American Psychology and Schools: A Critique

No one denies that the Boulder Conference on Clinical Psychology marked a turning point on American psychology. This paper by one of the three or four living participants lists the conference as one in which psychology was at a choice point, went in one and only one direction, without examining the possible consequences or the possibility of going in more than 1 direction. A second theme is that the APA has to be faulted for a lack of searching self-scrutiny of its past. Organizations, like individuals, resist such self-scrutiny.     

Employment Characteristics and Salaries of Psychologists in United States Medical Schools: Past and Current Trends

In 1997 the Research Office of the American Psychological Association (APA) collaborated with the Association of Medical School Psychologists (AMSP) to conduct a comprehensive employment and salary survey of psychologists employed in medical schools and academic health centers. Questionnaires were mailed to 3894 psychologists; postcard reminders and a follow-up mailing to nonresponders resulted in a final 50% response rate. The questionnaire addressed appointment characteristics, department and school characteristics, employment activities, salary information, demographics, and changes in the medical school work environment that have occurred as a result of managed care. This survey, the 1997 Employment Characteristics and Salaries of Medical School Psychologists, is the most comprehensive analysis to date of the practice of psychology in U.S. schools of medicine and academic health centers. This article reports the most salient findings from this survey.     

A scale to assess the restrictiveness of educational settings

The placement of students into educational settings is perhaps one of the most debated issues in special education, particularly for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A primary consideration in this decision is the restrictiveness of the setting, yet no scale to assess restrictiveness of educational settings exists. We undertook two surveys that asked respondents to rate the restrictiveness of 18 educational placements. The first survey was sent to a national panel of experts, the second survey was sent to supervisors of programs for students with EBD. The results of the surveys led to the development of theScale to Assess Restrictiveness of Educational Settings. This scale is designed to provide a measure of restrictiveness of educational settings that can provide data to evaluate student progress and program outcomes.     

Effects of serial versus concurrent task sequencing an acquisition, maintenance, and generalization

Effects of serial and concurrent task presentation on skill acquisition, generalization, and maintenance were compared. Two severely retarded females participated. During serial training, items of one response class, tracing, were trained to mastery before those of a second task, vocal imitation. In the concurrent method, training on two different tasks, tracing and vocal imitation, alternated within sessions for fixed periods of time. There were no major differences between the serial and concurrent methods of instruction in the number of steps attained per behavior or in the number of trials required to reach criterion levels of performance. It was found however, that concurrent training resulted in more generalization. Retention results were not consistently related to training method.     

先秦齐国与鲁国教育思想异同论

由于齐国和鲁国的治国策略不同,反映到他们的教育思想上也存在着差异。齐国开展教育的目的很明确,那就是富民强国,称霸诸侯,而鲁国则是为了维护和推行西周宗法社会的礼制。本文借助现有齐、鲁文化典籍就齐、鲁教育思想的相同点与差异处进行了初步探析。     

Counselling psychologists in academia: Life satisfaction and work and family role commitments

We examined the life satisfaction of men and women counselling psychology faculty who were Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) members of APA (American Psychological Association). Self-efficacy for multiple role management, coping style, and work-family role orientation were considered as predictors of life satisfaction. Results indicated that men scored significantly higher on employee role and self role self-efficacy as compared to women, and that women as compared to men scored higher on seeking social support coping. No significant sex difference was found for role orientation or life satisfaction. Findings revealed that spouse/partner self-efficacy and problem-solving coping emerged as significant predictors of men and women's life satisfaction and accounted for 31% of the total variance.     

对改善农村医疗卫生人才队伍现状的思考

农村卫生技术人才匮乏给农村卫生事业发展带来了严峻的挑战,导致这一现状的缘由应从多层面进行分析。作为医学领域新思想、新知识、新技术的创造者和发源地以及医学人才培养摇篮的高等医学院校在改变这种格局中担负着重大的使命。探讨如何以客户意识作为教育及办学价值取向,从而为改善农村卫生队伍现状开拓了思路。     

An Investigation of Psychology Staffing in Australian Metropolitan Acute Public Hospitals

Psychology is one component of the multidisciplinary services provided to patients in acute public hospitals, with research demonstrating that psychological intervention significantly enhances clinical outcomes for patients across a range of health issues. Despite the increasingly important role that psychologists play in Australian hospitals, there remains a lack of information available about staff levels, discipline structures, and clinical activity for psychological services within acute hospital settings. The most recent Australian data about hospital‐based psychology services was collected 20 years ago. The current study provides updated information from a survey of 15 Australian metropolitan, acute public hospitals: presenting and critically reviewing staffing configurations and models of service delivery. Results suggest that: (a) hospitals employ a highly skilled workforce at a rate of 0.16 full‐time equivalent psychology staff for every 10 hospital beds; (b) psychologists have a viable career pathway within the hospital‐based health sector; (c) role diversity is common, with the primary focus varying as a function of position level; (d) neuropsychology staffing requires urgent attention to address significant delays in access to services; and (e) public hospitals actively contribute to current and future workforce development through supervision, research, and training. The implications of these results for the future of psychological services in Australian healthcare are discussed.     

Comment on “The Self‐Care of Psychologists and Mental Health Professionals” (Dattilio, 2015)—Working With the Mentally Ill Is a Mental Health Hazard: What Can We Do About It?

It has been known for many decades that the risk of burnout, psychological distress, mental illness, or suicidal ideation is higher in mental health professionals (MHP) compared with many other professions and the general population; however, MHPs often disregard their own mental health for the sake of helping others, sometimes with fatal consequences. Paradoxically MHP tends to avoid seeking professional help for their own mental health issues. Apart from the serious risk to one's health that this poses, MHPs are now mandated to report any impairment that affects their ability to practice. The aim of this commentary is to emphasise the heightened risk of mental illness among MHP, and includes some risk factors associated with burnout, psychological distress, or mental illness in MHP. It explores some of the barriers to help seeking, including stigma, and highlights mindfulness as a self‐care strategy to prevent psychological distress and burnout. The commentary makes recommendations for inclusions into current psychology postgraduate as well as undergraduate curriculum. It concludes with recommendation for suitable support from professional bodies to help maintain good mental health and to help prevent mental illness among MHPs.