Saturday, August 31, 2013

Psychotherapy lags as evidence goes unheeded

[ Back to EurekAlert! ]Public release date: 21-Aug-2013 

Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University 

Psychotherapy lags as evidence goes unheeded

 IMAGE: Between 1998 and 2007 the percentage of patients in outpatient mental health facilities receiving psychotherapy alone fell from 15.9 percent to 10.5 percent, while the percentage of patients receiving medication...
Click here for more information.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Psychotherapy has issues. Evidence shows that some psychosocial treatments work well for common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression and that consumers often prefer them to medication. Yet the use of psychotherapy is on a clear decline in the United States. In a set of research review papers in the November issue of the journal Clinical Psychology Review, now available online, psychologists put psychotherapy on the proverbial couch to examine why it's foundering.
Their diagnosis? Much as in many human patients, psychotherapy has a combination of problems. Some of them are of its own making while some come from outside the field itself. Fundamentally, argue Brandon Gaudiano and Ivan Miller, Brown University professors of psychiatry and human behavior whose review paper introduces the section they edited, the psychotherapy community hasn't defined, embraced, and articulated the ample evidence base clarifying their practice, while drug makers and prescribers have done so for medications. In a system of medicine and health insurance that rewards evidence-based practice and looks upon biology as a more rigorous science, psychotherapy has lost ground among physicians, insurers and policymakers.
"One might think that this deep and expanding evidence base would have promoted a similar increase in the use of psychosocial interventions that at least would have paralleled the one witnessed over the recent years by psychotropics, but it decidedly has not," Gaudiano and Miller wrote. "Thus a time that should have been a relative boon for psychotherapy based on scientific standards has become more of a bust."
Specifically, between 1998 and 2007 the proportion of patients in outpatient mental health facilities receiving psychotherapy alone fell from 15.9 percent to 10.5 percent, while the number of patients receiving medication alone increased from 44.1 percent to 57.4 percent, according to a 2010 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Depressed patients receiving both psychotherapy and medication fell from 40 percent to 32.1 percent. Psychotherapy was once in the picture for more than half such patients but is not now.
"We haven't been holding ourselves to evidence-based practice," Gaudiano said of fellow psychologists. "Because of that we've had other groups who are more medication-focused define practice standards."
Evidence unembraced
Gaudiano and Miller reference numerous studies and meta-analyses that have found certain psychotherapies — cognitive behavioral, mindfulness, interpersonal, family, or short-term psychodynamic therapies, for example — to be effective when used alone for patients with symptoms of depression or anxiety, and even beneficial when used in combination with medications for severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia. Some studies even show that psychosocial interventions provide longer-lasting therapeutic effects than medicines, they write. The problem for psychotherapy is not a lack of evidence, but a lack of acceptance of that evidence within the field.
Therapists, who can hail from a much wider variety of training backgrounds than physicians and others who prescribe medicine, can also practice a wide variety of therapies, whether they are supported by evidence or not (drugs, meanwhile, cannot reach the market without an evidence base of safety and efficacy, although they can still be prescribed "off label").
Research shows that many therapists put personal experience and intuition ahead of the evidence base. Gaudiano and Miller cite a 2000 survey of psychologists that found only 47 percent ever used evidence-based treatment manuals in practice and only 6 percent used them "often." A 2009 survey of social workers found that 76 percent had employed at least one "novel unsupported therapy" in the last year.
"There's nothing that compels therapists to use anything that's evidence-based," Gaudiano said. "We have a proliferation of non-supported psychotherapies out there."
Amid wide discretion to use treatments that might have no evidentiary basis, the psychotherapy field is still struggling to set standards. The American Psychological Association only began developing treatment guidelines in 2010, while the American Psychiatric Association began that process in 1991.
"The field doesn't want to make discriminations by saying that what you've been doing for 40 years in your practice we now know is not the best way to do it, so we need you to change," Gaudiano said. "One of the biggest fears within psychology practice is that evidence-based treatment is going to make me change what I'm doing."
Articulate alternatives
While many psychotherapists have either argued about or ignored the evidence base for their techniques, a variety of factors outside the field have marched along, putting a greater emphasis on explicitly medical and biological approaches to mental health, Gaudiano and Miller wrote.
These factors include well-intentioned but not entirely effective campaigns to destigmatize mental illness as a disease not unlike other physical ailments and a widening gap of insurance reimbursement for medicines vs. psychotherapy based on differences in the awareness and promotion of a strong evidence base.
Billions of dollars of direct to consumer advertising by pharmaceutical makers, for which psychotherapy has mustered little answer, have heavily influenced what patients ask from their doctors. As a result 15 times as many non-depressed patients are receiving antidepressants as depressed patients, according to a 2007 study in the journal PharmacoEconomics.
Meanwhile, federal funding for mental health research, which for decades has helped develop effective psychosocial treatments and build their evidence base, is under great pressure. At the same time it has increasingly focused on explicitly medical and biological research. And while there has been little private funding for advancing scientific studies of psychotherapy in lieu of federal funding, Gaudiano and Miller wrote, drug- or device-based therapies have had the concentrated backing of private capital.
Special issue
Gaudiano and Miller's overarching paper introduces five other research reviews, already "in press" online, that cover specific issues facing psychotherapy in more detail:
Brett Deacon of the University of Wyoming analyzes the emphasis on biology in mental health treatment and research and its negative effect on psychotherapy. Steven Hayes of the University of Nevada and his co-authors propose a new model for how psychotherapies should be developed, based on the unconventional but successful origins of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Marvin Goldfried of Stony Brook University asks what people should actually expect from psychotherapy and calls on psychotherapy research to be more applicable to clinical practice. A group led by Scott Lilienfeld of Emory University examines why many clinical psychologists resist evidence-based practice and what to do about that. Jerome Wakefield of New York University uses an example from the newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of psychiatric diagnosis to argue against mischaracterizing normal sadness as physical disease.
The collection taken together suggests that psychotherapy has abundant problems, but also opportunities to advance as a field. Mobile technology, for example, provides new platforms for efficient delivery of therapy and the Affordable Care Act offers new avenues for psychotherapists to become part of collaborative health care teams.
Ultimately, Gaudiano and Miller wrote, psychotherapists must rally around and promote the findings of scientific studies of their practices — even if that means picking "winners" among therapies — to cement the resolve of the public, which may prefer but apparently does not insist on psychotherapy, and to convince insurers, physicians and policymakers that psychosocial approaches to common mental health issues are both viable and proven.
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Size of personal space is affected by anxiety

