Ψ Psychology Newsletter Ψ

Volume 4. Issue 1 http://www.usq.edu.au/faculty/science/depts/psych/psych.ht April 2000

Head of Department Column Professor Gerard J Fogarty

A warm welcome to all our new students and welcome back to everyone else. We have about 300 new first year students, and about 15 new students in our Masters and Doctor of Psychology programmes, including some from overseas (South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Israel). When the Fourth Year and PhD students are added, I see that total numbers in the Department continue to hover around the 1100 mark. A very healthy enrolment indeed.

On the staffing front, we are delighted to have some new faces in the team. Let me introduce them in the order in which they were appointed.

Dr Robert Closs, who comes to us from Toledo in the American mid-West (I hope he does not read what Remo Ostini says about the mid-West later in this newsletter!). Robert’s speciality is counselling and I am happy to say that although primarily involved in Fourth Year and Masters programmes, Robert is also the unit Examiner for Counselling Psychology in the undergraduate course, so his expertise will benefit many students. Robert is living near the campus with his wife Pam, a primary school teacher, and son Paul, a high school student. Apart from the fact that he keeps forgetting the keys to his office door and has to borrow my master key, he appears to be settling in very well.

Andrea-Lamont Mills is the second of our new staff members. Andrea is completing a PhD through USQ on the topic of gender issues in sport and will assist in the sport psychology programme as well as taking on the semester 2 offering of Foundation Psychology. Her main task this year (apart from running 69100 in S2) is to develop a new unit in sport psychology for the undergraduate course, to be offered as a Psychology elective for the first time in S2, 2000 (D & X). I know from the many enquires received over the years that this will prove to be popular elective.

The third new member of staff is Marcella Cullin. Marcella is also a current postgraduate student who brings to the Department further depth and experience in the counselling area. Her main duties are associated with the offering of our Master of Counselling course in Singapore, so few of you will see her in the classroom. Marcella’s other principal duty is acting as the Coordinator of the Psychology Clinic, located on the ground floor of our building. This Clinic is an important part of our postgraduate training programme and Masters students will see plenty of Marcella in that capacity.

Offers have been made to three other academics, all located overseas, to fill the vacant positions in sport psychology, social psychology, and statistics.

Still on staffing, Dr Tony Machin and Dr Gerry Tehan are currently overseas on study leave. Both will be back for S2. I will take study leave in the second semester and plan to be absent from campus for a reasonable proportion of that time.

In closing my column, may I congratulate the 150 or so Psychology graduates at the recent ceremonies in Singapore and Toowoomba. Seeing students graduate and sharing their excitement is still the I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E most rewarding part of an academic’s job. Head of Department Column 1 Undergraduate Course Coordinator Column 2 Off-Shore Coordinator Column 3 Good luck in the forthcoming exams. Sport & Exercise Psychology Column 3 Special best wishes to Andrew Trim Health Psychology Column 6 (Year 1) competing for Australia as a Reflections from a Foreign Land 6 canoeist in the World Cup, preparatory to Academic Development Leave 7 competing in the Olympic Games later Participants Needed for Study of Adult Adoptees 7 this year. Psychology Clinic 8

T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f S o u t h e r n Q u e e n s l a n d Undergraduate Course Coordinator Column Mr Terry Carter

First of all I am pleased to say that there are no major changes to the course to report to you this time. I will however run through some of the other changes and things that have been happening here since you least heard from us.

In the year 2001 the University is moving to a three roughly equal semester system. This will cause quite a few changes in most of the courses offered, but the Psychology Department has decided not to change any of its offerings for the year 2001. This means that things that are currently being taught in semester 1 will still be taught in Semester 1 next year, and so on. There may however be some changes in the year 2002.

The time came recently for our courses to be re-accredited by Australian Psychological Society. The accreditation team came and visited us and examined exhaustively all our courses both here and overseas, including a site visit to Singapore. You will be pleased to know that all our courses have again been unconditionally accredited.

