the implications of the above differences in relation to efficiency and outcomes of interventions by both groups.     

Psychologists' Experiences with the Better Access Initiative: A Pilot Study

The Australian Government's Better Access initiative was introduced in late 2006 to increase treatment rates for people with mental disorders. It provides for reimbursement of psychologists' services through Medicare. The current pilot study examines the experiences of psychologists with this initiative. A random sample of 204 of 4,235 psychologists in private practice was approached and 73 psychologists (36%) were interviewed. The current study suggests that psychologists have had positive experiences with Better Access. They have appreciated the greater security of income and greater variety of work afforded by the initiative, and they have observed flow‐on benefits in terms of increased access and reduced stigma for their clients. Additional research is required to corroborate these findings with a larger sample of psychologists, but the current findings provide indicative evidence that Better Access is assisting psychologists to meet a previously unmet community need for mental health care.     

Rehabilitation. Psychology's greatest opportunity?

Rehabilitation is one of the fastest growing areas in the health industry. Supported by several key pieces of legislation, psychologists have established themselves as integral health care providers in rehabilitation. Although psychologists have benefited from legislated membership in rehabilitation, most individual psychologists and the psychological associations have failed to recognize the importance of public policy for the practice of psychology. Escalating health care costs have resulted in major revisions in the manner in which health insurers reimburse treatment. Medicare, the major federal health insurance provider, increasingly has been viewed as a model for the provision of all health care. The historic exclusion of psychologists from Medicare has limited the scope of psychologists' practice and the growth of professional psychology. The recent inclusion of psychologists in Medicare improves but does not solve practice and policy issues confronting psychology. Knowledge of national health policy formulation and greater participation by psychologists in health policy is necessary to secure the scope of professional practice most psychologists expect.     

Singaporean graduate majors in education perceptions of workplaces and roles of psychologists

This paper examined perceptions of workplaces and roles of psychologists of 315 Singaporean undergraduate students in education. The participants rated the appropriateness of 21 workplaces and 32 roles of psychologists using a 7-point scale. The group showed restricted views of psychology and psychologists as they related psychologists' work mainly to social and organizational services and referred roles of psychologists to giving social services related to delinquency and disorders.     

Human rights and applied psychology

Applied and community psychology necessarily involves the consideration of human rights issues. The problems experienced by many of the clients of applied psychologists result from human rights abuses, the provisions of the Human Rights Act (1998) relate to the everyday practice of applied and community psychologists, and psychologists have a distinctive perspective on human rights. For psychologists, human rights reflect formalized systems for ensuring that people's basic needs are satisfied. Declarations of human rights and legal provisions therefore represent, for psychologists, codifications of how we collectively understand our relationships and social obligations. It is therefore argued that psychologists should positively advocate for the application of psychological science to these issues. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pediatrician/Psychologist Collaboration: Opportunities for Clinical Child Psychologists

In the United States, pediatricians prescribe the majority of medications used to treat children with psychological disorders, such as ADHD. However, because pediatricians have limited background in psychology or psychiatry, opportunities exist for properly trained clinical child psychologists to assist pediatricians in assessing and treating youngsters with psychological disorders. Psychologists with additional training in psychopharmacology can make even greater contributions by helping pediatricians select and monitor appropriate medications. This paper reviews models of consultation that are especially relevant to psychologists who seek to expand their practice by consulting with pediatricians. Consultant-centered models seem most appropriate in private practice settings, but institutionally employed psychologists have opportunities to also utilize some system-centered approaches. Examples of methods in which pediatric clinical psychologists and child psychologists with psychopharmacology training can assist pediatricians in treating a child with ADHD are discussed.     

Partnerships with Psychiatry and Other Clinical Disciplines: A Key to Psychology's Success in U.S. Medical Schools

This paper describes the growth of psychology in medical schools and the distribution of psychologists across medical school departments. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and American Psychological Association (APA) use different data collection approaches that reflect their different missions. AAMC focuses solely on medical school faculty, whereas APA tries to reach all psychologists working in academic health centers (AHCs). The number of psychologists in medical school settings has increased, largely due to their research expertise; but psychologists also contribute through teaching and clinical service. Psychologists hold appointments in wide variety of medical school departments, which has been a key factor in their success. Through partnership and interdisciplinary collaboration with a wide range of academic physicians, psychologists have gained increased support, become valued members of the AHC and medical school communities, and can rise to leadership positions in medical schools.     

