The Development of a Code for Australian Psychologists

Section 35(1)(c) of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act (2009 Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act of 2009. (Queensland).  [Google Scholar]) requires the newly formed Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) “to develop or approve standards, codes and guidelines.” In 2010 the PsyBA decided to initially adopt the Australian Psychological Society's (APS) Code of Ethics (2007 Australian Psychological Society. 2007. Code of ethics, Melbourne, , Australia: Author.  [Google Scholar]) and develop a new code in the future with the involvement of key stakeholders without deciding what the nature of this code will be. The PsyBA now has to decide exactly how it will proceed in future. My aim in this article is to examine the options available to the PsyBA by exploring the definition and function of codes; presenting a history of the APS Code; and considering approaches that had been followed in Europe, Israel, New Zealand, and South Africa.     

Sexual Attraction in Conjoint Therapy

Considering the magnitude of the potential repercussions concerning sexual attraction between mental health professionals and their clients, relatively little research exists in the field of marriage and family therapy (MFT). Although the topic of sexual attraction and various ethical dilemmas accompanying the issue have raised awareness of the increasing need to address sexual attraction dynamics in therapist training programs (Harris, 2001 Harris, S. M. 2001. Teaching family therapists about sexual attraction in therapy. Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, 28(1): 123–128.  [Google Scholar]), the inherent gray nature of the topic often makes it difficult to address. Research shows that that a majority of therapists encounter feelings of sexual attraction either toward or from their clients during their careers. In light of the MFT research addressing sexual attraction in therapy, to date few studies address the phenomenon in the context of conjoint therapeutic sessions, a significant component of our profession. This paper presents the results of a study designed to assess how therapists in training think about how they would handle attraction in the context of a conjoint couple session and discusses the inherent difficulty in managing sexual attraction in such a context.     

Constructivism,Ethics, and Knowing What's Right: A Reply to McNamee,Burr, McWilliams,Osbeck, and Held

Five responses to Raskin and Debany's (this issue Raskin, J. D., &; Debany, A. E. (this issue). The inescapability of ethics and the impossibility of “anything goes”: A constructivist model of ethical meaning making. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. doi:10.1080/10720537.2017.1383954[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) original target article on a constructivist model of ethical meaning making are discussed. The authors responding to the article raise many important issues about constructivist approaches to ethics. Differences between social constructionism and constructivism, the importance of multiple modalities of knowing, and a continuing hope for rapprochement between constructivist and realist perspectives are briefly explored.     

Some ethical concerns about counselling research

The whole approach of counselling researchers to ethics may be assumed to have been improving in recent years, especially with the BACP research guidelines (Bond, 2004 Bond, T. 2004. Ethical guidelines for researching counselling and psychotherapy. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 4(2): 4–9. [Taylor & Francis Online] [Google Scholar]), with its focus on trustworthiness and on the researcher engaging with ethical issues. In this paper we share our concerns about the background to ethical decision making for researchers today followed by our specific concerns for counselling researchers namely: why do counselling research at all?; research that hurts participants; the impact of research on the therapeutic process; restrictive notions around what is data; the politics of funding and informed consent revisited.     

Common Factors Come Alive: Practical Strategies for Implementing Common Factors in MFT Training

Presently, MFT training programs teach MFT models in a way that emphasizes differences over similarities (Karam et al. in J Marital Fam Ther, 2015. doi: 10.1111/jmft.12096; Sprenkle and Blow in J Marital Fam Ther 30:113–129, 2004a. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2004.tb01228.x, in J Marital Fam Ther 30:151–157, b. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2004.tb01230.x; Sprenkle et al. in Common factors in couple and family therapy: the overlooked foundation for effective practice. Guilford Press, New York, 2009). Although teaching a variety of models and their distinctiveness is vital, doing so may create a competitive rather than integrative relationship between models (Karam et al. 2015). While Karam et al. 2015 encourage the inclusion of common factors in MFT training, we expand their justification for the importance of doing so We also explain conceptual and practical ways to include common factors in MFT training. Common factors instruction can fulfill multiple purposes: (a) create a sense of cohesiveness for programs which need to teach breadth of topics that can seem unrelated, (b) help prepare practitioners who need to learn many models well but will likely adopt an integrative approach, (c) align with basic skills training, (d) align with process research, and (e) enhance the richness of individual models. For each of these purposes, we provide an example of a classroom activity. We conclude with a unifying example of how one student may learn the common-factors perspective and weave it into her reflective practices as an MFT student.     

