The Clinical Consult

Dr. Morgan Sammons discusses prescribing psychology. Dr. Sammons provides a background on the history of health service psychologists prescribing psychotropic medications, an update on current training requirements, and insight on what the future of prescribing psychology might look like.

Drs. Heather Poupore-King and Mandy Conrad discuss the ways in which psychologists are involved in chronic pain treatment and considerations for how practitioners can improve care for these patients. Drs. Poupore-King and Conrad also provide information on Stanford University’s Pain Psychology Fellowship and the importance of education and training on chronic pain.

Dr. Kate Nooner—Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington—talks about the National Register’s Journal of Health Service Psychology. She discusses her role with JHSP and her vision for the mission and future of the journal.

Dr. Anka A. Vujanovic—Associate Professor and Director of the Trauma and Stress Studies Center at the University of Houston—discusses considerations for providing psychological services to firefighters. She discusses fire culture, mental health effects of firefighting, and treatment considerations for working with this population.

Dr. Ryan C. Warner—licensed clinical psychologist, Founder/CEO of RC Warner Consulting, and consultant specializing in inclusive culture development, leadership development, diversity training, and wellness enhancement—discusses the impact of microaggressions on the therapeutic relationship, clinical effectiveness, and strategies for preventing discrimination at work.

Dr. Yun Garrison—assistant professor in psychology at Bates College and an affiliated clinician at Psychology Specialists of Maine—discusses liberation psychology. She delves into the development of liberation psychology and how it serves clients and community members who experience oppression. Dr. Garrison also describes how liberation psychology can be incorporated into clinical practice, psychology literature, and community involvement.

Dr. Heidi Hutman—Assistant Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at Temple University in Philadelphia—discusses supervision and training in health service psychology, with an emphasis on multicultural competency and development. She highlights the importance of a strong supervisor-supervisee training relationship and how to have conversations that encourage trust and understanding in supervision settings.

David Drustrup—a PhD candidate in Counseling Psychology at the University of Iowa—discusses how white clinicians can address racism in clinical practice with white clients. He introduces a clinical process and model for identifying and addressing racism within the therapeutic context and what that can mean for training programs and broader impact on the profession.

Drs. Jeff Nepute and Sarah Tilzey—both of whom are at Colorado State University’s Health Network—discuss the changing presentation and landscape of mental health in university settings. They touch on some of the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and explain the approaches that the iTEAM (Intensive Treatment Education Assessment and Management) utilizes to help students struggling with complex mental health issues.

Dr. Beth Darnall—Director of the Stanford Pain Relief Innovations Lab—discusses psychology’s role in treating chronic pain. She addresses the multiple factors that play a role in chronic pain including biological, psychological, and social factors, and even history of traumatic experiences. She also addresses the use of opioids as part of a comprehensive, patient-centered treatment plan. Lastly, she discusses her compact training program in addressing chronic pain with patients and their families and how this could be integrated into training programs for psychologists.

Dr. Jon Elhai—Professor at the University of Toledo—discusses the field of cyberpsychology. He touches on technology’s influence on human behavior and how its use can be problematic. He also explores how technology can be used to further professional practice and research.

Dr. Rory Pfund—a postdoctoral fellow in the Center on Alcohol, Substance use, And Addictions (CASAA) at the University of New Mexico—joins us to provide some insight on gambling behaviors. He discusses what gambling looks like in different contexts and how to identify impairments stemming from gambling behavior beyond the financial realm. Dr. Pfund also talks about effective treatment methods and some barriers that may occur during treatment.

Dr. William Ming Liu—Professor and Chair in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education at the University of Maryland, College Park—joins us for an introductory-level conversation about multicultural competence and telepsychology, and in particular, on video teleconferencing. Dr. Liu covers understanding minority clients’ potential misgivings about telepsychology and the importance of acknowledging those feelings in building a trusting relationship between the provider and the client.

Dr. Regina Nuzzo—Professor of Mathematics at Gallaudet University—breaks down the meaning of a p-value. She addresses the historical and sometimes current misinterpretation of p-values and the importance of understanding the correct meaning of the p-value in order to use sound evidence in research and clinical interventions.

