Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 10. Source pages: 6.
The proposed law, HB 226, that would have created a new crime of prohibited sexual contact between a psychotherapist and a client or patient, appears to be dead in committee.
HB 226 would have created punishment of imprisonment of not more than ten years, fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
The proposed law prohibits any psychotherapist or any one posing as a psychotherapist, from having sexual contact with a client or patient.
Most, if not all, ethics codes for mental health service providers prohibits sexual contact with clients.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 10. Source pages: 15.
The Louisiana Association of Clinical Social Workers will host Marie O’Neil in a one-day workshop, “Mindfulness- Based Psychotherapy: Theoretical Framework and Interventions,” on Friday, June 7, 2013. The workshop will be held at the Red Cross Center, 2640 Canal Street, in New Orleans.
The workshop will cover the therapist’s mindfulness practice as a tool to enhance the therapeutic relationship, including topics of mindfulness of breath and body, thoughts and emotions, sounds, and “walking meditation.” The morning session will be experiential. Afternoon sessions includes clinical applications of mindfulness and topics of “Mindfulness as third wave of behavior therapy,” “Theoretical framework of mindfulness,” and “Tailoring mindfulness practices to needs of individual clients.”
Marie T. O’Neil, LCSW, is a Registered Yoga Teacher, Certified Mind-Body Medicine Practitioner, and Co-founder and Faculty of the Mind-Body Center of Louisiana. She has studied Buddhist psychology and was the Program Director of Garrison Institute’s Wellness Program in Garrison, NY where she worked closely with meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg to design and implement a model using contemplative practices to transform vicarious trauma.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 10. Source pages: 6.
A bill that authorizes an employing school board to pay the eligible salary supplements to school teachers, counselors, and psychologists on or after a July 1, 2013 date, rather than by that date, seems to be headed for success. Present law provides for annual salary supplements and HB 540 retains present law and allows the initial applicable certificate period to be more flexible.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 10. Source pages: 16.
So here I am again, still Susie Marie PhD. I've settled on my in-the-media public name, supported by positive responses from a sampling of both sexes across age groups, including rural and city dwellers, workers, retirees, and students. I came up with the name of my new TV show, South River Stories, several years ago, and waited for the rest of my life to catch up with my idea. That's life as a Myers- Briggs intuitive. I had the idea, I loved the idea, and finally I am implementing the idea.
The first step toward realization of my idea was to file for federal registration of "South River Stories" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. Well over a year after I began that process, I received confirmation that my mark had been approved. Now, as I write this column and develop my show, I look on the wall in front of me and see my certificate, inspiring me to continue to go forward on this media mission.
A service mark is a big deal in business. If you look closely at various items on your desk, you will see the ® after the brand names. For example, I see Liquid Paper®, Kleenex®, and Scotch® (. . . my tape dispenser, y'all . . . I live life sans alcohol . . .). Sometimes those registration marks are really tiny, but, if you look closely, you will see them. They are supposed to accompany the registered words wherever they appear. And so, without further adieu, I am happy to invite you to watch South River Stories® – The TV Show, premiering this November. You want to know where? Where? Well, I am in negotiation for airtime and funding, so stay tuned for confirmation of that detail. As an independent producer I am putting the show together from scratch, i.e., from my intuitive bank of ideas, and banking on sponsors to invest in the show.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 10. Source pages: 6.
A Senate Concurrent Resolution offered by Senator Fred Mills, commending the Louisiana Coalition for Violence Prevention, was signed by both the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House last month. The Resolution noted that Coalition is a multidisciplinary group with the goal to reduce violence through early detection of those at risk for interpersonal violence.
Cindy Nardini listening to discussion at an LPC Board meeting recently. Nardini was instrumental in helping Senator Mills understand the goals of the Louisiana Coalition for Violence Prevention, leading to a Senate Resolution commending the group for its efforts.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 10. Source pages: 16.
The Clinical/Counseling Psychologist position is a senior staff position in the Mental Health Service of the Student Health Center, Louisiana State University. The professional position will report to the Director of Mental Health Service. This is a full time (100% effort/40 hours per week) position for 12 months per year. Qualifications: Doctoral degree in Clinical/Counseling Psychology; license to practice psychology in Louisiana or obtainment of LA license by time of hire; three years of clinical experience. Posted 5-28-2013, open until filled.
