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• Health care reform update: States ponder possible changes to ACA
• APA council approves reorganization
• Psychology Lags Behind Psychiatry in Health Integration Readiness
• Legalization for Medical Use Means Psychologists Should Study Marijuana

 

From Our Last Issue...

Should psychologists abide by the Goldwater Rule?

I started my work on this article with a Google search using “Donald Trump’s mental health.” There were about 8.8 million results, ranging from articles in academic journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine to magazine commentaries, including one in the Marie Clair UK edition. Everybody had an opinion about the president’s mental […]

Ethics for psychologists: Supervising in the age of #MeToo, trigger warning and safe spaces

The popular press in the United States has recently been replete with allegations of misconduct by people, primarily men, in positions of power. Those contending harassment, exploitation or sexual assault have called out giants in journalism, theater, cinema, music, sports and politics. The allegations have resulted in public scorn, resignations, firings and civil or criminal […]

VA’s telehealth rule raises licensing concerns

A sweeping move by the Veterans Administration to permit staff psychologists to conduct telemental health sessions with veterans across state lines is generating mixed reactions and perplexing questions. The VA finalized the rule effective June 11 to permit VA psychologists and other health professionals to use technology, such as video conferencing, to perform or facilitate […]

What is Obamacare anyway?

In reviewing “the state of Obamacare in 2018,” Vox policy reporter Dylan Scott wondered, “What even is Obamacare anyway?” “It’s increasingly difficult to assess ‘Obamacare’ as if it is a single entity,” he wrote. “Because depending on how you look at it, the law might be a rousing success or it’s fallen far short of […]

From the Current Issue...

Empathy may be ill-timed in treating trauma

Under-recognized in the treatment of trauma is the negative impact that may result when an offer of compassion or empathy is ill-timed.

Children, now adults, often continue to adhere to entrenched allegiances of accommodating parental caregivers – pathological states which long served to negate the unique existence of that child as an evolving individual.

A sustained, well-timed inquiry is key to an effective intervention. An offer of compassion or empathy may …

Letter: HIPAA preempts state laws

HIPAA preempts any state law that restricts a patient’s access to their records. It requires that you release a copy of the patient’s records to him/her, and all states require disclosure of records to third parties on patient request. (Records after death Sept/Oct issue)

When the patient dies, HIPAA requires that only their personal representative can authorize disclosures of the patient’s records. In effect, the personal representative becomes the patient (for …

Out-of-office encounters may be beneficial

Engaging with clients outside the office has generally been discouraged or called unethical, similar to the way in which uninformed risk management and ethics “experts” have traditionally viewed dual relationships, bartering, self-disclosure by therapists or gift exchange between clients and therapists.

Once we go beyond the “don’t list” and take off distorted “risk management glasses” we can carefully and intelligently look at encounters between therapists and …

Managing risks of telepsychology

Many psychologists are eager to use technology to enhance their practices, and the field of telepsychology is quickly gaining popularity. Clients and providers alike often value the convenience of using videoconferencing technology for the provision of mental health services, but as with all emerging interventions, there can be risks.

This article will provide a brief overview of some of the things that psychologists should consider to mitigate some of these risks.

Know the …

We need a “Men’s Movement”

George W. Albee, Ph.D., in his 1970 presidential address to the American Psychological Association, said, “We have taught our students for years that mental cases include those people who are dangerous to themselves or others.”

This message seems to have escaped public awareness. The young boys and men who have engaged in mass shootings and school shootings are generally not seen as sick and needy but as criminals.

It is not surprising …

Many clients need financial therapy

Money can be one of the biggest sources of internal and interpersonal conflict and struggle we experience in our lives. The APA reports that since 2007 money has been a top cause of stress for Americans.

The most recent survey found 72 percent of Americans stressed over money during the past month, and 31 percent of adults with partners reported money as a major source of conflict in their relationship. Money was …

Hacking creates market for cyber insurance

With massive data breaches a common occurrence in modern-day society, psychologists need to consider protecting themselves from cyber criminals, insurers say.

“We’re trying to spread the word,” said Charlie Hodson, a sales and marketing executive with CPH & Associates in Chicago. “Our clients are starting to ask for this kind of insurance.”

Last year, CPH started offering cyber liability insurance as an add-on to client malpractice insurance after Hodson began …

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