Search

Professional lives and experiences of psychologists change over the course of their careers. Taking a developmental perspective, the present research used archival data from 2 previously conducted surveys to compare early career, midcareer, and late-career psychologists with 3 questions in mind: (a)

In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on the importance of self-care for psychologists and other mental health professionals. With the growth of positive psychology and preventive medicine, self-care is an emerging topic, promulgated as a means of avoiding the adverse effects of stress and promoting professional functioning and well-being. However, the research on self-care is limited because of the lack of an empirically based, psychometrically sound measure of this construct. Thus, the purpose of this project was to develop a measure of professional self-care. Professional psychologists were the focus of study, with the goal being to develop a measure that can be used in this population and similar groups of professionals. Based on expert feedback and a preliminary study of 422 licensed psychologists in Illinois, a 5-factor, 21-item scale was created. Factor analysis identified the following self-care factors: Professional Support, Professional Development, Life Balance, Cognitive Awareness, and Daily Balance. Preliminary analyses provided initial support for the validity of the 5 factors. A follow-up study was conducted with a second sample of clinical psychologists. The 5-factor structure provided a good fit to the data with the second sample. Thus, based on factor analysis and validity data, a 5-factor, 21-item Professional Self-Care Scale was established for further study and use in future research. (PsycINFO Database Record

Practicing psychologists face many demands that place them at risk for professional burnout. This article provides empirically supported recommendations for reducing or preventing burnout. Drawing from theoretical models of burnout, 4 critical questions are identified: What job demands increase risk for burnout? What job resources decrease risk for burnout? What personal resources decrease risk for burnout? How does home life influence risk for burnout? Findings from empirical studies with psychologists related to each question are summarized and are integrated with conceptual literatures to develop specific recommendations. Consistent with the positive psychology movement and with recent conceptual shifts in the burnout literature, these recommendations encourage a positive, proactive approach that strives to maximize a fit between work demands and personal strengths, to develop resources at work and at home, and to establish a balance between work and personal lives.

In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on the importance of self-care for psychologists and other mental health professionals. With the growth of positive psychology and preventive medicine, self-care is an emerging topic, promulgated as a means of avoiding the adverse effects of stress and promoting professional functioning and well-being. However, the research on self-care is limited because of the lack of an empirically based, psychometrically sound measure of this construct. Thus, the purpose of this project was to develop a measure of professional self-care. Professional psychologists were the focus of study, with the goal being to develop a measure that can be used in this population and similar groups of professionals. Based on expert feedback and a preliminary study of 422 licensed psychologists in Illinois, a 5-factor, 21-item scale was created. Factor analysis identified the following self-care factors: Professional Support, Professional Development, Life Balance, Cognitive Awareness, and Daily Balance. Preliminary analyses provided initial support for the validity of the 5 factors. A follow-up study was conducted with a second sample of clinical psychologists. The 5-factor structure provided a good fit to the data with the second sample. Thus, based on factor analysis and validity data, a 5-factor, 21-item Professional Self-Care Scale was established for further study and use in future research. (PsycINFO Database Record

The importance of self-care for the well-being and professional functioning of mental health service providers has been increasingly recognized. Emphasizing a proactive, prevention-oriented approach, this chapter offers practical ideas and guidance on self-care for mental health professionals in private practice. The demands and rewards of private practice, as well as the challenges of making and sustaining a commitment to self-care, are discussed. An approach to developing a self-care plan is presented. This approach uses an organizing framework that views self-awareness, work-life balance, and connections as critical goals of self-care. Each of these areas is discussed in detail, with examples of ways to integrate self-care into daily life and questions to consider in assessing individual self-care needs, identifying resources, and planning for self-care. The importance of viewing self-care as a process and paying attention to evolving self-care needs and opportunities is emphasized.

Does our work life influence the quality of our family life? The present study examined this question using data from 126 practicing psychologists who responded to two waves of a longitudinal study of their work and family lives. Work-family conflict (WFC) was tested as a mediator between work demands/resources (hours worked, emotional exhaustion, control, support) and family functioning. Results indicated that work demands, but not work resources, significantly predicted family functioning over time. Specifically, more hours worked and greater emotional exhaustion at Time 1 related to poorer family functioning at Time 2. WFC did not mediate these relationships, suggesting that the direct relationship of these work demands to family functioning was stronger than the relationship of WFC to family functioning.

