Research, Integration, and Becoming a Psychologist

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Research, Integration, and Becoming a Psychologist

• PSY 340 Section 4

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Section Overview

• Research in psychology
• Multicultural counseling and diversity
• Psychotherapy integration
• Theoretical orientation
• Common factors
• Becoming a psychologist

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Section 4 Goals

• Understand role of research in counseling
  psychology
• Foster interest and research ideas
• Understand integration and common factors
• Understand important focus on diversity in
  psychology and proposed models
• Increases knowledge of the self as a
  multicultural being
• Begin to think of yourself and theoretical
  orientation
• Gain a clearer picture on how to become a
  psychologist and help to formalize own plan

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Research Activity

• Learn by involvement
• Think of your experiences as we go through
  lecture
• In class experience
• Psy 102 experience
• What steps were taken? What was your role?
• What kind of research?
• What are the next steps in the research?

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The Research Process

• Idea/ hypothesis
• Review the literature reformulate research
  question
• Design method
• How collect, from whom, with what?
• Data collection
• Approval human subjects
• Informed consent
• Analyze/evaluate findings and write-up
• Publish/ share knowledge
• Subsequent studies

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The Role of Research

• Scientist-Practitioner, Boulder Model
• Science informs practice vice-versa
• Collaboration needed
• One of the major aspects/ roles of the profession
• Counselor, teacher, researcher, etc.
• Next steps
• Share knowledge by publishing
• Stimulate further research

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Need for Research

• Need to study empirically to be scientifically
  reliable
• Therapists experiences of success insufficient
• Creation of knowledge
• Test theories and constructs
• Understanding of human behavior
• Knowledge to prevent, cure, and understand
• Era of managed care and accountability

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Types of Research

• Quantitative and Qualitative
• Each with own methodology and research designs
• Quantitative
• Experimental designs
• Surveys
• Scale construction
• Descriptive statistics

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Types of Research (cont)

• Qualitative
• Focus on the description
• Analogue designs
• Scale down to a few testable variables
• Meta-Analysis
• Analyzes results of several studies on a topic
• Effect size is created

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Research Basics

• Experimental designs
• Establish a relationship exists
• Control groups
• Comparison group
• Problems with control groups
• Ethical concern of non-treatment group
• Difficulty in matching groups
• Is the control really untreated?

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Qualitative Research Methods

• Grounded Theory (Strauss Corbin, 1990, 1999)
• One of several methods
• Theory and relationships emerges
• Data collection strategies
• Focus groups, interviews, Critical incident, etc.
• Triangulation
• Basic Procedure
• Data collection and creating units
• Sorting units and labeling
• Emergence of theory or themes
• Auditing

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Process and Outcome Research

• Process
• What about therapy makes it work
• Outcome
• Effectiveness of psychotherapy
• Joining process and outcome research
• Relate the different aspects of therapy and how
  reach relates to the outcome of therapy
• Measuring therapeutic process
• Measuring outcomes

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Difficulties in Counseling Research

• Defining change
• Ethical concerns of control groups
• Isolating the active ingredient
• Real world vs. laboratory control
• Complexity of process and outcome research
• Debate if it is necessary to understand why
  therapy works versus that it just does

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What is Change?

• Change in presenting problem?
• Who says it changes?
• Symptom removal?
• What if there are multiple symptoms?
• Depends on your theoretical orientation

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Measuring Change

• Personality test before and after therapy
• Therapy tracking tests (e.g, OQ45)
• Sources of measurement
• Clients perspective
• Psychologist perspective
• Important others perspective
• Structured interview w/ neutral therapist
• Rate on several scales
• Assessment of specific behavior change
• Importance of variety of sources and info!!!

