The contribution of psychological assessment to community mental health services

Specialist psychological assessment plays a potentially important role in multidisciplinary community mental health settings. This portfolio describes and evaluates this psychological assessment and provides four case studies.

Impact of social anxiety on quality of life : a longitudinal study

This thesis found that individuals with social anxiety had high levels of co-morbid depression, reduced quality of life, poorer health and wellbeing, and they used maladaptive coping strategies. The negative effects of social anxiety and social anxiety co-morbid depression could be predicted over a 6-month time period. The portfolio argues the impact of poor attachment style, poor parenting behaviour and negative environmental influences as contributors to individuals' longer term psychological functioning with four case studies highlighting the contributing role of these early influences on later functioning.

Psychological deficits and abundances among domestically violent offenders and non-offenders

The thesis compared domestically violent men and non-offenders on a number of psychological constructs. The results indicated that, with the exception of attitudes towards women, there were no significant differences between the groups. The thesis examined practical implications of the results for the assessment and treatment of domestically violent offenders. The professional portfolio examines, in four case studies, the purported link between childhood abuse and subsequent maladjustment in the adult.

The psychological and relationship impact of erectile dysfunction

This thesis demonstrated that Australian men with erectile dysfunction (ED) experience poorer levels of masculinity, self-esteem, quality of life, sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction than do men without ED. The implications of these findings for the current medical approach to treating this sexual dysfunction were discussed. The portfolio explores grief following elective abortion and reflects on how grief responses may present in post-abortion counselling. The potential utility of grief therapy to this counselling is demonstrated in four case studies.

Beyond mental illness

The Introducing Me program was developed as a recovery-oriented intervention program for people with mental illness. Program trials revealed improvements in self-concept, self-esteem, reduced social anxiety, and overall positive feedback. This novel and innovative program has important implications for the treatment and wellbeing of persons with a severe mental illness. The Professional Portfolio discusses issues relating to the assessment and diagnosis of depression in adolescents and factors determining appropriate treatment recommendations. Four case studies are presented.

Effectiveness of psychological interventions for depressed elderly people in hostels

Thesis: Depression among older adults is a significant health concern. Research involved development and implementation of psychological intervention among older adults living in residential care. Poor participation was encountered amongst residential care facilities and older adults. The research identified barriers impeding provision of care for older adults with mental health concerns. The portfolio presents case studies demonstrating the flow-on effects of negative childhood experiences into adult relationships. The analyses illustrate how difficulties in childhood are associated with the development of depression and anxiety in later life.

Psychological study of consumer novelty seeking and mass media consumption

The thesis integrates theory from psychology and marketing, finding that those with an innate desire to seek out information on new products / brands are motivated to do so by aspects of regulatory focus, needs for uniqueness, and their susceptibility to interpersonal influence. In turn, these people consume more media and have higher information exposure.

Wild adventures in wellbeing

This study examined the foundations, features and wellbeing impacts of Australian outdoor adventure interventions (OAI). According to literature- and practice-based evidence, Australian OAI support positive impacts for individuals across physical, emotional, behavioural, social, cultural, spiritual, economic and environmental wellbeing in the Australian context.

Coping with unemployment : impact on psychological health

Investigates alternative solutions to promoting psychological health during unemployment. Unemployed people who engage in meaningful leisure activity, who had a pro-active approach to coping, and utilised more social support networks, demonstrated better psychological adjustment. Suggests that such activities may contribute to re-employment.

Psychological factors and the sexuality of pregnant and postpartum women

This longitudinal research found that women reported significant decreases in sexual desire, frequency of intercourse, and sexual satisfaction during pregnancy and at three and six months after childbirth. The psychological factors examined (role quality, relationship satisfaction, fatigue, life satisfaction, and depression) influenced women's changing sexuality over the perinatal period.

Role of primary / secondary control in positive psychological adjustment

Challenges previous theory regarding the relationship between control and positive psychological health by finding a much greater role for control over peoples' internal emotions in positive psychological adjustment than was previously theorised. Presents a new tool for the measurement of control that realises the adaptive value of control over both the person's external environment and their internal psychological processes.

Evaluation of an internet-based psychological intervention for the treatment of erectile dysfunction

Recent research on the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) has focused on medical interventions, in particular oral medications. The current study examined the effectiveness of an internet-based psychological intervention for this condition. In total, 31 men (12 in treatment group, 19 in control group) completed the program. The results demonstrated that men who completed the program reported improved erectile functioning and sexual relationship satisfaction and quality. The implications of these findings for the treatment of ED are discussed.

Homophobic bullying and human rights : non-deficit approaches in queer youth wellbeing policy and practice

This chapter is concerned with ways for improving the capacity of school communities to provide queer young people with stimulating educational experiences that productively engage with the realities of their lives and which promote and enhance their wellbeing. By "queer" or "LBGTI" I mean to refer to all of those young people who do not conform to prevailing expectations regarding gender and sexual identity and behaviours, those young people who may be lesbian,gay, bisexual, transgender or intersexual (lGBTI), as well as all of those young people who have an association with gender and sexual diversity (for example, the straight fey boy who gets called a poofta; the teenage girl with lesbian parents, etc.). Methodologically, this chapter draws on a tradition of Foucauldian cultural analysis which acknowledges that gender and sexual identities are not stable or fixed, but that they are generated by influential discourses (e.g. my identity as a "man" in Melbourne today is mediated by contemporary discourses of masculinity, of Australianness, of class and so on) (for example, see Foucault 1984, 1990, 1992 and 1998).

This chapter argues that conventional approaches to school improvement for queer students normally focus on strategies for reducing the victimisation of teenage homosexuals, and that such strategies rely on dominant discourses of safety and bullying. I examine a recent example of this policy approach and use it as a starting point for considering the benefits and the constraints of a victim-based approach to queer youth wellbeing policy. The chapter then moves into a discussion about the recent introduction of human rights legislation in Victoria and how this can assist a move in policy and practice towards a more positive and diffuse engagement with gender and sexual diversity.