Category Archives: News Stories

A Large Share of Americans Say Country is in Decline, a PEW Research Study Finds

In a research study conducted by PEW, Americans are pessimistic about the current and future state of the country.

The vast majority expressed dissatisfaction with the economy and overall national conditions. “And when they look toward the not-too-distant future, they see a country that in many respects will be worse than it is today,” concluded a new Pew Research Center survey, reported by Andrew Daniller on April 24.

The majority of adults say that in 2050, “the U.S. economy will be weaker, the United States will be less important in the world, political divisions will be wider and there will be a larger gap between the rich and the poor. Far fewer adults predict positive developments in each of these areas.”

When asked if the US economy would be weaker or stronger, 66% of the respondents said they believed it would be weaker by the year 2050. And, 32% judged that it would be stronger.

A full 71% of respondents said the US will be less important in the world at that time in the future, while 27% said the US will be more important.

In the study, when participants were asked if the country will be more politically divided or less, 77% said more and 21% said less.

When asked if the gap between the rich and the poor will grow or get smaller, 81% said it would grow and 18% said the gap would get smaller.

“Americans’ negative views of the nation’s future are influenced by their bleak assessments of current conditions,” said the authors. “Only 19% of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, while 80% are dissatisfied. Ratings of the economy remain largely negative, and an increasing share of the public expects economic conditions to worsen over the next year.”

There is an age gap. “Differences between older and younger Democrats account for most of this age gap. A sizable majority of Democrats 50 and older (80%) have at least some confidence in the country’s future. That compares with 62% of Democrats ages 35 to 49 and 53% of those 18 to 34. Among Republicans, by contrast, there are only modest differences on this question across age groups.

APA Speaks Out on Confidentiality and Reproductive Decisions

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Representatives of the American Psychological Association passed a “Resolution on confidentiality and reproductive health” in February 2023.

According to the statements put forth by the APA representatives, the resolution affirms that a psychologist’s allegiance to the ethics code should be given utmost attention when psychologists are faced with an ethical conflicts regarding law of disclosure and confidential information about sexual and reproductive health.

In the resolution officials noted the following:

“WHEREAS psychologists must be able to speak freely with their patients, and patients must know they have confidentiality when speaking with their psychologists, a concept recognized by U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in asserting that, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, “under fundamental First Amendment principles, individuals must remain free to inform and counsel each other about the reproductive care that is available in other states;” and

“WHEREAS Standard 4.01 of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (Ethics Code) states that psychologists have a “primary obligation… to protect confidential information”; […]

“WHEREAS the Ethics Code does not require that a psychologist follow the law when a conflict arises between the law and the Code, but instead allows “each psychologist [to]. . . weigh the consequences of their decision when navigating these [reproductive justice] issues and attempt to resolve the conflict in ways that are consistent with the APA Ethics Code based on their own circumstances” […]

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the APA that the American Psychological Association, in accordance with the APA policy on reproductive rights, and human rights, affirms that a psychologist’s allegiance to the Ethics Code, including ethical standards related to patient confidentiality, should be given the utmost attention and significance especially when psychologists are faced with ethical conflicts with a law requiring the disclosure of confidential information regarding sexual and reproductive health, including birth control; fertility treatment; contemplating, seeking, or having had an abortion; and related issues.

The report is available at www.apa.org/about/policy/resolutionconfidentiality-reproductive- health.

FAQ at https://www.apa.org/ethics/reproductive-rights.pdf.

Gov. Edwards Makes Appointments

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On April 10, the Gov. announced several appointments, including:

Ms. Amanda Brunson of Baton Rouge was appointed to the Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board. Ms. Brunson is assistant secretary of child welfare for the Department of Children and Family Services.

Ms. Krystle H. Mitchell of Slidell was appointed to the Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board. Ms. Mitchell is interim executive director at the Louisiana Alliance of Children’s Advocacy Centers in Covington. She will represent LA Children’s Advocacy Centers.

Ms. Reshonn A. Saul of Vacherie was appointed to the Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board. Ms. Saul is the assistance program manager for FINS (Families in Need of Services) with the Louisiana Supreme Court. She will represent the LA Families in Need of Services Association.

Ms. Cheri A. Crain of Zachary was appointed to the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council. Ms. Crain is a compliance and planning manager with the Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs. She will represent the Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs.

Ms. Julie F. Hagan of Springfield was appointed to the Louisiana Developmental Services
Disabilities Council. Ms. Hagan is director Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities. She will represent the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities.

The Louisiana Developmental Disability Council’s mission is to lead and promote advocacy, capacity building, and systemic change to improve the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

Other recent appointments included: Ms. Doris G. Brown of Baton Rouge was appointed to the Louisiana Department of Health, and will serve as the assistant secretary of the Office of Public Health. Torrie T. Harris, Dr.P.H., of Baton Rouge was appointed to the La Department of
Health. Dr. Harris will serve as the assistant secretary of the Office on Women’s Health and Community Health. Mr. Louis P. Lipinski Jr. of Greenwell Springs, Ms. Danielle G. Rhodes of
Houma, and Mr. Thomas G. Mungall of Baton Rouge were appointed to the Louisiana position of Licensed Professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors Board of Examiners. Mr. Lipinski is the owner of Lipinski & Associates LLC. Ms. Rhodes is a co-owner and vocational rehabilitation counselor with Bailey McCaffery LLC. Mr. Mungall is a vocational rehabilitation counselor at Thomas G. Mungall, LRC.

Psychological Scientists Present at Southwestern, Southeastern Psych Association Annual Conventions

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by James Glass

The Southwestern Psychological Association (SWPA) annual convention was held at the Embassy Suites in Frisco, Texas, March 31 – April 2, and the Southeastern Psychological
Association (SEPA) held its 69th Annual meeting at the Sheraton in New Orleans from April 5 – 8, 2023. Both hosted numerous psychological scientists, researchers and students from around the state.

SWPA featured invited speaker, Dr. Janelle McDaniel, University of Louisiana – Monroe. Dr. McDaniel provided a presentation on, “Changing Demographics in Higher Education and the Mentor Relationship.” Some of the topics discussed in the presentation focused on the increasing shrinking number of traditional students enrolling and the many changes and challenges occurring in mentor relationships between students and faculty.

Among the many Louisiana researchers presenting at this year’s SEPA, were Nathan Brown, PsyD, Sebastian Del Corral Winder, PsyD., Amy Rinner, PsyD, and Amy Dickson, PsyD, from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, who conducted continuing education workshops.

Drs. Nathan Brown and Sebastian Del Corral Winder also presented a workshop on, “Exploring bilingualism and biculturalism with Latinx patients.” Several topics of discussion during the presentation were: Cultural, linguistic, and racial factors impacting psychological services with Latinx individuals. Emphasis on cultural sensitivity and humility to approach differences and similarities with Latinx individuals while providing psychological services and addressed common challenges when working with Latinx individuals.

Dr. Amy Rinner also collaborated on, “Trauma informed supervision: A framework.” During the workshop, attendees learned the basic principles of trauma informed care and how this translates to the supervisory relationship. The presentation also covered the basic
framework and interventions to implement in supervision to support a trauma-informed space and relationship.

Drs. Sebastian Del Corral Winder, Amy Rinner, and Amy Dickson, PsyD, also conducted a presentation on, “What is infant mental health? A time for exploration.” During their presentation they explored the contemporary theories and components of infant mental health, which encompassed birth to five years of age. The presentation also defined the core components of providing psychological services to infants, young children, and their caregivers. The brief also identified innovative ways to provide psychological services to infants by utilizing telehealth and in-person modalities.

Drs. Amy Rinner, Sebastian Del Corral Winder, and Amy Dickson, PsyD, presented a workshop on, “Fathers are caregivers too!: Clinical work with fathers.” During the brief, attendees learned the foundational knowledge about the role of male caregivers in young children’s lives and development, with an emphasis on the protective factors of having a male caregiver. The presenters shared vignettes and addressed nuances to working with male caregivers while citing relevant research.

The Southwestern Psychological Association annual convention also hosted researchers from around the state who presented a variety of topics, including:

Louisiana Tech University

Kristen Hooper and Brandon Waits discussed, “The impact of social support and self-compassion on attitudes toward those who misuse substances.”

Edward Craig and Walter Buboltz presented on, “Food, Mood, Life.”