Professor, Faculty: Roy B. Crumpler Endowed Chair in Psychology. Duties will include teaching and supervision of assessment and treatment in our APA accredited Ph.D. program in clinical psychology, undergraduate teaching, attracting research funding and maintaining a highly visible research program. Qualifications: Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology; established national/international reputation; should be licensed or license eligible. Posted 11-2-2012, open until filled.
Instructor, part-time: School of Social Work –College of Human Sci and Ed. The Instructor teaches one course in any of the following areas during the Fall 2013, and Spring 2014 semesters: Human Diversity & Oppression, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Program and Practice Evaluation, Research, Social Work History and Policy, and Social Work Practice, Juvenile Delinquency, electives and internship courses. Qualifications: (Clinical Practice Courses) Master's of Social Work (MSW) degree; three years of post MSW practice experience; active Louisiana Clinical Social Work license (LCSW) in good standing. (Non-Clinical Practice Courses) Master's degree in Psychology or a closely related field and five years of professional experience OR a Doctorate in Psychology or a closely related field. Posted 4-17-2013, until filled.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 10. Source pages: 7.
The first meeting of the School Specialist Task Force is scheduled for June 28 according to a report by the state psychology board.
Executive Director Kelly Parker, told the Times, “I think the main goal is to study the issue of possible licensure as a School Specialist in Louisiana. I anticipate that the group will gather information from various sources including other states and national organizations. Ultimately, a baseline framework maybe created for model licensure language.”
Members of the task force include Dr. Rita Culross, Professor at LSU, who will be the psychology board’s representative.
Dr. Conni Patterson, Professor of Practice at Tulane University and past president of the Louisiana School Psychology Association will also serve.
Dr. Steven Welsh will work on the task force. Dr. Welsh has been the Department head for the Department of Psychology and Counselor Education at Nicholls, and more recently, the interim Dean of the College of Education. Also included is Dr. Carmen Broussard, Associate Professor of Psychology at Nicholls.
Susan Ratterree, the National Association of School Psychologists Delegate for the Louisiana School Psychological Association, will serve.
And, E. Francoise Parr, current President of the Louisiana School Psychological Association, is also a member.
At a recent presentation by the psychology board, Chair Lee Matthews noted that the task force was created to study the possible licensure of school specialists in Louisiana. The specialist degree in school psychology is offered by LSU– Shreveport and by Nicholls State University and requires 72 hours of graduate training and 1200 hours supervised practice.
Speaking at the recent planning meeting of the state psychology board, Dr. Steven Welsh noted that this was the first time in 30 years that he or someone from the Louisiana School Psychological Association had been officially asked to talk with the psychology board.
Drs. Steven Welsh (L), George Hebert (C), and Phillip Lazarus (R), at the 2012 gathering of the LA School Psychological Association. Dr. Welsh was invited recently to speak at the long-range planning session of the state psychology board about the school psychology specialists. He is serving on a task force to study these issues for the community.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 10. Source pages: 16.
According to a recent announcement, the LSBEP is looking for qualified applicants to investigate complaints for the board. “The LSBEP requires the professional services of an individual qualified to conduct investigations on complaints, provide written summaries of investigations with recom- mendations for the Board’s review and consideration, participate in face to face meetings concerning investigations, assist in negotiating and preparing consent orders, and participate in hearings.” Applicants can submit cover letter, references and proof of investigator’s license to Ms. Kelly Parker by June 14, 2013.
The state psychology board with “Hola,” Dr. John Courtney’s Goldendoodle as visitor. The board has an opening for an investigator.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 10. Source pages: 7.
The Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists issued an Opinion indicating that all licensees should prepare and execute a “Professional Will.” The Opinion, #016, was published May 10, 2013.
The board members noted that a “Professional Will is an important tool in preparation for unexpected events.” They wrote that this type of will is a detailed set of instructions that includes information about records, research materials, patient information, and “an appointed team of trusted colleagues who will serve as professional executors upon the event of death or incapacitation.” They noted that the Professional Will is a way of caring for both consumers and “sparing family members the obligation.”
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
“The supervisor needs to let us know if the individual meets all the standards, and is ready for licensure,” said Chair Mark Reynaud to the committee members in a recent meeting. Mr. Reynaud is a licensed professional counselor and licensed marriage and family therapist. He is credentialed as a supervisor in both professions.