[ Back to EurekAlert! ]Public release date: 27-Aug-2013

Contact: Clare Ryan
clare.ryan@ucl.ac.uk
44-020-310-83846
University College London 

Size of personal space is affected by anxiety

The space surrounding the body (known by scientists as 'peripersonal space'), which has previously been thought of as having a gradual boundary, has been given physical limits by new research into the relationship between anxiety and personal space.

New findings have allowed scientists to define the limit of the 'peripersonal space' surrounding the face as 20-40cm away. The study is published today in The Journal of Neuroscience.

As well as having numerical limits the specific distance was found to vary between individuals. Those with anxiety traits were found to have larger peripersonal space.

In an experiment, Dr Chiara Sambo and Dr Giandomenico Iannetti from UCL recorded the blink reflex - a defensive response to potentially dangerous stimuli at varying distances from subject's face. They then compared the reflex data to the results of an anxiety test where subjects rated their levels of anxiety in various situations.

Those who scored highly on the anxiety test tended to react more strongly to stimuli 20cm from their face than subjects who got low scores on the anxiety test. Researchers classified those who reacted more strongly to further away stimuli as having a large 'defensive peripersonal space' (DPPS).

A larger DPPS means that those with high anxiety scores perceive threats as closer than non-anxious individuals when the stimulus is the same distance away. The research has led scientists to think that the brain controls the strength of defensive reflexes even though it cannot initiate them.

Dr Giandomenico Iannetti (UCL Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology), lead author of the study, said: "This finding is the first objective measure of the size of the area surrounding the face that each individual considers at high-risk, and thus wants to protect through the most effective defensive motor responses."

In the experiment, a group of 15 people aged 20 to 37 were chosen for study. Researchers applied an intense electrical stimulus to a specific nerve in the hand which causes the subject to blink. This is called the hand-blink reflex (HBR) which is not under conscious control of the brain.

This reflex was monitored with the subject holding their own hand at 4, 20, 40 and 60 cm away from the face. The magnitude of the reflex was used to determine how dangerous each stimulus was considered, and a larger response for stimuli further from the body indicated a larger DPPS.

Subjects also completed an anxiety test in which they self-scored their predicted level of anxiety in different situations. The results of this test were used to classify individuals as more or less anxious, and were compared to the data from the reflex experiment to determine if there was a link between the two tests.