Walter Buboltz and Sarah Prather presented, “The Relationship Between Sleep, Coping with College, and Satisfaction with College.”

Lakyn Boone and Walter Buboltz conducted a session on, “The Moderating Effect of Drug Use and Emotional Dysregulation on the Relationship Between Sleep and Health.”

McNeese State University

Dena Matzenbacher and Kane Vest, Linda Brannon presented, “Perceptions of Factors
Contributing to Problems Among Young Adults.”

Dena Matzenbacher and Kane Vest, Linda Brannon discussed, “A Replication of Emerging Adults’ Perceptions of Emerging Adults.”

Northwestern State University of Louisiana

Charles R. King and Billie Clare Myers presented, “The neurobiology of Addiction:
The Process of Transitioning from Recreational Substance Use to a Substance Use Disorder or Addiction.”

Southeastern Louisiana University

Paula Varnado-Sullivan, Claire Huston, Jacey Fitzmorris, and Nele Gudermann discussed, “A Comparison of Faculty and Student Perceptions of Academic Integrity.”

Paula Varnado-Sullivan, Claire Huston, Jacey Fitzmorris, and Nele Gudermann conducted a presentation on, “Further Examination of Neutral Party Affiliation and Non-Voters: Have Recent Events Impacted their Political Attitudes.”

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Brittany Milton, Valanne MacGyvers, and David Perkins conducted a session on,
“Adult Attachment and Relationship Behaviors.”

Kiara Martin and Valanne MacGyvers presented, “The role of ACEs on academic achievement and psychological well-being.”

Jaci Philliber, Cy Dupuis, Brielle Jones, Joy Martin, Sydney Guidry, Cantika Nasution, Isabel Lanciotti, Kathie Li, and Hung-Chu Lin presented, “Alcohol Misuse in College Students: Childhood Adversity and Somatic Symptoms as Correlates.”

Ayodeji Adegoke and Valanne MacGyvers conducted a session on, “Impact of ACEs on
personal identity formation among emerging adults.”

Cydnei Meredith, Taylor Guillory, Madison Gordy, and Christie Charles presented, “What’s in a name? Perceptions of first names in the workplace.”

Alexis Walker, Dahja Antoine, Braden Teer, and Erika Caramillo-Hatch conducted a session on, “The effects of N-acetylcysteine on nicotine addiction in zebrafish.”

Austin Foreman, Victor Smith, Bella Patterson, and Erika Caramillo-Hatch presented, “The effects of ARID1B gene knockout on ASD related behavior in zebrafish.”

Brianna Sadighian and Manyu Li University of discussed, “Social Restrictiveness as a Predictor for Treatment-Seeking Attitudes in Asian Americans.”

Valanne MacGyvers, Andrea Eggenberger, Taylor Gage, Emily DeGruise Ayodeji Adegoke, and Ella Garlington conducted a session on, “Motivating Factors in Academic Cheating, Part 2.”

Matthew Andersland, Mateo Chavez, Kalli Segura, Ashlyn Suchand, and Valanne MacGyvers presented, “Academic Motivation, Course Delivery, and Academic Dishonesty.”

Jaci Philliber, Brielle Jones, Cy Dupuis, Joy Martin, Sydney Guidry, Cantika Nasution, Isabel Lanciotti, Kathie Li, and Hung-Chu Lin discussed, “Somatic Symptoms in College Students: Childhood Trauma as a Correlate.”

Hunter Sudduth, David Perkins, Matthew Andersland, and Nicole Pyke collaborated on, “Exploring the Interpersonal Consequences of Existential Isolation in College Students.”

Ashley Fromenthal presented, “Perceived social support and life satisfaction in older adults: The role of sense of autonomy.”

Ariana Milner discussed, “Exploring the Relationship Between Prodromal Schizophrenia, Emotion Dysregulation, and Distress Intolerance.”

Mateo Chavez, Valanne MacGyvers, and David Perkins presented, “Implementing a Grit and Growth Mindset Intervention to Reduce Social Anxiety.”

Theresa Wozencraft and Jon-Patric Veal discussed, “SES and Race Differences in Predictors of Mental Health Treatment Seeking.”

Theresa Wozencraft, Tanya Castaneda, and Savannah Hidalgo conducted a session on, “Binge Eating, Body Image, and Weight Concerns in Black and White Individuals.”

Aidan Guidry, Prynceston Fant, and Hung-Chu Lin collaborated on, “Empathy, Attachment Insecurity, and Perceived Parenting: Differences between Inmates and College Students.”

Valanne MacGyvers, David Perkins, Mateo Chavez, Brittany Milton, and Kayla Rico presented, “Empathizing or Systemizing Cognitive Style as a Predictor of Music Listening Experience.”

Ashley Messina discussed, “Predicting Racebased Traumatic Stress among Black and African Americans.”

Emily DeGruise, Valanne MacGyvers, Andrea Eggenberger, Taylor Gage, and Ella Garlington presented, “Experienced corporal punishment and empathy, leadership, and achievement in college.”

Kalli Rose Segura conducted a session on, “Predictors of Manding Outcomes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

Katelynn Benge discussed, “College Students’ Attitudes Towards Cohabitation.”

Ashley Messina, Brianna Sadighian, Ashley Fromenthal, Brad Parfait, Prynceston Fant, Joshua DeLacerda, and Valanne MacGyvers conducted a session on, “History of Sex Education as a Predictor of Attitudes Toward Sexual Pleasure and Sexually Coercive Behaviors.”

Kayla Rico, Valanne MacGyvers, and David Perkins presented a session on, “Coping with Covid Isolation: The roles of personality, music, and pets.”

Prynceston Fant, Anna Romero, Kinsey Hatfield, and Hung-Chu Lin collaborated on, “Mood and Somatic Symptoms in Direct Support Professionals: The Correlates of Self-efficacy and Job Satisfaction.”

University of Louisiana at Monroe

Kaitlyn Morris, Chad Lewing, Rick Stevens, and Carlie Silvis had a session on, “Motivational and Cognitive Predictors of Belief in Conspiracies.”

Madelyn Williams presented, “Psychological Reactance as a Motivation in Psychopathy: Validation among Incarcerated Males.”

At the Southeastern Psychological Association annual convention researchers also presented their work. A number of representatives from around the state presented various topics at SEPA.

Included were the following:

Louisiana State University of Alexandria

Austin Souphanthalop and Mark LaCour presented their research on, “Asian Values, Regardless of Western Acculturation, Predict Hesitancy to Use Formal Mental Health Systems.”

Ronna Matthews, Mark LaCour, and Zebulon Bell discussed, “The Effects of Political Affiliation on Conceptualizations of Drug Addiction and Drug Policy.”

Louisiana State University HSC

Sebastian Del Corral Winder, Amy Dickson, and Amy Rinner collaborated in the presentation on, “Does the Type of Allegation Impact the Time to Reunification?”

Nathan H. Brown and Sebastian Del Corral Winder presented, “Exploring Bilingualism and Biculturalism with Latinx Patients.” Sebastian Del Corral Winder was in collaboration on, “Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Advocating for Multidisciplinary Teams.”

Northwestern State University of Louisiana

Neeru Deep, Susan Thorson-Barnett collaborated on, “College Students: Keep Working on Your Grit.”

Southeastern Louisiana University

Brooklyn Sherrod, Elizabeth Dockter, Joshua Mclain, and Susan Coats presented a session on, “Pseudoscience to Psychological Treatments Among University Students.”

Cecilia LaFosse and Claire Houtsma presented, “Effects of TBI on PTSD Symptom Cluster Severity Among Veterans.”

Sara Sohr-Preston presented research on, “Assessing Change in Knowledge Among Developmental Psychology Students.”

Louisiana Tech University

Mary Margaret Livingston, Mitzi Desselles, and Donna Thomas conducted a session on, “History of the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Louisiana Tech University.”

Loyola University & Southeast La
Veterans Health Care System

Grace Patrick, Mara Ferrie, Jennifer Petell, Rosie Hunter, Loyola University New Orleans, Kelly Maieritsch, Laurel Franklin, and Amanda Raines, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System presented their research on, “Psychometric Properties of the PCL-5 in Black Veterans.“

Loyola University

Evan Zucker collaborated in the presentation on, “Comparative Psychology in Zoological Parks: One Lab’s Story.”

