Efficacy of a Manualized and Workbook-Driven Individual Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder is a prevalent and impairing disorder for which viable cognitive-behavioral therapies exist. However, these treatments have not been easily packaged for dissemination and may be underutilized as a result. The current study reports on the findings of a randomized controlled trial of a manualized and workbook-driven individual cognitive-behavioral treatment for social anxiety disorder (Hope, Heimberg, Juster, & Turk, 2000; Hope, Heimberg, & Turk, 2006). This treatment package was derived from an empirically supported group treatment for social anxiety disorder and intended for broad dissemination, but it has not previously been subjected to empirical examination on its own. As a first step in that examination, 38 clients seeking treatment for social anxiety disorder at either the Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple University or the Anxiety Disorders Clinic of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln were randomly assigned to receive either immediate treatment with this cognitive-behavioral treatment package or treatment delayed for 20 weeks. Evaluation at the posttreatment/postdelay period revealed substantially greater improvements among immediate treatment clients on interviewer-rated and self-report measures of social anxiety and impairment. Three-month follow-up assessment revealed maintenance of gains. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Using Experiential Learning Theory to Train Career Practitioners

Effective instructional strategies are needed for career practitioner training. Experiential learning theory (ELT; A. Y. Kolb & Kolb, 2009) provides an instructional foundation from which awareness of the various components of career development can be enhanced. Support for ELT as an effective method of instruction exists in various fields (Hoover, Giambatista, Sorenson, & Bommer, 2010; Ti et al., 2009). ELT integrates 6 shared propositions derived from John Dewey, Jean Piaget, William James, Carl Jung, and Carl Rogers (A. Y. Kolb & Kolb, 2009). This article outlines components of ELT and their application in training career service practitioners.     

The Relation Between Co-rumination, Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Psychopathology

Little is known about which processes explain the well-established link between maternal and child symptomatology. Interpersonal coping processes may be worth exploring, as depressed mothers have characteristic coping styles that may influence interactions with their children. We examined two interpersonal coping processes as potential factors explaining how depressive symptomatology in mothers impacts child psychopathology: parent-child co-rumination (dwelling on negative affect, over-analyzing problems) and impaired problem-solving. We analyzed 198 aggressive children (most of whom also had elevated internalizing symptoms) who engaged in structured discussions with their mothers. Coders rated the extent to which dyads problem-solved and co-ruminated during discussions, and mothers filled out questionnaires assessing maternal and child symptoms. Path analysis tested whether higher levels of co-rumination and poor problem-solving statistically mediated the relation between depressive symptoms in mothers and child internalizing and externalizing behaviour. Maternal depressive symptomatology was correlated with greater child symptoms, higher rates of co-rumination and poorer problem-solving. Statistical mediation was non-significant. Results support the established link between maternal depression and child psychopathology, and suggest that dysphoric mothers and their children engage in maladaptive coping interactions.     

Resource allocation during spoken discourse processing: Effects of age and passage difficulty as revealed by self-paced listening

The allocation of processing resources during spoken discourse comprehension was studied in a manner analogous to self-paced reading using the auditory moving window technique (Ferreira, Henderson, Anes, Weeks, & McFarlane, 1996). Young and older participants listened to spoken passages in a self-paced segment-by-segment fashion. In Experiment 1, we examined the influence of speech rate and passage complexity on discourse encoding and recall performance. In Experiment 2, we examined the influence of speech rate and presentation mode (self-paced vs. full-passage presentation) on recall performance. Results suggest that diminished memory performance in the older adult group relative to the young adult group is attributable to age-related differences in how resources were allocated during the initial encoding of the spoken discourse.     

Exploring Genetic Counseling Communication Patterns: The Role of Teaching and Counseling Approaches

The educational and counseling models are often touted as the two primary professional approaches to genetic counseling practice. Yet, research has not been conducted to examine how these approaches are used in practice. In the present study, we conducted quantitative communication analyses of BRCA1 genetic counseling sessions. We measured communication variables that represent content (e.g., a biomedical focus) and process (e.g., passive listening) to explore whether genetic counselor approaches are consistent with prevailing professional models. The Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) was used to code 167 pre-test genetic counseling sessions of members of a large kindred with an identified BRCA1 mutation. Three experienced genetic counselors conducted the sessions. Creating composite categories from the RIAS codes, we found the sessions to be largely educational in nature with the counselors and clients devoting the majority of their dialogue to providing biomedical information (62 and 40%, respectively). We used cluster analytic techniques, entering the composite communication variables and identified four patterns of session communication: Client-focused psychosocial, biomedical question and answer, counselor-driven psychosocial, and client-focused biomedical. Moreover, we found that the counselors had unique styles in which they combined the use of education and counseling approaches. We discuss the importance of understanding the variation in counselor communication to advance the field and expand prevailing assumptions.     

A model for outpatient care

Chaplains have seriously discussed outpatient care for a number of years. This article describes a model of thorough and intentional outpatient care that is practiced in conjunction with an inpatient care to cancer populations. Rationales, values, institutional dynamics, and clinical care are discussed. Although the focus is on outpatient care where slightly more than 50% of personnel resources are invested, the care also occurs in the context of both inpatient care and follow-up care after discharge to home. A general model of spiritual and religious care and more specific models pertinent to hematopoietic stem cell transplant populations and general oncology populations are described. The models attend times of distress and times of "ordinary" and celebratory experiences, attend care of patient, caregiver, and staff.     

Anagram software for cognitive research that enables specification of psycholinguistic variables

Anagram tasks are frequently used in cognitive research, and the generation of new scrambled letter combinations is a task well suited to a software solution. Most available programs, however, do not allow experimenters to generate new anagrams flexibly or to characterize existing anagrams using psycholinguistic criteria. They also do not provide detailed information on their source dictionaries. We present anagram software that interfaces with CELEX2, an internationally recognized psycholinguistic database. This software allows users to capitalize on lexical variables and thus enables direct control of psycholinguistic features that may influence the cognitive processes involved in anagram solution.     

Studies of the vicarious traumatization of college students by the September 11th attacks: effects of proximity, exposure and connectedness

From mid-October 2001 through the end of November 2001, we collected fairly large sets of questionnaires from undergraduates at three public universities (Albany, NY, n = 507, Augusta, GA, n = 336, Fargo, ND, n = 526 ) to assess rate of acute stress disorder (ASD) and level of ASD symptoms following the September 11th attacks, rate of current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and level of PTSD symptoms, and current level of depressive symptoms resulting from the September 11th attacks. We also gathered information on exposure to media coverage of the attacks, connectedness to the World Trade Center (WTC) and personnel there, and degree of engagement in reparative acts such as giving blood, attending vigils. We found higher levels of ASD, ASD symptoms, PTSD and PTSD symptoms as a function of geographical proximity to New York City (and within the Albany site, proximity of students' homes) and gender. Exposure (hours of TV watched) was a predictor in some instances as was connectedness to WTC victims. ASD symptoms were the strongest predictor of subsequent PTSD symptoms. Path models accounted for over 60% of the variance in PTSD symptoms.