Separating the effects of shelter from additional cage enhancements for group-housed BALB/cJ mice.

Enrichment studies with rodents have demonstrated that cage enhancements can improve animal welfare and performance on common behavioral measures, but few studies have compared more than one type of enrichment or controlled for confounds, and some have revealed undesirable effects including increased aggression. We compared effects on male (n=51) and female (n=52) BALB/cJ mice of three common additions to a standard home cage: shelter, shelter+running wheel, and shelter+novel objects. Mice in all conditions lived in standard sized cages with 3-4 mice per cage.

What clinical psychologists know about evidence-based practice: familiarity with online resources and research methods.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) requires that practitioners routinely access, appraise, and utilize the best available research. We surveyed a representative sample of the Society of Clinical Psychology; 549 psychologists (response rate = 46%) reported their frequency of engaging in EBP when offering psychological services, rated their current knowledge of 12 online research resources, and evaluated their current knowledge of 12 research methods and designs. These psychologists reported, on average, using EBP in 73.

What's an integrationist? A study of self-identified integrative and (occasionally) eclectic psychologists.

We examined the views and practices of self-identified eclectic and integrative psychologists, particularly in the context of historical changes since 1977 and 1988. Results from 187 eclectic clinical psychologists indicated that 50% previously adhered to another theoretical orientation, the majority preferred the term integrative to eclectic, and 85% conceptualized eclecticism/integration as the endorsement of a broader orientation. The most common paths toward integration were theoretical integration, common factors, and assimilative integration, as opposed to technical eclecticism.

Clinical psychologists across the years: the division of clinical psychology from 1960 to 2003.

For more than 40 years researchers have studied the members of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Division of Clinical Psychology to obtain information about their demographic characteristics, educational experiences, theoretical orientations, employment settings, professional activities, publication histories, and career satisfactions. We summarize the results from the most recent study (N=694, 46% return rate) in the historical context of the previous findings, dating back to 1960. We provide both contemporary and historical portraits of American clinical psychology.

Therapist affirmation and the process and outcome of psychotherapy: two sequential analytic studies.

Therapist affirmation was examined in two studies, the first with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT, N = 22) and the second with time-limited dynamic psychotherapy (TLDP, N = 20). Affirmation was identified using Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB), and sequential analysis used to gauge its impact on therapy process and outcome. It was hypothesized that affirmation would correspond with patients' continuation of the current topic of conversation, but relate negatively to outcome if generally offered after maladaptive statements.