Preparing for mental health care services: Professional psychology curricula In Indonesia

Mental health is an important issue in the Indonesian health arena, given the existing large gap between the number of people with mental disorders and mental health services available for them. One raised concern is the extent to which Indonesian psychologists -as mental health professionals -can bridge this identified gap, in terms of both quality and accessibility of services provided. The involvement of psychologists in the provision of mental health services in primary health care facilities is one of the many initiatives intensively discussed by the parties involved in mental health care service in Indonesia. The writer argued that there were at least two important points that were important to be addressed by the Indonesian health services community in relation to the above: the competencies expected of a health service psychologist and the extent to which the curricula for prospective Indonesian psychologists equip the graduates to be able to meet the demands for these competencies. The scholars had identified the roles and capabilities expected of mental health service psychologists in this area, which were presented briefly in this paper. In relation to the latter, this article described the structure of Indonesian professional psychology education and identified the curriculum content in several of the country’s professional programs that were closely related to specific competencies required by health service psychologists. Further, the content was considered relevant to the preparation of psychologists working in health settings that was currently missing from Indonesian curricula would also be identified. In conclusion, some important aspects of preparing mental health service psychologists for practice would be discussed later. Some suggestions were also made on some areas of research that might be pursued in the future

Training models in professional psychology education (a literature review)

Intense debate on training models used in professional psychology education, including discussion on the specific training models most appropriate for educating future psychologists is far from finished. The authors reviewed articles discussing training models including results of empirical studies in professional psychology programs, which were published in several psychology journals databases (1949 to 2014). The authors have identified (a) the scientist-practitioner; (b) the practitioner model and its derivatives; (c) the clinical-scientist; and (d) the competency-based models. This article also outlines the historical development of each model and a consideration of the main principles espoused by each training model. It seems that discussion on the concept of training models and empirical studies on how these models are used in professional psychology programs outside the context of Western countries, is rare. Thus, this review could serve as a theoretical foundation for the implementation of a study aimed at filling the gap in the discussion of professional psychology program curricula, including the training models used, especially in other contexts than the Western

Additional file 1. of Factors impacting the quality of peer relationships of youth with Tourette’s syndrome

Australian Tourette Survey. (DOCX 356 kb

The Availability of Psychological Services for Aged Care Residents in Australia: A Survey of Facility Staff

Objective: rates of depression and anxiety are high among older adults in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). This study examined the extent to which psychological services are made available to facility residents in Australia, and investigated barriers to accessing such services. Method: the sample consisted of 90 senior staff from a random sample of RACFs. Participants completed self-report questionnaires regarding their perspectives on the availability of psychological services and potential barriers to access psychological services. Results: access to psychological services was poor. Psychologists were employed at a rate only one third that of other providers of mental health services. Residents were rarely referred to psychologists or to psychological treatments. The most important barriers to access, as perceived by participants, were the low availability of psychologists specialising in treating older adults, lack of government funding for such access, and limited staff training in detecting depression and anxiety. Conclusion: access to psychologists and psychological services remains poor in Australian residential aged care settings. Such access may be improved by developing a workforce of clinical geropsychologists, improving funding mechanisms for residents to access psychological services, and addressing staff knowledge about depression and anxiety