Scientists hope that the findings can be used as a test to link defensive behaviours to levels of anxiety. This could be particularly useful determining risk assessment ability in those with jobs that encounter dangerous situations such as fire, police and military officers.

###

Notes for Editors
1. For more information or to speak to Dr Giandomenico Iannetti or Dr Chiara Sambo, please contact Clare Ryan in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 3108 3846, mobile: +44 07747 556 056, out of hours +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: clare.ryan@ucl.ac.uk
2. 'Better safe than sorry? The safety margin surrounding the body is increased by anxiety' is published online today in the journal The Journal of Neuroscience. For copies of the paper please contact UCL Media Relations.

About UCL (University College London)
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine.
We are among the world's top universities, as reflected by our performance in a range of international rankings and tables. According to the Thomson Scientific Citation Index, UCL is the second most highly cited European university and the 15th most highly cited in the world.
UCL has nearly 27,000 students from 150 countries and more than 9,000 employees, of whom one third are from outside the UK. The university is based in Bloomsbury in the heart of London, but also has two international campuses – UCL Australia and UCL Qatar. Our annual income is more than £800 million.
http://www.ucl.ac.uk | Follow us on Twitter @uclnews | Watch our YouTube channel YouTube.com/UCLTV


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Friday, August 30, 2013

Webinar To Explore Assistance for Child Sex Trafficking Victims in Detention

JUVJUST OJJDP's E-mail Information Resource

Webinar To Explore Assistance for Child Sex Trafficking Victims in Detention
On September 10, 2013, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. ET, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention-sponsored National Girls Institute will host the Webinar “Child Trafficking, Girls, and Detention: A Call to Reform.” Presenters will discuss the hidden nature of child sex trafficking; the harm done when prostituted victims are confined instead of being offered trauma-informed, gender-specific services; and how facility staff can identify victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking and connect them with appropriate services and interventions.
Resources:
Register and learn more about the Webinar and presenters.
Learn more about programs addressing commercial sexual exploitation of children.
NGI Logo





Beginning Alzheimer's Support and Education (BASE)


Senior K-12 Superintendent/Administrator: Abu Dhabi, UAE

Senior K-12 Superintendent/Administrator
Abu Dhabi Education Council
Abu Dhabi, UAE

The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) seeks an exceptional senior superintendent/administrator for a generously compensated career-capstone position to advise on the reform of the AbuDhabi public and private K-12 education systems.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a mid-late career administrator to bring complex-system experience to help create a well-funded, world-class education system.  Compensation is $300k-plus and includes favorable US tax treatment, no local taxes, and generous benefits including housing allowance.

******************************************************************************

SENIOR K -12 SYSTEM SUPERINTENDENT
ABU DHABI EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
ABU DHABI, UAE

The Abu Dhabi Executive Council (ADEC) seeks an exceptional K-12 executive for a generously compensated career capstone experience in advising the reform of the Abu Dhabi public and private primary education systems. This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help create a well-funded, world-class education system.

Abu Dhabi
The exciting modern capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven member emirates and the seat of the UAE government and President. The city’s rapid development and urbanization, coupled with the high average income of its citizens, has transformed Abu Dhabi into a cosmopolitan metropolis of one million people that is the country’s cultural, commercial, political, and industrial center. One of the world’s largest producers of oil, the city is diversifying its economy through investment in education, financial services and tourism.

ADEC
The Abu Dhabi Executive Council, which is responsible for all public and private education in the Abu Dhabi emirate, is undergoing one of the most ambitious K-12 education reform projects in the world.  In its public school system for Emirate students, ADEC oversees 126,000 students, 11.000 teachers, and 268 schools; ADEC also regulates 185 private schools with 200,000 students of different nationalities and 17 international curricula. The Council is developing and implementing educational programs to improve primary education in accordance with the highest international standards and to support national development goals.  ADEC’s vision is to become a world-class education system, enabling students to become learners capable of participating fully in a sustainable, knowledge-based society. To meet its ambitious goals the Council is reforming its education system, including centralizing the administration, infrastructure, and information systems among all its public and private schools. Detailed information on ADEC is available at www.adec.ac.ae.