Dr. Morgan Bifano—staff psychologist for Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Pediatric Psychology Consultation Service Program—discusses the importance of high-quality behavioral health services that meet the patient’s needs and includes some of the steps taken in shifting to providing telehealth services in the wake of the pandemic.

Dr. Ronelle Langley—founder of the Cedar Valley Center for Resiliency and Wellbeing in Cedar Falls, Iowa—discusses transitioning clinical services from traditional face-to-face interactions to virtual formats also known as telepsychology. She talks about the importance of seeking guidance from state boards and consultation with informed colleagues in making this transition and ensuring the continued provision of high-quality psychological services through the new virtual platform.

Dr. Jon Goodwin—Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Roy J. and Lucille Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa—breaks down clinical considerations related to psychological assessment including the purpose of the assessment, who the client actually is, and how to navigate cultural considerations in interacting with patients and parents.

Drs. Morgan T. Sammons, Jana N. Martin, Gary R. VandenBos, and Samuel Lustgarten discuss both the shift to telepsychology practice for the delivery of psychological services that has occurred as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis and the enduring effects of this shift on psychological practice in the future.

Dr. Gary VandenBos discusses the importance of the words used in psychotherapy, useful phrases in psychotherapy with schizophrenic patients, and physical steps therapists can take to safeguard themselves with potentially violent patients.

Dr. Carlo DiClemente—co-developer of the transtheoretical model of behavior change—shares insights on how to support clients as they manage problematic health behaviors. He discusses establishing where the client is in the change making process, providing support during this process and providing support during relapse.

Dr. Anthony Bean—licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Geek Therapy Training—discusses working therapeutically with video gamers and their families. He covers important aspects of this work including understanding the language of gaming, accurately identifying problem behaviors with gaming, and approaches to therapy.

Dr. Samuel Lustgarten discusses more technical issues faced by health service psychologists when providing telehealth services to clients. These issues include providing treatment across state lines and country borders, and HIPAA and the HITECH Act. Please note that this podcast was recorded February 2019; as time passes, telepsychology details and regulations may change or undergo updates.

Dr. Samuel Lustgarten discusses telepsychology considerations. He covers the dos and don’ts of providing clinical services via electronic media. Encryption is one of the key points addressed as part of HIPAA and HITECH compliance when providing telepsychology services. Please note that this podcast was recorded April 2019; as time passes, telepsychology details and regulations may change or undergo updates.

Dr. Jana Martin, CEO of The Trust, discusses professional liability insurance. She provides an overview of the types of coverage offered, defines commonly used (and often misunderstood) terms, and highlights some vulnerable areas for students and early career psychologists.

Alli Spotts-De Lazzer and Dr. Lauren Mulheim discuss diagnostic and treatment considerations for atypical anorexia. These considerations include addressing our own weight biases and assessing comorbidities. Resources for clinicians wanting more information and training on addressing eating disorders are also provided.

Dr. Eckerd discusses neurodiversity and a different perspective on autism spectrum disorder. She dives into some of the significant differences in how persons on the autism spectrum think and how they can still interact effectively with neurotypical people despite those differences.

Dr. Fredric Rabinowitz discusses some of men’s common presenting issues in therapy as well as strategies that therapists can use to connect with their clients.

Dr. Peter Langman covers multi-victim school shootings, warning signs of these acts of violence, and the structure and importance of threat assessment teams.

Dr. Kent Corso clarifies the differences between psychotherapy and behavioral health consultation. He goes on to discuss the advantages of a behavioral health consultation intervention style and psychologists’ concerns about the medical model.

Dr. Kent Corso discusses shaping patient and primary care physician expectations when practicing primary care behavioral health.

Dr. Kasey Goodpaster discusses clinical issues relevant to obesity, weight management and bariatric surgery. She also indicates comorbid mental health issues that often present with each of these conditions and strategies to combat mental health issues and address weight loss goals.

Dr. Jeffrey Barnett discusses the importance of informed consent, what constitutes substantive changes in informed consent over time and the four (4) criteria for valid informed consent.

Dr. Jeffrey Barnett focuses on special considerations with regard to informed consent. He addresses challenges with informed consent in integrated care settings and making informed consent easy to understand for patients. Best practices for modifying informed consent in the face of cultural differences are also discussed.