In March the MFTAC discussed developing standards above the present established guidelines. Reynaud explained that the MFT programs are moving toward outcomes-based evidence and away from having only certain courses as the basis for credentials.
“We’ll eventually create an evaluation form,” he said. “This will give the supervisor a way to indicate, ‘Yes, they are competent in these areas.’ ”
The list of core competencies is a product of the American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy, and outlines six domains of therapists’ skills.
These include “Admission to Treatment,” “Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis,” “Treatment Planning and Case Management,” “Therapeutic Interventions,” “Legal Issues, Ethics, and Standards,” and finally “Research and Program Evaluation.”
Each of these categories then includes a breakdown into concept or knowledge areas, awareness skills, and task skills. Also included in these subcategories are evaluation skills, and professional abilities, which include areas of ethical and legal matters.
The Committee is also working to update of the policy and procedure manual so it reflects the current laws and changes, noted Reynaud. The group also helps the Louisiana Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to keep informed about scope of practice for marriage and family therapists.
The list of competencies is available on the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy at http://www.aamft.org/imis15 /content/coamfte/Accreditati on.aspx.
Chair of the Marriage and Family Therapy Advisory Committee, Mark Reynaud, at a recent meeting. The group is working to create an evaluation method for supervisors to rate competencies of interns. They will base this on a model developed by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Researchers from around the state will present their work in poster sessions at the Association for Psychological Science 25th Annual Convention, to be held May 23 to 26, in Washington, DC. Undergraduates, graduate students, and professors in psychology from Centenary, LaTech, Loyola, Tulane, U. of Louisiana–Lafayette, U. of New Orleans, and Xavier University will demonstrate their research skill and contributions for what is becoming the premier scientific organization for those in psychology.
The Times talked with Dr. Donna Thomas, Chair at Louisiana Tech about the many presentations the department has this year at APS. “I am thrilled to see the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences making such a strong showing at APS,” she said. “We usually have a number of researchers who present there and this year we have more than held our own. We appreciate their strong emphasis on science that does not necessarily have to inform clinical practice.”
“Although our department has applied psychology graduate programs, we recognize the need to do research for research's sake. On a more practical note, APS is at a very accessible location this year!”
This year’s APS presentations include a variety of topics. Below we outline the work and include some comments from a number of the researchers.
Centenary College
Jonathan Westfall from Centenary College teamed up with researchers from Columbia University to look at the how activating the concept of a choice mindset leads people to search for relevant information for making their decisions. The presentation, “On What Basis Should I Make a Choice?” Influence of a Choice Mindset on Decision Making,” includes four studies showing that priming the issue of “choice” causes people to look longer at various pieces of information and to base their decisions on this information.
Louisiana Tech University
A team of seven researchers from LaTech will present their findings in “Attitudes Towards Same-Sex Marriage and Religiosity.” LaTech researchers Jay Middleton, Deborah Simpson, Rose Niles, Laura Harris, John Tracy, Sean Lajaunie, and Alicia Ford explored attitudes toward same- sex marriage and motivations for religiosity, finding that gender differences emerged only when exploring the influence of extrinsic motivations. Those who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to hold negative attitudes towards same-sex marriage.
LaTech’s Jordan O’Briant, Mary M. Livingston, and Alice Carter (now retired) will present “Career Interest as Related to Perception of Math Involvement and Math Anxiety.”
Professor Livingston told the Times, “The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between math anxiety, perception of math in careers, level of career interest, beliefs on the nature of intelligence –a malleable property or a static entity–, and academic subject identification as related to a predisposition to a career,” she said.
As expected, “ … careers which were perceived to involve less math had higher interest ratings. Math anxiety correlated with less interest in technical fields. While math anxiety and beliefs of math involvement in a career played a large role in level of interest expressed in various careers, the pattern of results indicated that seeking occupations that do not involve math may be related to factors beyond math anxiety.”
Professors Mary M. Livingston and Alice Carter teamed up with Margaret Hindman (now at LSU) to compare the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and the widely used International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) using an ethnically diverse sample of college students. For this presentation, “Comparing Two Personality Measures, the TIPI and the IPIP,” they will show that results where the shorter TIPI compares favorably with the much longer IPIP, and that the online survey results were consistent with previous paper and pencil results.
Livingston explained, “As researchers we all know that generally speaking lengthier instruments tend to be psychometrically more sound, However, limits of time space and research participant perseverance lead on a quest to find acceptable brief instruments.”
