Call for Volunteer Psychologists

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has contacted the AAAS "On-call" Scientists project in search of mental health professionals who are available to document evidence of torture and other abuse for asylum seekers in the US. Volunteers may be asked to review one case, or multiple cases in one year, depending on the demand at any given time and location. Each case is estimated to take about 6 hours of the volunteer's time, including the evaluation of the individual and preparation of documentation in support of their asylum application. You are always free to decline a case. Further information about the PHR Asylum Network, including resources available to volunteers, is available below.

All volunteers must be board certified and/or hold a current state license. PHR will request copies of relevant documentation once you are in direct contact.

Anyone interested in volunteering for this work is invited to sign up to become a volunteer here:
http://oncallscientists.aaas.org/default.aspx. If they have any questions, they can contact me directly at oncall@aaas.org.

Thank you for your help and please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.
_____________________________

Jessica Wyndham
Associate Director, Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program American Association for the Advancement of Science
1200 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005 USA
Ph  +1 202 326 6604
Fax +1 202 289 4950
http://srhrl.aaas.org/

15 Fascinating Studies on College Students

15 Fascinating #psych studies on #college students: http://t.co/c8TeQ7K
Learn about ways college students have contributed to psychology as well as current psychological issues among college student populations in the attached article!

Guest Blogger: Managing Chronic Pain

by Guest Blogger, David Schwartz, Ph.D. 

One of the few advantages of getting older is the ability to say “”I remember when…”

In 1982 when I did my first clinical placement in pain management, the “state of the art” was that focusing on the patient’s self-report of pain was worthless. Research showed that 0-10 pain scales varied widely between individuals, had little relationship to pathophysiology, and were highly dependent on psychosocial factors.  The emphasis in the field was on the measurement and change of pain behavior  i.e. measures of function such as uptime, days off work, walking tolerance, etc. A parallel theme was that the use of opiates and aggressive medical interventions such as nerve destruction surgery and nerve blocks for chronic pain management were ineffective and counterproductive.  Use of opiates led to decreased function, and withdrawing patients from opiates in the context of a psychological/physical re-activation model (A pain rehabilitation program) consistently increased function. These pain programs remain today as the most effective documented intervention to improve overall life functioning for individuals who had become disabled due to pain.

Fast forward to 2011. These structured pain rehab programs are essentially extinct, starved to death by insurers who saw them as too costly. A patient coming to a pain clinic will almost always be placed on opiates, and receive multiple interventional treatments.  The cost of pain treatment has skyrocketed, yet outcomes are worse.  Prescription opiates are now the most commonly abused drugs, and many states (including Ohio) are launching expensive initiatives to get the ”drug problem” under control.  Worst of all, when the patient returns for a follow-up visit, the only question they are asked is “how is your pain”?

I recently attempted to survey the literature as to whether there was any new evidence that opiates improved function in chronic pain.  What I found was- NOTHING!  It was exceedingly rare to find a study that even measured function whatsoever! (Keep in mind that many studies have shown that patient self-report of function is both reliable and valid, and there are many brief instruments that assess function with documented validity). The studies employed NONE of them. The few studies I did find showed that opiates produced decreases in self-reported PAIN, but no change in FUNCTION.

“The emperor has no clothes”- remember the fable?  Is it possible that the multi-billion dollar pain management industry is a sham? That we are doing worse than we were 30 years ago?

What can we do today?  To me, the crucial thing is to go back to function as the core measure when we deal with pain. Always ask- what are doing that you weren’t doing last session? Are you on your feet, talking to people, cleaning the house more, etc? If opiates are used, are increases in function observed? 

I tell a joke in talks about pain- the punchline is that the patient had pain that was 10 of 10 and lays on the couch in misery all day. His doctor puts him on OxyContin- he comes back and says “it’s a miracle! My pain is 1-2 out of 10! My life is so much better!”  When asked what he now does, he says, “Well, I’m so stoned on the medication I lay on the couch all day…” 

Online Pain Resources:

http://www.ampainsoc.org/resources/clinician1.htm
http://www.nationalpainfoundation.org/articles/469/psychology-of-pain

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Bio: Dr. David Schwartz earned his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1982, specializing in behavioral medicine, and was an intern and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Virginia Medical Center. He has had medical school appointments at the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Cincinnati. He has published and presented extensively in pain management and behavioral medicine. He has been in private practice since 1995 and is currently a partner in Hamilton Health Associates, a multi-specialty practice focused on industrial injury.   He is a consultant to the Freiberg Spine Institute and a member of the Disability Evaluation Panel for the Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation (BWC). He presently serves as the Ohio Psychological Association (OPA) representative on the BWC’s Health Care Quality Assurance Advisory Committee and chairs the OPA Task Force on Workers Compensation Reform.

