The OP Review November 2005 - Ohio Psychological Association

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A couple of associations (Connecticut and Ohio) offer computer software discounts to their members. Several give their members discounts for use of online registration for educational events or online courses. Summary and Conclusions Many associations are strapped for staff time and finances to more actively promote the use of technology to their members. Additionally, a disincentive for obtaining education in technology apparently exists in some states in which continuing education credits are not given for such topics. Given the limited resources in budgets and staff, associations might benefit in finding ways to pool efforts and resources with other associations—even other mental health professional associations – to offer more educational opportunities to association members, which could include sponsoring and sharing expenses for educational events or programs as well as finding Psych Talk presenters. Other opportunities for sharing efforts for mutual benefit could be explored by the association executive directors. Several associations identified that advocating or promoting technology use by psychologists was not seen as a high or moderate level priority and that members had expressed little interest in the area. Given the rapidity that the healthcare field is adopting technology and its impact on the practice of psychology, psychologists need to become more knowledgeable and skilled in using technology in their daily practices. Although many psychologists have e-mail addresses and frequently have given those to their associations, it is not clear to what extent that they are actually using e-mail for communications purposes or how often associations are using e-mail as a major form of communicating with members. It does appear though that associations are moving toward increased use of electronic communication with their board members. Psych Talk is a new feature to the OP Review that lets OPA members share information about the presentations they have given or recent publications. Please submit your 50-100 word blurb to Katie Crabtree Thomas, director of communications and education, at kcrabtree@ohpsych.org. The next deadline is February 1, 2006. • Paule Steichen Asch, PhD, co-presented a paper and a poster at the Joint Conference of the American (AEA) and Canadian Evaluation Associations in Toronto October 24-30, 2005. She also chaired some sessions. Her research focused on a 12-session wellness program that was repeated in two consecutive years in six senior lowhousing projects. Mostly female single African-American women over 60 and with compromised health participated one year or another and a few attended both years. Design included thematic sessions, focusing on cardiovascular disease healing and a diversity perspective. Results pointed to two client profiles: Learners were at lower health risk and responded to theoretical education. Doers were at higher risk, enjoyed group work and focused more on behavioral techniques. Some sites performed better than others. Attendance and spirituality were significant factors. • On October 7, 2005, Kathleen Ashton, PhD, presented a talk “Resilience and Mind-Body Health: Coping with Chronic Illness” to the Myositis Association at their convention in Cleveland. The talk used the APA Public Education Campaign materials on “Mind/Body Health: For a Healthy Mind and Body, Talk to a Psychologist.” Over 100 association members attended the presentation. Participants discussed some of their positive experiences about how working with a psychologist has helped them to cope with chronic illness and were able to have questions answered about how to find an appropriate psychologist in their area. • Peter M. Barach, PhD, from Parma Heights, has been invited to give two daylong workshops on dissociative disorders. The first, “Adult Dissociative Disorders in Response to Childhood Maltreatment: Diagnosis and Treatment,” was presented on October 17, 2005, at the Midwest Conference on Child Sexual Abuse Treatment, in Madison, WI. The second, on a similar topic, will be given in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on April 21, 2006, under sponsorship of the Centre for Treatment of Sexual Abuse and Childhood Trauma. Dr. Barach recently participated in revising treatment guidelines for adults with Dissociative Identity Disorder, issued by the International Society for the Study of Dissociation. • Thurston Cosner, PhD, was a copresenter of a paper titled, “Exploring the Implicit Police Work Environment” at the International Public Management Association Assessment Council (IPMAAC) Conference in Seattle, WA. The study addressed the paucity of research on the police work environment. Ninety-five police officers from two northeast Ohio departments (Euclid, Cleveland Metroparks) were administered questionnaires designed to measure officers’ perceptions of four cultural and 10 social climate components of their work environment. Results were discussed in terms of differing sets of demands emanating from cultural and social climate work environment features, which define the implicit demand complexity of police work. Of particular significance was the finding that contrary to popular thought; police officers of all ranks and between both departments appeared to have a strong preference for an achievement-oriented culture and a low preference for power in their department’s work environment. • Jeanne Albronda Heaton, PhD, along with Claudia J. Strauss, published “Talking to Eating Disorders: Simple Ways to Support Someone with Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating, or Body Image Issues.” The book summary is: When a friend or family member shows signs of an eating problem, often our first impulse is to charge in and give advice, and try to fix what is wrong. But these tactics—however well intended—can backfire. In this compassionate guide, you’ll discover ways to tackle the tough topics of body image, media messages, physical touch, diet, and exercise. There is a special section on talking about these issues with children. You’ll learn when to get professional help, how to handle emergencies, and answers to difficult questions such as, “Am I too fat” and “Is this okay to eat” Dr. Heaton also participated in presentations about this topic for the American Association of University and College Center Directors. • Jennifer Swaim, PhD, is the director of psycho-oncology research in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Akron General Medical Center. Her current research and presentations include: Mood and Cognitive Functioning in Ovarian Cancer (current research in JUNE 2005 14