On a slightly gloomier note the time also came around for "show cause". This means that I review the progress of all students and decide who has a case to answer - ie. They must "show cause" - why they should not be excluded from the course. We sent out 61 such letters to students and on the basis of their replies, 19 were permitted to continue.

There are actually a couple of other changes I should mention to you. First of all we are hoping to introduce in 2001 in both the internal and external modes, an elective unit in Sport Psychology. This should prove very popular. Another change, but not of our making, is that the University is changing to what is called an alphanumeric system of identifying units. This will involve enormous changes to almost all of the courses, in terms of their identifying number, but not for us. For all courses the first two numbers, for eg 69*** will be replaced by a three letter code identifying the discipline. The next number should indicate the level of the offering. As I say there will be enormous changes to most courses but fortunately we had already logically organised our numbering system in that way, so the last three numbers of the units in your course will not change. This will make it easier for you and certainly for the course coordinators to know what units are the same as previous ones. For instance, Personality and Motivation 69202 will simply become PSY202. It maybe necessary to add another digit which will be 0 somewhere or other in there, but at least our course will have minimal changes and you should still be able to work out where you are in terms of the old and new numbering system.

I should perhaps also mention that Foundation Psychology and Personality and Motivation are now On- Line ie. They can be studied over the Internet, unfortunately not for HECS based students as most of your are. However, there is a new service offered online.

Go on an eGO-Trip

The USQ Library has designed an electronic, interactive Internet training program called eGO - electronic GO DO IT! A self-paced learning program consisting of eight separate modules, eGO teaches student show to use the Internet, helps them increase their search skills and supports their studies. Whether you need some help finding journal articles from the Library's Electronic Database, or you're not quite sure how to use the Library's Catalogue or you would like to search for information on the World Wide Web, but don't know where to start, eGO will help you. In addition, if you're unsure how to evaluate or reference the material you've found, you can learn how to do this in the eGO tutorials.

Students can access this helpful Library program by going to the Library Home Page, and clicking on eGO or by coming in via USQ Connect, clicking on Reference, then clicking on eGO. You can use eGO in the Library, the Computer Labs in K and S blocks or from home.

You know the old jokes about good news and bad news. Well, this time there is only good news. A new Undergraduate Course Coordinator will be appointed for 2001 because at last I have decided to retire. Since this is the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Psychology Department, gifts of silver would be appreciated, but gold preferred.

Goodbye, good luck and God bless.

Psychology Newsletter 2 Off-Shore Coordinator Column Dr Gerry Tehan

I have been on sabbatical for the past three months and have passed on the maintenance of the off- shore program to my colleagues, Mr Terry Carter and Mr Bill Bryon. I would like to thank them for their efforts.

Staff once again visited Singapore to conduct teaching schools and again came away impressed with how enthusiastic and how welcoming our Singaporean students are. Thanks once again for your hospitality. Again, as usual, we have had the occasional problem with telephone links and the odd video conference has had to be re-run. This is one facet of our program that both students and lecturers find very annoying but it is something that we have absolutely no control over.

The last time I was in Singapore (last December) two very important events were taking place. Our off- shore program was being reviewed for accreditation by the Australian Psychological Society and we were promoting the Masters of Counselling course. The outcome of that visit I am pleased to say was successful on both counts. The APS has given accreditation to all USQ courses. This means that USQ's off-shore program is now fully accredited by the APS and is the only program in Singapore to have such accreditation. I would formally like to thank the students who were involved, staff of IGCOL and our Head of Department, Professor Gerry Fogarty for all the work that went into the visit and the accreditation process.

The long awaited Masters of Counselling has been finalised and our first intake will be for Semester 2 of this year. Dr Paul Bramston will be in Singapore in a fortnight's time to promote the course. If you would like to know more about the course can I suggest that you get in touch with the staff at IGCOL. In essence it is a 12 credit point course that involves 8 course-work units plus 4 credit points worth of supervised practice. The emphasis of the course is on the acquisition of good counselling skills.