Did You Know? June Fact

In late spring and summer, admissions to psychiatric hospitals actually increase from the winter months.

Summer! Time for the beach, vacation, sun, and fun! Right?  Well, maybe.  Many people find summer more stressful than carefree.  The logistics of planning a vacation, finding childcare and activities for children home from school, and trying to fit in too much during good weather can stress even the most avid summer enthusiast.  Here are some basic tips to make your summer a breeze:

1. Don't overplan: having 50 fun activities scheduled for each day of summer will leave you feeling more burnt out than relaxed.  Make sure you leave some unstructured time to sit back and slow down.
2. Don't underplan: doing nothing is also not the answer.  Boredom can be as stressful as doing too much.  Make sure you have a few meaningful activities spaced out over the summer to look forward to.
3. Take advantage.  The natural light during summer can be a mood enhancer, and the weather allows you to use nature as stress reliever.
4. Increase physical activity.  Use the outdoors for your workout or just take more walks.  Exercise is a natural antidepressant.
5. Take time to connect.  Take a technology vacation and spend time camping, playing outdoor games, and having face time with your family and friends.

 Useful links:

http://stress.about.com/od/situationalstress/a/stress_avoid.htm

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/chill-out-summer-tips-stress-relief

http://www.yourmindyourbody.org/seasonal-affective-disorder-in-the-summer/

Mental Health Month Blog Party May 18

Did You Know? Facts about mental health

• One in four Americans experiences a mental health disorder every year, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health.
• Chronic stress can affect both our physical and psychological well-being by causing a variety of problems including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system.
• A 2009 poll by the American Psychological Association found that 75 percent of adults report experiencing moderate to high levels of stress (24 percent extreme, 51 percent moderate) and nearly half report that their stress has increased in the past year (42 percent).
• A 2008 survey by Harris Interactive and the American Psychological Association found that 25 percent of Americans report they do not have adequate access to mental health services and 44 percent either do not have mental health coverage or are not sure if they do.
• Research recently published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior (Vol. 41, No. 2) finds that 68 percent of Americans do not want someone with a mental illness marrying into their family and 58 percent do not want people with mental illness in their workplaces.

For more information about mental health, mind/body health and family well-being, please visit:
www.apa.org/helpcenter
www.youtube.com/apahelpcenter
http://www.ymca.net/healthy-family-home/
http://www.whatadifference.samhsa.gov/index.html
http://www.realwarriors.net/
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/may

Mental Health Day at the Columbus VA

NEDA Walk: Columbus, OH

"Walk About It" on The Ohio State University's campus, and support volunteers in raising awareness about eating disorders in a fun, interactive way! Register today and do your part to help NEDA gain a stronger foothold in the fight against eating disorders!

Columbus NEDA Walk
May 14, 2011
The Ohio State University
Fred Beekman Park
Registration at 10:00am; Walk at 11

If you cannot make the walk, please consider making a donation! Even $10 in support of NEDA's 10th Anniversary helps us get one step closer to "a world free from eating disorders!"

American Psychological Association Marks Mental Health Month

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION MARKS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH WITH BRIEFINGS, BLOGS, CHATS
  

WASHINGTON -- The American Psychological Association will spotlight a range of issues including traumatized children and health disparities among diverse older Americans in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Activities include:
May 3: Congressional Briefing Marking National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 430, 9-10a.m. 

Sponsored by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Mental Health America, the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, this briefing will focus on school mental health and trauma and early intervention services for children and adolescents.

Speakers:

• Kathryn Power, Director, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, will share new data on outcomes of programs the center has supported through school and community-based grants.
• Abigail Gewirtz, PhD, APA member and director of the Ambit Network at the University of Minnesota, will speak about the success of her National Child Traumatic Stress Network in raising the standard of care and improving access to services for traumatized children and their families.
• Andrew, a youth advocate from North Carolina Families United, will share his experience of growing up with mental health challenges and how the services and support he received helped build his resiliency.

May 18: Blogging for Mental Health

APA continues its annual blog party for mental health. Psychologists writing for APA's public education blog, Your Mind, Your Body, invite people to share their stories related to mental health and emotional wellness. Writers are encouraged to blog about mental health-related topics and use the specially created graphic. More information is available on the blog party page. APA will also host a series of Facebook chats throughout May with psychologists and other experts in mental health on topics such as workplace stress and anxiety. 
May 24: Congressional Briefing Addressing Health Disparities Among Diverse Older Americans, G11 Dirksen Senate Office Building, 12-1:30 p.m.