Victoria Blondell and Madison Silverstein discussed, “The Role of Negative Childhood Experiences in the Development of Disordered Eating Habits and Posttraumatic Stress.”

Kennedy Chatman and Madison Silverstein presented, “Revictimization, Cognitions, and Reporting Behaviors Among Survivors of Sexual Violence.”

Jessica Ward and Madison Silverstein provided their research on, “Associations Among Type of Animal Ownership, Attachment Style, and Social Adeptness.”

Zia Sampson and Kim Ernst presented their study on, “Effect of Body Neutrality and Body Positivity on Body Appreciation and Self-Compassion.”

University of Louisiana Lafayette

Nicole Pyke, Matt Andersland, Hunter Sudduth, and David Perkin collaborated on, “Mutual Aid and Psychological Distress: Moderated Mediation to Investigate the Role of Religiosity and Perceived Recovery Using a Nationally Representative Sample.”

Kiara Davillier, Ariana Milner, Paula Zeanah, Hung-Chu Lin, Manyu Li, and Amy Brown presented, “The Race and Gender Differences in Sexual Self-Esteem.”

Alondra Meraz, Caroline Ybos, Caroline Dalton, and Amy Brown collaborated on, “Immigration and Sex-Trafficking: Victim Blame Differs Based on Participant Gender but not Country of Origin.”

University of Louisiana Monroe

Burton Ashworth and Krista Parker discussed, “Content Analysis of Presidential Inaugural Addresses.”

Ruthie Menou presented her research on, “Exploring the Incremental Validity of the State of Surrender Scale Within the Psychological Flexibility Framework.”

Burton Ashworth and Krista Parker conducted a presentation on, “A Pilot Study Investigating Disgust Sensitivity Toward People of Age.”

Burton Ashworth presented, “Reducing ADHD Symptoms Using Biofeedback Protocols.”

Psychological Scientists Attend International Event

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Psychological scientists from Louisiana joined the nearly 1500 researchers that came together in Brussels, Belgium for the 2023 International Convention of Psychological Science. Organized as a branch of the Association for Psychological Science, researchers from Louisiana contributed to the 70 countries and six continents that were represented at this year’s event, held March 9 to 11.

Hung-Chu Lin and co-authors Manyu Li, Amy L. Brown, and Paula Zeanah, all from University of Louisiana at Lafayette, presented “Sexual Wellbeing: The Pathway from Childhood Adversity Via Cognitive-Emotional Functioning. According to the abstract: Multidimensional nature of sexual wellbeing (SWB) was examined for its latent indicators including sexual self-esteem, comfort with sexual consent, and sexual self-efficacy. Structural equation modeling revealed an indirect pathway from childhood adversity to SWB via current cognitive-emotional functioning (CEF), suggesting that enhancing current CEF as a means for improving SWB.

Hung-Chu Lin from University of Louisiana Lafayette, presented “Temporal Relations of Perception and Emotions in Response to Infant Crying: Observations Nested within Subjects.”

From the abstract: Using a digitally edited 4-minute-long cry bout of a 4-week-old male infant as the stimulus, this study described within-subject sequential relations of cry perception, empathic concern, and personal distress across time. The findings underscore mutual influences and shed light on the dynamic and complex nature of responding to infant crying.

Julia D. Buckner, Caroline Scherzer and Paige Morris, all from Louisiana State University, along with Andrew H. Rogers and Michael J Zvolensky from University of Houston, presented “Sex Differences in Opioid Misuse Among Adults with Chronic Lower Back Pain: The Impact of Negative Affect and Opioid-Use Motives. The abstract noted: Among 207 adults with chronic lower back pain who use opioids, men endorsed more anxiety, depression, opioid misuse, and enhancement, coping, and social motives than women. Men endorsed more severe opioid misuse via the serial effects of anxiety and these motives and depression and coping (not
enhancement, social) motives.

Faith Stoneking and Julia D. Buckner from Louisiana State University presented, “Social Anxiety and Cannabis Use: The Impact of Body Dissatisfaction.” The abstract noted: Among 252 adults reporting current cannabis use, social anxiety was significantly correlated with more cannabis problems and body dissatisfaction. The relationship between social anxiety and cannabis problems was moderated by body dissatisfaction such that social anxiety was only related to more cannabis problems at higher levels among men and women.

Hillary Colleen Sinclair, Jonathan Yevuyibor, Shriya Thakkar, Kristina Little and Andrew Burns, all from Louisiana State University, presented, “ ‘That’s Just the Way It Is:’ Understanding Obstacles and Facilitators in Interventions to Reduce Underage Drinking in Louisiana.” From the abstract: We conducted 5 focus groups with Louisiana Coalitions overseeing underage drinking interventions. Coalitions identified enduring cultural factors as their primary obstacle to effectively reducing underage drinking. Conversely, intervention team diversity was credited for intervention successes. COVID was a challenge but also an opportunity to enhance group resilience and innovation.

Colleen Sinclair from Louisiana State University and Sydney Wicks from University of Mississippi presented “Refining the Enemy Impact Inventory Scale: Integrating Ostracism Detection Theory to Better Understand the Impact of Enemy Relationships.” Their abstract noted: Research has examined the influence of friendships on well-being. Less is known about the impact of enemyships. The present study focused on integrating Ostracism Detection Theory in the development of the Enemy Impact Inventory- Revised and establishing the reliability and validity of the scale.

The Times talked with Dr. Hung-Chu Lin about attending the event. She is Professor, Department of Psychology and Chair, the Institutional Review Board, SLEMCO/LEQSF Regents Endowed Professor in Liberal Arts, at University of Louisiana Lafayette.

“It was an amazing experience,” Dr. Lin said. “Meeting and interacting with European scholars was incredibly enriching and left me feeling inspired and energized. As always, attending an international conference like this one offers the opportunity to network with international scholars and the chance to learn from different cultural and societal contexts that enrich and broaden my research perspectives.”

Was there anything else she enjoyed about the trip? “I got to visit the museum of one of my favorite artists, the Gelgian painter and sculptor, Rene Magritte,” she said.

La Behavioral Health Notes Emergency in Children’s MH Needs

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According to a March press release, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Office of Behavioral Health, is introducing five new initiatives focused on the behavioral health of children and adolescents and their families. These initiatives focus on improved access to early childhood, adolescent, and family behavioral health services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the challenges facing adolescents’ and children’s mental health, said officials, causing altered experiences at home, school, and during in-person social interactions. The pandemic also highlighted the need for increased access to healthcare and social services as an alarming number of young people struggle with feelings of helplessness, depression, and thoughts of suicide.

According to the announcement, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association have declared a national state of emergency in child and adolescent mental health.

Improving and expanding mental health services for Louisianans of all ages is the culmination of years of deliberate planning and focus, and I’m proud my administration has taken on this task in a thoughtful and targeted way,” said Governor Edwards. “The Louisiana Department of Health’s work to expand crisis services, add capacity for substance use treatment, and use evidence-based treatment for other behavioral health needs will help us address the trauma and other challenges brought on by the pandemic and the many disasters Louisianans have become so accustomed to.”

LDH Secretary Dr. Courtney Phillips said, “It has been our top priority over the past few years to confront the crises Louisiana residents have been facing with behavioral health strategies that improve the quality of life for our residents and hold the promise of a brighter future for Louisiana’s children. The five initiatives we are announcing today are critical new additions to the current array of specialized behavioral health services, and I am confident that our behavioral health partners will be able to use them to increase access to services and ultimately improve health outcomes.”

According to the announcement, OBH is building upon services currently available to Medicaid eligible children and adolescents through five additional initiatives currently under development through Fiscal Year 2024.

Initiative 1: Expanding substance use residential treatment facilities for women and dependent children – Pregnant women, and women with dependent children, are among the most vulnerable of all populations in need of stable residential services for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. Louisiana currently has 3 statewide providers. However, in order to geographically diversify and expand capacity of treatment programs that allow children up to
12 years old to accompany their mothers, OBH will identify additional providers to fill statewide gaps in services to establish additional treatment beds.

Initiative 2: Implementing Early Childhood Supports and Services (ECSS) – ECSS will provide screening, evaluation, and referral services and treatment for children from birth through age 5 and their families through evidence-based behavioral health treatment. This includes support for enhancing positive caregiving relationships and comprehensive care coordination addressing family needs, including families’ environmental risks and social determinants of health. OBH intends to pilot ECSS with an early adopting entity, while pursuing a contractor for long-term management of the statewide program through a request for proposal (RFP), which is expected to be released in calendar year 2023.