I would like to remind all students that it is their responsibility to manage their enrolment process. This semester we have had a number of people who have failed a unit (usually the dreaded 64001: Data Analysis) during semester 3 and have not dropped themselves from subsequent units for which the failed unit is a prerequisite (e.g. 69210 Research Methods in Psychology I). In not doing so, you risk being given an F grade in the subsequent unit or a drop with academic penalty. Let me say again, you are responsible for the units you are enrolled in each semester.

Finally, can I again remind people to regularly check in the off-shore page on the Departmental web page. It has useful information like what text books are required for the following semester, when staff will be visiting and when video conferences are being held. The URL is http://www.usq.edu.au/faculty/science/depts/psych/SINGAPOR/2000Singapore.htm

All the best for the forthcoming exams.

Sport & Exercise Psychology Column Steven Christensen

Welcoming new students

A warm welcome to the nine young professionals who were selected to join the USQ sport psychology program this year. Welcome to Gene Barrell (Bond University, Gold Coast), Efrat Elran (Tel Aviv University), Lylie Fitzpatrick (University of South Africa), Chris Graham (QUT, Brisbane), Marc Janover (Monash University, Melbourne), Nissim Konki (Ben Gurion University, Beer-Shiva), Heather McGregor (University of Witswatersrand, Johannesburg), Nhu’ron Raniga (University of Natal, Durban), and Celeste Truter (Rands Afrikaans University, Johannesburg) to Toowoomba and the USQ sport psychology program. Our new Israeli, South African, Zimbabwean, and Australian colleagues can expect a ‘colder Toowoomba winter’ than they are accustom to at home but they can anticipate being kept busy with a challenging academic, professional, and social program developed by USQ sport psychology staff and senior students.

Visitors to USQ

The growing reputation of the USQ sport psychology program continues to draw leading sport psychologists from overseas and interstate to Toowoomba. International and interstate guests visit USQ to exchange perspectives on sport psychology practice. While international guests enjoy the professional exchange and speak of our generous hospitality and dedication to the profession, I suspect many of our USQ sport psychology graduates return to Toowoomba to refresh and renew friendships with the our ‘sport psychology family’.

Steven Bannon, sport psychologist at the South Australian Institute of Sport, and Wendy Swift, sport psychology consultant to the Queensland Academy of Sport visited USQ in March. Steven and Wendy Psychology Newsletter 3 spoke on their work preparing elite athletes the 2000 Olympic Games and 2000 Paralympic Games. However comments about their personal transition from postgraduate student to psychology professional, provided interesting professional insight and their strategies for ongoing professional development and training.

Barry Kirker (USQ MPsych 1995-1997) spent some of his annual vacation visited USQ in March. Barry spoke about his experiences working in sport psychology, organisational psychology, and human resource management in Sydney since his graduation. This session provoked considerable discussion and debate about the application of sport psychology practices in non-sporting settings, and strategies to ongoing professional development after graduation. The USQ sport psychology staff is grateful to Steven and Barry for ‘put something back into the old alma mater’.

Dr David Markland from the Sport, Health and Physical Education Sciences Department at the University of Bangor in Wales will be visiting USQ Psychology in May. David is chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society, and an accredited sport and exercise psychologist with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. His research interests focus motivation, self-regulation, and behaviour change for exercise and health outcomes. David’s passion for structural equation modelling will endear him to Professor Gerry Fogarty and Dr. Murray Thompson, who share a similar affinity for this statistical method. Furthermore, David can anticipate being popular with many first-year sport psychology students who are enjoying a rigorous introduction to SEM under Professor Fogarty’s guidance.

Professor Justus Potgieter, the Head of Menslike Bewegingskunde (Human Movement Studies) at the University of Stellenbosch will be visiting USQ in July 2000. Justus is a registered psychologist, sport psychology practitioner and leading South African researcher. A former President of the South Africa Association for Sport Science, Justus has been instrumental in lobbying the National Olympic Committee of South Africa on behalf of South African elite athletes to allow them greater access to sport psychology services. His co-authored book with Australian expatriate, Dr Brent Rushall on the ‘psychology of successful competing in endurance sports’ was one of the first sport psychology texts to be published in South Africa. During his Australian visit Justus will also be visiting the Queensland Academy of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport.