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Effectiveness of Psychotherapy

• Eysenck (1952)
• Therapy isnt better than non-treatment
• False finding, but stimulated research
• Smith, Miller, Glass (1980)
• Meta-analysis
• Seligman (1995)- Consumer Reports Study
• Echoed Smith, Miller, Glass (1980)

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Generally Accepted Findings

• On average therapy is effective
• No general differences between therapies
• Dodo bird- all equally effective
• But not equally effective for all clients and all
  problems
• Contributors to therapeutic outcome
• 40 client effect
• 30 therapeutic relationship
• 15 techniques and therapy differences
• Length of therapy
• 50 of clients improve by 8th session
• Longer isnt necessary better

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Common Factors

• Belief that all theories of therapy have common
  factors
• Rational for most therapies being equal
• Focus research on finding the common factors
• Frank (1982)
• Combat demoralization Relationship healing
  setting process to make sense of experiences
  process to believe in

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Common Factors (cont)

• Goldfried (1980)
• Therapeutic relationship, expectancy of help,
  reality testing, corrective experience, external
  prospective
• Bohart Tallman (1996)
• Client active change agent
• Therapist provides tools and work space
• Asay Lambert (1999)
• 30 Therapeutic relationship
• 40 client factors
• 15 expectancy 15 Techniques

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Research and Professional Psychology

• Need to research what makes therapy work
• Especially in the era of accountability
• Compare results of treatments
• Treatment guidelines
• Specify what Xments used for particular disorder
• APA template for evaluating guidelines
• Efficacy- Does therapy work under controlled
  conditions?
• Effectiveness- Does it work in real life?

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Research and Professional Psychology (cont)

• Division 12 empirically validated treatments
• Effective in 2 control/ analogue studies
• Compared to control or other therapy
• Treatment must be manualized
• Population with same disorder
• Treatment manuals
• Facilitate research
• Effective in the real world?

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Criticisms of Division 12 List

• Almost all CBT
• Fear that list supercede clinical judgment
• Findings just justified since not real- world
• Concerns about therapy manuals
• Use of specific DSM diagnoses
• Limited to therapies that align with medical
  model

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Research and Professional Psychology (cont)

• Informed practitioner
• Both researchers and practitioners need to
  collaborate
• Publication of research needs to be
  user-friendly
• Foster research in training programs
• Encourage and facilitate research
• Research training environment is vital

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Research Training Environment (RTE)

• Research training environment is crucial in
  graduate programs
• Programs need to motivate students
• RTE model (Gelso, 1993)
• Faculty modeling (excited, ok to fail)
• Positive reinforcement
• Early, non-threatening experience
• Idea of bubble hypothesis
• Wedding of science and practice

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Research Discussion Questions

• What forces facilitate the resurgence in process
  and outcome research?
• Does it matter if we know what aspects of therapy
  works (process) as long as we know that it works
  (outcome)?
• What are you interested in?

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• WHO ARE YOU?

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The Self as a Multicultural Being

• Wider view of diversity
• What is diversity?
• Recognize your impact
• What is your role?
• How are you diverse?

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Needed Emphasis on Diversity

• Changing population not matched by changing
  counselor demographics
• Need new model that focus on diversity
• Modification is not enough

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Multi-Cultural Models

• Cross Model of nigrescence (1971, 1995)
• Pre-encounter
• Encounter
• Immersion/Emersion
• Internalization
• Internalization/Commitment

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Multi-Cultural Models

• Addressing Individual Differences- Hayes, 1995
• A- age
• D- generational differences
• D- disability status
• R- religion
• E- ethnicity status
• S- social status
• S- sexual orientation
• I- Indigenous heritage
• N- nationality
• G- Gender

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Cultural Differences in Counseling (Katz, 1985)

• Western
• White male
• Independence
• Competition
• Control/ action oriented
• Time schedules
• Protestant work ethic
• Future oriented

• Impact on therapy
• Focus on individual
• Client can master/ control
• Emphasis on verbal communication, eye contact
• Goals therapy- independence, insight
• 50 minute hour
• YAVIS client

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Feminist Therapy

• Empowerment of the client
• Egalitarian relationship
• Valuing experience
• the person is political
• Recognize impact of society
• Lifting oppression
• Fostering social change
• Advocacy