“Gosling, Rentfrow and Swann developed their Ten Item version of the IPIP to solve this problem. As a result it is the most downloaded/cited from the Journal of Research in Personality. Researchers such as Buchanan have questioned the automatic assumption that paper and pencil measures can be automatically translated to an online environment,” she noted. “Our paper confirms that when a short instrument is needed TIPI can work as an adequate substitute for the IPIP, and functions as well online as a shorter substitute as it does in the paper and pencil format.”
For their presentation, “Emotional Labor and Counseling Professionals,” LaTech researchers Kevin Mahoney, Brandon Dennis, Victoria Smoak, Ida Chauvin, and Walter Buboltz studied emotional labor, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement in an overlooked population of counselors. They will explain that emotional labor is a form of emotional regulation where workers are expected to display certain emotions as part of their jobs. This and previous research by this LaTech group has found that emotional labor impacts both emotional exhaustion and work engagement.
“Exploring Employee Well- Being: Combining the Job Demand-Control and Job Demand-Resource Models,” will examine employees who must deal with heavy work demands but have little control and few resources, leading to greater job strain and decreased well- being. In there work, researchers John Buckner, Gwendylen Dykstra-Long, and James DeLeon, the team examines controls and resources as distinct predictors of employee well-being. While most research looks at controls and resources in separate studies or in combined concepts under the same umbrella, this study looked at the issue from both models.
The research team of Devin Merritt, Victoria Felix, Rebecca Granda, Walter Buboltz, and Janelle McDaniel will present “Morningness – Eveningness Preferences and Academic Factors as Predictors of Healthy Sleep Practices.” The group’s goal was to examine morning and evening type preferences and other academic factors that impact healthy sleep practices in college students. The researches found that that a number of factors, including morning-evening attitudes, self- efficacy, emotional exhaustion, and sleep hygiene, are significant predictors.
“Personal Living Space Attributes and Personality,” is by researchers Margaret Hindman (now at LSU), Mary M. Livingston, and Alice Carter (now retired).
Dr. Livingston explained, “We are interested in the relationship between personality and perception of living spaces.” Using Gosling’s Personal Living Space Cue Inventory (PLSCI) the team looked at people and their living spaces (PLS).
“Our study employs PLSCI ratings, but in a different way than in Gosling’s work,” noted Livingston. “Gosling had three raters evaluate living spaces of various student participants and indicate whether they thought the rooms’ inhabitant possessed the psychological quality of openness. In the current study participants rated their own PLS using the PLSCI, and their openness score on the IPIP big-five personality measure was correlated with the various PLS ratings. The raters’ personality influence their ratings,” she said. “Our findings were clearly different from Gosling’s and seem to reflect the inhabitants’ rather disparaging view of their rooms.”
“My presentations are with a 2nd year Counseling Psychology doctoral student, Rosie Niles, and an alumnus, Dr. Matthew Hand,” Dr. Donna Thomas told the Times. “We are interested in what motivates people's use of social networking sites, specifically Facebook and Twitter. Preliminary results indicate that emotional connectedness to both sites was perhaps intrinsically motivated. Hopefully, our follow-up work can tell us more about that.”
LaTech’s Rose Niles and Matthew Hand from Texas Wesleyan University, teamed up with La Tech Psychology Chair Donna Thomas for two interesting and related studies. In the APS presentation, “Relationships among situational motivation and Facebook usage,” first author Niles and colleagues looked at the relationships among aspects of situational motivation and Facebook usage. The results indicated that emotional connection to Facebook was positively related to intrinsic motivation, and that online social networking is related to higher levels of self- determination.
The same research team, this time with Hand as first author, examined the relationships among situational motivation and Twitter usage, to be presented in “Relationships among situational motivation and Twitter usage.” The team found that emotional connectedness to Twitter was related to intrinsic motivation, and that time spent on Twitter was related to external regulation.
Loyola Univeristy
Samaneh Khoshini from Loyola University in New Orleans teamed up with professor Kendall Eskine to look at how bodily experiences affect psychological process in “Enclothed Cognition: Effects of Clothing Style on Creativity and Sexual Attitude.” The team studied the influence of different clothing on both cognitive and sexual attitudes. They found that higher body coverage correlated with sexually conservative attitudes and will present information on the possible links between clothing, cognition, and sexual attitudes.