Professor Dieter Hackfort (University of Munich, Germany) will be visiting USQ as part of the Australian Sport Psychology Visiting Scholar Award during semester 2, 2000. Professor Hackfort is an internationally renowned expert on stress in sport. His research on determinants of anxiety in sport has shaped contemporary sport psychology teaching, research, and consulting. Furthermore, his book, Anxiety in Sport, which was co-edited with Charles Spielberger is regarded as a classic sport psychology graduate textbook. In addition to maintaining a demanding teaching and research schedule and scholarship commitments with FEPSAC, the European Sport Psychology Society, Dieter continues to maintain his clinical sport psychology practice.

The details upcoming presentations by visiting sport psychology guests can be found on the USQ Psychology web page at http://www.usq.edu.au/faculty/science/depts/psych/psych.htm

Graduate News

Congratulations to Steven Bannon, Mandy Behrmann, and Paul Sheath on being awarded the Master of Psychology (Sport) degree at the recent autumn USQ Graduation Ceremony. Each has made a successfully transition from postgraduate student to psychology professional. Steven is a sport psychologist at the South Australian Institute of Sport (Adelaide), Mandy is a Lecturer at Witswatersrand University (Johannesburg), and Paul is a student counsellor at St Peters Lutheran School (Brisbane).

Congratulations to Mandy Behrmann who married Iain Corbett at the Rivonia Inn, Johannesburg on 27th February 2000. Mandy, who is the first overseas student to graduate with the Master of Psychology (Sport) degree had a short honeymoon in the Netherlands. Mandy has asked that her grateful thanks be passed on to USQ sport psychology staff and postgraduate students for their best wishes and lovely ’Australian’ wedding gift.

Congratulations to Gavin Freeman (USQ MPsych 1996-1998) on his appointment as a sport psychologist with the Australian Paralympics Team for the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Gavin is a sport psychologist at the Australian Capital Territory Academy of Sport.

Congratulations to David O’Sign (USQ MPsych 1996-1998) on his appointment as a Policy and Research Officer with the Western Australian Ministry of Sport and Recreation. Originally from Launceston, David joined the Western Australian Institute of Sport as a sport psychologist in 1998.

Queensland swimmers are expected to gain the lion’s share of medals at the 2000 Telstra National Swimming Championships being held at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre from the 13-20 May. The 2000 Nationals will double as the Olympic Selection Trials, further fuelling competition between swimmers and between their respective State and National Institutes of Sport. Given the successes of the Queensland Academy of Sport Squad in 1999, Queensland Swimmers are expected to dominate the

Psychology Newsletter 4 meet. Championship success and Olympic selection will fulfill a ‘long held dream’ for many athletes. Meanwhile four Queensland sport psychologists have been working quietly behind the scenes since 1997 preparing swimmers for the 2000 Olympic Games and, naturally, the physically and psychologically demanding Olympic Selection Trials. David Else and Michael Lloyd (USQ) and Wendy Swift and Peter Frederickson (University of Queensland) have been complete sport psychology placements with high performance swimming squads in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. This program has been funding by the Australian Sports Commission and the Queensland Academy of Sport through the Olympic Athlete Program. As the program draws to a dramatic conclusion, USQ Sport Psychology wishes to thank QAS Director, , and QAS Swimming High Performance Manager, Dr. Graeme Maw, for their on-going support of the USQ sport psychology program.

Other News

USQ sport psychology researcher, Andrea Lamont-Mills, recently presented a workshop on ‘what coaches need to know about working with female athletes’ to QAS Coaches. The workshop explored how a coach’s experiences, beliefs, and abstract reasoning skills can shape how athlete behaviours are interpreted and ‘appropriate’ responses and behaviour repertoires are selected. Information drawn from Andrea’s doctoral research has found that negotiating between these cognitive skills and other affective considerations is complex. A simplified approach is to use ‘long-standing myths about female and male athletes’. Andrea has been asked present this workshop for Australian and overseas high performance coaches at the Sport Coach 2000 Conference. The Sport Coach Conference is Australia’s premier convention for sports coaches and will be conducted being held in Canberra between the 2000 Olympic and 2000 Paralympic Games.