Senior Advisor
ADEC seeks a Senior Advisor with extensive experience in leading large, complex K-12 systems to counsel directly with the Director General. The Council seeks a senior education leader who is comfortable working in a multicultural environment and acting as a change agent in bringing the Abu Dhabi school systems to a world-class level.  The Senior Advisor will liaise with educators worldwide and provide an understanding of global best practices including curriculum design, assessment practices, and professional development. As a member of the Executive Management Team, the Senior Advisor counsels the Director General, advises the Executive Directors and staff, and participates in decision-making about the strategic planning and implementation of the reform programs. Leading candidates will have comprehensive experience throughout K-12 education systems, from classroom teaching through senior administration in complex systems at city, county, state, regional, or national levels.  An advanced degree, fluency in English, and a decade-plus experience in a senior or highly specialized role is required. Detailed information and organization chart are available upon request. The Council offers highly competitive compensation, favorable US tax treatment, no local taxes, and generous benefits including housing allowance.  The position is available beginning January 2014.

Korn/Ferry International, which is assisting in this search, invites inquiries, nominations, and applications.  All communications will be held in absolute confidence. Applications should be submitted in English to ADECadvisor@kornferry.com and include a current CV and letter explaining interest and relevant experience.


korn/ ferry contacts
John Kuhnle
Managing Director-Global Education
Washington, DC

Rosa Morris
Senior Associate-Global Education
Washington, DC

Inga Walter
Principal-Global Education
Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

Anurag Tawakley
Associate-Global Education
Dubai, United Arab Emirates 



Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Counseling Profession Loses a Friend and a Legend of Counseling

Counseling Profession Loses a Friend and a Legend of Counseling
by Bob and Sandie Wubbolding


On August 23, 2013 Dr. William Glasser died peacefully in his home surrounded by his wife Carleen and his son Martin. He had been in a state of declining health for several years and had been retired for four years.

He will always be remembered for founding reality therapy. His groundbreaking book Reality Therapy, published in 1965 created a stir among professional people. This book was the result of his experience and research in a mental hospital and a correctional institution. He described how he believed people chose their behavior and could therefore alter it. Even though he was a psychiatrist the psychiatry profession did not readily accept his work. But counselors, social workers and educators welcomed it enthusiastically and began implementing it in schools, clinics and in correctional institutions.

For 50 years Dr. Glasser traveled throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia lecturing to large groups of professional people and others who wished to assist their clients more effectively or who wished to improve their own lives. As time went by he added a theoretical basis to the practical delivery system. He called the theory “choice theory” and described it as the train track for the train, reality therapy. One provides direction and the other is the vehicle or the methodology for helping individuals become more in control of their lives.

In 1974 he developed a certification process in reality therapy. Since that time, thousands of people have taken training programs and been certified in reality therapy through the William Glasser Institute. At the present time this program exists in over 20 countries and on six continents.

In his many books, lectures and conversations he always stressed the importance of human relationships as central to effective mental health. As a visionary he wanted to teach his system to the world. As a practical service provider he always demonstrated his system in his teaching by asking members of the audience to present him with difficult situations. He frequently said, “Give me your toughest clients” and immediately related to them with empathy, firmness and most of all with his eye-twinkling humor.

Reality therapy and its theoretical basis choice theory are now represented in most counseling textbooks and are taught in counseling courses. His system has gained respect and prestige as a scientifically proven methodology applied to persons from cultures around the world.

He was a frequent presenter at ACA conferences delivering keynote addresses. He especially enjoyed talking to students and practitioners in the exhibit hall while spending hours each day answering questions and autographing books. In 2004 he was pleased receive the Legend in Counseling Award for his development of reality therapy presented by the American Counseling Association.

At the 1990 International Conference of the William Glasser Institute, the Silver Anniversary of the publication of Reality Therapy, the superintendent of the Ventura School, Bea Dolan, sent the following touching tribute to Dr. Glasser emphasizing human relationships:

“We at the Ventura School started every treatment program the
department had: citizens’ advisory groups, ward advisory committees,
small and large group counseling, off-campus services, etc. And what
did we get – each other! A reward beyond compare.”

Quite recently, a woman approached him at his home and begged him for advice for how to deal with her 3 year-old son. He paused for a long time and then reached deep down inside his soul and gave her 2 suggestions: “Always treat him as if he is good.”  And “Set up circumstances where he can only succeed.” These wise words could serve as his suggestions for all counselors. They represent for us a worldview, an attitude toward clients and his perception of all human beings. These two sentiments transcend a particular counseling system in that they summarize his legacy.

