Journal of health service psychology最新文献

One percent of all children in the United States are estimated to be abused or neglected each year, equating to about 700,000 children per year. Limited parenting skills are one of the most robust risk factors for child abuse and neglect. The present paper describes the Family Check-Up (FCU), a trauma-informed, strengths-based and comprehensive family management intervention aimed at promoting positive parenting skills, reducing child maladaptive behaviors, and optimizing child and family outcomes. By evaluating various ecological and contextual factors, the FCU targets a range of parenting and child behavior difficulties to prevent child abuse/neglect, while improving long-term child and family outcomes.

Early and accurate identification of cognitive and functional decline in bilingual Latino/a older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias continues to be a substantial public health concern. This paper highlights the heterogeneity in the clinical expression of Alzheimer's disease among bilingual Latino/as, the clinical decisions leading to a culturally and linguistically congruent neuropsychological assessment, and the interdisciplinary, multi-setting partnerships needed to ensure a healthy longevity post-diagnosis for the patient, the caregiver, and the family. Psychologists play an important role in advocating for the best standard of care, as the patients and families endure the long journey of care with dignity and respect.

Vaccine hesitancy refers to delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability of vaccination series. The majority of psychologists reported that they do not anticipate resuming in-person service delivery until after a vaccine was available. There are currently no best practice guidelines for making the transition back to in-office practice after the COVID-19 pandemic. This article provides some initial thoughts on relevant dimensions to consider. These include utilization of the core CDC behavioral practices of mask use and social distancing and cleaning surfaces. Psychologists are also encouraged to set positive expectations about vaccination, state clear expectations of vaccination for in-office care, actively listen to patient doubts about vaccinations, and actively exploring patient understanding of the COVID-19 disease processes and prevention efforts.

The 2020-2021 U.S. Supreme Court Term was expected by experts to be uninteresting, but it proved to be quite the opposite. There were surprising unanimous decisions, and some unexpectedly "highly charged issues." Several of the decisions will be important to mental health professionals (foster care and the conflict of gay and religious rights, juvenile life sentences, and "community caretaking"), and to health care providers more generally (the Affordable Care Act, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and COVID cases). Other decisions of general interest included immigration cases, election laws, and college athletics. Some of the most important cases arose in the "Shadow Dockets," an often-ignored series of orders by the Court. The article discusses the most important cases of the Term (including those in the Shadow Docket), analyzes the meaning of the Term, and looks to the cases to be decided next Term.

Most white people do not believe that race is an important feature of their lives, and this belief continues into the therapy room where race is rarely a topic of conversation, especially for all-white dyads. However, research shows that race and racism are highly salient for white people's mental health, and this gap in understanding has negative effects on the well-being of both white people and people of color. This paper argues to embrace the ethical and moral call to actively address race and racism in therapy between white therapists and white clients. This embrace can be particularly challenging for white therapists who believe themselves to be social justice-oriented people, but who nevertheless contribute to racism in both conscious and unconscious ways. A model is offered for how psychotherapists can bring up and work with the topics of race and racism during the course of therapy. The model includes ways for white therapists to engage in the long-term process of self-critique, ways to introduce the salience of race in the white client's life, and how to connect race and racism to the client's explicit goals for therapy. Finally, a case example is explored using a well-meaning, self-defined liberal white client.

Children notice race from an early age. They also observe and can understand injustices among people. However, research shows that not all caregivers discuss race, identity, and racism. Some avoid the topic altogether. There are significant repercussions when we do not provide space for these formative conversations. Silence allows stereotypes, biases, and racism to be reinforced. There is a role and a responsibility for mental health practitioners to undertake these sometimes difficult conversations and practices with patients and parents. Illustrative examples to use with children of different ages are presented as a means of supporting parents in their discussion of race and racism with their children.

LGBTQ+ individuals are at increased risk of suicide. Homelessness further increases the risk, as does family-of-origin rejection. A model that combines suicidal risk factors and minority stress theory is useful in clinical practice. An openness to "hearing" the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals is essential to treatment. An LGBTQ+ affirming therapeutic approach is recommended. It is also frequently helpful to rebuild family relationships and support for the LGBTQ+ individual, particularly with younger youth. Principles of practice are described and illustrated.

The implementation of telepsychology soared in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For most health service psychologists, this surge preceded formal training in telepsychology. Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals reported significant vulnerabilities and health disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure the health and well-being of adult transgender and gender diverse individuals during the COVD-19 pandemic and beyond, it is critical to promote the delivery of gender-affirming telepsychology. This article highlights clinical issues observed by health service psychologists at a high-volume gender clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors provide anticipatory guidance and recommendations to promote gender-affirming telepsychology.