Psychological services
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Psychological services · Aug 2021
"Day-to-day, it's a roller coaster. It's frustrating. It's rewarding. It's maddening and it's enjoyable": A qualitative investigation of the lived experiences of addiction counselors.
Psychologists in medication for addiction treatment (MAT) settings routinely oversee the work of addiction counselors as supervisors, administrators, and human resource specialists. Limited research has explored the lived experiences of counselors who work in programs that have scaled-up MAT in response to the opioid crisis in the U. S. ⋯ The main themes concerning responses of nonclients were positive feedback; others' narratives; negative feedback focused on the stigma associated with the treatment, the clients who receive it, and the counselors who provide it; and responses to anticipated negative feedback. Responses from clients were largely positive and focused on appreciation and respect. Psychologists in MAT settings can enhance the lived experiences of addiction counselors by helping them to savor positive feedback from clients and others, to recognize and appreciate their unique skillsets, and to recognize and address (not internalize) the multiple sources of stigma they encounter as addiction counselors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Psychological services · Jun 2021
Healthcare service utilization for formerly homeless veterans in permanent supportive housing: Do neighborhoods matter?
Neighborhood characteristics are associated with residents' healthcare use. However, we understand less about these relationships among formerly homeless persons, who often have complex healthcare needs, including mental health and substance use disorders. Among formerly homeless Veterans, we examined: (a) how neighborhood characteristics are associated with Veteran Health Administration (VHA) healthcare use and, (b) if these relationships varied by Veterans' level of healthcare need. ⋯ Those in neighborhoods with higher public transportation use had more primary care visits while those in neighborhoods with more property vacancies had more outpatient mental health visits. Among those with high healthcare needs, residents of areas with more Veterans had higher emergency department use. Promoting public transportation use and social engagement with other Veterans in residential neighborhoods may influence HUD-VASH Veterans' VA healthcare use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Psychological services · Sep 2020
Dr. Colleen M. Hacker: A certified mental performance consultant (CMPC).
This interview highlighted the atypical career of Dr. Colleen Hacker. She discusses her experiences as a mental skills coach, corporate speaker, and full-time professor. ⋯ Colleen M. Hacker explains ethical issues and the appealing aspects of her career. Her parting advice for young professionals looking to pursue similar careers is to be passionate about what you do, pursue excellence, and "be where your feet are." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Psychological services · Apr 2020
Psychological outcomes following sexual assault: Differences by sexual assault setting.
Sexual assault is associated with increased psychological distress. It is possible that military sexual assault (MSA) is associated with heightened psychological distress compared to adult sexual assault that occurs pre- or postmilitary service due to the nature of the military setting. Veterans and service members (N = 3,114; 19.6% women) who participated in the Post-Deployment Mental Health Study completed self-report measures of sexual assault history, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), symptoms of depression, hazardous alcohol use, drug use, and suicidal ideation. ⋯ MSA was associated with higher psychological distress than pre- or postmilitary adult sexual assault among women. Among men, distress associated with MSA was comparable to sexual assault outside the military. Women may face unique challenges when they experience sexual assault in the military, and men may face additional stigma (compared to women) when they experience sexual assault, regardless of setting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Psychological services · Nov 2018
Associations between residential treatment length, PTSD, and outpatient healthcare utilization among veterans.
Premature discontinuation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment is generally associated with poorer outcomes for veterans with PTSD. What is less clear is whether treatment benefits, as a function of treatment length, persist, as well as predict less future mental health care utilization. We sought to determine whether length of stay (LOS) in residential PTSD treatment predicted discharge PTSD symptom severity and outpatient mental health care utilization. ⋯ Veterans who stayed in residential treatment longer had lower PCL scores at discharge (est. = -2.50, SE = .51, p < .001), and veterans with lower PCL scores at discharge sought fewer outpatient mental health visits (est. = .31, SE = .14, p = .03). A bias-corrected bootstrap confidence interval for the indirect effect (ab = -.77) based on 10,000 bootstrap samples was entirely below zero (-1.72 to -.05). This indicates discharge PCL mediated the relations between LOS and outpatient mental health care utilization, such that individuals with a longer LOS in residential PTSD treatment had lower PCL scores at discharge and thus utilized less outpatient mental health care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).