Are psychologists satisfied with their careers? The present study sought to answer this question and to understand factors that relate to high levels of career satisfaction. Data from 595 respondents of a national survey of practicing psychologists indicated that, consistent with past research, psychologists tend to be satisfied with their careers. To investigate factors that predict high levels of satisfaction, two groups of psychologists were identified: a high-satisfaction group (n 129) and a moderate-satisfaction group (n 102). Optimal data analysis (ODA) was then used to identify single variables, as well as combinations of personal and professional factors, that maximized classification accuracy in predicting high versus moderate career satisfaction. Percentage of direct-pay clients, work–life balance strategies, control at work, and reflecting on satisfying work experiences emerged as important predictors. Specific recommendations for practitioners are discussed.

Balancing work and family lives is a challenge faced by many psychologists. The present study examined an integrated model of resources, work–family conflict, family, work, and life satisfaction among professional psychologists. To test this model, a sample of 368 doctoral psychologists who worked at least 20 hours a week and who were married and/or had children were selected from respondents to a national survey on professional and family life. Support was found for three-stage mediational models through which the resources of control and family support exerted cross domain effects and influenced overall life satisfaction. Control at work reduced work to family conflict which increased family satisfaction while family support reduced family to work conflict and increased work satisfaction. Both work and family satisfaction then increased life satisfaction. These models were significant for both men and women. There was, however, evidence that family support was more important in reducing family to work conflict for women.

What factors relate to levels of burnout experienced by male and female psychologists? Five hundred ninety-five psychologists responded to a survey about professional activities, work demands and resources, career-sustaining behaviors, and burnout. Respondents in solo or group independent practice r

How does work setting relate to burnout among professional psychologists? Five hundred and seventy-one doctoral psychologists responded to a survey about professional activities, work environment, and burnout. Solo and group independent practitioners reported a greater sense of personal accomplishment than agency respondents. However, women experienced higher levels of emotional exhaustion in agency settings than in either solo or group independent practice, whereas men experienced higher exhaustion in group independent practice. Overall, greater emotional exhaustion was associated with less control over work activities, working more hours, spending more time on administrative tasks and paperwork, seeing more managed care clients and fewer direct pay clients, and having to deal with more negative client behaviors.

How has managed care impacted the independent practice of psychology? The present article reports on data from 2 national surveys (from 1996 and 2001) that address this question. Both surveys indicated that managed care was a source of stress, with external constraints, paperwork, and managed care reimbursement being the most highly rated stresses. These stresses had not increased in the 5 years between surveys, and the most recent survey suggested that, overall, psychologists did not report high levels of burnout. However, in contrast to respondents with low managed care involvement, respondents with high managed care caseloads worked longer hours, had more client contact, received less supervision, reported more negative client behaviors, experienced more stress, were less satisfied with their incomes, and scored higher on emotional exhaustion. Implications for burnout are discussed.

Psychologists' conceptualizations of intimate partner violence were studied by surveying practicing psychologists on their causal attributions and expectations for violence depicted in a written scenario. The perpetrator of violence was held by respondents to be most responsible for the violence, especially in severely violent cases. Although the victim was seen as less responsible for the violence, greater responsibility was attributed to her, especially to her character, in scenarios in which she had a previous history of being abused by a partner than when she had not. Violence severity had inconsistent effects on psychologists' expectations, in that respondents expected worse outcomes for the victim of more severe violence, but did not expect therapeutic interventions to be any less effective in ameliorating these outcomes. These conceptualizations point to dilemmas in treatment of intimate partner violence, such as empowerment without blame and the tension between hope and realistic assessment of risk.

(1999). Student Perceptions of Dual Relationships Between Faculty and Students. Ethics & Behavior: Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 79-106.

