Genetic Cancer Risk Assessment and Counseling: Recommendations of the National Society of Genetic Counselors

These cancer genetic counseling recommendations describe the medical, psychosocial, and ethical ramifications of identifying at-risk individuals through cancer risk assessment with or without genetic testing. They were developed by members of the Practice Issues Subcommittee of the National Society of Genetic Counselors Cancer Genetic Counseling Special Interest Group. The information contained in this document is derived from extensive review of the current literature on cancer genetic risk assessment and counseling as well as the personal expertise of genetic counselors specializing in cancer genetics. The recommendations are intended to provide information about the process of genetic counseling and risk assessment for hereditary cancer disorders rather than specific information about individual syndromes. Key components include the intake (medical and family histories), psychosocial assessment (assessment of risk perception), cancer risk assessment (determination and communication of risk), molecular testing for hereditary cancer syndromes (regulations, informed consent, and counseling process), and follow-up considerations. These recommendations should not be construed as dictating an exclusive course of management, nor does use of such recommendations guarantee a particular outcome. These recommendations do not displace a health care provider's professional judgment based on the clinical circumstances of a client.     

Paranormal Encounters as Eyewitness Phenomena: Psychological Determinants of Atypical Perceptual Interpretations

Many people who report paranormal sightings (e.g., Bigfoot and UFO aliens) are apparently sincere. This places many such sightings in the category of eyewitness errors, rather than of deliberate deception. Recent research has supported this idea; in an earlier paper, we demonstrated that paranormal beliefs are facilitated by tendencies toward attention deficit hyperactive disorder, dissociation, and depression. These characteristics predicted specific patterns of beliefs in several paranormal phenomena. The present research addressed the question of whether such psychological tendencies would tend to create bias in perception and interpretation as well as in belief- in whether a person’s identification of a given stimulus as paranormal in nature would be influenced by the same factors previously demonstrated to influence paranormal beliefs. This hypothesis was supported. Specifically, those with dissociative tendencies were significantly more likely to identify given stimulus items as paranormal in nature than were those with lower dissociation scores. Dissociation was further shown to be related to paranormal beliefs, consistent with earlier findings. Results are discussed in terms of the reconfigurative dynamics known to operate in areas of human cognition such as eyewitness identification, and in terms of the generality of those effects to the realm of paranormal sightings.     

Nontraditional careers for women: A prototypical example

A nationwide survey of a stratified sample of 461 Army ROTC college cadets and 470 of their non-ROTC schoolmates was conducted in order to investigate sex and racial differences in military-related perceptions and attitudes. This article focuses on survey findings dealing with sex differences in respondents' military socialization, knowledge of ROTC and the Army, attitudes toward ROTC and the Army, and behavioral intentions with respect to a military career. Female cadets had (1) fewer military socializing influences, (2) less accurate knowledge about ROTC and the Army, (3) more favorable attitudes toward ROTC and the Army, and (4) less favorable intentions regarding military service than male cadets. Findings 2, 3, and 4 were also obtained in the noncadet schoolmate group; however, in this group, there were no significant sex differences in military socializing influences. A model based on these findings is developed as a starting point for attempts to account for the higher attrition rates of women in the military.     

Benchmarking key service quality indicators in UK Employee Assistance Programme Counselling: A CORE System data profile

Background: Levels of psychological distress appear to be increasing in the workplace, in parallel with the growth of employee assistance programme (EAP) provision offering a range of talking treatments. However, such growth takes place in the absence of a substantive body of supporting research evidence despite a quarter of a decade of research activity. Aims: To analyse a national sample of EAP data and profile relative service quality on a set of key service indicators. Method: CORE System data profiles of over 28,000 clients were voluntarily donated by six EAP service providers. An established benchmarking methodology was used to assess the relative quality of EAP service provision compared with published CORE System benchmarks for NHS primary care and UK higher education student counselling services. Results: High quality data profiled an EAP service clientele who were quantifiably distressed, accessed treatment quickly, with the majority completing treatment and demonstrating high rates of recovery and/or improvement relative to published benchmarks from the NHS and HE comparative sectors. Limitations of the study and implications for practice and further investigation are considered.     

Humor and Its Contributions to Mental Health

Self control assistance includes steady doses of humorous comment and reflection. Getting past the perfect person syndrome en route to an emotionally healthier existence can be done by the appreciation of use of humor. Distinguishing between commercialized and rational humor allows for more permanent long range happiness and survival. To be able to laugh and learn at the same time are two bull's-eyes that promote more optimal emotional well-being. Humor ignites thirty-seven listed provisions in the service of emotional health. Fifteen precise dimensions of mental health that humor can pave the way toward are reviewed. Twenty-nine irrational beliefs about humor are fleshed out followed by nine types of rational humor. Stories and stormy anecdotes from the wiles of the author's practice of psychotherapy and parenting misdemeanors further document the topic under consideration.