The Definition of Curriculum Areas in Occupational Health Psychology

Across the international educational landscape, numerous higher education institutions (HEIs) offer postgraduate programmes in occupational health psychology (OHP). These seek to empower the next generation of OHP practitioners with the knowledge and skills necessary to advance the understanding and prevention of workplace illness and injury, improve working life and promote healthy work through the application of psychological principles and practices. Among the OHP curricula operated within these programmes there exists considerable variability in the topics addressed. This is due, inter alia, to the youthfulness of the discipline and the fact that the development of educational provision has been managed at the level of the HEI where it has remained undirected by external forces such as the discipline’s representative bodies. Such variability makes it difficult to discern the key characteristics of a curriculum which is important for programme accreditation purposes, the professional development and regulation of practitioners and, ultimately, the long-term sustainability of the discipline. This chapter has as its focus the imperative for and development of consensus surrounding OHP curriculum areas. It begins by examining the factors that are currently driving curriculum developments and explores some of the barriers to such. It then reviews the limited body of previous research that has attempted to discern key OHP curriculum areas. This provides a foundation upon which to describe a study conducted by the current authors that involved the elicitation of subject matter expert opinion from an international sample of academics involved in OHP-related teaching and research on the question of which topic areas might be considered important for inclusion within an OHP curriculum. The chapter closes by drawing conclusions on steps that could be taken by the discipline’s representative bodies towards the consolidation and accreditation of a core curriculum.

1st international conference on LGBT psychology and related fields

During the last decades there has been an increase in the theoretical and empirical body of knowledge in LGBT Psychologyandrelatedfields. However, thisnew bodyof knowledgeis still somewhatdispersedandnot widespread, which makes the process of affirming LGBT topics very difficult in the current international scientific scenario.

The forensic psychology role: victim's information and attendance office (GIAV/DIAP Lisbon)

Poster presented at the First International Congress of CIIEM: From Basic Sciences to Clinical Research. Egas Moniz, Monte de Caparica, 27 e 28 de Novembro 2015

Correctional psychology and the desistance paradigm: commentary for the special issue of Criminal justice and behavior

Let me begin this commentary by suggesting that many of the ideas contained in this special issue will be important to the future of correctional psychology. Although each of the authors offer different perspectives on the role that the criminal justice system has to play in the process of desistance from crime, they all identify the importance of a valueoriented analysis to effective offender rehabilitation. Their focus is on promoting desistance at all points of the justice process; from how the legal system can promote therapeutic outcomes through to the provision of post-release support services and the need for community engagement. By approaching the tasks of both rehabilitation and reintegration from a values perspective, they have been able to identify a range of novel and innovative approaches that have the potential to make a real difference. Even more encouragingly, these draw on resources that may already be available to correctional psychologists and yet are often underutilized. In addition, the confidence, and indeed the optimism, expressed in these articles provides a refreshing counter to suggestions that contemporary correctional practice has become pre-occupied with the need to “manage” offenders and for professionals to focus on fulfilling their administrative obligations (see Hardy, 2014).

Linking positive psychology to offender supervision outcomes: The mediating role of psychological flexibility, general self-efficacy, optimism, and hope

This study examines the relationships between indicators of offender supervision outcomes and dimensions of positive psychological states (PPS). Results of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that the first-order positive psychology constructs converge to form a higher order construct of PPS which was inversely associated with supervision outcomes. Furthermore, the mediating effect of PPS on the relationship between criminogenic risk factors and all offender supervision outcome variables was statistically significant, suggesting that offenders with heightened PPS are likely to have fewer criminogenic risk factors and are less likely to be reported for technical violation, charged, reconvicted, and imprisoned. The implications of these findings for correctional theory, practice, and policy conclude the article.

An analysis of clinical handover miscommunication using a language and social psychology approach

Clinical handover is a key communication event in patient care and a major contributing factor in adverse events in hospitals. Current research on handover emphasizes communication skills training. We investigate the intergroup context and systemic factors of the hospital environment that also affect handover. We explore the responses of 707 health professionals about handover practice. We invoke Coupland and colleagues’ integrative model of “miscommunication” to interpret these. Results support the model. Responses reflect a lack of communication competency, intergroup group relations, and the hidden ideology of the health care system. Health professionals in hospitals are often unaware of the socio-structural element in health care and so cannot bring about cultural change. We suggest that clinicians work with communication and interdisciplinary scholars to bring about system improvement.

Between education and psychology: school staff perspectives

When discussing contributions from psychology in/to educational practices like school-based mental health promotion, it is peculiar that psychologists (of an educational or clinical kind) or education-oriented sociologists, both not often based in schools or classrooms, dominate the topic. It has been acknowledged that school staff have been over looked and underutilised in contributing to the discussion, particularly as this pertains to sharing perspectives on how they experience their role in relationship to education policy and practice. The study presented here looked to address this situation by seeking the perspectives of school staff on a range of concerns situated at the nexus between education and psychology. Contrary to the type of displaced assessment intimated above, this group of school staff generally accepts they perform a crucial task in supporting students, their main concern being to incisively question how they might negotiate existing role-related pressures to better current school-based practice.

Sensory Research : Non-caloric sweeteners and consumer psychology

There remains much controversy over the role of non-caloric sweeteners (NCS) in the food supply. Are they helpful or do they promote overconsumption? There is a lack of evidence demonstrating a meaningful causal relationship between consuming NCS products and changes in calorie intake. Does this mean that the decoupling of energy from sweetness actually has no long-term benefit 0 11 consumers' energy regulation?

Deleuze and psychology: philosophical provocations to psychological practices

An increasing number of scholars, students and practitioners of psychology are becoming intrigued by the ideas of Gilles Deleuze and of Felix Guattari. This book aims to be a critical introduction to these ideas, which have so much to offer psychology in terms of new directions as well as critique.Deleuze was one of the most prominent philosophers of the 20th century and a figure whose ideas are increasingly influential throughout the humanities and social sciences. His work, particularly his collaborations with psychoanalyst Guattari, focused on the articulation of a philosophy of difference. Rejecting mainstream continental philosophy just as much as the orthodox analytical metaphysics of the English-speaking world, Deleuze proposed a positive and passionate alternative, bursting at the seams with new concepts and new transformations.This book overviews the philosophical contribution of Deleuze including the project he developed with Guattari. It goes on to explore the application of these ideas in three major dimensions of psychology: its unit of analysis, its method and its applications to the clinic.

Book review: self-care for clinicians in training: a guide to psychological wellness for graduate students in psychology

Review of book: Self-care for Clinicians in Training: A Guide to Psychological Wellness for Graduate Students in Psychology

Psychology in education : critical theory practice

In this book, a group of respected international scholars examine controversies presently facing the enduring relationship between psychology and education.