To Cheat or Not to Cheat?: The Role of Personality in Academic and Business Ethics

Past research (Lawson, 2004 Lawson, R. A. 2004. Is classroom cheating related to business students’ propensity to cheat in the "real world"?. Journal of Business Ethics, 49: 189–199. doi:10.1023/B: BUSI.0000015784.34148.cb[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Nonis &; Swift, 2001 Nonis, S. and Swift, C. O. 2001. An examination of the relationship between academic dishonesty and workplace dishonesty: A multicampus investigation. Journal of Education for Business, 77: 69–77. doi:10.1080/08832320109599052[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) has revealed a correlation between academic and business ethics. Using a sample survey, this study extends this inquiry by examining the role of dispositional variables (neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness) and academic honesty on business ethics perceptions. Results indicate that (1) neuroticism and conscientiousness were positively related to more ethical perceptions in a work context, and (2) academic honesty partially mediated the relationship between conscientiousness and business ethics. Implications to business practitioners and educators are discussed as well as directions for future research.     

Teaching Ethical Decision Making: Designing a Personal Value Portrait to Ignite Creativity and Promote Personal Engagement in Case Method Analysis

The case method approach to introducing ethical issues is a traditional tool for applying critical thinking skills to a specific dilemma (Beauchamp &; Childress, 2001 Beauchamp, T. L. and Childress, J. F. 2001. Principles of biomedical ethics, 5th, New York: Oxford University Press.  [Google Scholar]). It allows for personal reflection and clarification of an individual's conceptual framework for deciding what is and is not ethical behavior. However, it also affords the student distance from the story line and may, through providing a retrospective critique, prevent sufficient challenge to the student to articulate and defend personal value assessments in addressing the ethical dynamics reflected in the case. Providing teaching exercises that encourage the creation of language to form that conceptual framework and a comfort in using that language allows the student to not only identify ethical issues but also recognize and more effectively communicate the struggles with molding a personal values portrait to apply to such cases.     

Constructivism and the Inescapability of Moral Choices: A Response to Raskin and Debany

In their article on ethics, Raskin and Debany (this issue Raskin, J. D., &; Debany, A. E. (this issue). The inescapability of ethics and the impossibility of “anything goes”: A constructivist model of ethical meaning making. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. (Reprinted from Ethics in action: Dialogue between knowledge and practice (pp. 13–32), by S. Cipolletta &; E. Gius (Eds.), 2012, Milan, Italy: LED) [Google Scholar]) raise a number of important issues that merit discussion and have implications for a constructivist stance on ethics, an issue that has dogged constructivist and social constructionist theory and has, in the past, been the focus of a good deal of debate. In my response to their article, I focus on two issues before going on to consider what these imply for a constructivist ethics. The first is the status of “reality”; drawing on the work of French philosophers, discursive psychology, and symbolic interactionism, I argue that the constructivist conception of reality has been widely misunderstood and will outline what I regard as a defensible construction of reality. The second issue concerns the relationship between the individual and the social world; drawing again on earlier work in microsociology, I argue that the “constructed” individual must be understood as emerging from the social realm rather than preexisting it, and I argue for personal construct psychology as a candidate for filling the subjectivity “gap” in social constructionism. Finally, I use these conceptualizations of reality and the person to argue for an ethical stance of “radical doubt” for constructivism.     

School-Based Mental Health Services: Definitions and Models of Effective Practice

ABSTRACT

School-based mental health services are those delivered by school-employed and community-employed providers in school buildings. With the implementation of provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) that funds school-based health centers, school-based mental health services could become more broadly available in communities throughout the United States. Playing a pivotal role in promoting models for school-based services that maximize benefits to children and adolescents while making efficient use of communities' mental health resources are school psychologists. School psychologists, who recognize and respect the separated development of school and community mental health professions, can foster school–agency partnerships to coordinate children's mental health services that are comprehensive, child centered, family focused, and culturally competent. In this article, we provide three case examples using the Participatory Culture-Specific Intervention Model (B. K. Nastasi, R. B. Moore, & K. M. Varjas, 2004 Nastasi, B. K., Moore, R. B., & Varjas, K. M. (2004). School-based mental health services: Creating comprehensive and culturally specific programs. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [Google Scholar]) as exemplars for the implementation of community partnerships providing comprehensive culturally and contextually relevant school-based mental health services.     