Professional and Institutional Guidelines University and college faculty face complex professional and ethical issues in their ongoing interactions and involvements with students. On the one hand, an appreciation of the powerful positive impact of faculty involvement with students argues in favor of increased interaction outside the classroom (Astin, 1993). On the other hand, obvious concerns about fairness and a growing sensitivity over the potential for exploitation of students caution faculty against personal relationships with their students. Thus, faculty are often encouraged to become increasingly active in advisement, mentorship, and social situations with their students, while simultaneously being cautioned regarding behaviors that are, or might appear to be, exploitative or unjust. The challenge for faculty stems from the fact that the "faculty role" in relation to students is not a single role. Rather, faculty are called upon to perform complex multiple roles in their relationships with students, including those of research supervisor, instructor, curriculum planner, academic advisor, and mentor (Brown & Krager, 1985). Almost by definition, faculty members engage in what might be described as "multiple professional relationships" with their students in which they function in significant - and significantly different - roles either concurrently or sequentially (Pope, 1991; Sonne, 1994). Moreover, the increasing recognition of the importance of faculty involvement with students (e.g., Astin, 1993; Jacobi, 1991) has encouraged faculty to extend their professional roles into more personal realms and to socialize and interact with students in more informal settings. As faculty extend their professional relationships with students outside the classroom, it is not unusual for them to find themselves increasingly involved in more personal relationships as well. For example, in more informal settings faculty may find themselves called upon to advise students about personal as well as academic issues. As faculty socialize with students at university-sponsored or private functions, they may also find themselves forming personal friendship or even intimate relationships with their students and their families. Similarly, as faculty become more involved in the private lives of their students, they may find themselves in financial or business relationships with students or their families that extend well beyond the traditional boundaries of academia (for example, hiring students as baby sitters or house sitters or involving a student in a private business venture). While these types of personal relationships often provide opportunities to further the students' personal and professional development, they also carry very different expectations and obligations than the typical faculty professional roles and may thus give rise to greater and potentially more complex ethical issues (Kitchener, 1988). The literature of many professions, most notably the mental health professions, has provided extensive discussion of the problems inherent in dual relationships between professionals and their clients (e.g., Keith-Spiegel & Koocher, 1985; Kitchener, 1988; Pope, 1991). One of the key issues in such discussions is that dual or multiple relationships occur when the professional tries to simultaneously fill two or more different roles. Problems arise from such dual relationships when there are conflicts between the demands of the two roles and these conflicting demands result in conflicts of interest and potential exploitation of the nonprofessional member of the relationship (Kitchener, 1988; Pipes, in press). Obvious examples of such exploitative relationships include such situations as a psychotherapist persuading a client to invest in a shopping center development project with him or a divorce lawyer becoming sexually involved with a client. In contrast to the available literature regarding dual relationships in other professions, however, the ethics of dual relationships in higher education have received little attention (Blevins-Knabe, 1992; Kitchener, 1992). …

The present article examines conflicts in the supervisory relationship from the supervisee's perspective. One hundred and fifty-eight graduate students in clinical psychology were surveyed concerning the occurrence, handling, and outcome of conflicts in their supervisory experiences. Thirty-eight percent of the students with supervised experience reported a major conflict with a supervisor, which made it difficult to learn from supervision. Trainees described three areas of conflict—theoretical orientation or therapeutic approach, style of supervision, or personality issues. The degree to which conflicts were discussed and successfully resolved seemed to depend partly on the type of conflict; it was easier to resolve conflicts that centered on style of supervision than on personality issues. When conflicts were not resolved, students often sought support from others, altered their behavior to conceal difficulties, or appeared to comply with the supervisor. The implications of these findings for the learning process in supervision are discussed. One of the most important elements in the training of a psychotherapist is the direct supervision of his or her clinical work. The knowledge acquired through books and classes provides the basis for therapeutic work, but the critical element is the more intensive, personal training provided by experienced supervisors. Supervision is more than simply a didactic experience in which the supervisor teaches the trainee. It is a complex interpersonal interaction subject to the vicissitudes of all human relationships. The importance of these interpersonal or relationship aspects of supervision to the quality of the learning experience has repeatedly been emphasized throughout the supervision literature. For example, Cohen and DeBetz (1977) stated that success in supervision depends on the quality of the relationship between supervisor and trainee, and Fleming and Benedek (1966) stressed the importance of establishing a "learning alliance" with the trainee, which they view as analogous to the therapeutic alliance. Indeed, one study found that trainees' perceptions of the quality of supervision were more strongly related to the interpersonal aspects of the relationship than to the content emphasized by the supervisor (Nash, 1975). A positive supervisory relationship characterized by good rapport, empathy, and respect appears to facilitate the trainee's receptivity to learning from the supervisor. Sources of tension in the, supervisory relationship have been discussed by numerous authors. For the most part, these discussions have highlighted problems that relate to personality dynamics and role definition, for example, personal issues or anxieties of the therapist in training (Fleming & Benedek, 1966; Langs, 1980; Mueller & Kell, 1972), need for dominance on the part of the supervisor (Robiner, 1982), and the dual role of supervisor as teacher and evaluator (Cohen & DeBetz, 1977; Hassenfeld & Sarris, 1978;,Kadushin, 1968; Robiner, 1982; Wolberg, 1977). Wolberg (1977) has also noted th^t conflicts may center around differences in orientation; that is, supervisor and supervisee may differ in theoretical orientation used in case conceptualization and treatment planning, in clinical methods and techniques, in use of terminology, and in the setting of psychotherapeutic goals. Numerous authors have stressed the importance of discussing conflicts in the su

