Professional and social responsibility in Psychology and other mental health disciplines with reference to the Goldwater Rule

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-399
Author(s):  
Anthony L Pillay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Ethical Guideline ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Face

The concerns of mental health professionals about the psychological characteristics and behaviour of political leaders forces a rethinking of their professional and social responsibility, especially in the context of the Goldwater Rule that applies to psychiatrists in the United States. Despite the fact that this ethical guideline does not pertain to Psychology professionals or the African continent, it is worthy of discussion and interrogation, considering the prevalence of poor leadership internationally, and the need for the previously colonised world to ensure independent and critical thinking on such matters. The article questions the traditional, narrow focus of psychologists and other mental health specialists in conceptualising professional and ethical roles, and raises the issue of their professional and social responsibility to help shape society and its democratic processes. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and others have much to contribute in this respect and they have to question the ethical and social responsibility impact of remaining silent in the face of behaviourally and psychologically maladjusted individuals being elected to high offices such as President and other influential positions. These professionals must adopt a public health approach that always has in mind the well-being of the broader society.

scholarly journals Optimal Well-Being After Major Depression

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Rottenberg ◽  
Andrew R. Devendorf ◽  
Vanessa Panaite ◽  
David J. Disabato ◽  
Todd B. Kashdan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Major Depression ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Burden ◽  
Leverage Points ◽  
Midlife Development

Can people achieve optimal well-being and thrive after major depression? Contemporary epidemiology dismisses this possibility, viewing depression as a recurrent, burdensome condition with a bleak prognosis. To estimate the prevalence of thriving after depression in United States adults, we used data from the Midlife Development in the United States study. To count as thriving after depression, a person had to exhibit no evidence of major depression and had to exceed cutoffs across nine facets of psychological well-being that characterize the top 25% of U.S. nondepressed adults. Overall, nearly 10% of adults with study-documented depression were thriving 10 years later. The phenomenon of thriving after depression has implications for how the prognosis of depression is conceptualized and for how mental health professionals communicate with patients. Knowing what makes thriving outcomes possible offers new leverage points to help reduce the global burden of depression.

scholarly journals Preventive psychiatry: a paradigm to improve population mental health and well-being

2011 ◽  
Vol 198 (6) ◽  
pp. 417-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamaldeep Bhui ◽  
Sokratis Dinos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Population Mental Health

SummaryThe government's Public Health White Paper for England sets out a utopian vision of how to prevent and remedy mental health problems. The public health approach relies on primary prevention, promoting individual responsibilities and resilience, while also sustaining existing services and tackling inequalities. These ambitions are consistent with the preventive psychiatric paradigm, and with the best of evidence-based psychiatric practice. Although the evidence on cost-effectiveness of public mental health interventions is growing, the challenge is to ensure that specialist knowledge informs policy, practice and research so that inequalities are not compounded. Specialist mental health professionals are needed to inform and lead public health reforms.

Evidence for Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Interventions: An Update (2011 through 2015)

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abir Bekhet ◽  
Jaclene Zauszniewski ◽  
Denise Matel-Anderson ◽  
Jane Suresky ◽  
Mallory Stonehouse
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Nursing Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intervention Research ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Mental Health Nursing ◽  
Health Nursing

This state-of-the-evidence review summarizes characteristics of intervention studies published from January 2011 through December 2015, in five psychiatric nursing journals. Of the 115 intervention studies, 23 tested interventions for mental health staff, while 92 focused on interventions to promote the well-being of clients. Analysis of published intervention studies revealed 92 intervention studies from 2011 through 2015, compared with 71 from 2006 through 2010, and 77 from 2000 through 2005. This systematic review identified a somewhat lower number of studies from outside the United States; a slightly greater focus on studies of mental health professionals compared with clients; and a continued trend for testing interventions capturing more than one dimension. Though substantial progress has been made through these years, room to grow remains. In this article, the authors discuss the background and significance of tracking the progress of intervention research disseminated within the specialty journals, present the study methods used, share their findings, describe the intervention domains and nature of the studies, discuss their findings, consider the implications of these studies, and conclude that continued track of psychiatric and mental health nursing intervention research is essential.

