All psychologists recognize that clinical practice should be predicated on the best available research integrated with the clinician’s expertise within the context of the particular patient. Practice should draw guidance from the very best research. Yet, so much of the research literature feels inaccessible and overwhelming, too removed and too large to guide what we […]
You receive a call from the emergency department downstairs. They want you to interview a female teenager for possible admission after an interrupted suicide attempt. Upon returning from school yesterday afternoon, the girl went into her parents’ bedroom, grabbed a revolver kept near the bed, and went outside with it. Her father came home from […]
Imagine that you are just starting to collaborate with a local bariatric program at a nearby hospital. They have asked you to provide psychological testing to pre-surgical candidates, prepare a report, and attend bimonthly staff meetings to provide input about whether patients are appropriate to undergo surgery. You must develop your own bariatric testing protocol […]
During your Fourth of July break you got to sit on the beach alone several times. It was quite relaxing, and it gave you a chance to reflect on your patients and practice over the last six months. It was a tough period, as you had a number of difficult cases (with several crises). And […]
A few weeks ago, Robert, a 33-year-old Caucasian male with a college degree, contacted you about self-reported cognitive difficulties from a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI; concussion). He reported being hit in the head two years earlier by a baseball bat while playing a pickup game. Robert fully remembers the day and the events prior to […]
Maria is a 50-year-old widowed Hispanic female who works as a line supervisor at a manufacturing plant. She has a history of low back pain, osteoarthritis of the knees, hypertension, diabetes, and depression. She arrived at your office early, was neatly dressed and well-groomed, walked with a cane, and presented herself somewhat defensively regarding why […]
We define multicultural therapies as therapeutic practices that are founded on a worldview that accepts and appreciates diversity within and between groups of individuals and embraces a) transcultural interactions and learning, b) respect for the cohesive function of cultural traditions and rituals, c) freedom to be critical of cultural dictates, behaviors, and attitudes detrimental to […]
A middle-aged woman begins her intake session by stating that she would like to build coping skills for depressive symptoms and her chronic pain condition. As you explore sources of stress, she describes having a highly conflictual relationship with her husband, with “frequent arguments around many different topics.” She reports that simple comments by either of […]
The counseling and disability services office at a local university has referred a first-year law student to you, with concerns about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sandra is 27 years old and she enrolled in law school after several years of doing secretarial work in a corporate office. Her first semester in law school was far more […]
Kate, a pleasant 30-year-old corporate administrator, was referred by her neurologist for cognitive behavioral therapy. Kate describes episodic symptom attacks; they are often worse when she experiences stress, and she feels like she can’t control them. She spends hours every week worrying about when the next attack will come, and severely restricting her occupational, educational, […]