Dr. Kendall Eskine, along with researchers Ashley Novreske and Michelle Richards, all representing Loyola, will present the social psychology topic, “Moral Contagion is Significantly Influenced by Disgust Sensitivity.” The findings from two experiments show that after participants came into physical contact with a transgressor, they experienced more state guilt. This effect was moderated by disgust sensitivity. That is, the researchers found that individuals with high-disgust sensitivity indicated more guilt that those with low-disgust sensitivity.
Tulane University
Stefanie Simon and Laurie O’Brien will present their research, “Increasing Perceptions of Institution Sexism,” at the upcoming APS convention. In two studies, the researchers explored perceptions of individual and institutional sexism, finding that men and women did not differ in their perceptions of individual sexism, but women perceived more institutional sexism that men. In the second study, the researchers found that perspective-taking and education strategies successfully increased perceptions of institutional sexism.
Simon explained to the Times that she has been working on this research in collaboration with Dr. Laurie O’Brien, who is her PhD advisor, and also professor Dr. Carrie Wyland, as well as a former Tulane undergraduate student, Melanie Soilleux.
“Past research has shown that most people are relatively worse at recognizing more institutional forms of discrimination,” Simon noted, “meaning practices and policies that put certain groups at a disadvantage, compared to individual forms of discrimination that are perpetrated by a specific person.” This lack of recognition may be a serious issue, she explained.
“Thus, in this line of research, we've been looking at strategies to help increase people's perceptions of institutional sexism. The two strategies we’ve looked at are perspective-taking and education about institutional sexism in the US. What we’ve found thus far is that when we ask participants to take the perspective of someone who has been a target of institutional sexism and put themselves in her shoes, both men and women are better able to recognize institutional sexism compared to participants who are not asked to take the target’s perspective.”
“Interestingly, when participants are educated about institutional sexism and then are asked to take the target’s perspective, female participants recognize even more institutional sexism. For male participants on the other hand, the strategy that seems the most helpful for increasing perceptions of institutional sexism is perspective-taking. These findings have important implications for helping to remove some of the institutional barriers in the US that serve to perpetuate inequality between men and women,” Simon noted.
University of Louisiana – Lafayette
Assistant Professor Hung-Chu Lin leads a team of researchers from University of Louisiana– Lafayette for the presentation, “Changes in Empathic Concern and Personal Distress as a Function of Time: A Time Course Study of Adults’ Responses to Infant Crying.” The team includes Jessica Manuel, Joshua Landry, Claude Cech, Lauren Ashy, and Stinne Soendergaard.
Dr. Lin, explained to the Times, “We are interested in how caregivers respond to infant crying––a display of infant's distress yet sometimes an unpleasant and even aversive stimulus.”
“Under normal circumstances caregivers respond to a crying infant with empathic emotions, with concerns organized around infant's well-being. However, infant crying may also elicit distress arousal, which is often associated with egoistic concerns for caregiver's own benefits and possible consequences of neglect or mistreatment of the infant,” she said. “We attempted to describe the relations between cry perception and the two qualitatively different response emotions as a function of time. We hope to gain a better understanding of cry responding and foster sensitive parenting.”
In, “Enrichment in Parents of Children with Autism,” Dr. Hung-Chu Lin and researchers Valanne MacGyyers, Robert McFatter, and Janna Bourque will present their findings regarding both positive and negative aspects of the experience in parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder, and relate these experiences to child symptom severity and parenting competence.
“We examined not only negative aspects, as in previous research,” said Dr. Lin, “but also positive aspects of experience in parenting a child with autism and related them to child symptom severity and parenting competence,” Dr. Lin explained. “The findings indicated that experience of enrichment did not relate to child symptom severity and might potentially strengthen the negative relation between parenting efficacy and stress.”
University of New Orleans
Brandon Scott leads a group of researchers in their work, “Developmental Variation in Amygdala Volumes among Children with Posttraumatic Stress.” The research team includes Justin Russell, Ashley Sanders, and Carl Weems from UNO, and Allan Reis and Victor Carrion from Standford University School of Medicine.
“Findings point to the possibility that traumatic stress may delay structural maturation of the amygdala,” Dr. Weems told the Times. The presentation will review how theory points to links between maturation and amygdala volumes in trauma- exposed youth. In this study, results indicated a positive association between age and right-amygdala volumes for 24 young people with PTSD, while a negative association for matched controls.