First year USQ sport psychologists-in-training will shortly be commencing their major sport psychology placement across a range of activities, including ballet, boxing, basketball, equestrian, gymnastics, lawn bowls, and soccer. Thank you to those psychologists and local coaches who have helped to identify opportunities for supervised placements in the SouthEast Queensland sporting community.

The recently refurbished USQ Psychology Clinic has a sport psychology unit that takes referrals from psychologists and psychology students, and requests for assistance from teachers, coaches and others in community. All requests for sport psychology assistance are handled in a confidential and professional manner, and are attended to by senior sport psychology students or recent USQ graduates. Sport psychology inquiries from the community are welcomed, and should be directed to Mr. Steven Christensen (Tel: 07 – 4631 2707) or the Clinic Coordinator, Ms Marcella Cullen (Tel: 07 – 4631 1763).

A Recent Article in the Toowoomba Chronicle

Crowned World Champions at the 1999 Christchurch World Netball Championships and Commonwealth Champions at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, Australian Netball has the reputation for not letting the grass grow under it’s feet. So as Australian coach, Jill McIntosh and , AIS Head Coach, search to replace retiring world champions, , Carissa Tombs, and Shelley O’Donnell, they will be surprised to have some unlikely allies from Zimbabwe, Israel, and South Africa. These allies are engaged in the Darling Downs Interdistrict Netball competition that recently commenced the 2000 season in Toowoomba.

Carol French, the Darling Downs Interdistrict Netball Coordinator, says that each year they introduce an innovation to the regional competition. “This year we turned to USQ sport psychology for a competitive edge. With USQ sport psychologist, Steve Christensen, we have drafted Zimbabwean, Israeli, South African, and Australian sport psychologists who are training at USQ to our netball teams. The results are beginning to show through”.

Twenty-four teams from Brisbane Valley, Cecil Plains, Chinchilla, Dalby, Fassifern, Lockyer, Laidley, Millmerran, Oakey, Stanthorpe, and Warwick Netball Associations make up the Interdistrict competition.

South African Masters student, Celeste Truter, says that it feels strange helping to develop Australian netball. “But I know that I can take home all that I have learned from my studies and field experiences in Australia, and use it to make South African sport stronger”.

Efrat Elran, an Israeli psychologist, had never heard of netball before being drafted to the Brisbane Valley. “Netball - it’s both athletic and acrobatic. It’s fun. I searched the net and found an Israeli Netball homepage, and have sent them an email”.

The Interdistrict competition aims to develop netball in regional Queensland, and has under 14, 16, and open age divisions. Lockyer coach, Meg Englart, is working with Lylie Fitzpatrick a former international equestrian from Zimbabwe. “Lylie learns fast, and has got to know our girls really well. I really value her advice. I think that we make a good team”.

The third round of this ‘grand prix style’ event will be held at Cahill Park, Gatton on Sunday 7th May. Psychology Newsletter 5 Health Psychology Column Grace Pretty

This year we have a “full house” in our Health Psychology post graduate courses. Two students began the Masters degree, Kumiyo Shimmaki and Rebecca Cox, and the first students in the Doctorate of Psychology course also commenced their studies, Des Coates and Jackie Boon. We welcome these students into the Department and look forward to facilitating their professional development goals over the next two years.

The health orientation of these courses is continuing to draw interest from people who want to work in areas of psychology that encompass more than mental health practice. While the health psychologist is skilled in assessment and intervention related to, for example, depression, anxiety, stress, etc, the contexts in which this occurs is often within a physical health domain, rather than a mental health domain. Physical pain is a primary source of many psychological problems. Anxiety may be related to preparation for surgery or for a difficult treatment such as chemotherapy. Depression may be associated with the amputation of a limb or the arduous challenge of long-term rehabilitation related to a stroke. Cognitive therapy may be used to reduce the stress implicated in the reoccurance of a client’s immune deficiency illness. Behavioural techniques may be used to increase a person’s adherence to medication and physiotherapy programs. In these instances, knowledge of the close relationship between the mental and physical aspects of illness, disease and injury recovery is essential in providing effective intervention.

