Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

Outgoing editorial for Consulting Psychology Journal.
In this editorial, Kenneth M. Nowack, who is stepping down as editor-in-chief of Consulting Psychology Journal (CPJ) after 4 years, summarizes the publication’s contributions to the field of consulting psychology during his tenure. Most notable, of course, has been the consistently high-quality articles covering a range of subjects—a contribution that has been enhanced by a number of special issues on particularly important topics, and which will be highlighted by collections of key articles chosen by the editor. The publication’s achievements also include supporting the equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives of the American Psychological Association, developing an equity, diversity, and inclusion statement for CPJ, and promoting inclusive study design and reporting standards. In addition, CPJ has encouraged authors to use positionality statements, address constraints on generality, and employ Contributor Roles Taxonomy. Also, during Nowack’s tenure, authors submitting articles to CPJ were required to have an impact statement including a few brief sentences about the implications their article has for research or practice or both (What’s it mean? Implications for consulting psychology), and the journal has added eligibility for articles to receive open-science badges. This editorial closes with a discussion of the current use of present methods of screening submitted articles for similarity with other published online content (iThenticate) and the possible role of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in CPJ publishing for authors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Informing inclusive management practices for employees with developmental disabilities: A supervisor training needs analysis.
Individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) face significant barriers limiting their opportunities for competitive integrated employment. Given the critically low employment rates and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with DD, there is an urgent need for research that investigates ways to eradicate existing barriers to improve the employment outlook for this population. To address significant gaps in both research and practice, the present study involved a supervisor training needs analysis informed by four different sources of employee support representative of both hiring organizations and supported employment (n = 113). Results identified skill and knowledge gaps across various supervisor duties relating to onboarding, socialization, training, feedback and evaluation, health and well-being, general management, goal setting, job accommodations, career development, and disability awareness. Hence, each perspective provided valuable insight into the current skill and knowledge gaps of supervisors of employees with DD and indicated the need for training that extends beyond traditional disability awareness topics. Evidence gained from this study is expected to significantly shape inclusive organizational practices in preparing supervisors to more effectively manage and support employees with DD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Early employment outcomes for individuals on the autism spectrum: When judiciously selected and supported for competitive employment in highly skilled technical jobs.
There is growing evidence that neurodiversity can strengthen a workforce by adding new aptitudes, skills, and ways of doing things. This contrasts with traditional views that engaging those with neurominority conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents challenges in areas such as emotional intelligence, ability to quickly incorporate group norms, ability to network, and being a team player. Results from a survey conducted in Canada between 2015 and 2018 provided support for the success of individuals with ASD when selected under favorable employment conditions and provided with appropriate environmental accommodations, if necessary. Eighty-four percent of these individuals were still employed 2 years later, either in the same job or in an equivalent one in the same or a different organization. This was a much better employment outcome than has previously been reported for individuals with ASD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Thinking differently works: Understanding the essential elements for the success of a competitive integrated employment program developed for persons with autism spectrum conditions.
High rates of unemployment and underemployment among persons with an autism spectrum condition (ASC) require attention. Studies call for broadening the horizon and concentrating on contextual factors and a neurodiversity approach rather than focusing on intrinsic deficits of people on the spectrum. In this study we aimed to gain an understanding of what elements are essential to the high success rate of a competitive integrated employment approach developed by a social enterprise in the Netherlands, in finding sustainable employment in the field of information technology (IT) for persons with an ASC and an average to high intelligence who can read, write, and speak without difficulty. An explorative qualitative study design was employed including three focus-group discussions and 22 in-depth interviews with 20 ITvitae employees, students and parents, employers and other stakeholders in the program. Questions were focused on eliciting the factors crucial to making the approach work. The social enterprise works as a mediator in the field of IT. The findings address the strengths-based philosophy, combined with an integrated, multistakeholder approach, that makes the intervention work. A win-win revenue model helps to create successful matches with IT market, while keeping the social enterprise sustainable. This study helps fill the current gap in literature about strength-based, integrated approaches to improve employment among people on the spectrum. We discuss the lessons that can be drawn from this example. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Organizational-change capability: Validation of a practice-research measure.
For organizations to survive and thrive within the context of constant change, it is important they build and maintain an underlying change capability. The present article identifies 11 key dimensions of change capability that can enable organizations to thrive in the contemporary context of volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous organizational change. The 11 dimensions and the associated measurement instrument reflect the practical experience of applied-change practitioners and the experience of academics with applied-research interests in organizational change. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was first conducted on a sample of 118 Australian employees who reported they had significant experience in change management. The resulting 11-factor EFA model was then tested using more rigorous confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) methods on a sample of 913 employees from a diverse range of organizations. In support of the 11-factor model the final CFA results yielded generally good fit to the data. Using relative weights analyses, the analyses showed that capability development, visible senior-leader sponsorship of change, and frontline-supervisor support were the most salient predictors of successful implementation of change. Overall, the study provides empirical support for a new measure of organizational-change capability. By drawing from practitioner experience and from the academic literature, the study provides a promising direction for researchers and practitioners interested in further understanding, defining, assessing, supporting, and sustaining change capability as an organizational-change resource. Practical implications and future research opportunities are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research - Vol 75, Iss 4