A Model of Therapist Competencies for the Empirically Supported Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescent Depression

In order to treat adolescent depression, a number of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) have been developed from both the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-A) frameworks. Research has shown that in order for these treatments to be implemented in routine clinical practice (RCP), effective therapist training must be generated and provided. However, before such training can be developed, a good understanding of the therapist competencies needed to implement these ESTs is required. Sburlati et al. (Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 14:89–109, 2011) developed a model of therapist competencies for implementing CBT using the well-established Delphi technique. Given that IPT-A differs considerably to CBT, the current study aims to develop a model of therapist competencies for the implementation of IPT-A using a similar procedure as that applied in Sburlati et al. (Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 14:89–109, 2011). This method involved: (1) identifying and reviewing an empirically supported IPT-A approach, (2) extracting therapist competencies required for the implementation of IPT-A, (3) consulting with a panel of IPT-A experts to generate an overall model of therapist competencies, and (4) validating the overall model with the IPT-A manual author. The resultant model offers an empirically derived set of competencies necessary for effectively treating adolescent depression using IPT-A and has wide implications for the development of therapist training, competence assessment measures, and evidence-based practice guidelines. This model, therefore, provides an empirical framework for the development of dissemination and implementation programs aimed at ensuring that adolescents with depression receive effective care in RCP settings. Key similarities and differences between CBT and IPT-A, and the therapist competencies required for implementing these treatments, are also highlighted throughout this article.     

Examining Factors Associated with Primary Care and Continuity of Care Among Adults with Severe Mental Illness

A number of studies have consistently reported that there is a greater prevalence of mental illness among the most socioeconomically disadvantaged. At the same time, there is evidence that services are not optimally accessed by the most socioeconomically disadvantaged; the most in need of care are also the most likely to have unmet healthcare needs. Of people with mental illnesses, those with severe mental illnesses (SMI) are the most at risk of poverty and the least likely to have optimal care. In the past, specialized community mental health services have been identified as the primary provider for people with SMI. However, there is growing interest in using the primary care setting as the main source of mental health care where both medical treatment and psychotherapy can be accessed. In this paper, we examine factors related to primary care use (and in turn, pharmacologic and psychotherapies) for people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and who have a SMI.     

Perceptions of personal sex discrimination: the role of belief in a just world and situational ambiguity

The roles of belief in a just world (BJW) and discrimination against ones' group in perceptions of personal discrimination were examined. Female participants (n = 63) were personally discriminated against in a laboratory setting. We manipulated whether the experimenter appeared to discriminate against other participants, which presumably made the presence of personal discrimination less ambiguous, or did not appear to discriminate against others, which presumably made personal discrimination more ambiguous. In the no group discrimination condition, but not in the group discrimination condition, participants' perceptions of being personally discriminated against depended on individual differences in BJW: Women with a strong BJW perceived less personal discrimination than those with a weak BJW. Also, strong BJW women in the group discrimination condition perceived less personal discrimination than strong BJW women in the no group discrimination condition.     

Co-Constructions of Gender and Ethnicity in New Zealand Television Advertising

This paper reports key findings from a content analysis of gender and ethnic depictions in a sample of 2,120 New Zealand prime-time television advertisements screened in 2006. The study explored the following questions: With what product categories are male and female White, Māori/Pasifika and Asian characters most commonly associated? What are the most common occupational roles of male and female White, Māori/Pasifika and Asian characters? The results reveal highly stereotypical depictions of women and men within each ethnic category. White men dominated advertisements for foodstuffs, telecommunications and financial/corporate/legal services and were over-represented as professionals/white collar workers, while White women were over-represented in advertisements for household products, personal products, and medical products and featured predominantly as homemakers. Māori/Pasifika men were over-represented as athletes and service and sales workers. Non-White women featured prominently within multi-ethnic groups in advertisements for personal grooming products and most frequently featured as glamour models, while non-White men were over-represented as blue collar workers. Largely absent were Māori/Pasifika women and Asians of both genders, potentially exacerbating the multiple axes of subordination encountered by these groups in the New Zealand context.     

Empathy development from 8 to 16 months: early signs of concern for others

The study examined the responses of typically developing infants to the distress of another, prior to and following the transition to the second year. Infants’ responses to maternal simulations of distress and to a peer distress videotape were observed from 8 to 16 months, using an accelerated longitudinal design (overall n = 37). Modest levels of affective and cognitive empathy for another in distress were already evident before the second year, and increased gradually (and not always significantly) across the transition to the second year. Prosocial behavior was rare in the first year and increased substantially during the second year. Self-distress reactions were rare overall. Individual differences in cognitive and affective empathy assessed in the first year, particularly at 10-months, predicted the levels of prosocial behavior observed in the second year. No gender differences were found. Theoretical implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Stress in telephone helpline nurses is associated with failures of concentration,attention and memory,and with more conservative referral decisions

Nurses working for telephone‐based medical helplines must maintain attentional focus while quickly and accurately processing information given by callers to make safe and appropriate treatment decisions. In this study, both higher levels of general occupational stress and elevated stress levels on particular shifts were associated with more frequent failures of attention, memory, and concentration in telephone nurses. Exposure to a stressful shift was also associated with a measurable increase in objectively assessed information‐processing errors. Nurses who experienced more frequent cognitive failures at work made more conservative decisions, tending to refer patients on to other health professionals more often than other nurses. As stress is associated with cognitive performance decrements in telephone nursing, stress‐reduction interventions could improve the quality and safety of care that callers to medical helplines receive.     

Latent Profile Analysis of Observed Parenting Behaviors in a Clinic Sample

We examined typologies of parenting practices using latent profile analysis (LPA) in a sample of families with young children who had externalizing behavior disorders. We also examined mother and child characteristics associated with class membership using ratings from multiple informants. The sample included pooled data from five parenting treatment outcome research studies on oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and/or conduct disorder (CD) conducted throughout the past 20 years. These studies included 21 separate cohorts of children resulting in a total of 514 families. All children met diagnostic criteria for ODD or CD and 78 % were male. Parenting practices were observed by independent raters using the Dyadic Parent–child Interactive Coding System-Revised (DPICS-R). Four summary scores (i.e., total critical statements, total commands, total positive, total supportive) from the DPICS-R were used as class indictors in the LPA. Four classes best characterized the parenting practices of this clinic sample, roughly comprising a quarter of the sample each: Positive Only, Negative Only, Positive/Negative, and Neither Positive/Negative. High observed child negative behaviors, low observed child warmth, high socioeconomic status, and low academic performance distinguished the two classes with high negative behaviors (Negative Only, Positive/Negative) from the other classes. These results provide markers of the most common parenting profiles at entry into treatment programs for behavior disorders in young children. Findings have significant implications for the tailoring parenting interventions and supports to specific family needs.