The role of dysfunctional attitudes in loneliness among college students was investigated. Subjects were 50 introductory psychology volunteers (20 male, 30 female) who completed measures of loneliness severity, depression, and dysfunctional attitudes. The results showed a strong predictive relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and loneliness even after level of depression was statistically controlled. Lonely college students' thinking is dominated by doubts about ability to find satisfying romantic relationships and fears of being rejected and hurt in an intimate pairing. Lonely individuals also experience much anxiety in interpersonal encounters and regard themselves as undesirable to others. Generally, a negative evaluation of self, especially in the social realm, is present. Implications of the results for treatment planning for lonely clients are discussed.

The present study investigated the role of sex of subject and absorption capacity in mediating response to electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback training. Subjects were 25 high-absorption and 22 low-absorption males and females, who were assigned to either a biofeedback training group or a no-biofeedback control group. Changes in muscle tension levels and anxiety levels were monitored over the course of two training sessions. The results indicated that absorption capacity was not significantly related to ability to use biofeedback for muscle tension reduction. Significant sex differences in response to biofeedback, however, were apparent: Females were significantly aided in muscle tension by biofeedback, whereas males reduced muscle tension equally with or without biofeedback. Females also reported less cognitive anxiety in response to biofeedback.

Aitken's Procrastination Inventory was administered to 200 college students. Scores were correlated with extraversion and neuroticism scores of the revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Procrastination was positively correlated with extraversion and curvilinearly related to neuroticism. Forty procrastinators and nonprocrastinators were further tested. Procrastinators showed a significant tendency to underestimate the time needed to complete a reading task. They also showed a preference for beginning a task by performing the simpler portions first. Treatment and theoretical implications are discussed.

The present experiment investigated the modification of response latencies and error rates on a haptic-visual matching test via modeling procedures (N = 60 slow and fast responding primary school boys and girls). Twenty-four slow and 24 fast responders were exposed to one of four videotaped modeling conditions depicting refelctive or impulsive strategies that were either successful or unsuccessful. Immediately following exposure to the taped model, Ss were posttested, and changes in their latencies and error rates on the haptic-vusial matching test were assessed. The remaining six slow responders and six fact responders viewed no model but participated in the same posttest procedure, thus serving as no treatment controls. The principal results indicated that the viewing of the reflective-success model significantly increased the response latencies of all Ss, particularly slow responding Ss, and that the viewing of either reflective model (success or failure) significantly decreased the error rates of fast responding Ss. The impulsive model, on the other hand, had no significant effect on either response latencies or error rates.

Summary The effects of two situational variables were studied with 64 male and 64 female undergraduate Ss to determine when misattribution would be effective in reducing stress. Data for 17 Ss were later excluded. To induce misattribution half the Ss were led to believe that their arousal might have been due to an anesthesia-potentiating drug they had ingested; control half were not. Half the Ss were given accurate anticipatory information about the stressfulness of a videotape, half were given inaccurate information (first variable). Half the Ss saw a high-stress videotape and half saw a low-stress videotape (second variable). Self-reports indicated that misattribution was successful in reducing stress only when Ss (a) had been given accurate information concerning the veridical source of their stress and (b) were shown a highly stressful videotape thereby causing the nonveridical source to be less stressful than the veridical source.

Fifty-six adult males who were hospitalized with anxiety related problems were randomly assigned to the conditions formed by a 2 (instructions to increase heart rate, instructions to decrease heart rate) × 3 (true biofeedback, placebo biofeedback, no biofeedback) factorial plus 1 (no-treatment control) design. Subjects were seen for 4 heart rate training/recording sessions and 1 subsequent transfer-test session. Results indicated that: a) neither instructions alone nor the combinations of instructions and true or placebo biofeedback were more effective than simply sitting quietly (adaptation) for decreasing heart rate, b) instructions plus true biofeedback was more effective than instructions alone or instructions plus placebo biofeedback for increasing heart rate, c) multiple sessions of training did not enhance the level of control achieved early in the first session, d) the control achieved with biofeedback did not transfer to a subsequent no-biofeedback situation, and e) biofeedback training did not influence subjects' subjective anxiety levels.