Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 15.
June is National PTSD Awareness Month, June 20 is National PTSD Screening Day, and June 27 is National PTSD Awareness Day, named by the U.S. Congress in 2010.
Dr. Kelley Pears, Psychologist, PTSD/SUD Specialist and a member of the PTSD Clinical Team at the Alexandria VA Health Care System spoke about the month to the Times and provided the calendar (right).
"I think its important to note that PTSD is not limited to combat veterans or veterans in general," Dr. Pears said.
"Trauma can be caused by a variety of incidents such as a motor vehicle accident, physical or sexual assault or natural disasters. PTSD has been called the 'invisible wound of war' because there are no external signs, such as scar or prosthetic," he said.
In discussing available resources, Dr. Pears said, "People don’t need to suffer in silence. There are a multitude of resources available. The National Center for PTSD has an incredible website (www.ptsd.va.gov) with resources for clinicians, the survivor and the family members."
The VA also has developed excellent phone apps to help manage symptoms, such as PTSD Coach, PTSD Family Coach, PE Coach, CPT Coach and Mindfulness Coach."
For a full list, explore www.ptsd.va.gov/ap pvid/mobile.
"Also, over the past 10 years, many providers in the private sector have become trained in Evidence Based Psychotherapies to treat PTSD, expanding treatment options. Educating primary care providers and other initial points of entry into healthcare are important so proper referrals can be made," Dr. Pears said.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 15.
The Louisiana Psychological Association will host it's 73rd Annual Conference, "Timely Topics During a Global Crisis," on Friday, June 25 via it's virtual platform.
Keynote speakers are Dr. Peter Isquith, author and developer of The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and Dr. Michael Anestis, Executive Director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Center and author of Guns and Suicide: An American Epidemic who will be presenting on issues related to this year's theme.
The convention will allow attendees to earn up to eight continuing professional development (CPD) credits (including 1 hour of ethics) through attendance at various events including the Science Café, Lunch & Learn, and invited addresses. Also presenting will be Drs. Kristin Fitch & Melissa Dufrene.
Peter Isquith, PhD, is a Developmental Neuro- psychologist, Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Enhancement; Senior Attending Psychologist, Department of Psychiatry and Instructor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School.
He is a licensed psychologist with specialty in development neuropsychology. His research interests are in development and disorders of self-regulation across the lifespan, and his clinical specialty is in working with Deaf and hard of hearing individuals. He is author of several measures of executive function including the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function family of instruments and the Tasks of Executive Control.
Dr. Michael Anestis will deliver The Janet and Lee Matthews Invited Address. Dr. Mike Anestis is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and an Associate Professor of Urban- Global Public Health in the School of Public Health at Rutgers. He received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 2002 and his Ph.D. in psychology from Florida State in 2011. Dr. Anestis has been a named investigator on approximately $5 million in externally funded suicide prevention grants, including serving as the PI on one of the first randomized controlled trials of lethal means counseling for firearm owning service members – Project Safe Guard.
He served on the means safety task force for the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, and the lethal means line of effort for the PREVENTS task force.
Dr. Anestis currently serves on the research advisory board for the American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine (AFFIRM) and chairs the firearms and suicide committee for the American Association of Suicidology (AAS).
For more information see the LPA website.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 2.
One of the most dreaded species in the Star Trek universe is the Borg. The Borg don't just kill you, or even eat you––they "assimilate" you.
The Borg have a super cool psychology that draws on our primal fears. When assimilated, you become a drone––you have no separate thoughts or free will. Drones conform to everything. The Borg Queen tells them what to do and as a drone you are constantly listening to the buzz of the "collective" instead of your own separate thoughts. Even for a character with the strength of will of our beloved Captain Picard, you're pretty much done for as an individual once you're assimilated.
The literary device of this archenemy compares directly to important themes in psychology and philosophy. Nietzsche asserted the higher man versus the herd, and automatic conformity has been delved into by such classic researchers as Solomon Asch and Stanley Milgram. David McCelland and his followers looked at the problems that arise for leaders when their social need to cooperate and comply has been primed.