progress): This research covers a longitudinal, repeated measures study of the emotional and cognitive complications that arise across the course of chemotherapy treatment for ovarian cancer. Psychological Sequalae of Non-Lethal Gunshot Incidents, an APA convention poster presentation: The relationship of physical and mental health outcomes to institutional supports (debriefing) and psychiatric interventions (psychotherapy, psychotropic medication), was investigated through a retrospective study of 194 officers shot while wearing personal protective armor. This study used a semistructured interview to gather quantitative and qualitative information on: the nature of the critical incident, type of psychological support services offered and long term physical and mental health consequences. Obtained data included frequency and severity of sleep disturbances, substance use, use of psychotropic medication, and diagnosis of psychological disorder. Results include significant negative correlations between the psychological interventions and behavioral health outcomes (including sleep disturbance, alcohol/substance abuse, relationship stability, employment disability). Additionally, officers offered stress management interventions were more likely to develop positive interpretations of the impact of the event on their lives and to engage in fewer high risk behaviors. The Virtue Ethics Importance Scale (VEIS), an APA convention poster presentation, assesses individual’s beliefs regarding the importance of four of the virtue ethics; benevolence, integrity, prudence and respect. These four ethical constructs have been cited in the literature as being of particular interest to psychologists. Few general instruments exist that assess how individuals think about the importance of ethical issues as they relate to behavior, and none specific to this domain have been published or referenced in the literature. This instrument was developed in response to a need for a reliable and valid scale in the domain of virtue ethics, and was designed with the goal of creating a measure to facilitate future investigations in the area of virtue ethics. The presented research represents the data and analyses involved in the development, revision and validation of an original selfreport measure, the Virtue Ethics Importance Scale (VEIS). From the Shallow End of the Pool By Michael Ranney, MPA, OPA Executive Director This is the last “From the Shallow End of the Pool” article. Not because I’m going somewhere, but because the OPA office is. We’re moving to the second floor. But why change the name of column, and how did this journey begin Read on… One of the things that made the spring and summer fly by was the effort by the OPA staff to consider our office space options. OPA is the last remaining original tenant at 400 East Town Street, after the former School for the Deaf was renovated into office space. Our space on the ground floor was the old swimming pool. My office happens to be in what was the shallow end of the pool, thus the name of my column. OPA has lived in suite G-20 for 17 years. If walls could talk, they would never shut up. In this space, OPA leaders have discussed, strategized, considered, debated and decided many things that have impacted psychology in Ohio. OPA historians probably have some tales to tell about major events in OPA history that have occurred here. Clearly, the “Plan for the 90s” was crafted during that time and OPA evolved into a more professional association that benefits its members in significant ways. With our lease up on November 1, 2005, and with an option to renew for five more years, which we needed to exercise by May 1, we set out to assess our options. We like our location, ample parking and the beautiful Topiary Park right next door to us. On good days, I can walk to the Statehouse or to downtown meetings. For staff, none of us are more than 15 minutes from home. We came to appreciate our location more as we looked elsewhere. Downtown spaces were much more expensive, parking was an issue and few came close to the charm of our current space. Outside of the city was a mixed bag. Again, rents were consistently higher, and most spaces needed so much work that it was hard to envision how we’d fit in. One of our major goals in finding a new space was getting one where there was sufficient space for the Board of Directors to meet. Over the years, the Board meetings have been an adventure. In my tenure as executive director, we moved from Board meetings at hotels with sit down meals to meetings at senior centers with pizza and sodas. The only problem was that the senior center was not always available so meetings were frequently on the move. We tried a meeting at G-20 once but it was just too small to accommodate the Board and visitors As we searched the real estate market in Columbus, we discussed our needs with our current landlord. He took us upstairs to vacant space on the second floor, overlooking the Topiary Garden and Town Street. It had enough office space to accommodate all of our full and parttime/volunteer staff and interns and a bonus room large enough for the Board and smaller workshops. It needed work, but we could visualize OPA fitting in there quite comfortably. So the last two months have been about looking at plans, daily visits to the second floor, selecting carpet and paint, changing the plans, panicking when the wrong carpet was delivered, feeling anguish when we discovered how uneven the floor was and cheering with joy when the contractor said he worked late into the night to fix the floor! Today, as I write this column, the carpet was laid and the ceiling tiles are going being placed. It has really taken shape nicely. If Convention had not been looming in our immediate future, we would have moved earlier. The move happened November 7 after the dust from Convention settled and we had time to pack up 17 years of memories and stuff. By the time you read this, we may still be unpacking or trying to figure out where things go, so be patient in case things don’t go as planned. We may be without voicemail and computers for more than a day, which means e-mails may not get read for a few days. By Thanksgiving, I trust we’ll be thankful for our new space and be well settled in. The only problem is: what shall I call my column I won’t be in the shallow end of the pool anymore. Any suggestions The best suggestion wins a prize! E-mail your suggestions to kcrabtree@ohpsych.org. OPA REVIEW 15
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The OP Review November 2005 - Ohio Psychological Association

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