The health psychology training within the Masters and Doctorate courses continues to be strengthened by the addition of new staff and placement options. We are excited to have Dr Robert Closs from the United States joining our teaching and supervision team. Robert’s years of clinical and community based experience in the alcohol and drug rehabilitation fields, and marital and family counselling areas, expand the breadth of expertise available to our students. We are developing our own Psychology Clinic in W block. Our new staff member Marcella Cullin is actively engaging the support and the use of Clinic services from physicians and health professionals in the Darling Downs region. Students obtain supervised experience in assessment and intervention with clients presenting with various health related problems. We are expecting to be fully operational by July with health and lifestyle programs, as well as individual counselling, being offered to the community.

Health psychology is a relatively new specialty in Australia and the Health College of the APS is growing steadily. As more attention is paid to the role of psychological factors in health behaviour by medical and other health professionals an increase in positions for health psychologists in hospital and community general practice settings is anticipated. The USQ program team is continually developing our courses to ensure our students are prepared to address the new challenges in this field of psychology.

Reflections from a Foreign Land Remo Ostini

Foreword: The letter below comes from a former USQ University Medallist, Remo Ostini, who chose the US as the destination for his PhD studies in Psychology. At the time, USQ did not have a PhD programme and Remo was one of many USQ psychology graduates who have gone on to postgraduate study at other universities.

I have stayed in touch with Remo over the years and thought that you would be interested to hear of his experiences as a PhD student in the States. Remo kindly supplied the following letter for the Psychology Newsletter. Gerard Fogarty

In August 1992 I came to the United States to begin a PhD in psychology focussing on psychometrics. The motivation was twofold. I wanted to get a good degree from a top university that would provide me with a wide range of educational and professional opportunities. I also thought I would enjoy learning about what it was like to live in the US, given the pervasive influence that the US has on Australian culture.

After a fair degree of trans-pacific paper shuffling I was accepted into the psychometrics program at the University of Minnesota. The U of MN is a large public university with over 50,000 students on 5 campuses. The university is also large in the sense that here you can study virtually any topic that you could imagine. Since there is a large coursework component to PhDs in the US, it is also possible to study in areas other than your undergraduate specialisation. In my case, I was able to complete a coursework minor in bioethics while I undertook my psychometrics study.

Another advantage of being at a large university is that there are many work opportunities – which is fortunate since student visas don’t allow you to work off-campus. In my time at the U of MN I have worked as a teaching assistant (i.e., tutor) for half a dozen courses; taught three courses myself; run a departmental multimedia computer laboratory; and I now work as a research assistant at the university’s Center for Bioethics. Most of these jobs have been great experiences from which I have learned many Psychology Newsletter 6 new skills and also learned much about myself; what I’m good at, and what I like to do. These jobs have had the added benefit of paying for my university tuition (course fees); providing a modicum of health insurance (very necessary in the US); and also providing a small stipend on which to live.

The disadvantage of all these jobs is that they essentially relegate you to the role of a part-time student. This is the hardest part of my university experience over here. I found my education at USQ more than prepared me for the academic challenges here but I do find part-time PhDing difficult. Unfortunately there are not many alternative options. In order to pay for the university education (and health care, and rent, and food …) you really have to have either: i) an on-campus job; ii) a fellowship (scholarship); or iii) take out a student loan.

To study in the States, ideally you would have a 4-year fellowship and devote all your time to your studies. You would miss out on some of the work experiences I’ve had but your chances of finishing the degree in a reasonable amount of time improve. Many (most) of the fellowships here are only for US citizens. Fortunately, so are most of the available student loans, so I haven’t been tempted to try that route. I have colleagues here who have student loan debts of over $100,000 by the time they finished their postgraduate studies.