Emotionally-focused therapy and treatment as usual comparison groups in decreasing depression: A clinical pilot study

Abstract

Decades of research have shown that depression can have deleterious effects on couple relationships. Emotionally-focused therapy (EFT; Johnson, 2004 Johnson, S. M. (2004). The practice of emotionally focused couple therapy: Creating connection. East Sussex, UK: Brunner-Routledge. [Google Scholar]) is an empirically validated form of couple therapy, which has shown effectiveness in reducing depressive symptoms in couples where the wife has depression. The aim of the current pilot study was to examine the extent to which EFT and the comparison treatment as usual (TAU) therapy group decrease depressive symptoms in distressed couples. Results show that both groups were effective in decreasing depressive symptoms, with EFT showing a clinically significant reduction. Clinical implications and future research are discussed.     

Epistemic and Ethical Constraints in Personal and Social Constructions: A Response to Raskin and Debany

In response to Raskin and Debany's lead article (this issue Raskin, J. D., &; Debany, A. E. (this issue). The inescapability of ethics and the impossibility of “anything goes”: A constructivist model of ethical meaning making. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. (Reprinted from Ethics in action: Dialogue between knowledge and practice, pp. 13–32, by S. Cipolletta &; E. Gius (Eds.), 2012, Milan, Italy: LED) [Google Scholar]), I offer support for their general conclusion that ethical implications are inescapable in relation to any version of constructionism, and concur that the frequent characterization of constructivism as ultimately reducing to a position of “anything goes” is not sustainable. I depart from Raskin and Debany on the question of whether an integrative framework for constructivist positions is possible, especially in relation to questions concerning the ethical dimension. I suggest that the reasons for considering the anything goes charge inappropriate are different for different versions of constructivism, and illustrate with analysis of the ethical dimensions of personal construct theory and social constructionism.     

Far from “Anything Goes”: Ethics as Communally Constructed

Constructivist and constructionist stances have long been critiqued for inviting “anything goes,” otherwise referred to as “rampant relativism.” As Raskin and Debany (this issue Raskin, J. D., &; Debany, A. E. (this issue). The inescapability of ethics and the impossibility of “anything goes”: A constructivist model of ethical meaning making. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. (Reprinted from Ethics in action: Dialogue between knowledge and practice, pp. 13–32, by S. Cipolletta &; E. Gius (Eds.), 2012, Milan, Italy: LED) [Google Scholar]) argue, there could be nothing further from the case. In my response to their article, I take up three issues: (a) the distinction between constructivism and social construction, (b) the critique of rampant relativism, and (c) the case for an ethic of relational responsibility that emerges within a constructionist philosophical stance.     

Written on the body: Deliberate self-harm as communication

The inability to manage distress would be problematic at any time; but it is especially problematic when distress is accompanied by (or made up of) feelings of rage, cruelty and self-hatred. I will argue here that people who self-harm are communicating rage and hostility to themselves and others in ways that often leave them frustrated and hopeless; and leave professional carers aghast. I will conclude with some ideas about psychological therapies that may help such people; drawing very much upon the work of colleagues in the forensic psychotherapy field: especially Anne Aiyegbusi (2004 Aiyegbusi, A. 2004. “Forensic mental health nursing: Care with security in mind”. In A matter of security: The application of attachment theory to forensic psychiatry and psychotherapy, Edited by: Pfafflin, F. and Adshead, G. 167–192. London: Jessica Kingsley.  [Google Scholar]), Anna Motz (2008 Motz, A. 2008. The psychology of female violence: Crimes against the body, 2nd edn, Hove: Brunner Routledge.  [Google Scholar], 2009 Motz, A. 2009. Managing self harm: Psychological perspectives, London: Routledge.  [Google Scholar]) and Estela Welldon (1992).     

Psychometric Aspects of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: Implications for Clinical Assessment and Research

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) is a self-report measure that assesses self-criticism and dependency, 2 personality traits that confer vulnerability to depression (Blatt, 2004 Blatt, S. J. (2004). Experiences of depression: Theoretical, clinical, and research perspectives. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Over several decades, different, shortened versions of the DEQ have been constructed to offer an alternative to the complex scoring procedure of the original DEQ. This study explores the factor structure as well as the construct and convergent validity of the DEQ by comparing a clinical and nonclinical sample. We also compared the original DEQ with 5 shortened versions. There were 621 participants (358 university students and 263 outpatients). Fit indexes for models of the original DEQ did not meet minimum fit criteria. Moreover, the only versions with satisfactory fit were the Theoretical Depressive Experiences Questionnaire–21 (TDEQ–21) and the Theoretical Depressive Experiences Questionnaire–12 (TDEQ–12), which also showed acceptable construct and convergent validity. Finally, the diagnostic and clinical applicability of the DEQ is discussed.     

