For clinical psychologist Alison McGrath Howard, Psy.D., the decision to stop practicing face-to-face and begin using teletherapy to counsel patients was a no-brainer. On March 13 – the Friday of the week that COVID-19 turned America upside down — she woke up with a fever and a cough and felt “horrific.” The week before, she’d […]
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In the human psyche, competitive commitments occur when the individual is having difficulty committing due to their commitment being in two or more directions at the same time. These commitments are competing due to the reality they are in direct opposition to one another (i.e., freedom versus security). In most cases, the competing commitment is […]
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Consider this scenario: During a therapy session, a patient stated that the media was hyping the threat of coronavirus, that it was no worse than the regular flu, and that he was still going out with friends for non-essential social activities. At a time when much of the United States is under “shelter in place” […]
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In 1990, I was a prison psychologist at Wisconsin’s intake facility, Dodge Correctional Institution. At the same time, I volunteered at a local battered women’s shelter, running its women’s support group. I had an epiphany during a conversation I was having with a psychologist who practiced in the local community. “I bet you find them […]
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COVID-19 is an unprecedented public health crisis with both mental-health and financial impacts. Psychologists’ skill sets are critically important in meeting the challenges of the present moment. Yet many clients are losing financial security (job loss, reduced hours due to furloughs, changes in insurance benefits) while potentially relying on mental-health treatment more than ever. Being […]
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Integrated care settings are treatment settings in which a psychologist is embedded on an interdisciplinary and/or medical team. Examples include primary care, intensive care units and specialty medical clinics (e.g., oncology, chronic pain). Psychologists increasingly work in integrated care settings (APA Council of Representatives, 2016). Interdisciplinary settings present unique ethical dilemmas for psychologists (e.g., Kerkhoff […]
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says eight out of 10 U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus have been in adults age 65 and older. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have become hotspots for the virus, accounting for 42 percent of COVID-19 deaths, according to the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunities […]
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The National Psychologist talked with psychologists across the country about how they’re managing to operate their practices using teletherapy during the pandemic. Here are some of their suggestions for other practitioners. Talk regularly to other colleagues about the challenges of this “new normal.” Find a teletherapy platform that’s simple, efficient, compliant and has few glitches. […]
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Editor’s Note: In this issue, we are welcoming a student voice from Scotland to give us some ideas about how psychologists there are approaching care during the global pandemic. “Staying together apart” can prove difficult for those who have relatives in different countries, those who are in long-distance relationships and those with friends from their […]
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Scenario 1: You are stopped at a red light, waiting up to 45 seconds for it to change and rather than simply sit with your thoughts, you grab your phone and start tapping icons. Inevitably, the light changes and the driver behind you honks his horn since your eyes are facing down at your phone […]
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