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Multicultural Competency Areas

• Awareness own diversity and the impact of such
• Knowledge of how theory is culturally embedded
• History and manifestation of oppression/
  discrimination
• Sociopolitical influences on various groups

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Multicultural Competency Areas (cont)

• Normative values and world views of various
  cultural groups
• Accurate assessment of competencies
• Properly use and modify tools assessments
• Be awareness of and wiling to discuss differences
  and diversity issues with clients

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Psychotherapy Convergence

• Pulling it all together!
• Collaborative relationships between teachers,
  researchers, practitioners, and the community
• Theories of psychotherapy
• Collaboration with other MHPs

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Defining your Theoretical Orientation

• The primary theory or theories that you prefer to
  conceptualize client with
• Choice process
• Fits values/personality
• Based on research
• Clinical experience/ graduate training
• Continual process of labeling what you do, how
  you see the the world/clients
• Consider the counseling approaches
• Difficult to pick one?

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Psychotherapy Integration

• Technical eclecticism
• Theoretical
• Assimilative
• Common factors

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Technical Eclecticism

• Borrow techniques/ procedures from different
  approaches
• Guided by what works, not theory
• Choose techniques for specific clients
• Strong emphasis on research
• No unified theory
• Models of eclectic therapy
• Lazarus- Multi-Modal Therapy
• Prochaska, Nocross, DiClemente- 6 Stages of
  change

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Theoretical Integration

• Synthesizes techniques and theories
• Use techniques and incorporates the underling
  theories into an original theory
• Assimilative Integration
• Occurs when theories incorporate ideas of other
  theories
• Assimilating new ideas into the theory
• Brings theories closer

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Becoming a Psychologist Overview

• Preparing for graduate school as an undergraduate
• Applying to graduate school
• Graduate school and internship
• Post-Doc and licensure
• Starting your career in psychology

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What can I do as an Undergraduate?

• Coursework prepares you!
• Research methods
• Classes in psy. fields interested in
• History Systems
• Volunteer activities
• Community centers
• Hotlines, Rape crisis centers
• Talk with graduate student professionals
• Get involved in research
• Personal and grad student/faculty

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Getting Involved in Research

• More than 102 or extra credit!
• Ideas come from within
• Follow own interests, passions
• Join faculty research team
• Assist a graduate student with research
• Honors Thesis
• Benefits of involvement
• Understanding of the research process
• Facilitate formation of own interests
• Experience needed for graduate school

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Applying to Graduate School

• Survey of program gathering info
• Internet sites
• Insiders Guide to Clinical and Counseling
  programs
• Talk with professors
• Always think of your needs/ goals as review in
  formation
• Summary sheets on programs
• Consider
• Interests and goals
• Different degrees and applications of such

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Applying to Grad School (cont)

• Contacting schools
• E-mail and internet requests
• Calling programs
• Application process
• Practice and copy all information
• Mentor and peer review
• Letters of recommendation
• Follow up
• Short list and interviews

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Graduate School SIU style

• Classes
• Research
• Professors teams
• Thesis and Dissertation
• Practicum
• Clinical placements
• Training Assignment
• Clinical placements
• Teaching
• Research

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Internship

• Typically in 5-year, APA approved site, paid
• Types of sites- consider your interests
• University Counseling Centers
• VA hospitals
• Consortiums
• Application process similar to grad school
• Computer matching of applicants and sites
• Limited positions
• Heavy competition
• Impact of increase of professional programs

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Post-Doc and Licensure

• Post-Doc
• Research and clinical positions
• Licensure
• State laws vary
• Required hours, supervision pre-post doctorate
• Oral and written exam

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Starting your career in psychology!!

• Listen to yourself, goals, dreams, etc.
• Areas of work
• Psychotherapy and counseling
• Assessment
• Teaching
• Research and Publishing
• Consulting
• Administration