Advertised Australian counselling psychologists: A descriptive survey of their practice details and self perceived competence in six counselling psychology practice areas

This survey research in a field setting aimed to describe psychologists who advertised themselves in the Australian Yellow Pages as counsellors, thus providing a snapshot of advertised counselling psychologists in Australia. Data was collected using a multiple mailing survey method and resulted in a 62.2% return rate. The psychologists’ (a) demographic characteristics, (b) training and development, (c) provision of services, (d) professional involvement, and (e) their self perceived competence in working with (i) depression, (ii) anxiety, (iii) substance use, (iv) clients from non English speaking backgrounds and Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander individuals, (v) clients who are same sex attracted (gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals), and (vi) clients using electronic mail and instant messaging were assessed. Advertised Australian counselling psychologists tend to be female, mature and Caucasian. The majority of the psychologists surveyed live in urban areas. Master and Bachelor level degrees were most often reported, a minority held doctoral degrees. The average psychologist charged $96.32 per hour, less than the Australian Psychological Society (APS) recommended fee for an hour of service. Eclectic and cognitive behaviour therapy were indicated most often as the theoretical orientations guiding psychological work. Psychologists belonged almost exclusively to the Australian Psychological Society as a professional association. Surprisingly, 2.9% of psychologists indicate not following an ethical code in their work and 3.9% failed to ensure that their work was covered by professional indemnity insurance. Advertised psychologists are thus described and suggestions are given for the further development of the profession. Regarding their self perceived competence, Australian advertised psychologists present as having self perceived strengths and areas of weakness regarding their counselling competence. This indicates that they are aware of their varying ability to work with various issues and populations. The self perceived competence of Australian psychologists in six specific counselling practice areas and suggestions for future training and development are provided.     

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.     

Sexual Attraction and Religious Therapists: Survey Findings and Implications

Five hundred Christian therapists returned surveys describing their beliefs and behaviors regarding sexual attraction and sexual expression toward their clients. Four groups of Christian therapists responded: psychologists, licensed therapists, nonlicensed therapists, and lay counselors. Christian therapists' responses are compared with those from a similar survey of 456 psychologists selected without regard to religious values. Most groups of Christian therapists are less likely than previously surveyed psychologists to report sexual attraction and fantasy toward clients, but the differences between Christian psychologists and other psychologists are minimal. Religious factors that may increase the stigma of admitting sexual attraction are considered.     

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.     

The role of educational psychologists in promoting ethical research conducted with children: an exploratory study

This study explored perceptions of educational psychologists on their role in promoting ethical research involving children. Participants were 10 South African educational psychologists (females = 60%; males = 40%) from mostly public services (90%). Data on their perceived roles in research ethics monitoring and implementation were collected through individual interviews and a brief questionnaire. The data were thematically analysed. Findings suggest that educational psychologists have a role in protecting children from harm during research participation while also monitoring benefits due to the children. A social justice perspective appears to explain the role of educational psychologists in research protection for children.     

Canaries in the Ethical Coal Mine? Case Vignettes and Empirical Findings for How Psychology Leaders Have Adopted Twitter

Twitter, an online application, allows users to post microblog statements in real time. Have psychologists in leadership positions adopted Twitter? What ethical standards are navigated in doing so? Little research has examined the adoption rate of Twitter within a sample of psychologists. This article outlines a series of case vignettes depicting ethical dilemmas encountered by psychologists who adopt Twitter. Data reviewing Twitter adoption by professional psychologists who served as president within psychology advocacy organizations reveal higher adoption rates from student group leaders than professional organization advocacy presidents. Implications for ethical standards and professional development are discussed.     

The impact of expertise and sufficient information on psychologists' ability to detect malingering

Twenty-two forensic diplomates and 22 general clinical psychologists were asked to review a variety of psychological data from one of four cases (two cases of malingering and two cases of legal insanity) to determine whether data suggested malingering or insanity. Of the 44 psychologists who reviewed cases, 86.4% accurately determined whether their protocol was from a malingerer or an insane person. Forensic diplomates and clinical psychologists were equally accurate in their determinations; only three subjects from each group misidentified their case. In spite of their success, confidence levels for both groups were reported as moderate. These results contradict previous studies that have found psychologists to not only be poor detectors of malingering, but also overconfident in their ability to detect it. It is believed that the success of psychologists in this study compared to previous studies was due to improved methodology.     