Initiative 3: Building the foundation for statewide youth crisis services – Expanding upon the Medicaid adult crisis services continuum introduced in LDH’s Fiscal Year 2022 business plan, LDH is committed to extending Mobile Crisis Response (MCR) and Community Brief Crisis Support (CBCS) services to youth. With an anticipated launch in spring 2024, MCR is an initial
intervention for individuals in a self-identified crisis; while CBCS is a face-to-face ongoing
crisis intervention response, designed to provide stabilization and support. LDH has identified start-up funding for providers and the budget proposal includes funding for Medicaid coverage of these services in late fiscal year 2024, said officials.

Initiative 4: Treating trauma through the implementation for Dialectical Behavioral Therapy –(DBT) programs DBT is an evidence-based, comprehensive intervention designed to treat adults and adolescents with severe mental disorders and out-of-control cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns that often result from early and/or chronic experiences of trauma, neglect, and abandonment. LDH will begin provider DBT training in the fall with initial implementation of service delivery expected in late calendar year 2023.

Initiative 5: Cultivating Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) services to treat youth with co-occurring developmental disabilities PRTFs are non-hospital facilities offering intensive inpatient and educational services to individuals younger than age 21 who have various behavioral health issues. OBH is currently developing this programming for a highly specialized PRTF with up to 25 beds, with treatment focusing on co-occurring mental health and developmental disabilities. This population will achieve better outcomes in a highly specialized setting tailored to their needs, said the officials.

Bills Flowing in for April 10 Start of 2023 Legislative Regular Session

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The 2023 Regular Legislative Session is booming already with hundreds of bills being filed and the kickoff day set for April 10. New measures are being introduced and some familiar themes are reappearing in the Legislators’ efforts.

Rep. Green is introducing HB 226 which eliminates the death penalty. Rep. Travis Johnson is seeking Medicaid coverage for mental health and substance-abuse services via the Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model. SB 34, authored by Sen. Bernard, requires that the state add “Suicide Lifeline dial 988” to on the driver’s license, and Representative Larvadain aims to add firefighters to his previous effort that created peer support training methods for those in law enforcement. Rep. Hilferty is introducing HB 242 which would prohibit corporal punishment in elementary and secondary schools unless authorized by a parent.

See pages 5–6 for a number of other bills that are being introduced this year.

Volunteering Expert, Dr. Richard Flicker, Takes Lead for Baton Rouge Area Society Psychologists

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Dr. Richard Flicker, an industrial–organizational psychologist who is heavily involved in his community and volunteering, will serve as president of the Baton Rouge Area Society of Psychologists, known as BRASP. This will be the second term for Dr. Flicker, who also served as president in 1998. He was elected while being absent from the meeting for the first time in two years, he explained to the Times. Even so. Dr. Flicker is a strong advocate of community involvement. “I believe that there are many ways each and every psychologist can fulfill the challenge issued by George Miller’s 1969 address to the American Psychological Association –– to give psychology away,” Dr. Flicker said. “Volunteerism in the form of active membership in civic, religious and charitable organizations is one way to give psychology away. It doesn’t always require being the leader, but the visibility and influence afforded by leadership roles allows us to have a greater positive impact,” he said.

“The 80/20 Rule – not the one applying to determining adverse impact in employment discrimination cases – but the one which states that 20% of the members of any group contribute 80% of the work ––or money or time. We need to be sure that we’re in that 20%
and not the other 80% who mainly complain.”

Dr. Flicker’s goals for his BRASP presidency include efforts to have interesting and informative speakers at the monthly meetings.

At their February meeting, BRASP hosted Erica McLellan, Assistant Attorney General and Section Chief of the Sexual Predator Unit at Louisiana Department of Justice. She discussed the role of psychologists in this area of the criminal justice system, the psychological impact of sex crimes on the victims and their families, and what is involved in the investigation/prosecution.

For the March meeting, Morgan Lamandre, Esq., President & CEO, Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response, will speak about advocacy, counseling and legal services available to youth and adult survivors of sexual violence. For April, the speakers will be Dr. John Kirwan, Executive Director of LSU’s Pennington Biomedical ResearchCenter and George Bray, Jr. Endowed Super Chair in Nutrition.

Dr. Flicker also wants to make meetings fun and welcoming by adding a couple of features to our monthly agenda, including a “Question of the Month” and a “Joke of the Month.”

“I’ve tried to find jokes that are relevant to the speaker and/or topic of the speaker’s presentation,” said Dr. Flicker, “and have sometimes modified jokes to make them relevant. Some get big chuckles, and of course, many get groans because they’re just corny.”

He will also create a working budget, review the by-laws, and wants to improve monthly attendance and increase membership.

What other leadership activities has he been involved with over the last years?

“Too many. I am the first president of the Brotherhood of the new Unified Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge. A year ago the two Jewish congregations in Baton Rouge merged into one congregation.

“As an I/O psychologist, I saw this as a challenge in organizational development – same challenge the congregation faced – overcoming any ‘us vs. them’ mindset when two former entities became one.

“The biggest project was chairing the annual Christmas Shopping Spree at Macy’s for about three dozen children in the Big Buddy program,” he said. “The I/O psychologist in me kicked in as I came up with several ways to improve the implementation of the event itself. The feedback afterwards was tremendous as far as how organized the event came off. And we exceeded ou fundraising goal, giving each of the Big Buddy kids more money (Macy’s gift cards) than ever before to put gifts under the Christmas tree for their entire families…”.

Dr. Flicker is also president-elect of the Exchange Club of Baton Rouge and chair of the annual Adopt-A-Teacher project which in 26 years has provided grants to 622 new elementary school teachers in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, grants totaling in excess of a quarter of a million dollars.

“As a small civic club, this project has only been possible because of the generosity of several businesses, other non-profit groups and individuals,” Dr. Flicker said. “I’m proud to say that BRASP has made a significant financial contribution to this project for the past 25 years, as have several individual psychologists. In return, BRASP (and those psychologists) are listed in our major newspaper, The Advocate, as well as being listed on the printed program and having their name read aloud at the School Board meeting which is broadcast live and rebroadcast repeatedly on the local cable access channel.

Dr. Flicker is also a past president and the current Treasurer is the Inter-Civic Council of Greater Baton Rouge which is comprised of representatives of over 30 civic and charitable non-profit organizations.

“In my role as treasurer, I play an active role in planning and implementing the annual Golden Deeds Award banquet, now in its 82nd consecutive year with attendance ranging from 300 to 400 plus people every year.”

He also volunteers for the American Red Cross and serves as a member of the Professional Advisory Group for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center’s soon to be launched Clinical Pastoral Education graduate degree program.

What is he doing professionally these days?

“Well, after the spring semester in 2020, I resigned my full-time faculty position in the Psychology Department at Southern University,” he said. “I initially was hired in 2001 to teach full time for one year after a tenured faculty member decided to retire one week before the fall began. At that time, I was teaching half-time in the Management Department at LSU. Somehow that one year gig at Southern lasted nineteen years; the first two of which I continued half-time at LSU in the evenings. People keep asking me if I’m retired. My response has been, I’m not retired; I’m just tired.’ ”

“Since leaving Southern, my part-time consulting practice has been a nice supplement to my social security check since volunteer work doesn’t pay very much – at least not in dollars.

Richard Flicker, PhD changed his path from math & physics to psychology after reading Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. “I couldn’t put it down,” he said “It changed my life.” He attended City College of City University of New York, and majored in consumer and industrial psychology. He took this interest with him to Purdue. There he studied with respected IO professors,

Tiffin and McCormick. From the first day, he was thrown into teaching three sections of Introductory. “It was the last thing I thought I’d do. This will come as a shock to anyone who knows me; I had a real phobia of public speaking.” Toward his senior year, he was supervising 16 grad students who taught 4000 students. “That’s how the academic setting became a career path.”

In 1975, he moved to Shreveport from New York and took a position at the new, small campus of LSU-S, where the priorities were first teaching, then community service, and then research. APA President George Miller’s ’69 message of “giving away psychology,” had had a profound affect on him. But it wasn’t until LSU-S, and the friendly, philosophical brown bag luncheons where faculty talked about community involvement, that he found his way of giving.

