Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

Training the psychologist of the future in the use of digital mental health technologies.
The pandemic forced virtually all mental health professionals to use some form of digital technology, yet few receive any training in digital mental health tools (DMHT). Therapists and students in all mental health treatment settings should be trained to routinely include DMHT in their practice. In this article, we describe why DMHT will play an increasingly important part in clinical mental health practice and discuss how we train psychologists and counselors in our eClinic to learn the basics of incorporating digital technologies into the care they provide. More specifically, we describe the three basic components of the training: (a) an asynchronous onboarding program; (b) a didactic curriculum, implemented via monthly core skill development seminars led by experts in digital mental health practice; and (c) ongoing weekly supervision by licensed supervisors. The eClinic training approach described is a work in progress, and we expect to adjust it to follow the evolution of digital tools for mental health assessment and treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
The meta-analysis application worksheet: A practical guide for the application of meta-analyses to clinical cases.
Despite efforts to incorporate evidence-based practice into mental health settings, there has been inconsistent success doing so. Several barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practice have been identified, including limitations in time and statistical training. One promising approach to further bridge the science-practice gap is the greater use of meta-analytic studies to clarify the magnitude of treatment effects and to understand components of treatments that are more effective within specific populations. Although several articles have been published to help mental health trainees and providers understand and interpret meta-analyses, they may not be sufficient without extensive training in statistical techniques. The purpose of this article is to provide and explain the use of the Meta-Analysis Application Worksheet as a means by which mental health providers at all professional levels can use meta-analytic findings to make clinical judgments regarding treatment approaches in the context of ongoing or new cases. A case example is provided to illustrate the use of the worksheet in clinical decision making. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
The relevancy-focused report: An alternative model format for forensic psychological reports.
Traditional report formats commonly employed to summarize forensic mental health evaluations pose several limitations, including that they implicitly encourage inclusion of irrelevant data and only data that are consistent with one’s opinions and discourage writers from explicitly distinguishing between case data, their inferences, and their reasoning. To remedy these issues, we propose a relevancy-focused (RF) report format, which is a findings-based report style developed specifically for use when summarizing results of forensic psychological evaluations. We describe a practical guide to the critical thinking and rhetorical writing embodied in the RF. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
That old dog can still hunt—Alternative cutoffs and the recognition trial improve the classification accuracy of the Rey 15-Item Test.
This study was designed to test the upper limits of the Rey-15’s classification accuracy in cognitively intact university students and clinical patients. A brief battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to all participants. Students were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 80) or experimental malingering (n = 59) condition. Invalid performance in patients (n = 52) was psychometrically defined. The classification accuracy of the Rey-15 (original free recall and the combination score including the recognition trial developed by Boone et al., 2002) was computed across a range of cutoffs. A free recall ≤ 13 and combination score ≤ 25 produced a good combination of sensitivity (.41–.70) and specificity (.90–.94) among students. The highest cutoff to reach .90 specificity in clinical patients was free recall ≤ 11 and combination score ≤ 23, at .38–.56 sensitivity. Results confirmed the previous reports that more liberal alternative cutoffs maintain adequate specificity. Cutoffs can be raised even further in cognitively intact examinees. The introduction of the recognition trial provided a significant boost to the instrument’s classification accuracy. The Rey-15 remains a cost-effective and clinically useful test in both clinical and research settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Holistic approach to adult patient care: Integrated psychology pilot for acute care.
We report on a quality improvement initiative to facilitate biopsychosocial approaches for medical patients in an acute hospital setting through a hybrid integrated psychology care model. The expectation was to improve patient outcomes by increasing provider satisfaction and reducing average length of stay (ALOS). Psychologists in the adult consultation–liaison (CL) service were embedded with two service lines: hematology–oncology and medical trauma teams to comanage medical patients in their daily care through an interdisciplinary integrated approach. After 6 months, we compared differences in the ALOS between the traditional CL and hybrid integrated models. Satisfaction with the psychology services among providers was evident with 97% noting that integrated psychologists would reduce their own burnout. ALOS for patients evaluated by psychologists in the CL service was not statistically significantly different from the hybrid integrated model (CL service ALOS = 28 days vs. hybrid integrated pilot model ALOS = 20 days, p = .603). Earlier psychology evaluations (i.e., conducted within 5 days of admission) resulted in statistically significantly lower LOS in both models (p ≤ .002). An integrated approach to patient care showed the potential to reduce LOS especially when psychological evaluation occurred within 5 days of admission. Additionally, the integrated model resulted in improved staff satisfaction. This collaboration can be of significant clinical and potential monetary value for the medical field as a whole. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Social norms: Implications for the prevention of male college students’ perpetration of sexual aggression.