Recent events in the community caused me to wonder who's been assimilated. The state psychology board has been having financial problems for at least six years, primarily due to the overuse of legal consultants, an adversarial complaints committee, and the need to justify expenses for an outcome measure of only two misdemeanors per year, half of which are usually related to child custody.
In 2020, the state psychology board, set on a path to grow and expand, tried to sneak it's 23-page, candy-store legislation by opponents. Tripped up by Covid, the cat was out of the bag. Next came a commitment to develop a "consensus" with citizens, exercised through secret talks with mostly a few council members of the Louisiana Psychological Association (LPA).
Through this process–– which started with the wrong solution to the wrong problem–– we get an assimilation of those who should be watching out solely for individual psychologists and their rights. But, boundaries dissolved along with clear problem-solving.
The 23-page bill, HB 477, was promoted to psychologists as now being okay because it had been tweaked for months––as if tweaking a bad idea makes it into a good idea. Thankfully, the long version was submarined by a group of rogue psychologists in LPA (I'm of course one of those).
But the bad legislation did not completely die there, unfortunately. A shorter HB 477 was resurrected next as a "fee bill" and then once again supported by the LPA Council. While the rogue members forced an open meeting, called by a members' petition, LPA leadership stuck to its guns and demonstrated its own political muscle.
They were brilliant––bringing in past board chairs and new members to vote in favor of the bill. They primed the emotionally convincing argument that somehow, without this bill, the state board would go belly-up and people would lose their licenses. As if the board can't raise license fees annually if they need to.
Whether the bill was the correct solution to a properly and adequately defined problem was lost in the foggy thinking and strange group dynamics. The state psychology board assimilated LPA. Welcome to the hive mind.
A bright spot emerged however. The real issues were not entirely obscured. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee members asked such insightful and clear questions about the citizens' participation in the origin of this legislation, and about the real underlying financial problems, that I have hope yet.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 16.
Professional Training Resources and Dr. John Simoneaux, will present the 19th Annual Mental Health Summer Symposium, to be held July 14 through July 16 online. This year's topic is Mental Health: Balancing the Pandemic.
Featured this year are John C. Simoneaux, PhD & Alan Taylor, PhD, who will present "Diagnosing and Treatment: Preserving the Past/Embracing the Future."
Presenters will help participants predict the changes that may emerge in diagnosing and treating minors and adults secondary to the global pandemic, assess ideas and practices in mental health that now must evolve and describe fundamental values and techniques that must be preserved in evaluation and treatment settings, and explain the need to recalibrate mental health services for all ages to post- pandemic requirements, with an eye toward preserving and utilizing past valuable practices.
Also featured is Leslie Todd, LCSW, ACSW, speaking on "The Pandemic and Professional/ Personal Self-Care."
She will help participants be able to list and describe three ways (compassion fatigue, social supports, internet misuse) that interpersonal neurobiology affects well-being across the life span, describe and discuss ways in which overwork and stress may affect practitioners’ ability to maintain ethical boundaries during the delivery of clinical services, and design three habit-building techniques they can be applied in assertive self-care in office management and private life.
Byron Simoneaux, PhD will also be among the presenters and will speak on "Pandemic Related Traumas." He will help participants describe how the pandemic involves “mass trauma” and provide examples for the significance relating to the diagnoses and treatment of trauma disorders across age spans, explain emerging research regarding the mental health impact of mass trauma on minors and adults, discuss the assessment and treatment of children and adults affected by mass trauma – translating what we know to current needs, and describe assessment and treatment resources available for clients and clinicians related to mass trauma and its effects.
Dr. John Simoneaux will also be speaking on "Ethical Hazards Post Pandemic."
Dr. Simoneaux will help participants predict how fundamental ethical principles such as confidentiality, boundaries, and standards of care have been altered as a result of the worldwide pandemic, demonstrate, through clinical examples and reviews of published ethical codes, trends and conflicts faced by mental health clinicians secondary to the pandemic and its aftermath, and plan and create an approach to resolving ethical concerns when professional ethical codes have yet to specifically address unexpected challenges.
For more information, go to PTR website.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 3.