Dr. Flicker began public speaking, his first talk at the Exchange Club. They asked him back and before long, he was President. It was his first real leadership position and a connection that remains with him today, among his many activities. He currently serves as President of the Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast District Exchange Clubs, a multi-group organization, just one in a
long list of leadership roles for him.

Involved in his community through the Exchange Club, plus teaching, consulting, speaking, and the training he provided in “Leadership Shreveport” program, he became willingly immersed in his new culture. All this, he said, “acquainted me with my community. We had the Mayor, we had the Police Chief, we had the Fire Chief, we were doing projects with the Congressman. That’s what exposed me to the community and made me realize, ‘It’s my community.’”

What does he think are the most important issues facing psychology right now?

“Plato wrote that ‘our need will be the real creator.’ That phrase eventually morphed into the proverb ‘necessity is the mother of invention.’ The COVID-19 pandemic forced individuals and organizations in almost all sectors of our society to adapt, or go extinct. Many changes made necessary by the pandemic had unanticipated silver linings – being extremely positive,” Dr. Flicker said.

“However, like all things in life, with the positives there are negatives/side effects. The role of psychologists as change agents, whether on an individual or large scale organizational basis, provides incredible opportunities to contribute to the overall mental health of our nation. Technology already created a generation or two of people who don’t know how to function in face-to-face social situations. While technology became an asset as the pandemic required minimizing face-to-face contact, it further exacerbated the poor interpersonal skills required in society,” he said.

“Another challenge facing psychology is overcoming the anti-science, anti-intellectual attitude created by our recent toxic political environment. Psychologists are not alone in having to overcome the mistrust that appears to define almost half of our population. In a society where ‘alternative facts’ and ‘conspiracy theories’ are the new normal for so many people, re-establishing credibility as scientists, educators and practitioners of our profession may be the greatest issue facing psychology,” he said.

Dr. Flicker would like to extend an invitation to anyone who would like to attend BRASP and/or receive meeting notifications. He can be reached at flicker@premier.net.

Association of American Physicians and Surgeons Issues Statement on Gender-Affirming Care in Minors

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In a February 25 press release, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization of physicians in all specialties founded in 1943, issued the following statement:

” ‘Gender-affirming care’ in minors is medically and ethically contraindicated because of a lack of informed consent. There are inherently unknown and unknowable long-term risks, and the consequences of removing normal, healthy organs are irreversible.”

In the announcement the APPS officials also noted:

“Physicians and medical professionals should refuse to be mandated or coerced to participate in procedures to which they have ethical or scientific objections or which they believe would
harm a patient.”

“The construct of gender fluidity in the current cultural discourse is controversial.”

“There has been an explosive increase in persons who identify with the construct of gender
different from sex, at an age where identity is easily malleable and brain development is not fully concluded.”

“Conflicting motivations have led to a growing industry dedicated to providing “gender- affirming” procedures that are generally irreversible and have a high probability of causing sterilization. These procedures include puberty “blockers,” sex hormones, and surgery, such as castration, penectomy, and mastectomy. They commit a patient to a lifelong need for medical, surgical, and psychological care.”

Louisiana Company Recognized by LG NOVA for Innovative Digital Health Concept

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In a February press release, company officials announced that QuickTake Health was one of the start-ups chosen by LG Electronics’ North American Innovation Center (NOVA), for its “Mission for the Future,” a global search for companies with innovative concepts and transformative solutions that provide a positive impact on people and planet, to come explore collaboration opportunities with LG NOVA.

QuickTake Health was founded in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 2021 by Dr. John Noble, orthopaedic surgeon and Chief Medical Officer, and Rand Ragusa, Company President. During the pandemic, Ragusa had worked for a company that provided digital thermal temperature reading kiosks at medical office entrances across the state after the COVID19 shutdown in 2020. This seamless process led him to consider about how other vital sign data, such as height,
weight, and blood pressure, could possibly be collected in the same automated, efficient way using technology.

“Our goal was to build a quicker, smarter way to document vital signs and improve the patient experience,” said Dr. Noble. “We have put a lot of processes in place at Center for Orthopaedics to increase our personal interaction with patients, but we were often delayed waiting on vital signs to be entered into the patient record. The idea of creating a digital, one-stop station that could capture the health data we – and all medical offices – need seemed long overdue.”

Research shows that 56% of a health workers’ time in a normal work week is spent on administrative tasks rather than caring for patients. Pen and paper still play a big role in
data entry, even though the COVID-19 pandemic has forced healthcare organizations to adapt to new technology. In addition, ongoing shortages of skilled frontline workers heighten many types of risks, including medical errors.

“We knew there had to be a better solution; a way to automate the workflow for vital sign collection,” said Ragusa.

The QuickTake system is powered by advanced camera technology, biometric sensors, and EHR (electronic health record) integration. A patient simply steps onto the QuickTake platform and their vital signs are instantly collected and transferred directly to their medical record.

Legislators Filing Bills for April 10 Start of 2023 Regular Session

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The 2023 Regular Legislative Session will convene at noon on Monday, April 10, 2023. Final Adjournment is no later than 6:00 pm on Thursday, June 8, 2023. The deadline for pre-filing bills is March 31. Legislators have begun to file their bills. Among those are the following:

Representative Selders is proposing in House Bill 55 to improve treatment of incarcerated individuals with mental health needs, referred to as “The Mental Healing Justice for Incarcerated People Act.”

The proposed law states that legislative intent is access to high-quality mental health services, regardless of the setting, and that the state wholly supports efforts to assist incarcerated individuals suffering from severe and persistent mental illnesses, including post-incarceration syndromes, in their efforts to navigate incarceration and reentry into society.

Present law (R.S. 15:830) provides that the department may establish resources and programs for the treatment of inmates with a mental illness or an intellectual disability, either in a separate facility or as part of other institutions or facilities of the department.

House Bill (HB) 55 amends present law to make the establishment of resources and programs mandatory.

The proposed law provides that the qualified mental health persons within the multi-disciplinary service team shall establish a training program to be conducted annually. The responsibilities of the multi-disciplinary service team include the following:
(1) Prompt screenings of the entire inmate population for post-incarceration syndrome through the use of computer-administered interviewing technology.[…]
(2) Use of computeradministered interviewing to conduct screenings […]
(3) In-prison and outpatient services for all of the following:
(a) Methods for accessing mental health staff during a mental health crisis; (b) Implementation of prevention interventions for suicide and self-injurious behavior; (c) Procedures for placement of a patient in a level of care in accordance with his mental health needs; (d) Detection, diagnosis, and treatment of post-incarceration syndrome, among other mental illnesses, with medication management or counseling. […]

HB 31, authored by Representative Romero provides for additional offenses that require registration as a sex offender. The proposed law changes the definition of “criminal offense against a victim who is a minor” to include the present law offenses of cruelty to juveniles (R.S. 14:93) and second degree cruelty to juveniles (RS. 14:93.2.3).

Representative Boyd is putting forth HB 40 which prohibits intentional employment discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Present law provides that it shall be unlawful for an employer to discriminate against any individual based on Legislators Filing Bills for April 10 Start of 2023 Regular Session, continued race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or natural, protective, or cultural hairstyle.

The proposed law adds that it is unlawful for an employer to also discriminate against any individual based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Present law provides that it shall not be unlawful for an employer to discriminate against any individual based on religion, sex, or national origin in certain instances where religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification that is reasonably necessary for that particular business or enterprise.

Proposed law provides that no provision shall be interpreted to infringe upon the freedom of expression, association, or the free exercise of religion.

HB 41 authored by Representative Frieman requires health benefits and payment parity equal to in-person services for occupational therapy delivered through telehealth. The proposed law requires a health coverage plan (plan) to pay for covered occupational therapy services provided via telehealth to an individual insured person.

HB 41 prohibits a plan from certain restrictions, including the following: (1) Requiring a previously established in-person relationship or the provider to be physically present with a patient or client, unless the provider determines that it is necessary to perform that service in person. (2) Requiring prior authorization, medical review, or administrative clearance for telehealth that would not be required if that service were provided in person. (3) Requiring demonstration that it is necessary to provide services to a patient or client as telehealth. (4) Requiring a provider to be employed by another provider or agency […] (5) Restricting or denying coverage based solely on the communication technology or application used to provide the telehealth service. However, proposed law authorizes a plan to restrict occupational therapy services via telehealth when the services are provided solely by telephone. […]

Senator Cloud is putting forth Senate Bill 7 which provides each library established in accordance with present law or pursuant to a home rule charter shall adopt and implement a policy to limit the access of minors to sexually explicit material.

