Association between wait time and behavioral health appointment attendance across patient characteristics.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(4), Nov 2023, 983-987; doi:10.1037/ser0000768Adequate access to behavioral health (BH) services is a critical issue. Many patients who are referred to BH care miss their appointments. One barrier to BH care is that longer wait times decrease the likelihood of appointment attendance. The present study examines the relationship between the wait time for BH services and appointment attendance, overall and by multiple patient characteristics. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the association between wait time and patient attendance for BH referrals made from March 1, 2016, to February ...
Source: Psychological Services - May 4, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
A peer veteran approach to the caring letters suicide prevention program: Preliminary data.
Psychological Services, Vol 21(1), Feb 2024, 1-12; doi:10.1037/ser0000760Caring Letters is a prevention program aimed at reducing suicide risk; however, clinical trials indicate mixed results among military and veteran samples. The present study aimed to pilot a new version of the Caring Letters intervention that was adapted to military culture in order to emphasize peer support. The supportive letters, traditionally sent from clinicians, were written by peer veterans (PVs) who volunteered from local Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs). PVs (n = 15) attended a 4-hr workshop to learn about Caring Letters and write six lett...
Source: Psychological Services - April 13, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Youth mental health first aid training with diverse educators.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(4), Nov 2023, 941-951; doi:10.1037/ser0000767Schools are the most likely place for students to receive formal or informal mental health services and support. Classroom educators often provide informal mental health support to students and referrals to school-based services. Despite their key role, educators often feel underprepared in recognizing concerning symptoms in youth and supporting student mental health. This mixed-methods study explored the effectiveness of in-person Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training on a diverse sample of 106 educators (Mage = 22, SD = 1.9 years, 96% et...
Source: Psychological Services - April 13, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Symptom change prior to treatment discontinuation (dropout) from a naturalistic Veterans Affairs evidence-based psychotherapy clinic for PTSD and depression.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(4), Nov 2023, 831-838; doi:10.1037/ser0000757Dropout or treatment discontinuation from evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) has been a concern for clinicians as it is thought that such discontinuation prevents patients from achieving a full course of therapy and obtaining maximum benefit. Recent studies, however, suggest that treatment discontinuation may sometimes be due to symptom improvement. The purpose of the current evaluation was to examine change in self-reported symptoms in participants who completed versus did not complete treatment in a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic offering ...
Source: Psychological Services - March 23, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Active bystandership by youth in the digital era: Microintervention strategies for responding to social media-based microaggressions and cyberbullying.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(3), Aug 2023, 423-434; doi:10.1037/ser0000749Microaggressions are intentional or unintentional slights, insults, invalidations, and offensive behaviors that communicate hostile or derogatory messages to minoritized populations. When microaggressions cross over to social media, they can be considered a form of cyberbullying, which occurs over digital devices and harms, threatens, undermines, or socially excludes others. Microaggressions and cyberbullying have adverse mental health outcomes for racial and cultural minority youth, and there is an urgent need for practical strategies youth can us...
Source: Psychological Services - March 23, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
The MATRIX: A deliberate practice approach for clinical supervision in the public sector.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(2), May 2023, 267-282; doi:10.1037/ser0000743Clinical supervision is an essential component of psychotherapeutic practice. However, the literature suggests that the provision of supervision in the public sector has been declining significantly over the past two decades, suggesting that many health care professionals are receiving neither the guidance nor support needed to deliver safe and effective care. Identifying the distinct challenges of supervision in the public sector and proposing prospective solutions is, therefore, a burning issue. In this article, we introduce a novel analytical fr...
Source: Psychological Services - March 16, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Reasons for passivity, the roots of active bystandership, and trainings to develop it.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(3), Aug 2023, 406-409; doi:10.1037/ser0000746In this article, I discuss the personal and professional experiences and influences that led me to the study of active bystandership. Research, my own and that of many others, has investigated the roots of active bystandership, why people intervene to prevent harm, and why they do not. Most importantly, we have demonstrated that active bystandership can be learned. When people receive training in the skills of active bystandership, they are more likely to overcome inhibitors and barriers to intervention. When organizations create and maintain a cul...