A Us Experience: Consumer Responsive Quality of Life Measurement

1998 ◽  
Vol 17 (S3) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Becker
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Consumer Values

Objective: In the United States, interest in quality of life and social disabilities associated with mental illne intensified in the wake of the deinstitutionalization of the late '60s abd '70s. Although mental health professionals in the United States have begun to recognize the importance of quality of life considerations to patient management and treatment outcomes, review of the literature shows there is minimal research in mental health on this important topic. As a result, little theoretical or methodological progres has been made. Quality of life has not been clearly conceptulized or defined and there are no agreed-upon standards or criteria for measurement. This presentation will; (a) review important conceptual issues in quality of life research, (b) discuss the benefits of and obstacles to incorporating consumer values in judgments of quality of life, and (c) present data from Wisconsin Quality of Life Index (W-QLI; Becker et al., 1993) to illustrate the usefulness of a consumer responsive model of quality of life and the importance of incorporating consumer values in the assessment of quality of life of persons with schizophrenia. Methods: The W-QLI was administered to a convenience sample of psychiatric outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia. The W-QLI is a self-administered individually preference-weighted index that measures nine separted domains encompassing quality of life. The W-QLI scoring method results in spearted scores for each domain and allows for the relationships among separate domains to be studied. The mine separted domains include; (a) satisfaction level for different objective quality of life indicators, (b) occupational activities, (c) psychological well-being,(d) physical health, (c) social relations, (f) economics, (g) activities of daily living, (h) symptoms, and (i) goal attainment. Results: study findings are consistent with previous theory and empirical domains. Results show that while consumers' and clinicians' judgments of outcome corelated, there were important differences. Clincians systematically rated functiion higher and social relations lower that did consumers, and there were significant differences in consumer and provider goals for improvement with treatment. Overall ratings of quality of life and funciton are only weakly correlated with psychopathology. The findings support the importance and feasibility of incorporating consumer values and judgments of quality of life in outcome measurement.

scholarly journals Variety in Positive Experience and Mental Health: Evidence From Two National Surveys of U.S. Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 19-19
Author(s):  
Anthony Ong ◽  
Soomi Lee
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Scheduling of pleasant activities is a core treatment component for various psychiatric disorders, but little is known about whether variety in positive experiences is associated with improved mental health and well-being. Here we demonstrate the benefits of diverse positive experiences. Using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) II (N = 1,233, Mage = 57yrs) and Refresher (N = 855, Mage = 52yrs) cohorts, we show that greater variety of positive events is associated with lower depression and anxiety, and fewer visits to mental health professionals. These associations remained robust to differences in sociodemographics (age, gender, race, education), personality (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism), and the frequency of positive events, and the results replicated across the two cohorts. The findings highlight the importance of activity diversity in older adults and suggest that efforts to increase engagement in diverse positive experiences could have beneficial effects on mental health outcomes.

scholarly journals Contribution of researchers in the Arab region to peer-reviewed literature on mental health and well-being of university students

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Waleed M. Sweileh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Search Query ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Arab Region ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Objective The current study aimed at investigating the contribution of researchers in the Arab region to the field of mental health and well-being of university students using bibliometric tools. Method Relevant literature was obtained from the Scopus database for the period from 2001–2020. Examples of keywords used in the query included “college student”, “university student”, and undergraduate student” combined with keywords such as wellbeing, wellness, suicide, and anxiety. No language restriction was used. Only research articles were considered. The search query was validated. Bibliometric indicators and mappings such as active countries, institutions, authors, highly cited documents, and the most frequently encountered topics were identified and discussed to shed light on research gaps in the Arab region. Research gaps were also identified. The analysis was carried out on February 12, 2021. Results The search query returned 309 research articles published by authors from 17 different Arab countries. Less than one-third (n = 97, 31.4%) of the retrieved articles were carried out in collaboration with authors from 39 non-Arab countries, mainly from the United Kingdom and the United States. The overall contribution of researchers from the Arab region to global research in the field was 5.6%. In total, 1212 authors from 791 different institutions participated in publishing the retrieved research articles. At the country level, Saudi Arabia (n = 125, 40.5%) ranked first, followed by Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. At the institutional level, The University of Jordan (n = 25, 8.1%) ranked first, followed by King Saud University, and Kuwait University. The retrieved articles included 132 (42.7%) articles on stress/distress, 95 (30.7%) on anxiety, 61 (19.7%) on depression. Knowledge gaps on suicide, eating disorders, substance use, and happiness were identified. The retrieved articles appeared in 193 different journals and approximately two-thirds of the active journal were in general medicine, public health, and education. Conclusions The contribution of researchers in the Arab region to the field showed a noticeable increase with time. However, important research gaps were identified. The contribution was confined to authors from a limited number of Arab countries. Funding and international research collaboration for the mental health and well-being of students need to be strengthened.