From a personal point of view, we feel a deep sense of loss. Our relationship with him is exemplified by his visit to us after Bob’s heart surgery. He came from Los Angeles to Cincinnati, Ohio to check on my health and as he said, “I wanted to see with my own two eyes that you are healing.” We considered him friend, family, mentor, colleague, visionary. Rest in peace, good friend.

Position Announcement: Chair, Department of Graduate Counseling and Interpersonal Relations, Grace College

Grace College is seeking applications for the position of Chair and Assistant/Associate/Full Professor of Counseling for our Graduate Counseling programs (residential and online). 
Responsibilities include administrative oversight of the CACREP accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs (residential and online) and the Interpersonal Relations program (residential only). In addition, the Chair will be responsible for teaching graduate counseling courses; faculty development; student supervision, mentoring, and advising; scholarly activity; professional development; and university and community service.
Grace is an evangelical Christian liberal arts college and seminary. Located in the resort community of Winona Lake, IN (near Warsaw, Indiana 36 miles west of Ft. Wayne), Grace College and Seminary offers associate, bachelor, master's, and doctoral degrees. Central to our mission is applying biblical values in developing character, sharpening competence, and preparing for service. The institutional goal in Christian living and teaching is to make Christ preeminent in all things. The institution's programs, as well as its community lifestyle commitment, are designed to encourage serious academic inquiry, a biblical worldview, spiritual understanding, and social conscience, all in the context of God's grace.
The Graduate Counseling programs (online and residential) are housed within the School of Behavioral Sciences in the college. The School of Behavioral Science houses both undergraduate and graduate departments, programs, and faculty. The Graduate Counseling programs seek a Chair who holds views comparable to those of the institution, including the institution's doctrinal commitments called the Covenant of Faith. It also seeks a chair whose leadership, teaching experience, and scholarship will complement the contributions of the department's existing faculty.
Qualifications: This position offers a challenging opportunity to a faculty member with substantial administrative, teaching, and clinical experience in the area of mental health counseling. The successful candidate will have a minimum of:


·         An earned doctoral degree in counselor education and supervision, preferably from a CACREP-accredited program, or have been employed as a full-time faculty member in a counselor education program for a minimum of one full academic year before July 1, 2013.
·         Licensure as a mental health counselor (LMHC) in Indiana; or Indiana license eligibility.
·         Professional memberships and certification pertinent to the counseling profession.
·         A minimum of three years of mental health counseling experience.
·         Evidence of scholarly interests and potential.
·         A strong familiarity with CACREP and state licensing standards. Previous accreditation experience preferred.
·         Three years of successful teaching experience in higher education preferred.
·         Three years of successful administrative experience with increasing levels of responsibility preferred.
·         Proficiency with technology. Online course development and teaching experience preferred.
·         A commitment to the mission and values of an evangelical Christian institution which values the centrality of Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures in the purpose and life of the institution.
·         A commitment to the integration of a biblical foundation while teaching counseling principles.
·         Strong interpersonal skills that engage students in educational, personal, and spiritual growth.
·         A commitment to an academic program that encourages personal, relational, and spiritual growth among students.

Application Process: All contact information including a completed faculty application, cover letter, statement of philosophy of teaching at a Christian liberal arts institution, vitae, and three completed reference request forms should be sent to: Attn: Sandra Vera, Human Resources, Grace College and Theological Seminary, 200 Seminary Drive, Winona Lake, IN 46590
The faculty application and reference request forms can be downloaded at http://www.grace.edu/about/employment.

Grace College and Theological Seminary seeks a diverse work environment by encouraging women and minorities to apply.

FGCU Move-In Day 2013

PROFESSIONAL FLORIDA STATE EDUCATION CONFERENCES


FALL   2013:  Information for Students

Compiled by Dr. Sally Mayberry, MH-287, (239) 590-7805, smayberr@fgcu.edu
*Please look for student membership and registration prices.
·         CONTACT THE WEBSITE FOR REGISTRATION AND COSTS. 
·         PHONE NUMBERS LISTED ARE FOR HOTELS ONLY.
**Be sure to keep a copy of your registration form.