In May, Gov. Edwards announced the expansion of the State of Louisiana's U.S. Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance Program to include utility assistance. The program focuses on providing financial assistance to Louisiana renters and landlords experiencing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the expansion, the state- administered program now provides assistance for past- due rent and utility fees dating back to April 2020, as well as future rent for eligible applicants.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 4.
Business Community to Gov. Edwards: Time to End Enhanced Unemployment
With a worker shortage impacting businesses statewide, Louisiana’s leading trade associations joined together in May to ask Gov. Edwards to discontinue the state’s use of federal enhanced unemployment benefits, according to a press release from the Louisiana Association of Business & Industry.
The letter notes that the state’s unemployment rate remains higher than it was pre-pandemic. Yet there are thousands of vacant jobs throughout the state needing to be filled. Business owners are turning potential customers away at the door because they struggle staffing their companies: companies which are now able to return to full capacity but for lack of employees.
“Talk to any small business owner on Main Street right now and they’ll tell you that their biggest problem is finding workers,” said LABI President and CEO Stephen Waguespack.
Signatories of the letter include Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), the Louisiana Business Group on Health, the Louisiana Homebuilders Association (LHBA), the Louisiana Manufactured Housing Association, the Louisiana Oil Marketers and Convenience Store Association, the Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA), the Louisiana Retailers Association, and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 4.
Gov. Joins Climate Alliance
In May, Gov. Edwards announced his plans to join the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors committed to state-led action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Last November, Gov. Edwards created a Climate Initiatives Task Force to recommend a package of policies and programs that will put Louisiana on the path to become a net-zero greenhouse gas emitting state by 2050.
Louisiana is the first Gulf South state to join the Alliance. With the addition of Louisiana, the Alliance's membership now represents 57 percent of the U.S. population and 61 percent of U.S. GDP. The Alliance's states work hand-in-hand and share expertise to develop, advance, and implement state climate policies and actions.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 6.
Bill to Create Office of Human Trafficking Prevention Passes House
Senator Ronnie Johns' measure, SB 170, that creates the office of human trafficking prevention, passed the House on May 27 with amendments by a vote of 101 yeas and 0 nays
The proposed law retains present law and, effective July 1, 2021, creates the office of human trafficking prevention (OHTP) in the governor's office for the purpose of coordinating resources of public and private entities engaged in providing assistance to human trafficking victims. Places the commission within OHTP.
It also provides for an executive director of OHTP appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate and adds the executive director to the commission.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 6.
Bill to Help Family of Healthcare Providers Relocate Now in Senate
HB 197 passed easily through the House with the vote of 98 to 0 on May 11, but has slowed down in the Senate this week. The measure was reported with amendments and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
HB 197 is authored by Rep. Charles Owen and requires professional or occupational licensing boards to issue occupational licenses to the dependents of healthcare providers who relocate to Louisiana if certain conditions are met.
The proposed law requires a professional or occupational licensing board "board" to issue certain occupational licensing credentials ("license") to the spouses or dependents ("applicant") of healthcare professionals who have relocated to the state, if certain conditions are met.
HB 197 requires the board to issue a license to the applicant, based on the applicant's possession of an out-of-state license, if all of the following are met:
(1) The applicant holds a current and valid license in another state in an occupation with a similar scope of practice.
(2) The applicant has held that license for at least one year.
(3) The applicant has passed all exams and met any other education, training, or experience standards required in the other state.
(4) The applicant is held in good standing in the other state.
(5) The applicant does not have a criminal record that disqualifies him as determined by the board in this state.
(6) The applicant has not had a license revoked due to the applicant's negligence or intentional misconduct in his occupation.
(7) The applicant has not surrendered a license due to the applicant's negligence or intentional misconduct in his occupation.
(8) The applicant does not have a complaint, allegation, or investigation pending before a board in another state related to the applicant's work in another state.
(9) The applicant pays all applicable fees in this state.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 6.
"Peer Support" Bill for Peace Officers Making Steady Progress
SB 66 was reported favorably out of the House committee and this week was read by title and passed to the third reading. It is waiting to be heard on the House floor after passing the Senate and House committee.
If passed it will be called the peace officer and public safety personnel peer support and mental health wellness act.