scholarly journals A Faith to Move Mountains? Childhood Abuse, Religious Change, and Mental Health at Midlife

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 461-461
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Childhood Maltreatment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Religious Importance ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Of all the various forms of adversity experienced during childhood, childhood maltreatment (emotional and physical abuse) is shown to have the largest impacts on mental health and well-being. Yet we still have a limited understanding of why some victims of early maltreatment suffer immense mental health consequences later on in the life course, while others are able to cushion the blow of these early insults. Using two waves of data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), this study considers change in religiosity as a buffer across three dimensions for victims of childhood abuse: religious importance, attendance, and the specific act of seeking comfort through religion. Results suggest that increases in religious comfort during adulthood are positively associated with adult mental health for victims of abuse, while decreases in religious comfort over time were associated with worse mental health. Changes in religious attendance and religious importance were not significant associated with mental health for victims of abuse. Taken together, my results show that the stress-moderating effects of religion for victims of childhood maltreatment are contingent on the stability or increases or decreases in religiosity over the life course, which has been overlooked in previous work.

scholarly journals VitalSign6: A Primary Care First (PCP-First) Model for Universal Screening and Measurement-Based Care for Depression

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhukar Trivedi ◽  
Manish Jha ◽  
Farra Kahalnik ◽  
Ronny Pipes ◽  
Sara Levinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Universal Screening ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Similar Treatment ◽  
Measurement Based Care

Major depressive disorder affects one in five adults in the United States. While practice guidelines recommend universal screening for depression in primary care settings, clinical outcomes suffer in the absence of optimal models to manage those who screen positive for depression. The current practice of employing additional mental health professionals perpetuates the assumption that primary care providers (PCP) cannot effectively manage depression, which is not feasible, due to the added costs and shortage of mental health professionals. We have extended our previous work, which demonstrated similar treatment outcomes for depression in primary care and psychiatric settings, using measurement-based care (MBC) by developing a model, called Primary Care First (PCP-First), that empowers PCPs to effectively manage depression in their patients. This model incorporates health information technology tools, through an electronic health records (EHR) integrated web-application and facilitates the following five components: (1) Screening (2) diagnosis (3) treatment selection (4) treatment implementation and (5) treatment revision. We have implemented this model as part of a quality improvement project, called VitalSign6, and will measure its success using the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. In this report, we provide the background and rationale of the PCP-First model and the operationalization of VitalSign6 project.

Aspiring to Do All Things Through Him Who Strengthens? Quixotic Hope, Religiosity, and Mental Health in Emerging Adulthood

2021 ◽  
pp. 215686932110085
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Educational Expectations ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
National Study ◽  
Health Consequences

Beliefs about the probability of educational success tend to be very optimistic in the United States. However, scholars are beginning to uncover mental health consequences associated with quixotic hope—the unrealistic outstripping of expectation by aspiration. Using longitudinal data from Waves 1 and 3 of the National Study of Youth and Religion, this study asks, (1) does religiosity promote or diminish the likelihood of quixotic hope? and (2) does religious attendance and closeness to God mitigate long-term mental health consequences of quixotic hope? Results show that weekly religious attendance had a modest negative relationship with the likelihood of experiencing quixotic hope, while increasing religious attendance over time attenuated the negative mental health consequences of quixotic hope on increases in depression. Closeness to God neither predicted quixotic hope nor played a moderating role for depression. As educational expectations rise, regular religious practice may help protect the emotional well-being of youth.

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