MATH: Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics (FCTM)
October 17 - 19,  2013    Orlando, FL  www.fctm.net
    Doubletree by Hilton Orlando  Hotel @ SeaWorld , (407) 352-1100
   
SCIENCE:  Florida Association of Science Teachers (FAST)
October 24 -  26, 2013   Doubletree by Hilton:  Miami Airport Convention Center
http://fastscience.org   Miami  (305) 261-3800

READINGFlorida Reading Association (FRA)
September 26 - 29, 2013     Orlando, FL     Rosen Shingle Creek Resort
866-996-6338        WWW.FLREADS.org
                            

FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION (FATE).  http://fate1.org     
October 10 - 12, 2013   USF Sarasota-Manatee & the Hilton Garden Inn, Sarasota
(941) 552-1100

SOCIAL STUDIES: Florida Council for Social Studies (FCSS) 
October 25 - 27, 2013  Plaza Resort and Spa, Daytona Beach  www.fcss.org
(855) 327-5292

SPECIAL EDUCATION:  Council of Exceptional Children (FCEC)            
   www.floridacec.org  October 17 - 19, 2013  
Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront, St. Petersburg   (727) 873-4654

FLORIDA COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH (FCTE)
October 17 - 19, 2013     Radisson Resort at the Port, Cape Canaveral
        http://www.fcte.org 

FLORIDA EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH  ASSOCIATION (FERA)   
November 20 - 22, 2013
Hilton University of Florida Conference Center Hotel, Gainesville, FL    
www.feraonline.org        (352) 371-3600


3rd CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH CONFERENCE
Saturday, November 2, 2013
FGCU Cohen Center, 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM
http://registeriog.fgcu.edu/ and look for the Children's Mental Health Conference and/ or email   lhartke@fgcu.edu

FLORIDA EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE (FETC)  www.fetc.org
January 28 -31, 2014   Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL
(877) 303-0723     Housing call:  (702) 938-1491



FLORIDA SCHOOL COUNSELOR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
October 31 - November 2, 2013    Hilton, St. Petersburg
http://www.fla-schoolcounselor.org/2013-conventiuon

FLORIDA ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN
www.flaeyc.org    Orlando, FL
September 27 - 29, 2013

KAPPA DELTA PI ANNUAL CONVOCATION
www.kdp.org
Dallas, TX  October 24 - 27, 2013




fl:  Professional Education Conferences Fall 2013

Monday, August 26, 2013

K-5 School Counseling Position

We have a K-5 opening ASAP.  Other counselors and myself in the district are currently helping to cover this building.  This is in Dodge City, KS USD443, HR Phone # is 620-227-1704

Friday, August 23, 2013

Mental Health Symposium


TEEN Outreach Program


Clinical Mental Health Position - Georgia State University

The Department of Counseling and Psychological Services at Georgia State University is searching for a tenure-track, assistant professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program to begin fall, 2013. This candidate is also expected to join the department’s Counselor Education and Practice doctoral program.

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, Department of Counseling and Psychological Services, and Georgia State University have a strong commitment to diversity. Candidates from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups, women, and persons with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply. Atlanta is an exceptionally diverse and vibrant metropolitan area that provides numerous opportunities for cultural events as well as professional collaborations within GSU and the broader metro-Atlanta area.

Qualifications:  The individual chosen for this position must meet the following minimum criteria:
  • have an earned doctorate from a CACREP-accredited Counselor Education program;
  • must show evidence of and/or potential for a focused line of research.
  • have experience in and/or show potential for teaching core and specialized courses within the Mental Health Counseling curriculum
  • license-eligible in Georgia

Responsibilities:  Applicants will be primarily responsible for teaching clinical mental health core courses and specialty counseling courses in the masters level Mental Health Counseling Program. These courses may include but will not be limited to basic and advanced counseling skills, ethics and the law in mental health, and practicum and internship supervision. The ideal candidate will demonstrate interest in and knowledge of the professional development of clinical skills at the master’s level. Candidates with training and/or clinical experience in Motivational Interviewing (MI) will be highly considered. Additional responsibilities include but are not exclusive to participating in curriculum assessment and development; contributing to program administration; student advising and mentoring; providing service to the community, university and professional organizations.

Applicants must also show evidence of and/or potential for a focused line of research.Preference will be given to candidates who have a well-defined research program that has the potential for or is supported by external funding.

Applications/Nominations:  Applicants should send a letter of application, curriculum vita, official transcript of highest degree earned, writing sample, and three letters of recommendation to Dr. Jonathan Orr, Search Committee Co-Chair, Department of Counseling and Psychological Services, P.O. Box 3980, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3980. 


Preference will be given to applications and supporting documents received by October 15, 2013, but the position will remain open until a suitable candidate is selected.  Please be advised that should you be recommended for a position, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents policy requires the completion of a background check as a prior condition of employment.