Time and again: Intermittent Brief Dynamic Therapy

Abstract

The author notes that in many of the settings in which Brief Therapy takes place that a client may return after the ending for a further series of sessions. Time-limited therapy has placed an emphasis upon the termination phase of the therapy and linked this to the process of individuation and separation. Such an approach, as articulated by Mann (1973 Mann, J. 1973. Time-limited psychotherapy, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.  [Google Scholar]), which draws conceptually from the work of Winnicott (1965 Winnicott, D. W. 1965. The maturational processes and the facilitating environment, London: Hogarth Press.  [Google Scholar]) and the notion that the infant achieves unit status from the original undifferentiated merger with the mother, is not easily compatible with Intermittent Brief Dynamic Therapy. The work of attachment theorists and Stern (1985 Stern, D. N. 1985. The interpersonal world of the infant, New York: Basic Books.  [Google Scholar]) provide an alternative basis upon which to conceive of the development of the infant. While emphasizing the importance of attending to affects at points of separation and ending, as is evidenced in the work of Della Selva (2004 Della, Selva P. C. 2004. Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy, London: Karnac.  [Google Scholar]), such a framework is more readily compatible with the development of Intermittent Therapy, and with the realities of the settings in which much brief work takes place. The author also comments upon the flexibility inherent in Winnicott's own practice of brief consultations, and the implications of this for the development of Intermittent Brief Dynamic Therapy. The paper includes a case study that illustrates this debate and which provides evidence for the therapeutic potency of a form of Brief Dynamic Intermittent Therapy where a dynamic focus maintains a structuring pattern to the narrative over a sequence of several periods of Brief Therapy, spread over a number of years.     

Sugar,Spice, and Street Codes: The Influences of Gender and Family Attachment on Street Code Adoption

Elijah Anderson's (1999 Anderson , Elijah. 1999 . Code of the Street . New York : W.W. Norton . [Google Scholar]) Code of the Street thesis argues that joblessness, alienation, structural disadvantage, and black status converge to explain higher rates of violence among African-American, inner-city males. Few studies examine whether a similar phenomenon extends to females. Additionally, few studies investigate how family attachment affects belief in an oppositional culture that Anderson calls “street codes.” Using data from the National Youth Survey, the present study addresses these issues by examining whether boys actually embrace street codes more than girls, whether family attachment reduces the likelihood of street code adoption for both boys and girls, and whether the magnitude of the effect of family attachment on street code adoption differs between boys and girls. Ordinary least squares regression results indicate that boys embrace street codes more than girls, but a substantial number of females embrace them as well. Moreover, family attachment reduces street code adoption for both girls and boys.     

Event Centrality,Posttraumatic Cognitions,and the Experience of Posttraumatic Growth

This study tested the extent to which negative appraisals following traumatic events and the centrality of traumatic events predicted posttraumatic growth (PTG; Tedeschi &; Calhoun, 1996 Tedeschi, R. G. and Calhoun, L. G. 1996. The posttraumatic growth inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9: 76–80. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Participants were 405 undergraduates at a Midwestern university who reported experiencing at least one traumatic event. Regression analyses indicated that the centrality of the event was a significant predictor for all five domains of PTG. Negative appraisals of the world were related to some domains of growth, but neither negative cognitions about the self nor self-blame was a significant predictor of any of the growth domains. Interpretation of these results is considered in light of the consistencies with Janoff-Bulman's (2004) Janoff-Bulman, R. 2004. Posttraumatic growth: Three explanatory models. Psychological Inquiry, 15: 30–34. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] explanatory models of development of PTG.     

A Web-Based Survey of AAASP Members' Ethical Beliefs and Behaviors in the New Millennium

Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP) members (N = 1121) were contacted via a series of five broadcast e-mail messages and asked to complete a web-based survey about their personal ethical beliefs and practices germane to the practice of applied sport psychology. The survey inquired about professional beliefs and behaviors of AAASP members using a survey similar to that of Petitpas et al. (1994) Petitpas, A., Brewer, B., Rivera, P. and Van Raalte, J. 1994. Ethical beliefs and behaviors in applied sport psychology: The AAASP ethics survey. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 6: 135–151. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], which was instrumental in the development and adoption of AAASP's ethics code. Surveys were completed and returned by 322 individuals. Several differences with small to moderate effect sizes were found in the ethical beliefs and behaviors between men and women, professionals and students, AAASP Certified Consultants and non-Certified Consultants, and individuals from physical education and psychology backgrounds. Furthermore, many challenges to respondents' ethical thinking and conduct were identified. Respondents provided suggestions about the dissemination of ethical information and the role of the Ethics Committee. The results provide initial support for potential changes in the current ethical principles and standards of AAASP.     