The proposed law requires the policy to include: (1) A requirement that community standards for the population served by the library be considered when acquiring library material through donation or purchase; (2) A library card system that allows a parent or guardian to select a card that indicates whether or not a minor is permitted to check out sexually explicit material physically available in the library.

SB 12, by Senator Fields, requires each postsecondary education institution, elementary, middle, and high school to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) on its premises in an easily accessible location. The proposed law requires that an AED and a trained AED user be at each athletic event sponsored by a postsecondary institution and elementary, middle, or high school.

Medical Psych Advisory Committee Discusses Supervision Dilemmas

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The Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, convened a Regular Call meeting of the Medical Psychology Advisory Committee on January 27, 2023. The Medical Psychology
Advisory Committee met via live-streaming video and teleconference for the public session. New Business included: “1. LSBEP – Supervision of psychology licensure candidates.”

According to the medical board, members of the Medical Psychology Advisory Committee include Glenn Ally PhD MP – Secretary Treasurer, James Blackburn MD, Darla M. R. Burnett, Ph.D., M.P., Vincent Culotta, Jr. MD, ex officio, Warren C Lowe PhD MP, and K. Chris Rachal PhD MP.

The press release included the agenda as follows:

INTRODUCTIONS – Identification of participants and audibility per La. R.S. 42:17.1(C)(3). Finding that Agenda meets criteria under La. R.S. 42:17.1(A)(2)(d).

PUBLIC COMMENTS, pursuant to La. R.S. 42:17(C)(1).

OLD BUSINESS – Approval of Minutes from meeting on August 16, 2022

NEW BUSINESS 1. LSBEP – Supervision of psychology licensure candidates
2. Replacement of MPAC physician member

Dr. Ally called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda. He brought to the
floor new business involving the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists [LSBEP] and supervision of psychology licensure candidates.

Dr. Ally said, “As some of you may know LSBEP has attempted to suggest that medical psychologists cannot supervise potential licensees. And, suggests that the only way that medical psychologists should be able to supervise potential licensees is by being licensed also by LSBEP.

“We’ve kind of disputed that. It’s been a long-standing practice that that medical
psychologists have been able to supervise provisional licenses and potential licensees. I’m not talking about individuals already licensed but those that are provisional and those that are potential licenses.

“We’ve had meetings with LSBEP, LSBME, LAMP, a number of folks, attorneys were involved with this. The bottom line is the LSBEP backed off of that policy they were attempting to put forward.

“However, Warren indicated to me that a supervisee had his provisional status sort of, wasn’t turned down, but they said they could not approve his provisional proposal because he was being supervised are because he intended to be supervised by a medical psychologist. They are not saying that they will not approve him but they are not approving the pre-proposal. So they are not getting into the game of saying they are not going to approve you, if you have been supervised by medical psychologist, but we can’t approve the proposal. So that is where we’re getting stuck with this.

“The LSBEP attempted to pass a lengthy set of rules along with many other professional associations. In doing that they had attempted to suggest that only a psychologist licensed under their statute could supervise. We were able to insert into that, that medical psychologists could supervise.

Dr. Ally read from Revised Statute 37:2356.2, section D:

D. A provisional licensed psychologist shall maintain a relationship with a licensed psychologist or a medical psychologist licensed in accordance with R.S. 37:1360.51 et seq. for the purposes of clinical supervision. The supervising psychologist or medical psychologist shall have legal functioning authority over the professional activities of the provisional licensed psychologist.

“So I think that’s pretty clear that we are able to supervise but again LSBEP is raising this issue one more time. I don’t know how LAMP wants to address this but I think we’ll need to address it one more time.”

Committee members discussed the confusion between the rules and the statute.

Dr. Ally said, “I do know that LSBEP has been for quite a long time now wanting to get medical psychologist licensed under their board once again. It doesn’t behoove us to do that at this point in time, risking two licensures, risking two exposures of liability. It just doesn’t make sense for us. However, having said that, some medical psychologist do maintain two licenses under both boards.”

Dr. Lowe read a portion of a letter that the supervisee received from the LSBEP.

“LSBEP has reviewed your supervised practice plan with a medical psychologist, which unfortunately was not approved. Dr. so-and-so, the MP, is not a licensed psychologist under the jurisdiction of LSBEP thus you are not eligible for a provisional license. The board does not pre-approve supervision and relationships between an applicant supervisee and the supervisor if the supervisor is not licensed under the jurisdiction of this board.

“However the board will review and consider the acceptability of any supervised experience that is conducted under the licensing jurisdiction such as the LSBME on completion of the supervision provided the supervision meets the requirements of the Louisiana Administrative Code. The supervisor will need to submit the post-doctoral supervision documentation upon completion of the supervision.”

Dr. Lowe said, “They are not denying that MPs can be supervisors of LSBEP potential licensees but what they’re saying is we’re not going to approve it ahead of time, we’re not going to give you a provisional license and we may not approve it after the fact, which is the only place we’re going to review it.

“I’m only putting this on the agenda because I want everyone to be aware of this, the way they have gotten around or made it difficult for MPs to supervise.

“You have to be, I think, risk inclined to have an MP supervise you not knowing ahead of time that it’s going to be approved and it might not be approved plus you interrupt your opportunity to be a provisional licensee.

The members discussed whether this is against the current statutes and provisional license. Dr. Lowe said, “This will eventually fall to LAMP and LAMP will have to decide what and if they want to try to remedy this someway.”

Dr. Ally said, “From my perspective I hesitate at this point in time to open up our statute for any revisions but at some point in time we may have to do that and try and make some clarification. We can’t undo their statute or we can wait for an opportunity if they try to revise their statute to amend their statute or rules which we have done in the past. I’m speaking for LAMP now.

“That something that LAMP will have to consider and look and address. As MPAC our responsibility is to enforce the statutes, the laws, and interpret them as they are on the books now.

The meeting can be viewed via YouTube. Go to the website at www.lsbme.la.gov, and from the home page, click on “Advisory Committees” and then “Medical Psychology” where a YouTube link to the meeting will be posted at the appointed time of the meeting.

During the meetings of this type, according to the notice, Individuals who wish to make a public comment before or during the meeting may do so by emailing:
publiccomment@lsbme.la.gov.

Dr. Murray Weighs In on the Behavioral Immune System

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Tulane’s Dr. Damian Murray co-authored the Association for Psychological Science
lead article, Psychological Science in the Wake of COVID-19 Social, Methodological, and Metascientific Considerations.

The premier article was published in Perspectives on Psychological Science in March 2022.

Dr. Murray explained the importance of the behavioral immune system and along with national and international contributors, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has extensively changed the landscape of psychological science, and it is continuing to raise important questions about the conduct of research.

How did Dr. Murray become involved as a resource for the article?

“I was simply approached by the lead author, as he was familiar with my work and my being among a (formerly much smaller) group of researchers studying the implications of disease threat for cognition, behavior, and culture,” explained Dr. Murray.

The article considers how the psychology of pathogen threat may elucidate many social
phenomena in the wake of COVID-19. One question of concern brought up about this was, “Why should psychological scientists care about COVID-19 and the day-to-day research?”

Dr. Murray explains that, complementary to our immune systems, people focus on avoiding disease-causing objects, including other people whenever possible, which is referred to as a type of “behavioral immune system.” This concept is explained by Murray & Schaller in their 2016 chapter for Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, titled, “The Behavioral Immune System: Implications for Social Cognition, Social Interaction, and Social Influence.”

“Broadly, the behavioral immune system,” said Dr. Murray, “is a set of cognitive, motivational, and behavioral mechanisms that help to minimize the possibility of getting sick in the face of recurrent infectious disease threats.” As an historical note he added, “This may have been more aptly termed the Psychological Immune System, but that had already been claimed.”

Dr. Murray and co-authors explain that a fundamental goal of any organism is to protect itself from threat, and humans must navigate both realistic such as biological threats to health and symbolic threats such as those to group identity, moral values, and worldviews. Because they pose both realistic and symbolic threats, pandemics have high potential to influence many cognitions and behaviors, explained Dr. Murray.