According to the newest digest, the proposed law says "Peer support session" means any communication by a peace officer or public safety personnel with a peer support member, primarily through listening, assessing, and assisting with problem-solving, and may include referring a peace officer or public safety personnel for professional intervention or treatment that is beyond the scope of the peer support member, and includes a group session following a critical incident experienced by a group of peace officers or public safety personnel.
It provides that any governmental entity that establishes a peer support program must ensure that peer support members successfully complete the training required by proposed law before being designated as a peer support member.
The law applies only to peer support sessions conducted by an employee or agent of a governmental entity who has both successfully completed peer support training and, at the time of the peer support session, has been designated by a governmental entity to act as a peer support.
The proposed law provides that information, reports, records, or communications in any form that are made, generated, received, or maintained in connection with a peer support program or session are deemed privileged and confidential, and are not public records.
Proposed law provides that the privilege and confidentiality created by proposed law are supplementary to any other statute, rule, or jurisprudence creating or relating to an applicable privilege, confidentiality, or public records exemption.
Proposed law provides that any governmental entity and its employees and agents (including peer support members) are immune from civil liability for any act or omission made in good faith while engaged in efforts to assist a peace officer or public safety personnel through a peer support program. Proposed law further provides that a person who in good faith reports information or takes action in connection with any peer support program is immune from civil liability for reporting or taking such action, but this immunity does not protect a person who makes a report known to be false or with reckless disregard for the truth.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 6. Source pages: 6.
HB 79 to Enhance Patients' Rights Moves Forward
A measure to provide for the selection of a treatment facility by a patient and the protection of a patient's right to receive treatment, has passed the House with 97 yeas and 0 nays. On May 26 it was reported favorably out of the Senate committee.
Current law provides that a treatment facility shall be selected in the following order of priority:(1) Medical suitability. (2) Least restriction of the person's liberty. (3) Nearness to the patient's usual residence.(4) Financial or other status of the patient.
The proposed law retains present law and adds that in the selection of the treatment facility a patient's preference shall be the fifth consideration. Present law provides that a patient may be admitted by an emergency certificate to be diagnosed and treated.
The proposed law retains present law and adds that the emergency certificate shall allow legal authority for a patient to be transported to a treatment facility pursuant to present law and the transport shall be in line with the patient's rights to receive care.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 5. Source pages: 2.
by Julie Nelson We had to say goodbye to another of our great leaders/thinkers, Dr. Wayne Greenleaf, who changed the whole state by using the science of psychology. His memorial article (this issue) gives a sense of Wayne's monumental contributions via the Dept. of Education, hospitals, and correction facilities.
Wayne was an applied psychological scientist and understood that being a psychologist was much more than being a mental health technician. When I interviewed him in 2011, Wayne's advice to younger psychologists was, “Focus on psychology, not on your bag of tricks. You can use psychology as a set of principles to address the larger concerns in society.”
He echoed Ed Timmons, saying, "You ought to be able to pick a psychologist up by the ear and drop them in anywhere, and they make a significant contribution, by their comprehensive training and general principles.”
This vision of a psychologist as scientist-practitioner appears to be fading. We seem to be losing our collective knowledge about how to apply metacognitive thinking to address complex issues.
To solve their financial problems, the State Board wants to force new fees and red-tape on psychologists, while members of the state association had to petition their own Council for a chance to weigh in and discuss the state board's legislative power-grab.
Are we hedgehogs?
Social psychologist Phillip Tetlock found that scientists are vulnerable to what he termed hedgehog thinking. Hedgehogs are confident in their views, they “know one big thing,” and push determinedly to apply this idea. Hedgehogs dig in and pulling the dirt in on top of themselves. The deeper they dig the more they risk becoming trapped in their own ideas, uncovering more reasons why their initial view is “right.”
Tetlock points out the paradox that the media and the public prefer the confidence and simplicity of hedgehogs. He also notes that hedgehog’s “formulaic solutions to ill-defined problems” is a quality prized in scientists.