Dualisms,Dichotomies and Dead Ends: Limitations of Analytic Thinking about Sport

In this essay I attempt to show the limitations of analytic thinking and the kinds of dead ends into which such analyses may lead us in the philosophy of sport. As an alternative, I argue for a philosophy of complementation and compatibility in the face of what appear to be exclusive alternatives. This is a position that is sceptical of bifurcations and other simplified portrayals of reality but does not dismiss them entirely. A philosophy of complementation traffics in the realm of ambiguities, paradoxes, differences by degree, tendencies, mixtures, polarities, tensions, complexes, transitions and all other forms of messiness. I note that this position has been generated, in part, by work conducted in the empirical sciences and that complementation provides a paradigm that is useful across the academic disciplines.

To show the ways in which analytic thinking leads to dead ends, I analyse the epistemological debate over ‘broad internalism’ engaged in by Russell (1999 Russell, J. S. 1999. Are rules all an umpire has to work with?. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, XXVI: 27–49. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], 2004 Russell, J. S. 2004. Moral realism in sport. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, XXXI: 142–160. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), Dixon (2003 Dixon, Nicholas. 2003. Canadian figure skaters, French judges, and realism in sport. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, XXX: 103–116. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), Simon (2000 Simon, Robert. 2000. Internalism and internal values in sport. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, XXVII: 1–16. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], 2004 Simon, Robert. 2004. From ethnocentrism to realism: Can discourse ethics bridge the gap?. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, XXXI: 122–141. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and Morgan (2004 Morgan, William. 2004. Moral antirealism, internalism, and sport. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, XXXI: 61–83.  [Google Scholar]). Evidence for the claim that they reached a mostly unhelpful stalemate is based on the fact that they did not provide any third option and moreover that the analytic tools and ground rules they employ prevent its discovery. I suggest that all four authors are comfortable with the analytic tendency to bifurcate reality and require choices among exclusionary alternatives. I also claim that they treat reason as if it were generated by a ‘mind from nowhere’. Philosophical anthropology, I suggest, provides much-needed somatic grounding that would reign in excessively optimistic views of reason (Dixon, Simon and Russell) or excessively plastic interpretations of mind (Morgan). It can also provide evidence that could help us understand why hominids (even modern ones) are so attracted to dichotomies and why we have so much trouble in reconciling apparent incompatibilities.     

Model Conditioned Data Elasticity in Path Analysis: Assessing the “Confoundability” of Model/Data Characteristics

Much research has been directed at the validity of fit indices in Path Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (e.g., Browne, MacCallum, Kim, Andersen, &; Glaser, 2002 Browne, M.W., MacCallum, R.C., Kim, C.T., Andersen, B.L., &; Glaser, R. (2002). When fit indices and residuals are incompatible. Psychological Methods, 7, 403–421.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Heene, Hilbert, Draxler, Ziegler, &; Bühner, 2011 Heene, M., Hilbert, S., Draxler, C., Ziegler, M., &; Bühner, M. (2011). Masking misfit in confirmatory factor analysis by increasing unique variances: A cautionary note on the usefulness of cutoff values of fit indices. Psychological Methods, 16(3), 319–336.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Hu &; Bentler, 1999 Hu, L., &; Bentler, P. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, J., 6(1), 1–55.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Marsh, Hau, &; Wen, 2004 Marsh, H.W., Hau, K.T., &; Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis-testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11(3), 320–341.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Recent developments (e.g., Preacher, 2006 Preacher, K.J. (2006). Quantifying parsimony in structural equation modeling. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 41(3), 227–259.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Roberts &; Pashler, 2000 Roberts, S., &; Pashler, H. (2000). How persuasive is a good fit? A comment on theory testing. Psychological Review, 107(2), 358–367.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2002 Roberts, S., &; Pashler, H. (2002). Reply to Rodgers and Rowe (2002). Psychological Review, 109(3), 605–607.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) have encouraged researchers to investigate other criteria for comparing models, including model complexity. What has not been investigated is the inherent ability of a particular data set to be fitted with a constrained set of randomly generated linear models, which we call Model Conditioned Data Elasticity (DE). In this article we show how DE can be compared with the problem of equivalent models and a more general problem of the “confoundability” of data/model combinations (see MacCallum, Wegener, Uchino, &; Fabrigar, 1993 MacCallum, R.C., Wegener, D.T., Uchino, B.N., &; Fabrigar, L.R. (1993). The problem of equivalent models in applications of covariance structure analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114(1), 185–199.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Using the DE package in R, we show how DE can be assessed through automated computer searches. Finally, we discuss how DE fits within the controversy surrounding the use of fit statistics.