The “Good” Psychologist, “Good” Torture,and “Good” Reputation—Response to O’Donohue,Snipes, Dalto,Soto, Maragakis,and Im (2014) “The Ethics of Enhanced Interrogations and Torture”

O’Donohue et al. (2014) sought to derive, from classical ethical theories, the ethical obligation of psychologists to assist “enhanced interrogations and torture” (EIT) in national defense scenarios under strict EIT criteria. They asked the American Psychological Association to adopt an ethics code obligating psychologists to assist such EIT and to uphold the reputation of EIT psychologists. We contest the authors’ ethical analyses as supports for psychologists’ forays into torture interrogation when (if ever) the EIT criteria obtain. We also contend that the authors’ application of these ethical analyses violates the Geneva Conventions, contravenes military doctrine and operations, and undermines psychology as a profession. We conclude that “good” public reputation is not owed to, or expected by, “good” intelligence professionals, and collaborating operational psychologists must share their providence.     

Comment on “The Self‐Care of Psychologists and Mental Health Professionals” (Dattilio, 2015)

Professor Frank Dattilio's article “The Self‐care of Psychologists and Mental Health Professionals” provides an overview of stress and related mental health problems among psychologists, and a proposition that psychologists are not vigilant in regard to self‐care. Dattilio offers a range of self‐care strategies and recommendations, and highlights self‐care practices within various psychology frameworks, and concludes with some “healthy tips” for managing stress. In my commentary I underscore Dattilio's message that self‐care is of critical importance in psychology practice, given the responsibility of caring for others inherent in the work psychologists undertake. However, I raise additional points of consideration and suggest an alternative approach to addressing the self‐care needs of the profession. My commentary makes the following points: (a) the need to distinguish between psychology trainees and practising qualified psychologists when addressing stress and self‐care requirements in the profession; (b) the importance of developing a culture of self‐care among psychologists by providing self‐care instruction during training; (c) the need to temper research findings on stress and mental health among psychologists by the methodological weakness of the studies in this area; (d) adhering to the recent call from colleagues to shift from a focus on pathology and punishment to a positive acceptance, mindfulness, and values‐based approach for encouraging self‐care among psychologists; (e) the use of a systematic framework for organising the presentation of self‐care strategies that makes them more accessible; and (f) an appeal to professional bodies to take their responsibility in promoting self‐care in the profession.     

Profiling a Profession: A Victorian Survey Assessing Lay Attitudes Toward and Knowledge of Counselling Psychologists

The current study employed a mixed‐methods approach to examine perceptions towards and knowledge of counselling psychologists, including perceived differences between counselling and clinical psychologists. One hundred and fourteen adult members of the Victorian general public participated in the study and completed a 65‐item questionnaire, the Counselling Psychology Status Survey. As predicted, results from quantitative analysis showed that counselling psychologists were reported to be highly needed, valued, and respected by the current sample of Victorian residents. Respondents also reported a high level of confidence in counselling psychologists to treat various mental illnesses. Thematic analysis of qualitative textual data derived from written responses to an open‐ended question revealed that compared with clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists were understood to be less qualified, less skilled, and to work with less severe or complex client presentations. Taken together, results from this study suggest that although counselling psychology appears to occupy a positive public image, the importance of public promotion and awareness‐raising of the specialist profession of counselling psychology, and the continuing need for public education into the nature of psychological services and the qualifications, skills, and competencies of practitioners of psychological service provision, particularly compared with clinical psychology, cannot be underestimated.     

Psychologists in medical schools in 1997. Research brief

The activities, income, and medical staff membership and limitations on that membership for psychologists working in U.S. medical school settings in 1997 were examined. A total of 1,938 psychologists responded to a survey conducted by the Research Office of the American Psychological Association, in conjunction with the Association of Medical School Psychologists. Some of the most salient findings were that (a) the largest number of psychologists was involved in research activities, (b) just over half of medical school psychologists were required to generate all or part of their own income through clinical work and research, and (c) the majority of these psychologists were members of a medical staff but were not extended full medical staff privileges. These and other results are discussed in the context of academic rank, tenure status, and other relevant factors.