Challenges in Addressing Graduate Student Impairment in Academic Professional Psychology Programs

The emotionally exhausted treating the mentally unwell? A systematic review of burnout and stress interventions for psychologists

Healthcare providers are at high risk of occupational burnout, which has negative implications on the individual, their profession, the organisation and their patients. Psychologists are particularly susceptible to the repercussions of burnout due to the emotionally draining nature and content of their work. However, research has failed to outline and evaluate effective interventions for burnout within the profession. This study aimed to investigate the treatment effectiveness of burnout through a systematic literature review. Systematic searches of four databases using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were conducted. A total of 4832 articles were identified, and 15 were included in the final analysis. The search was limited to scholarly and peer-reviewed journals published in the English language, which measured and utilised a form of intervention for the treatment of burnout or stress and included participants within the psychology profession. Interventions identified included mindfulness, training courses, self-care and other therapy-based forms of interventions. Approximately 60% of study participants reported moderate to high levels of stress. Interventions were largely variable in modality, frequency and duration of sessions and follow-up period. Of the 15 studies included within the review, only four measured burnout as an outcome variable, while the others measured stress. Findings of this systematic review indicate that mindfulness-based interventions may be a starting point for reducing stress; however, the most effective intervention for psychologists who have reached burnout is largely unclear. It is recommended that future studies focus on the identification and measurement of burnout, are more rigorously designed and reported and consider peer-based online support approaches.

Introducing the QACP: development and preliminary validation of an instrument to measure psychotherapist's core competencies

The movement towards the conceptualization, description and evaluation of psychotherapists' competencies has been widely developed in the last years and has relevant implications for psychotherapy, training, and continuous education. In Italy, this movement has been supported by the Committee for Psychotherapists' Competencies established in 2010 by FIAP (Italian Federation of Psychotherapy's Associations) and CNSP (National Association of Psychotherapy's Training Institutes) and has involved more than 1000 psychotherapists from different approaches, by means of conferences, expert meetings, workshops, and focus groups. One of the outcomes of this process has been the development of a new self-assessment tool for core competencies (i.e., those that are shared by therapists from all modalities): the QACP (Questionario per l'Autovalutazione delle Competenze dello Psicoterapeuta). The present study aims to present the process of development and the preliminary proofs of the validity of this tool. Construct and knowngroup validity of the questionnaire were examined, and reliability was estimated by computing the internal consistency reliability coefficients for both the overall and the subscale scores. Overall, the instrument showed satisfactory psychometric characteristics. The limitations of the study and the results are discussed and directions for further research are proposed.

The impact of ICT characteristics on students’ learning outcomes during COVID-19 lockdown period: The crucial role of techno eustress perception

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 crisis led to an unprecedented acceleration of digital learning. It pushed many institutions to abruptly switch to fully online learning modes from face-to-face learning. Prior studies show that higher IT demands can cause challenge or hindrance stressors, depending on how the digital technology characteristics are perceived by the end-user. However, there is a gap in our knowledge regarding how ICT characteristics can lead to positive stress appraisals in a remote learning environment. OBJECTIVE: This paper leverages the person-environment fit and technostress literature to examine how usefulness and reliability as demand-ability stressors of ICT tools can positively impact learning outcomes among remote learning students. Techno eustress perceptions are evaluated as a crucial mechanism for theorizing the positive impact. METHODS: We used the survey method, sampling students (N = 82) during the lockdown period to test this model. RESULTS: Our findings highlight the ICT characteristic of usefulness as salient in contributing to student learning outcomes as it promotes techno eustress. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate a positive impact of ICT characteristics on student learning outcomes via techno eustress perceptions.

Graduate student workload: Pandemic challenges and recommendations for accommodations

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the lives of graduate student workers within university settings. At a large Midwestern private university, a Psychology Graduate Student Association (PsychGSA) identified that, in response to the pandemic, different levels of accommodations were being provided by faculty to graduate students. The PsychGSA conducted an evaluative survey that captured the experiences of 50 graduate students in the psychology department. The results highlight the inequitable challenges graduate students are currently facing. Recommendations to faculty to appropriately accommodate students during this unprecedented time, and beyond, are reported.