Source: Psychological Services - March 13, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
“The VA was the first place as a trainee that I felt like I had to hide many parts of myself”: Lived experiences and recommendations for empowering transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive VA psychology supervisors and supervisees.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(2), May 2023, 239-247; doi:10.1037/ser0000748Psychology trainees are increasingly diverse in terms of gender identity and gender expression (Lund & Thomas, 2022), yet clinical supervision models often overlook the unique needs, strengths, and experiences of transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive (TNBGE) trainees and supervisors. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) remains the largest training network for psychology trainees and many American Psychological Association-accredited VA sites advertise focused training opportunities in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer health...
Source: Psychological Services - March 9, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Correction to Rauch et al. (2021).
We examined trajectories of symptom change, mediating and moderating effects of a range of patient characteristics. Of the 80 veterans, 77 completed (96.3%) treatment and pre- and posttreatment measures. Self-reported PTSD (p (Source: Psychological Services)
Source: Psychological Services - February 27, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Characterizing supervision-as-usual: Findings from two provider surveys.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(2), May 2023, 248-255; doi:10.1037/ser0000747Although clinical supervision is widely seen as critical for professional training and for safeguarding and promoting client well-being in mental health care, it is understudied, particularly in publicly funded services. In surveys of two large samples of youth mental health service providers (a state sample of providers billing Medicaid [N = 1,057] and a national sample of professional guild members [N = 1,720]), we examined the amount of time providers reported spending in supervision and consultation in a typical workweek and its covariation wit...
Source: Psychological Services - February 27, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Behavioral health services for urban American Indians and Alaska Natives: A thematic analysis of interviews with 10 program directors.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(4), Nov 2023, 962-972; doi:10.1037/ser0000754Urban Indian Health Programs (UIHPs) are one of the primary sources of government-funded health care for the millions of American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) people living in urban areas. The goal of this study is to better understand what services are available at UIHPs and how resources are being used to support these services. Semistructured interviews with behavioral health directors at 10 UIHPs were reported, transcribed, and thematically analyzed to address this knowledge gap. Our analysis indicates that UIHP behavioral health services ...
Source: Psychological Services - February 23, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Depression screening perceptions and practices in a primary care clinic: A mixed-methods study.
Psychological Services, Vol 20(4), Nov 2023, 756-763; doi:10.1037/ser0000753Depression is highly prevalent in primary care (PC) settings. While extensive efforts are directed at optimization of depression screening practices, rates remain suboptimal, and barriers continue to be poorly understood. The present study investigated screening-related practices and beliefs. A concurrent mixed-methods approach was utilized to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data. Participants (N = 36) completed a self-report survey and a brief semistructured interview to assess attitudes toward depression screening, knowledge/beliefs abou...
Source: Psychological Services - February 23, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Mental health therapy for veterans with PTSD as a family affair: A qualitative inquiry into how family support and social norms influence veteran engagement in care.
This study explores how individuals with PTSD and family members of individuals with PTSD experience therapy and how social interactions help or hinder therapy engagement. We interviewed 18 U.S. military veterans who had been referred for psychotherapy for PTSD in the Veterans Health Administration and 13 family members and used rapid content analysis to identify themes. We found that engaging in therapy was a family-level decision that participants expected to improve family life. Veterans were motivated to seek treatment to protect their relationships with loved ones. Family members generally encouraged veterans to seek ...
Source: Psychological Services - February 13, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Previous mental health care and help-seeking experiences: Perspectives from sexual and gender minority survivors of near-fatal suicide attempts.
This study presents thematic analysis results of interviews with 22 SGM individuals who reported at least one near-fatal suicide attempt in the past 18 months. Identified themes were (a) factors that affect help-seeking for SGM individuals with a recent, near-fatal suicide attempt, including previous mental health care experiences, support systems, and structural barriers and facilitators; (b) hospitalization is not a one-size fits all solution; and (c) recommendations for improving care for this population. Findings demonstrate that anti-SGM stigma may magnify existing barriers to mental health care across all socioecolog...
Source: Psychological Services - February 9, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Reflective supervision: The symbolic hands that hold.
This article will provide an overview of the organization’s reflective supervision model, motivating for the need to prioritize reflective supervision for frontline staff. It also provides a case example, to demonstrate the value of reflective supervision for promoting practitioner reflexivity and preventing practitioner burnout in a highly traumatized environment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Psychological Services)
Source: Psychological Services - February 9, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