Until recently psychologists have mostly dismissed the implications of pathogen threat for social cognition and behavior. In general, disease avoidance does not involve a great deal of deliberative thought, given that it is motivated by disgust or embedded cultural norms, reported Dr. Murray and co-authors in a 2017 research article.

However, viewed from the functional perspective, most social phenomena have disease-related causes and/or consequences which include relationships, motivations, moral cognition, and even cultural systems and political institutions, explain Murray & Schaller.

What are some of the most interesting research findings in this area?

“I used to answer this question by saying that disease influences the fundamental ways in which we socialize,” said Dr. Murray, “but now that we’ve all been through a world-altering pandemic that seems like common knowledge. I guess now I would say that I consider the most interesting findings to be those outcomes in the areas that people don’t intuitively link to disease, like conformity or moral judgment,” he said. “Are you more likely to condemn someone who morally transgresses when you’re worried about disease? Are you more likely to conform to even the tritest of social norms when you’re more concerned about disease? The research says ‘yes’ to both of these questions,” said Dr. Murray.

When it detects threat, the behavioral immune system activates anti-infection behavior, such as by eliciting disgust and promoting social avoidance, according to Murray & Schaller. The authors state that when this happens, COVID-19 alerts psychologists to uncertain conditions of infection risk that, to date, have been underappreciated and understudied.

What are some of the most practical applications, or main takeaways, regarding the behavioral system that readers might need to know?

“It’s hard to overstate just how important a factor disease has been in how and why we are the humans we are today,” said Dr. Murray. “With access to remarkable modern medicine, it’s easy to forget that throughout human history, infectious disease has been the biggest
threat to our well-being and thriving…it’s been the source of more deaths than all famines, wars, and natural disasters combined,” he said.

“So, in the lab our work is showing that yes—when people are temporarily made aware of a disease threat, they are more likely to vote with the majority, are more likely to condemn those that violate moral norms, and more likely to say that they would prefer fewer sexual partners in the next 5 years (and/or in their lifetimes),” said Dr. Murray.

“I think the bigger takeaways are that we see these effects play out at the societal level as well,” he said. “People living in countries or regions that have had historically higher levels of disease are (on average, of course) more likely to conform to the majority, more likely to
condemn moral-violators, and prefer fewer sexual partners. And even most importantly we see these psychological effects manifest in how countries and societies operate: more disease is associated with less trust of your neighbors, more authoritarian governance, and more restrictions on personal freedoms,” said Dr. Murray.

“We’ve found this when looking at both samples of contemporary nation states and samples of more traditional societies. Another huge downstream effect of disease threat (via its effects on less creative thinking) is less cultural innovation. You see this manifest in pretty much any innovation metric available…Nobel prizes, patents, global innovation scores, whatever.”

What are some of the other interesting findings in Dr. Murray’s publications?

“We’ve been doing a bunch of work over the past few years looking at how becoming a parent influences our political attitudes,” said Dr. Murray. “Most of this work has been led by Nick Kerry, a fantastic former grad student of the lab. As we know, motivations shift when one becomes a parent…as a parent you’re all of a sudden responsible for a very vulnerable other human, and you will be for many years.

“When we started this work,” said Dr. Murray, “we reckoned that maybe you’d see that motivational shift reflected in political attitudes, specifically in attitudes in the domain of social conservatism. Given that socially conservative attitudes emphasize group cohesion, familial stability, and more punitive punishments for people who might pose threats, we
predicted that parenthood is associated with higher political conservatism. This is exactly the pattern we find study after study—not just in America but all around the world. And this pattern is exclusive to social (and not economic) conservatism,” Dr. Murray said. “I think that this is fascinating work because so much work on parenting focuses on the other causal
arrow of how parents influence their children’s attitudes and behaviors. Our work shows how effects work in the opposite direction too; children influence their parents’ psychology simply by virtue of being children.”

How did he become involved in evolutionary psychology?

“I find ‘evolutionary psychology’ to be a term so fraught with baggage and misunderstanding that I don’t use it to categorize research programs or areas,” Dr. Murray said.

“Coming from early training in the biological sciences it never made sense to me why so many branches of psychology were uninterested in human origins, history, development, and culture. An evolutionarily-informed approach to the study of human cognition and behavior is complimentary to—not mutually exclusive of—the more proximal or situational
perspectives we see in the psychological sciences. It simply addresses our most fascinating ‘why’ questions at a different level of analysis,” said Dr. Murray.

“For example, if you were to try to answer the question, ‘Why do people fall in love?’ A common approach could be to look for all of the environmental and social triggers that cause people to fall in love. A complimentary evolutionary perspective could form answers to this question in a different way, by listing the ways in which the tendency to fall in love helped humans survive and thrive throughout history,” he said.

“It takes answers at both levels to best understand why people do what they do. Just as there’s no such thing as ‘non-evolutionary biology,’ neglecting the evolutionary level of analysis in psychology gives us an incomplete understanding of human cognition and behavior,” Dr. Murray said.

“So more basically my involvement/continued interest in evolutionary perspectives on psychology is that it more persistently asks the deeper ‘why’ question. We don’t get satisfactory answers to that ‘why’ question otherwise.”

Some of his current publications include:

Kerry, N., & Murray, D. R. (in press). Politics and parenting. In V. A. Weekes-Shackelford
&T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Parenting. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Kerry, N., & Murray, D. R. (2020). Politics and parental care: Experimental and mediational tests of the causal link between parenting motivation and social conservatism. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11, 284-292.

Murray, D. R., *Prokosch, M., & *Airington, Z. (2019). PsychoBehavioroImmunology:
Connecting the behavioral immune system to its physiological foundations. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 10:200. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00200

Murray, D. R., Haselton, M. G., Fales, M. R., & Cole, S. W. (2019). Falling in love is associated with immune system gene regulation. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 00, 120- 126.

Damian R. Murray, PhD, is an Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, at Tulane University. He has a PhD in Social Psychology and a PhD in Minor Quantitative Methods, from University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.

According to his bio at Tulane, Dr. Murray’s research programs follow two themes:

1) The consequences of a disease-avoidance motive for interpersonal relationships, social attitudes, personality, and cultural differences, and

2) The dynamics of new interpersonal relationships—the individual differences that predict formation, stability, and satisfaction in new romantic relationships, and the implications of these relationships for physiology and health.

LSU’s Dr. Todd, Creativity Expert, Named to National Sea Grant Program for La

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Dr. Michelle Todd, Assistant Professor in the School of Leadership and Human Resource Development at Louisiana State University (LSU), was named Fellow in the Louisiana Discovery, Integration, and Application program, part of the National Sea Grant Program.

The Louisiana Sea Grant is a non-profit organization that funds coastal and sustainability research and projects in Louisiana. According to officials, the Louisiana Discovery, Integration, and Application program (LaDIA) strives to highlight leadership for the Louisiana coast area and to promote stewardship of the state’s coastal resources through a combination of research, education and outreach.

LaDIA Fellows receive training from national experts in science communication and outreach, as well as broaden their knowledge of coastal concerns, say officials. The Louisiana Sea Grant, based at Louisiana State University, is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Sea Grant Program, a network made up of 34 Sea Grant programs located in each of the coastal and Great Lakes states and Puerto Rico. LSU was designated the nation’s thirteenth Sea Grant College in 1978.

The Times asked Dr. Todd to tell us about the LaDIA Fellows and Louisiana Sea Grant Program.

“From what I have learned,” she said, “traditionally LaDIA Fellows Louisiana Sea Grant’s efforts have mostly come from a hard science (e.g., biology, marine science, engineering) space, but they have begun to value and integrate social sciences like psychology and anthropology,” Dr. Todd said. “A lot of knowledge and expertise about building hurricane-sustainable structures and remaining resilient in Louisiana’s tumultuous weather can be
gained from the coastal Louisiana indigenous communities. Currently, there are projects that include interviewing and learning from indigenous tribes,” she said.

“Additionally, more investment is being placed in Louisiana communities to teach Louisianans how to be weather-aware, prepared, and resilient,” said Dr. Todd. “I am
currently working on a grant proposal that will investigate the most effective methods
for bringing together and leading community groups to solve coastal/environmental
community problems,” she said.