Co-sponsored by APA and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, this briefing will focus on health disparities among America's increasingly diverse aging population.  Specifically, experts will discuss health disparities among ethnic minority and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender elders and innovative ways to reduce such disparities in health care settings and communities.

Speakers:

• Patricia Arean, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, and an APA member, will speak about integrating mental health in primary care to reduce health disparities in older adults.
• Laurie Young, PhD, director of Public Policy & Government Affairs at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will speak about health disparities in LGBT elders.
• James Jackson, PhD, University of Michigan and an APA member, will speak about aging, the life course and health disparities.

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 154,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.

Social Responsibility for Psychological Public Statements Made by Non-Psychologists

by Guest Blogger, Kevin Arnold, Ph.D. ABPP

Social responsibility is a broad term, defined on Wikipedia as “ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals” (Wikipedia). Psychologists act socially in both passive (e.g., decline to advise on effective torture methodology) or active (e.g., deliver behavioral programs to increase child car restraint use by parents) ways. For some psychologists, the opportunity to benefit society is ever present, such as when a psychologist writes for the public media. This blog provides three tenants regarding socially responsible public statements when confronting pseudo-psychology in the media or press.

Claim Our Expertise. We psychologists have clearly defined expertise in the application of psychological constructs and research to everyday problems. We helped developed highly effective prevention programs for health, such as the smoking cessation program at the University of Rhode Island (e.g., Stages of Change), and regularly advise courts on issues ranging from parenting to violence potential. Unfortunately, non-psychologists lay claim to our constructs and theories when they write or make public statements as if experts on clearly psychological topics. Sometimes those writings or statements are benign, while at other times they can create the opportunity for harm. When the latter occurs, we must lay claim to our field, and take an active stance that our education, experience, and training give us unique capacity to apply psychology that others simply do not have. If psychologists fail to own our field, we could both lose our identity and allow pseudo-psychology to harm society. 

Provide Reasonable Alternative Ideas. Far too often, non-psychologists (and sometimes psychologists) overstate the validity of psychological theories in media statements. For example, I have often heard attorneys say that witnesses will not admit to something that is against their interest unless the admission is true. Several psychological theories exist to explain the motivation to meet a task demand under stressful conditions. For example, suggestibility theory argues that false ideas can be implanted through leading questions or exposure to non-factual narrative descriptions. Drive reduction theory (most recently captured in Barlow’s concepts of escape and avoidance) explains efforts to reduce stress cause counter-intuitive behaviors (ala the Milgram experiments). Functional behavior analysis would argue that statements against one’s interests can function to provide social attention and rewards even when such statements are not true. Socially responsible psychologists have an obligation to actively inform the public of these alternatives to thwart the mis-perception that theory is truth, when in fact theory is but plausible explanation of data. 

Correct Mis-representation of Psychological Research. Books, published articles, and media statements often rely on psychological research, or sometimes junk-science masquerading as psychological research, to appear authoritative. In my own experience, the articles and book by the “Tiger Mom” argued that research findings validated her claim that the majority of Asian parents in Asia used, essentially, authoritarian parenting while parents in the United States used overly permissive parenting. She further argued that research showed that her “Tiger Parenting” produced better academic outcomes. However, research specifically on the topic provided findings often either more equivocal than her statements or contradictory to her position. When psychological research is mis-represented, we must actively correct the errors in public statements. Psychologists have a social obligation to protect society against the mis-use of our research so that evidence drives public policy, not pseudo-science.

A Final Thought. I remember former president of APA, Ted Blau, once saying that graduate school often left psychologists with little self-confidence, and without the skills to speak authoritatively. He might have been right; and if so, many of us avoid or ignore the mis-use of psychology by others. But, our education is extensive, our experience accumulates knowledge, and our training is well-supervised. We learn psychological theory, social science statistics, complex research designs, and clinical application methods. Psychologists, most of all, speak with authority on psychology’s role in addressing social problems. Socially responsible psychologists strive to be heard over the din of talking heads and pundits who sometimes use our field to serve their own self-interests.

Infertility Awareness Week

April 24-30 is National Infertility Awareness Week. Around 1 in 8 women and men are diagnosed with infertility. Bust the infertility myths!


Myth #1: “This is ‘her’ problem—I don’t need to be an active participant.”

Busted!: Having a baby, whether it is the result of GOFI (good old fashioned intercourse) or with the help of a reproductive doctor can be one of the most intimate, connecting experiences a couple has.

The Hollywood image of a magical night of lovemaking yielding a positive pee stick result is simply replaced by an extra squeeze of your wife’s hand during an ultrasound, a quick breakfast date and kiss before the morning blood draw, and an extra long hug after an embryo transfer.

For more information, please visit the RESOLVE National Infertility Awareness Week website.