Seminary Students and Physical Health: Beliefs, Behaviors, and Barriers

As an occupational group, clergy exhibit numerous physical health problems. Given the physical health problems faced by clergy, understanding where physical health falls within the priorities of seminary students, the ways students conceptualize physical health, and how seminary students do or do not attend to their physical health in the years immediately prior to becoming clergy, can inform intervention development for both seminary students and clergy. Moreover, understanding and shaping the health practices of aspiring clergy may be particularly impactful, with cascading effects, as clergy serve as important role models for their congregants. Drawing on 36 in-depth, qualitative interviews with first-year seminary students, this study examines the complex dynamics between religious frameworks related to physical health, explicit intentions to maintain healthy practices, and reported physical health behaviors. Our findings suggest that even students who deploy religious frameworks in relation to their physical health-and who, as a result, possess positive intentions to implement and maintain healthy behaviors-often report being unable to live up to their aspirations, especially in the face of barriers to health practices posed by the seminary program itself. After reviewing these findings, we offer suggestions for physical health focused interventions, including action and coping planning, which could be implemented at seminaries to reduce the intention-behavior gap and improve clergy health.

American Psychological Association Guidelines for Clinical Supervision: Competency-Based Implications for Supervisees

The American Psychological Association’s “Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology,” as well as the extant supervision literature, focus on supervisees’ competencies in their roles as therapist–professionals, and on the competencies of clinical supervisors. We consider two questions: What are the implications of the Guidelines for health service psychology supervisees in their roles as supervisees (vs. as therapists)? How can supervisees empower themselves to be proactive in making effective use of clinical supervision? We then outline a competency-based approach by focusing on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for supervisees in clinical supervision. We suggest that the competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) required to be an effective supervisee are distinct from existing competencies that focus on the supervisee as a therapist–professional. Our intent is to delineate competency-based implications of the Guidelines for supervisees, as well as to educate and empower them to become proactive collaborators and participants in clinical supervision.

Self-Compassion Online: A Pilot Study of an Internet-Based Self-Compassion Cultivation Program for Psychology Trainees

OBJECTIVE

The current study sought to conduct a preliminary investigation of the effectiveness and feasibility of a novel, self-guided online self-compassion training for reducing psychological distress and increasing self-compassion and happiness among psychology trainees.

METHOD

A 6-week online self-compassion cultivation program was developed and delivered to Australian psychology trainees (n = 37), and a pre-experimental repeated-measures design was used to collect change data on self-compassion, happiness, perceived stress, emotion regulation difficulties as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

RESULTS

Participants reported significant increases in self-compassion and happiness and significant decreases in depression, stress, and emotion regulation difficulties between pretest and posttest, with the majority of changes maintained at 3-month follow up.

CONCLUSION

 This study provides preliminary evidence supporting the effectiveness and acceptability of online self-compassion training as a positive, integrated, and meaningful way of reducing distress and promoting self-compassion and happiness among trainee psychologists.

Adaptação à pós-graduação stricto sensu: uma revisão sistemática de literatura

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo investigar exploratoriamente os fatores pessoais, relacionais e institucionais que são descritos na literatura como influências no processo de adaptação de estudantes de pós-graduação stricto sensu aos seus cursos. Realizou-se uma busca sistemática de estudos nacionais e internacionais sobre adaptação à pós-graduação publicados nos últimos 10 anos, por meio da combinação de diversos descritores. Optou-se por pesquisar artigos revisados por pares em periódicos científicos indexados no Portal de Periódicos da CAPES. Foram encontradas 177 publicações internacionais. Após a submissão dos artigos aos critérios de inclusão e exclusão, restaram 15 estudos, os quais constituíram a amostra final desta pesquisa. Constatou-se que a integração com a vida de pós-graduando depende, principalmente, do estabelecimento de uma relação gratificante entre orientador e orientando, ambientação com as normas e demandas do programa de pós-graduação e segurança financeira. Contudo, a temática carece de uma investigação mais aprofundada, principalmente em relação ao cenário da pós-graduação brasileira.

The effectiveness of an ACT informed intervention for managing stress and improving therapist qualities in clinical psychology trainees

OBJECTIVES

Clinical psychology trainees (CPTs) are vulnerable to high stress, which can adversely affect their personal and professional functioning. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a group acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) informed stress management intervention for CPTs.

DESIGN

Outcome measures were work-related stress, distress, life satisfaction, counseling self-efficacy, self-compassion, and therapeutic alliance. A cohort-controlled design, where an experimental group (n = 28) was compared with a waitlist control group (n = 28), was utilized, with a 10-week follow-up.

RESULTS

Group comparisons showed statistically significant intervention effects for the main outcome measures, which were maintained at follow-up. Mediational analyses showed that changes on most outcomes were mediated by ACT mindfulness and acceptance processes.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings support the effectiveness of a group ACT program for CPTs regarding stress reduction and improving therapist qualities.