Second PASSHE Potluck to be Held at Kutztown
The second annual PASSHE Psychology Potluck Conference will be held at Kutztown University on October 14–15. This is a yearly gathering designed to foster community and allow for members of the psychology departments at the fourteen state schools to share ideas and research findings. Faculty and students at all levels are encouraged to submit symposia, paper presentations, and posters. Updated information will be posted online.
Psychology Announces the Upcoming PASSHE Psychology Potluck
On October 22–23, IUP's Psychology Department will be hosting the first of what will surely become an annual gathering of psychology departments of the fourteen PASSHE schools to share ideas and research findings. Faculty and students at all levels are encouraged to submit works pertaining to any and all areas of psychology. Papers and symposia will include topics related to traditional areas of psychology as well as the teaching of psychology. The Potluck flyer is available for more information.
Proposals are due to the organizing committee by June 1. To make a submission, complete this form. E-mail submissions to margaret.reardon@iup.edu by June 1.
Further conference details will be posted on this website.
IUP Doctoral Alumna Presents Colloquium on Multicultural Clients
Stephanie Kim Phillips, Psy.D., will present “Psychotherapy with Multicultural Clients: Case Studies.”
This colloquium will utilize case studies to present ways to conduct culturally-informed interventions in working with people of diverse backgrounds. The colloquium will be centered around three actual case studies. The presenter will discuss intervention choice points made in the process of treatment. Presenter will also discuss the impact of the person of the therapist on the client(s) and visa-versa. The presenter emphasizes that the first step in the practice of multiculturally competent clinical work is an extensive, intensive, and ongoing journey of self-exploration. An opportunity for discussion of the issues raised will be afforded to participants.
Dr. Phillips is a licensed psychologist who received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her clinical experiences include work with adults, children, adolescents, couples, and families using a variety of therapeutic approaches. Dr. Phillips has worked in diverse settings, including community mental health centers, private practice offices, and correctional institutions. She is an active member of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association and serves on PPA’s Committee on Multiculturalism as well as the Convention Committee and Membership Committee. Dr. Phillips has worked in private practice for the past nine years at North Hills Psychological Associates, Inc., offering comprehensive outpatient mental health services.
Pain Researcher Wins Grawemeyer Award for Psychology
Ronald Melzack, an emeritus professor of psychology at McGill University who studies pain mechanisms in humans and animals, will receive the 2010 Grawemeyer Award for Psychology, the University of Louisville has announced.
Mr. Melzack’s research has led to innovative treatments for people who feel chronic pain, including teaching patients to manage pain through meditation and other techniques for redirecting their focus, according to the awards announcement.
The Grawemeyer awards were created in 1984 by H. Charles Grawemeyer, a University of Louisville alumnus, and are given by the Grawemeyer Foundation in five categories to honor creative works and ideas in the arts, humanities, and sciences. The 2010 prizes in music composition and for ideas improving world order were announced on Monday and Tuesday. Winners in the other categories—education and religion—will be announced later this week. Each prize carries a cash award of $200,000.
Participants Needed—Civic Engagement in Adulthood
What causes people to become involved in their communities and with politics? Dr. Tara Johnson from the Psychology Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is seeking participants of all adult age groups to complete an on-line survey at their own convenience. This study seeks to examine age differences in and predictors of civic engagement. Participants will have a chance to receive compensation for their time and will have the opportunity to review group results once the study has ended. To learn more about this study, contact Dr. Johnson at civicstudy@gmail.com or 724-357-4529.
Faculty and Students attend APA in Toronto
A number of students and faculty members travelled to fabulous Toronto for this year’s APA Convention. Some of them had more fun than others. We see some of these celebrants below! Of course, one easily recognizes Dr. Zimbardo on the left, but who is that with him ???
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Cognition and Development Center is Recruiting Children for a Study
The Cognition and Development Center is recruiting children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and typically-developing children between the ages of seven and ten years. If you, or anyone you know, have children that meet these criteria and are interested in helping us learn more about social processing in children, or if you have any questions, please contact us.
What is the Cognition and Development Center?
The center is a research lab in the Psychology Department devoted to understanding the development of social cognitive skills, such as remembering faces and understanding other people’s intentions.
What will the children be doing?
Children will be asked to watch a series of pictures on a projection screen and answer some questions about them. Children will also be asked to complete an assessment of verbal skills with an experimenter. Parents will be asked to fill out a short questionnaire about their child’s behavior. Children with an ASD will also get a diagnosis confirmation from a student in our graduate program.
What will the children get?
Participants will receive a small gift for participation, such as a gift card to a local business. Participants will also receive feedback about their verbal IQ score, and participants with an ASD will receive a clinician’s report for confirmation of diagnosis.
How can Icontact the Cognition and Development Centerfor more information?
You can contact the center via e-mail at cdcenter@yahoo.com or by calling 724-357-4063. You can also visit Dr. Lisa Newell’s webpage for more information about her research interests.
Check out the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research (SITAR)
The Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research (SITAR: it’s not just a cool instrument) is an “international, multidisciplinary, scientific association devoted to the advancement of interpersonal theory and research. We welcome any individuals interested in understanding interpersonal process.”
The mission of SITAR is “to provide a stimulating forum for facilitating and communicating work in the area of interpersonal theory, research, and application. We work to provide an inclusive, supportive atmoshere for budding ideas as well as well-established approaches.”
These brief notes are from the society’s website. There is complete information about this dynamic organization at the SITAR website.
Pentagon seeks alternative treatment methods
WASHINGTON—The Pentagon is seeking new ways to treat troops suffering from combat stress or brain damage by researching such alternative methods as acupuncture, meditation, yoga, and the use of animals as therapy, military officials said.
“This new theme is a big departure for our cautious culture,” Dr. S. Ward Casscells, the Pentagon’s assistant secretary for health affairs, told USA Today.
Casscells said he pushed hard for the new research, because “we are struggling with” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) “as we are with suicide and we are increasingly willing to take a hard look at even soft therapies.”
So far this year, the Pentagon is spending $5 million to study the therapies. In the previous two years, the Pentagon had not spent any money on similar research, records show.
For the story, check out USA Today.
— From USA Today (October 8)
Brain Differences and Functional Impairment in BPD Patients
Investigators at the University of California at Davis and at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine have just reported on MRI findings that link brain differences to functional impairment in BPD patients.
Check it out at the National Institute of Mental Health.