“For example, if a community is interested in bettering its recycling program or its hurricane-preparedness, we will work with them to facilitate those group meetings,
including providing methods for structuring those meetings, communication strategies,
planning tools, leadership development, etc.,” Dr. Todd said. “We plan to do this with multiple communities and to collect data to assess which methods are most effective in solving community coastal problems.”

Training received as part of the program helps support innovative solutions to the
coastal challenges facing the Mississippi River Delta and coastal systems worldwide, according to officials. The LaDIA Fellows program offers a one-year fellowship to highly talented tenure track faculty from institutions of higher education in Louisiana. A candidate’s selection is based on their innovative research and how it is relevant to Louisiana’s coast.

What other activities is Dr. Todd engaged in currently?

“I met a colleague,” she explained, “Dr. Anurag Mandalika, who I have been working with on Agricultural issues in Louisiana. Most recently, he and Dr. Deborah Goldgaber applied for a grant from LSU’s Center for Collaborative Knowledge to sponsor a Faculty Research Seminar on Ethics of AI, Automation, and Agriculture. The grant was just funded, and the scholars mentioned above, along with me and a few other interdisciplinary researchers across LSU, will begin meeting monthly to discuss the ethical issues that impact the agriculture industry as it becomes more automated, as well as potential solutions to these problems,” Dr. Todd said.

“A major issue is that as the agriculture industry becomes more automated, many Louisianans and migrant workers have lost or will lose their jobs,” she said. “Successful automation requires knowledge capture and transfer from skilled workers, while potentially harming these same workers in the future. Some of the questions we are looking into are,
‘What sorts of policies and procedures ought to be in place for conducting research in these areas? How can experts at LSU inform and affect policy in these areas? What sort of ethical and professional frameworks ought to guide us in these areas?’”

What are her ideas on how to improve retention of the agricultural industry workers?

“Dr. Anurag Mandalika and I have specifically been discussing potential methods for improving the retention of agricultural workers agricultural industry workers,” Dr. Todd
said. “We are currently outlining a grant proposal on ways to better train leaders of agricultural companies on how to prepare their workers for increased automation, including providing their workers with cross-training of multiple skills so that workers may be better prepared to take on other jobs in the company if their current job becomes obsolete due to automation.”

Along with the LaDIA Fellows Louisiana Sea Grant Program and the ethics seminars, she is also working on her research in creativity. “I have been working with my colleague, Dr. Keith Strasbaugh on a large project investigating the impact that COVID-19 and increased telecommunicating (or complete telework) has had on creativity,” Dr. Todd said. “I am leading a symposium called ‘Novel Approaches to Managing Creativity in Organizations’ at this year’s Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology conference where we discuss some of the findings of this work,” she said.

“The first noteworthy finding is that the extent of telecommuting seems to have no relationship with creative job performance,” Dr. Todd said. “This is good news considering the shift to telecommuting or complete telework environments that are more prevalent in the modern workplace. This result suggests that organizations should not be weary of the CJP [creative job performance] of teleworkers,” she said.

“The next series of findings also seem to support this conclusion. Notably, problem solving, job complexity, and interdependence did not influence the relationship between telecommuting and CJP. This suggests that even with varying levels of problem solving, job
complexity, and dependence on coworkers, varying levels of telecommuting may be just as viable as in-person workplace environments,” said Dr. Todd.

“Social support was the only significant factor impacting telecommuting and CJP, delineating that high social support in increased telecommuting environments is key to increased CJP,” she said.

“When social support is low for people who telecommute more, their CJP appears to suffer. Therefore, organizations and supervisors should provide opportunities for more social support for creative workers who telecommute. Examples may include specified time for
peer-to-peer and subordinate-to-supervisor discussion and developmental feedback.,” she said.

Dr. Todd is currently in the process of publishing this paper, in addition to other work investigating the interaction of emotions, job engagement, and telework on creativity at work, she explained.

“Our first notable finding was that, in general, more positive emotions were reported by participants than negative emotions over the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and these positive emotions predicted greater CJP. Similar to the findings outlined above, this suggests that creativity at work was and is possible despite the stressors induced by the pandemic,” Dr. Todd said.

“However, we also found that negative emotions significantly diminished the relationship between job engagement and creative job performance during the pandemic. These finding stress that positive emotions during the pandemic are key to effective creative work, and
organizations concerned with creativity and innovation may benefit from initiatives to keep spirits high at work,” she said.

“When we examined telework in tandem with emotions and CJP, we found that telework did not significantly affect these relationships. That is, despite different work environments and differing hours of telecommuting, reported emotions were similar. This finding provides further evidence that creativity, along with emotion regulation, may thrive just as well in a telework environment as in a physical office.”

Dr. Todd has published her research in notable peer-reviewed outlets, including The Leadership Quarterly, Accountability in Research, and the Creativity Research Journal, in addition to editing a book, Creativity and Innovation in Organizations, published by Taylor and Francis.

She has conducted research funded by the Army Research Institute, the National Institutes of Health, and the state of Oklahoma. She has also collaborated on research and consulting projects with the U.S. Army, Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Secret Service.

Dr. Todd’s publications include:

Todd, E. M., Higgs, C., & Mumford, M. D. (2022). Effective strategies for creative idea evaluation and feedback: The customer’s always right. Creativity Research Journal, 1-19.

MacLaren, N. G., Yammarino, F. J., Dionne, S. D., Sayama, H., Mumford, M. D., Connelly, S., Martin, R. W., Mulhearn, T. J., Todd, E. M., Kulkarni, A., Cao, Y., & Ruark, G. (2020). Testing the babble hypothesis: Speaking time predicts leader emergence in small groups. The Leadership Quarterly, 31, 101409.

Todd, E. M., Higgs, C. A., & Mumford, M. D. (2019). Bias and bias remediation in creative problem-solving: Managing biases through forecasting. Creativity Research Journal, 31,
1-14. DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2018.1532268

Mumford, M. D., Todd, E. M., & Higgs, C. A. (2018). Eminence and genius in the real-word:Seven critical skills that make possible eminent achievement. Journal of Genius and Eminence, 3, 13-25.

Dr. Todd received her PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on creativity, innovation, and leadership in organizations, as well as the development and training of
individuals for creative and leadership roles. She has also published work on ethical decision-making and ethics training.

She is Assistant Professor in the School of Leadership and Human Resource Development, in the College of Human Sciences & Education at Louisiana State University.

Dr. Woods–Smith in Election for LSBEP

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Shawanda Woods-Smith, PsyD, from Ball, Louisiana is the sole candidate qualifying and offering to serve on the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists and named in the current election to fill the board member vacancy occurring on June 30, 2023.

Dr. Woods-Smith is the Director of Psychology at Pincerest Supports and Services Center in Pineville, Louisiana, part of the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities. She was licensed in clinical psychology in 2014 and earned her degree from Argosy University in Dallas in 2008, according to her application.

The election, conducted by the state psychology board, opened January 7 and will end midnight on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. Licensed psychologists are eligible to vote by electronic ballots through the licensing board.

Dr. Woods- Smith provided a statement of issues facing the LSBEP, and was asked to describe her role as a regulator in enforcing the laws, standards and ethics code, and goals for her tenure on the Board. She gave her statement as follows:

“I view that an overall role of an LSBEP member encompasses the promotion and advancement of the Psychology profession in adherence with state laws and ethical standards. Additionally, inherit within this role is the responsibility to educate and protect the welfare of members of the profession and ensure the initial and continuing professional
competence of providers within mental health to provide consumers with access to safely delivered psychological services.

“As a member of the LSBEP, it would be a goal to increase the visibility and facilitate mental health services awareness within the state of Louisiana. Additionally, with increased exposure the objective would also include the recruitment and retainment of future and current Psychologists within the state by collaborating with other disciplines (Social Work, Counseling, Substance Abuse, Marriage & Family Therapists, etc.) and entities such as the State Board of Education and State Colleges & Universities.”

If appointed by the governor, Dr. Woods- Smith’s term will be from July 2023 until June 2028.

Pinecrest Supports and Services Center supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to reach treatment goals and to return to more integrated community living settings. Pinecrest Supports and Services Center specializes in the treatment of people with comorbid intellectual and developmental disabilities and complex medical, behavioral, and psychiatric support needs, according to officials. The Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) serves as the Single Point of Entry (SPOE) into the developmental disabilities services system and oversees services for people with developmental disabilities.

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Dr. Woods–Smith in Election for LSBEP