The American psychologist
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The American psychologist · Nov 2014
Biography Historical ArticleKevin M. McGuinness: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Institutional Practice.
The Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Institutional Practice is intended to recognize outstanding practitioners in psychology. Nominations are considered for psychologists working in a wide variety of institutional practice settings (e.g., schools, military, state hospital, Department of Veterans Affairs). Services provided to diverse client groups or patient populations, including but not limited to children/adolescents/adults/older adults, urban/rural/frontier populations, minority populations, and persons with serious mental illness, are considered. ⋯ McGuinness, for "broadening the public conception of professional psychology through institutional practice. McGuinness has distinguished himself through service with the U. S Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and academic institutions." McGuiness's award citation, biography, and a selected bibliography are presented here.
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Milton Schwebel was born May 11, 1914, in Troy, New York, the son of Frank Schwebel and Sarah Oxenhandler Schwebel. He died October 3, 2013, in Tucson, Arizona. His 99 years were filled with love, activism, scholarship, and leadership. ⋯ Schwebel will long be remembered as a treasured friend and mentor who cared deeply about vulnerable people, particularly children, the underprivileged, and the disadvantaged. He enjoyed listening to diverse perspectives and was a renowned teacher, clinician, and lecturer, beloved by students and colleagues. His life serves as a beacon to all who seek to promote human well-being.
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The American psychologist · May 2014
ReviewOpportunities for psychologists in palliative care: Working with patients and families across the disease continuum.
Interdisciplinary palliative care services have been rapidly expanding in health care settings over the past 10 years, particularly through the establishment of interdisciplinary palliative care teams. Relatively few of these teams formally include psychologists, although their skills of enhancing patients' and families' well-being and lessening suffering make an enormous contribution to the care provided. ⋯ Using a case-based approach, we then explore the contribution of psychologists to the patient- and family-centered approach espoused by palliative care, including the knowledge, skills, and self-awareness needed to work effectively with these very ill patients and their families. We close with a call to action to better train and integrate psychologists into the rapidly growing field of palliative care.
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The American psychologist · May 2014
ReviewApplying the interprofessional patient aligned care team in the Department of Veterans Affairs: Transforming primary care.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, serving more than 8 million veterans. VHA is currently undergoing extensive changes to its health care delivery model, moving toward the full implementation of the patient-centered medical home. ⋯ Moreover, VHA mental health staff serves critical leadership functions supporting primary care in the broad transformation that is required to implement the medical home. In this article, we review the implementation of mental health integration into this new model of care.
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The American psychologist · Feb 2014
ReviewHypnotic approaches for chronic pain management: clinical implications of recent research findings.
The empirical support for hypnosis for chronic pain management has flourished over the past two decades. Clinical trials show that hypnosis is effective for reducing chronic pain, although outcomes vary between individuals. ⋯ Neurophysiological studies reveal that hypnotic analgesia has clear effects on brain and spinal-cord functioning that differ as a function of the specific hypnotic suggestions made, providing further evidence for the specific effects of hypnosis. The research results have important implications for how clinicians can help their clients experience maximum benefits from hypnosis and treatments that include hypnotic components.