The trap for hedgehogs includes the Einsellung Effect, a name for the common human tendency to ignore new information that doesn’t fit with our initial idea. There is a long list of related cognitive biases: Kahneman’s WYSIATI (what you see is all there is), the availability heuristic, focusing and framing effects, illusion of validity, confirmation bias, and so on.
This explains why physicians ignore new information after they’ve made a diagnosis, why government agencies overlook new facts that contradict their current programs, and why even scientists, whose job it is to remain open to new data, adhere so strongly to their favorite theory and can’t see information that is right in front of their eyes.
The Effect causes a loss of three standard deviations in performance. We've found that when in the grip of the Einsellung Effect, International Chess Masters––who generally perform at five standard deviations above the mean––drop to the level of Class A players. National Masters drop to Class B. And average players drop to well below average.
If we translate this to organizational work teams or decision- making in social groups, the loss in performance is staggering.
Using an IQ type scale, we can predict a team that regularly would be able to perform at the IQ of 130, a very high performing team, can drop to 85. Or, a strong team at 115, can drop to 70.
Psychology produces a wealth of information for someone to apply to human problems, in the US coming to 3.6% of all scientific publications. Just in this one issue of the Times, we covered a wonderful array of research from Louisiana scientists.
So, as applied psychologists, we are uniquely trained and positioned to apply this wealth of knowledge, to produce innovations that change society for the better, just like Dr. Wayne Greenleaf.
We should try to be like Wayne––definitely not a hedgehog.
[Julie Nelson is a licensed psychologist, journalist, consultant, and publisher of the Times. She also holds other positions in the community. However, her opinions here are those of her own, and do not represent any group or association. She and the Times receive no compensation other than paid advertising. Email her at drj@drjulienelson.com, ––she welcomes feedback.]
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 5. Source pages: 3.
On April 29 Gov. Edwards outlined his plan for spending $1.6 billion in federal funding coming to Louisiana through President Biden's American Rescue Plan to keep Louisiana on the road to post-pandemic recovery by investing in infrastructure, keeping the state's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund solvent, addressing Louisiana's aging water systems, assisting the tourism industry and supporting Louisiana's ports.
The state is awaiting final federal guidance on spending these ARP dollars. The $1.6 billion represents the first amount of funding Louisiana will draw down, with additional funding being used to address long-term priorities in future years.
"At our COVID-19 bottom, Louisiana's economy was generating about 86 percent of our pre-virus economic output. Today, we're back to more than 94 percent of pre-COVID levels, and growing. There is no doubt that Louisiana is on the mend, but we still need some help in order to make a full recovery. By investing these American Rescue Plan dollars wisely, we can shore up our unemployment insurance trust fund and avoid businesses paying higher taxes, continue to chip away at Louisiana's backlog of infrastructure projects, support our tourism industry and improve our aging water infrastructure," Gov. Edwards said. "I am deeply grateful to President Biden for his commitment to helping Louisiana kickstart its economy again after the crushing blow dealt to our country by the COVID-19 pandemic."
Governor Edwards' priorities for the first $1.6 billion in funding are:
Shoring up the Unemployment Trust Fund … $400 million Unemployment Insurance loan payment … $230 million Infrastructure … $400 million Water and Sewer Systems … $300 million Tourism and Convention and Visitors Bureaus … $125 million Department of Culture Recreation and Tourism … $20 million Louisiana Ports … $50 million
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 5. Source pages: 3.
In April, Gov. Edwards said his
legislative agenda in 2021 focuses on enhancing pay for teachers and support staff, increased investments in higher education, fighting discrimination in auto insurance rates, closing Louisiana's gender pay gap and mandatory reporting for Title IX violations on college campuses.
The Governor also supports legislative efforts focused on making accommodations for pregnant or postpartum workers, mandating kindergarten and reforming disciplinary procedures for members of law enforcement, among other things, including an increase in Louisiana's minimum wage.
"In order to create a Louisiana that is thriving, we have to make sure everyone has fair access to opportunities for success, which is why my Legislative package centers not only on improving education funding and teacher pay, but also on ensuring equal treatment under the law and advocating for those who need our help, including those living with disabilities, victims of trafficking, those in foster care and all people who have been denied opportunity because of their gender," Gov. Edwards said.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.