Sexual aggression is a major problem on U.S. college and university campuses, with about 20% of college women reporting experiences of nonconsensual sexual contact during their time in college and one in 15 college men reporting perpetrating behaviors that would qualify as rape. To address this challenge, we examined conceptual, empirical, and practical insights from the science of social norms that can guide psychologists’ work in the prevention of U.S. college men’s sexual aggression perpetration. Although social norms—the rules and customs that communicate what people do or approve of—have been widely applied in different fields of study, their potential in preventing college men’s sexually aggressive behaviors has not been fully realized. Therefore, guided by feminist, cultural, and ecological perspectives, we explored how prevention practice on college men’s sexual aggression perpetration can benefit from examining six facets of social norms. Specifically, a comprehensive approach to preventing college men’s sexual aggression perpetration should (a) address different types of norms (e.g., descriptive, injunctive, and prescriptive norms), (b) target multiple behaviors and attitudes, (c) tackle both generic- and situation-specific norms, (d) seek to change both perceived and collective norms, (e) deploy diverse sources of normative information about antisexual aggression norms (summative information, individuals’ behaviors, and institutional signals), and (f) strengthen positive norms by increasing their prevalence and importance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Four steps toward intersectionality in psychotherapy using the ADDRESSING framework.
An intersectional approach to psychotherapy offers opportunities for strengthening the therapeutic alliance and improving professional practice via attention to cultural complexities affecting clients, therapists, and the mental health system. The ADDRESSING (Age and generation, Developmental or other Disability, Religion and spirituality, Ethnicity and racial identity, Socioeconomic status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous heritage, National origin, Gender) framework facilitates intersectional work by calling attention to the interaction of oppression/privilege systems (e.g., racism, heterosexism, ableism, classism) and to the within-group diversity of people of color (e.g., by sexual orientation, dis/ability, class, etc.). Using the ADDRESSING framework, the present article suggests the following four steps toward integrating intersectionality into therapeutic practice: (1) the therapist’s ongoing self-assessment and development of a multicultural, intersectional orientation; (2) attention to structural inequities embedded in the mental health system; (3) consideration of the impact of systemic oppression on individuals who hold intersectional identities; and (4) recognition of the resilience, strengths, and support that often emerge with intersecting identities. Several studies are summarized regarding the use of the ADDRESSING framework in therapeutic settings, along with case examples, information regarding resilience in relation to intersectionality, a discussion of the limitations of the framework, and suggestions for further research and work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Developing therapists’ multicultural orientation using web-based deliberate practice: An initial feasibility, usability, and acceptability study.
The value of skillfully adopting a multicultural orientation (MCO) in psychotherapy has been increasingly recognized. Deliberate practice methods may be helpful in developing this capacity, but limited opportunities for practice and feedback exist. The present study provided an initial test of the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of a self-guided, web-based deliberate practice tool designed to support the development of therapists’ MCO: MCO Deliberate Practice Online (MCO-O). This tool included brief didactic instructions along with opportunities to practice responding to video vignettes of actors portraying clients discussing cultural topics in psychotherapy. A sample of therapists and trainees (n = 287) visited the MCO-O website and consented to the study. Recruitment through emails to listservs and a webinar was highly feasible. Quantitative ratings of usability were modest. Quantitative metrics of acceptability were also modest, with a minority of participants (18.8%) visiting the MCO-O website more than once and 51.2% of participants viewing two or more of the video vignettes. Younger participants found the MCO-O website more usable, and having MCO-O assigned was associated with watching more videos, when controlling for participant demographics. Qualitative themes included a mixture of positive feedback along with critiques and confusion regarding the MCO-O website. Taken together, results highlight the potential of this approach along with important limitations. Ultimately, it may prove difficult for therapists and trainees to engage in self-guided MCO training, particularly if using software tools that have not undergone extensive (and potentially resource intensive) user experience testing and development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
The development of a mental health service for East and Southeast Asian communities in the United Kingdom: A critical reflection.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in anti-Asian racism in the United Kingdom and given rise to the racial reckoning and mobilization of a pan-East and Southeast Asian ethnic identity. As two clinicians, we reflect upon the internal and external challenges when setting up an East and Southeast Asian mental health service. We focus on our endeavors in setting up a service within the social justice framework, how structural barriers constrain the sustainability of our work. We highlight the complexities in setting up a service for a heterogeneous community. Aligning with values and principles of social justice, we must understand the historical contexts and structural factors that are complicit when formulating our clients’ distress. We also must be aware of and challenge the external and institutional barriers in terms of where power is centered, especially in the area of commissioning and service design. We discuss the implications for researchers, practitioners, and commissioners alike based on our experience and reflections. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Exploring preferences for multicultural workshop formats: Does the race of the trainer matter?
Despite psychologists’ decades of involvement in diversity, equity, and inclusion programming and other multicultural training experiences, little research exists regarding the perceptions and expectations of would-be participants. What formats do participants choose when they have the option and why? And does the race of the participant or the trainer have any impact on those choices? In this online exploratory study, participants responded to a vignette that presented them with the opportunity to choose from among three multicultural workshop format themes: cultural customs, structural racism, or experiential sharing of race-related experiences. Three experimental conditions varied the racial identity of the hypothetical workshop trainer. The results showed that most participants favored the cultural customs format, and neither the racial backgrounds of participants nor trainers affected that outcome significantly. Educational level was, however, associated with format choice in that participants who had completed higher levels of formal education were more likely to choose the structural and experiential formats. Implications for the design of multicultural programming are discussed with emphasis upon the importance of facilitating knowledge and competence with regard to structural racism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice - Vol 55, Iss 5