Teaching Christian Faith Integration in Psychological Assessment Courses

Within the existing literature that emphasizes the integration of faith and psychology, topics related to psychological assessment are rare inclusions. Yet, it is commonly recognized that assessment measures provide useful clinical infonnation. This article highlights the domain of psychological assessment as fertile ground for integrating psychology with spirituality. Three graduate-level faculty members who each teach psychological assessment courses in a clinical training program describe specific ways they integrate Christian faith and psychological assessment in the classroom. Foci for future efforts that would bring the areas of faith and psychological assessment together arc described along with some of the benefits such efforts would yield, especially for clinical practice

Disruptions from a Traumatic Event: A Clinical Vignette

The paper presents a clinical vignette regarding the psychological assessment of a seven years old boy, following a traumatic event, an accident with a bus that resulted in his grandfather’s death. We wish to illustrate how the administration of projective techniques, like the Rorschach, can reveal several manifestations of the impact that the traumatic event had on the chil

Internship directors\u27 perspectives on emerging trends in psychological assessment training and practice

Psychological assessment represents a core competency domain that continues to be uniquely associated with professional psychology. Despite the necessity and value of psychological assessment across domains of practice, there is growing concern regarding the training provided to developing clinicians, specifically psychology graduate students. Past studies have drawn attention to the discrepancy between predoctoral internship directors’ expectations related to assessment and the competency levels of incoming psychology interns. The purpose of this study was to conduct a national, online survey of psychology internship directors to examine their perspectives regarding current practices, emerging trends, and needed changes regarding psychological assessment at the internship level. The participants were 182 directors of pre-doctoral internships within the United States, which represented a 26% response rate. Participants were identified using the 2014-2015 APPIC directory of approved internship programs. Of the 182 responders, 66% were female and 34% were male, with a mean age of 46.88 years. Most of the responders self-identified as Caucasian (88%). Participants completed a questionnaire that included 32 items organized into five sections: (a) questionnaire instructions; (b) respondent demographics and background variables; (c) internship site/program characteristics; (d) current uses of psychological assessment measures within the internship program; and (e) respondent opinions regarding key considerations and future directions regarding psychological assessment practices. The present study focused mainly on section 5 of the questionnaire while two co-investigators addressed other sections. Results indicated trends toward increased technology use, stable or increased funding for psychological assessment, stable or increased emphasis on psychological assessment, an increasing influence of evidence based practices on psychological assessment, increased patient diversity and growing need for multicultural competence in assessment, increased need for training in therapeutic assessment, and increased need for experience in the psychological assessment of patients of varying developmental stages. A theme that emerged in the open-ended comments was a recommendation that academic programs strengthen their commitment to provide comprehensive, high-quality education and training in psychological assessment. The present study offers current findings that may be used to inform and strengthen education and training practices in psychological assessment

Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors of Practicing Psychologists Regarding Psychological Assessment

Recent research has documented the effectiveness, benefits, and value of psychological assessment, yet the use of psychological assessment is declining. To better understand why an effective treatment intervention is being underutilized, this project sought to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of practicing psychologists regarding psychological assessment. The investigators of this study surveyed 26 psychologists who are members of a statewide association of psychologists in the western United States. Results revealed that 96% of participants enjoyed their graduate training in psychological assessment and 93% of participants view psychological assessment as valuable, yet 78% believed that psychological assessment was underutilized. Participants were most likely to refer for neuropsychological testing followed by cognitive testing, personality testing, Therapeutic Assessment, and vocational testing. The price of psychological testing was by far the strongest deterrent to a professional from making a referral. Other deterrents with some influence included the time involved and not knowing good assessors to refer to for an assessment. Most participants surveyed had little or no knowledge of Therapeutic Assessment. Recommendations for increasing the use of this valuable resource for health care providers are provided

Addressing the social, cognitive and emotional needs of children: the case for dynamic assessment

This paper examines the extent to which the use of psychological assessment addresses the social, emotional and cognitive needs of children experiencing difficulties with learning. Evidence in favour of a curriculum-based assessment (CBA) approach is presented, and the advantages and disadvantages are evaluated. This paper argues that CBA does not stand up well to the demand for a more ecological approach to assessment that considers the social and emotional needs of children. CBA can often be too task oriented, and more importantly fails to consider an interactive environment in which to assess the child. Finally, the underlying theory of CBA on behavioural approaches to learning neglects a focus on the cognitive and meta-cognitive aspects of learning. Arguments in favour of dynamic assessment are offered as an approach which does consider such aspects of learning. Nevertheless, the appropriateness and effectiveness of CBA and dynamic assessment can only truly be considered in light of the purposes of each individual assessment. Different approaches to psychological assessment could be used in different circumstances, therefore, the ‘why?’ of assessment (Frederickson, Wright & Webster, 1991) should receive careful consideration before the issue of ‘which approach is best?’

Psychological Assessment of Brain Damage

We need more emphasis upon courses in Forensic Psychology in our law schools as well as in our graduate departments of psychology. The average clinical psychologist shies away from involving himself in cases that might eventually lead to testifying. The psychologist is not trained to answer with a Yes or a No and therefore is not accustomed to this procedure in the court room. In my estimation it is time that the clinical psychologist is helped to grow up legally, by having a better understanding of forensics, and it is time the legal profession is helped to grow up by a better understanding of psychology