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• Legalization for Medical Use Means Psychologists Should Study Marijuana
• Hurricane Trauma and Psychology: Mix Well, Stirred but not Shaken
• Health Care Reform Update: Price Transparency Movement Growing
• Insurer Withdrawals Threaten More with Loss of Coverage

 

From Our Last Issue...

Ethics of Technology and Clinician Responsibility

Rapid advances in technology are everywhere, including in the field of clinical assessment. These changes have prompted many clinicians to ask the question, “Will technology soon take the place of the clinician in assessment?” Although recent technological advances now improve adherence to standard administration procedures, accuracy in scoring and allow clinicians to conduct near-seamless digital […]

‘Housing First’ Reducing Homelessness

A very direct approach to the problem of homelessness – just give those who need them a place to live – continues to show great promise and draw acclaim more than a quarter century after it was put forth by a psychologist in New York City. The program, Housing First, was developed by Sam Tsemberis, […]

Get on Board or Be Left Behind: Teletherapy is the Future Norm

Teletherapy will be part of normal practice for psychologists in a decade, predicts leading on-line therapy educator Marlene Maheu, Ph.D. Psychologists must embrace the change or be left behind, warns Sherry Benton, Ph.D, ABPP, founder of the teletherapy company TAO Connect. “We in the behavioral world are the last holdouts for technological change in health […]

Ethics for Psychologists: How to Fine Tune Consultations

When confronted with an ethical dilemma, most of us have been encouraged to consult a colleague. In some states, peer consultation is considered part of a standard of care. Graduate school is likely when most of us first encountered this recommendation. Beyond the direction to “consult,” however, many of us were probably not provided information […]

From the Current Issue...

The more things change… Friedman and Nichols react to a new version of the MMPI

Personality assessment is predicated on the empirically supported proposition that under similar circumstances, individuals will behave in a predictable manner. Friedman and Nichols’s recent article in The National Psychologist, “MMPI-3: Revision of MMPI-2 or Marketing Hype,” is a case in point. The prospect of a new MMPI version has triggered behavior nearly identical to their reactions to release of the MMPI-2 almost 30 years ago and to the MMPI-2-RF in 2008.

In …

Unique Peer Consultation Issues in Rural Alaska

Far beyond the northern boundaries of the contiguous United States is Alaska. Seen from a global map, it is stunning in its isolation. Villages, most of them Alaska Native, dot the vast landscape. Indigenous ways of being are deeply valued and interpersonal connection is key to well-being if not survival.

Because of the large expanses and the small populations in rural villages, relationships are immediate and …

Psychotherapy and Counseling are Different

In an article entitled “Master’s therapy not that different” in the Jan/Feb 2018 edition, Larry Powitz, Ed.D., asks what is it that doctoral level mental health practitioners do different than non-doctoral level mental health practitioners, such as master level psychologists, LCSWs, LCPCs, MFTs, and he concludes that the psychotherapy by all provided is quite the same. “I say the M.A. can sing the same tune as the Ph.D.,” concludes …

ICD-11 to Include ‘Gaming Disorder’

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed in January that the draft of the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) includes “gaming disorder” as a mental health problem.

The diagnosis would only apply if the game playing, either digital or video, is characterized as impairing control that gives gaming priority over other activities to the extent that it continues or escalates despite negative consequences.

The behavior pattern “must be of sufficient …

Consulting in Medical Settings Expands Practice

Providing psychological consultation in medical settings, or consultation-liaison (C-L) services, provides opportunities to expand the practice of psychology and diversify a psychologist’s practice. These services may be provided in a hospital or in other medical settings.

In hospitals, psychologists have traditionally provided consultations on psychiatric units, but increasingly are providing consultations on general medical units and hospital emergency departments.

The role of the C-L psychologist is to assist the attending …

Health Care Reform: ACA’s Likely Future Depends on Who’s Guessing

What’s the future of the Affordable Care Act? Among health policy wonks, answers vary – and largely align with one’s position on the law.

Referring to the conditions in the ACA exchanges, President Trump has long declared that “Obamacare is dead,” “gone” or “finished.”

The law remains on the books, of course, but Sally Pipes, president of the Pacific Research Institute and an ACA critic, believes the exchanges may soon collapse …

Therapists Vulnerable to Sexual Misconduct Accusations

Between October and November 2017, former film producer and entertainment biz executive, Harvey Weinstein achieved infamy as the poster child for sexual misconduct after more than 80 sexual misconduct allegations covering a 30-year period surfaced in a mere 30-odd days.

In the immediate aftermath of the Weinstein allegations, there was some initial victim-blaming backlash toward Weinstein’s female accusers who were perceived by some, if not many, as …

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