UNO Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator, Dr. Monica Marsee guides two groups for upcoming APS poster presentations. Marsee’s lab is the Youth Social and Emotional Development Lab. Molly Miller and Maria Kireeva, who recently graduated with B.S. degrees in psychology, stayed on at the lab to gain experience for graduate school. Kelli Thompson and Genevieve Lapre are Dr. Marcee’s doctoral students.
In, “Group Differences in the Prediction of Psychopathy on a Dimensional Level,” UNO researchers Molly Miller, Kelli Thompson, Maria Kireeva, Monica Marsee, and Barry Burkhart from Auburn University, will present results about youth psychopathy. Their study explored the relationship between psychopathy and internalizing and exernalizing psychopathology in two different groups. The looked at juvenile sex offenders and juvenile non-sexual offenders. The researchers found evidence for significant group differences on the Affective dimension using the four-factor model of psychopathy.
Dr. Marcee explained, “This study contributes to the existing body of literature indicating that juvenile sex offenders are behaviorally and psychologically distinct from their non-sexual offending peers.” And, “Juvenile sex offenders and juvenile non- sexual offenders represent two distinct group of juvenile offenders with different treatment needs, treatment responses, and outcomes.”
This poster also recently won the Best Overall Poster Award at the InnovateUNO: Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Showcase.
Maria Kireeva, Genevieve Lapre, Molly Miller, and Monica Marsee will also present, “Parental Psychological Control as Mediator between Parental Psychopathology and Youth Internalizing Problems.”
The purpose of this study was to examine various parental factors and how they may interact to influence youth internalizing problems, explained Dr. Marcee. “The results support the hypothesis that psychological control mediates the association between parental psychopathology and youth internalizing problems,” explained Marcee. “… parental psychopathology may be associated with youth internalizing problems, but it is the parents’ psychologically controlling strategies that partially explain this association. The results support the broader theory that dysfunctional parenting strategies may serve as a mechanism through which parental psychopathology relates to youth psychopathology.”
UNO researchers Ashley Sanders, Angelle Pizzitolo, Brandon Scott, Rebecca Graham, Donice Banks, Justin Russell, and Carl Weems, will present “Posttraumatic Stress Exacerbates the Link between Identity and Internalizing Problems in Adolescents.” Previous research indicates that heightened levels of identity distress are linked with internalizing symptoms in adolescents. However, not much is known about what factors, such as PTSD symptoms, may exacerbate this relationship. “Results indicated that PTSD symptoms moderate this relationship and that it was only significant for youth with more self-reported PTSD symptoms.”
Brandon Scott, noted, “This research idea was part of a collaborative effort with two of our undergraduate/post-baccalaureate research assistants in the lab, Ashley Sanders and Angelle Pizzitolo. The findings suggest that the experience of greater PTSD symptoms may disrupt normative identity development in adolescence by exacerbating normal levels of identity distress and promoting increased internalizing symptoms. However, it will be important to test whether PTSD symptoms actually interfere with normal developmental processes by expanding the age of the sample to include younger children and adults and using a longitudinal design.”
Xavier University
David Wheatley of Xavier University teamed up with Troy Bitson of Glen Oaks College to study “Aspects of Competitiveness Associated with Masculine and Feminine Characteristics.”
The researchers had people rate themselves on measures of masculine and feminine characteristics and also goal and interpersonal competitiveness. Male masculine ratings positively correlated with both forms of competitiveness while female feminine ratings negatively correlated with interpersonal competitiveness. The presenters suggest that results relate to the psychoanalytic theory of sex role development and identification with the same sex parent.
Xavier U. researcher, Christian End, along with co-authors form Shippensburg University, will present “Die-hard Fans? CORFing Behavior in Newspaper Obituaries.” End and his colleagues analyzed the frequency with which obituaries mentioned Penn State University both before and after the Sandusky scandal. They found that the scandal it not impact the proportion of obits that noted Penn State connections.
Xaiver researchers Katherine Eskine, Tyler Hunter, and Gabrielle Gloston will present, “Making emotive music: The association of emotional intellege and musical production via sexual selection.” To investigate if music is, or has recently been, sexually selected because it is an honest signal of emotional intelligence, the research team studied 120 undergraduates. They looked at the effects of sexual and romantic arousal on the production, aptitude, and subjective ratings of music.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 9. Source pages: 16.
Professional Training Resources has announced its May calendar of events, including its upcoming Summer Symposium to be held this year, July 24 through 26. Tune your guitars.
Diagnosing Mental Illness 5/3/13 – Baton Rouge, LA 5/17/13 – Lafayette, LA 5/24/13 – Shreveport, LA.
11th Annual Mental Health Summer Symposium July 24th – July 26th The Hilton, Lafayette, LA.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
I have often wondered how does someone with a doctorate degree in psychology, specializing in Clinical and Industrial/Organizational, become the publisher of a news periodical. After having the privilege of chatting with Dr. Julie Nelson, I now know how it all came to be.
Julie Nelson is the creator and publisher of The Psychology Times, the embodiment of a lifelong passion. Nelson is the daughter of esteemed journalists Gordon Nelson and Lynn Hunter Nelson. Dr. Nelson grew up in a family that loved all things related to journalism, freedom of speech, and newspaper writing. Some of her earliest memories are from her experiences in developing and printing newspapers with her parents.
Although Nelson did not pursue journalism as a profession, she never lost her appreciation and love of it, and what it meant to her. In September 2009 she published the first issue of the Psychology Times.
Because of her background and love for journalism, one might expect that the development of the Times would have been a natural progression and blending of her two passions. Contrary to this notion though, when asked if she had planned all along to create the Times, Nelson remarked, “The idea [to create the Times] just popped into my head one day. Because I was totally frustrated with people in power and with the groupthink. Things changing seemed really bleak,” she said. “Since I tend to be an over-functioner, I rarely have the good sense to walk away from something. So, the Times gave me an outlet and direction.”
Nelson also explained that she took a step back and looked at the psychology community as a whole and realized that “Things weren’t good. Some people didn’t seem to even understand the group dynamics” or the role of communication in productivity. At this point, she said to herself, “Whoa. This community needs a community newspaper more than any system I’ve ever seen.”
“The Times is my way of waving the flag,” she said. “I look around and I see, at all levels of our society, that certain principles are being ignored. One principle that I committed to when I chose a career in psychology was truth. Newspapers push for freedom of information and truth. So it’s a fit for me.”
The combination of journalism and psychology may not be an intuitive twosome, but Nelson commented, “I’ve seen a lot of overlap between journalism and organizational psychology since I’ve been at this. It’s been very interesting.”
Nelson explained some of what she views as the links between journalism and social psychological phenomena. “… free flow of information is probably the most clear and basic key process [in a large social group]. It relates to quality of problem-solving and problem-finding, innovation, creativity, all sorts of stuff, [including] ingroup and outgroup bias, prejudice, and so on.”
Nelson went on to explain what she sees as another link between journalism and organizational psychology, states, “Information flow is also key for engaging people and their energy,” she said.
“So all this is just a basic benefit of community newspapers, and similar to organizational development. No one ever knows where the information is going or what the impact will be, we just know it is important for open systems and self-correction.”
She also sees a link between journalism and cognitive psychology. Nelson explained that often “People can’t remember the train of events by themselves. People are outraged today, then tomorrow they aren’t. All sorts of cognitive flaws, journalists help to lessen these. The newspaper helps our slow think processes, and keep the dots connected,” she said.
Overall, the connection between psychology and journalism boils down to the notion that, according to Nelson, “Good journalism and information flow, helps counteract deception and its cousin, self- deception,” she said.
“Journalism provides a detection system that can be an antidote to fast think errors and cheating. So journalists are like community group facilitators, or psycho- therapists, they point out things that shake up the self-interested viewpoint.”
Reflective of Dr. Nelson’s efforts and vision regarding the Times and how it can bring people together and encourage discussion and the sharing of ideas, today, The Psychology Times has developed into an award winning newspaper.
Now, coming full circle, the Times, which began as an endeavor to enlighten and inform the psychology community, is not only a way to pay tribute to individuals and accomplishments reported in the Times, but also a tribute to Nelson’s parents. Nelson’s parents, a major driving force behind her love of journalism’s ideals, passed away in 2009 and 2010.
Given all this, I personally feel extremely privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of The Psychology Times and share with you, our readers, the legacy of the Nelsons and their ability to enrich our community.
(Suzanne Booth, MA, is an IO psychology doctoral student at LSU Baton Rouge, and an intern with Times.)
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 9. Source pages: 2.
(Editor’s note: In our April 2013 issue, Dr. David Williams wrote regarding a letter by Dr. Tom Hannie, published in our February 2013 issue. Below, Dr. Hannie is writing in answer to Dr. Williams letter. The Times appreciates both of these gentlemen’s contributions.)
In a letter to the editor in the most recent issue of Psychology Times, David J. Williams, PhD, MP, disagreed with my previous letter in which I asserted that evolution was a concept in science and intelligent design was a concept in religion. Thus, evolution is appropriate for science classes in public schools while intelligent design is not.
In the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover, this issue was addressed in court by scientists, philosophers, and theologians. Their testimony was based on years of scholarship and critical analysis of intelligent design. The evidence showed irrefutably that intelligent design is creationism, which rests on belief in a supernatural designer. The leading proponents of intelligent design themselves have specified this. The conservative judge also recognized this and ruled accordingly. Thus Dr. Williams' statement that "Reality is either defined by an intelligent designer or it is not" is irrelevant. Given the fact that the hypothesized intelligent designer is admittedly (by those who propose this entity) a supernatural being, its existence can neither be verified nor rejected by science. Thus intelligent design does not belong in a science class; it clearly belongs in a religion class.
Another fact was brought out in court: Since the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that creationism could not be taught in public schools because it requires belief in supernatural creation, the Discovery Institute tried to promote creationism using the substitute term "intelligent design." But they have been unable to alter the fact that intelligent design is merely a slightly updated version of creation "science." It is still a religious concept.
Intelligent Design lacks empirical support, offers no testable hypotheses, and attempts to describe nature in terms of scientifically untestable supernatural causes. In no way can it be considered to be a scientific concept. Its "scientists" have produced no original data to support any of their claims. They merely reinterpret the scientific data produced by legitimate scientists in an attempt to undermine it.
Numerous court rulings have established that the public schools have no right to teach religion as science. Therefore, the schools cannot teach intelligent design as "reality." Were they to teach a course in philosophy that would address methods for the acquisition of knowledge, they might well teach our young people how to tell the difference between science and religion, which would allow them to understand why evolution is science and intelligent design is not.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
A bill by Senator Sharon Broome of Baton Rouge passed the Senate floor with a vote of 35 to 0 and was sent to the House on Monday, April 29.
The legislation will authorize mental health court treatment programs in the state, allowing the chief judge of each judicial district to establish a mental health court. The bill defines terms related to the mental health court treatment programs, mental health court professionals, pre- and post- adjudicatory programs, combination programs, and co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse issues.
A mental health court is a structured judicial intervention process for eligible defendants that can include local social and treatment programs, and monitoring by the judges.
According to the digest, the “Proposed law provides procedures to be utilized in operating a mental health court treatment program, including a regimen of graduated requirements, rewards, and sanctions.” This may include fines, fees, costs, restitution, incarceration, individual and group therapy, medication, educational or vocational counseling, and other reasonable requirements to complete the program.
“Proposed law provides for mental health court treatment programs to maintain or collaborate with a network of programs which deal with mental illness and co- occurring mental illness and substance abuse issues. Further provides that the mental health court program may designate a court liaison to monitor the progress of defendants in their assigned treatment programs on behalf of the court.”
Certain crimes are excluded from the mental health court: first or second degree murder, aggravated or criminal sexual assault, armed robbery, arson, stalking, and any crime of violence involving discharge of a firearm.
The Fiscal Office notes that a mental health court is “a specialized court docket (like drug courts) that focuses on individuals who have been charged with a crime and also have a mental health illness. For illustrative purposes, the 22nd Judicial District Court currently has a mental health court that currently has 30 clients. The current cost of this court is approximately $50,000 for 1 client administrator and funded entirely with local funds. According to the 22nd Judicial District, the mental health services these clients receive are provided by private providers 9throught private insurance) or state clinics (state expenditures).”
They also note, “For context, the state has 48 drug courts that currently cost approximately $16 million of which $10 million is state general fund. The state’s drug courts see approximately 2,800 clients per month.”
“I’ve seen this work very well in the St. Tammany parish,” Dr. Alicia Pellegrin told the Times. “It provides a way for these people to get help. Instead of sending people to jail, their illness is seen as a mitigating factor and to be treated,” she said. Pellegrin is currently the Legislative Chair for the state psychological association. “We certainly support the concept. It is not clear how it will get funded. The devil is in the details,” she said.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.