I’ve also been very fortunate to have a great partner (Jenny, a fine Aussie girl!) and recently a beautiful baby girl (Isabella, our little American), to accompany me on my PhD trek. I couldn’t have made it this far without their support. Jenny is also an excellent example of how important the type of support you get is to your progress. She was in a department where she got fellowship support for at least part of each of her first three years in the PhD program – and she finished it in 4 years. I only got fellowship support in my first year – my most productive year – and I’m still working at it.

There is certainly a wealth of opportunity here. I have heard Noam Chomsky, Edward Said, Art Caplan, and the scientist who cloned Dolly speak. I have been in the amazing Library of Congress and an extraordinary Frank Gehry designed museum. I’ve been to a national symposium and an international conference. But I’ve also found aspects of the culture here to be arrogant, avaricious, and insular. The insularity seems worse here in the mid-west than on either the east or west coasts. Perhaps I have just been here too long. In any case, my time here has helped me to see that Toowoomba is a wonderful city and that USQ is a great place to go to uni. It has also helped me to appreciate and come to cherish the unique aspects of Australia and its culture. So while I’ve enjoyed the experiences and opportunities I’ve had here in the US, I am looking forward to coming home.

Academic Development Leave Dr Tony Machin

I am on study leave from the 17th April to the 17th July. I will initially be visiting the Michigan Prevention Research Centre at the University of Michigan. The MPRC conducts a program of prevention research on the problems of employment, economic stress, and well-being throughout the life course. The MPRC seeks to extend scientific understanding of the links between conditions of employment and mental and physical health, while at the same time, expanding the policy and practice options available to both the public and private sector. The homepage for the MPRC is at http://www.isr.umich.edu/src/seh/mprc/.

I will also be visiting the Key Centre for Human Factors and Applied Cognitive Psychology at the University of Queensland. The Key Centre website can be found at: http://www.humanfactors.uq.edu.au/ . The site is being updated regularly and includes information about teaching and research activities, conferences and seminars, positions vacant and contact details for staff associated with the Centre.

I am also the editor of the INTERFACE, the newsletter of the APS College of Organisational Psychologists. We intend to provide a copy of this newsletter on the APS web site (http://www.psychsociety.com.au ). This will allow anyone to access the newsletter and hopefully increase interest in the College among organisational psychologists who are not yet members, as well as students.

Participants Needed for Study of Adult Adoptees Dr Nola Passmore

For the last couple of years, I have been involved in some research comparing adult adoptees. One thing that came out of that research is that adoptees are not an homogeneous group. Some have had good experiences and some have had difficult experiences, some have had reunions and some have not, some are interested in searching for birthparents and some are not. I am now in the process of conducting a follow-up study in conjunction with two of my fourth year students, in which we will compare different groups of adoptees on variables such as stress and coping, quality of life, interpersonal relationships, and various demographics. We hope that this study will further clarify some of the salient issues and provide information that will be of use to adoptees, their families, and service providers who work in the adoption area. Psychology Newsletter 7 If you are adopted and would like to take part in the study (or know someone else who might be interested), please contact me and I will be happy to send you a questionnaire. Please note that the questionnaire was still being developed at the time of writing this newsletter, but should be available late April or early May. We are looking for all different types of adoptees. The only requirement is that participants must be at least 18 years of age. Thank you for considering this request. For further information please contact:

Name: Dr Nola Passmore Telephone: [07] 46 31 1683 Facsimile: [07] 46 31 2721 Email: [email protected]

Psychology Clinic Ms Marcella Cullin

The Psychology Department Psychology Clinic is proving to be a tremendous success. Clients are reporting great benefits from the intervention and support offered by the clinic. The feedback from referring agencies in the community is also very positive. The clinic provides counselling and assessment in a wide range of areas with a particular focus in the areas of health related issues, sport and exercise as well as child and family issues. The clinic serves as a learning facility for our postgraduate students and provides the community with quality, yet affordable psychology services. In additional to the increase in individual clients accessing the service a number of health related psycho-educational and therapeutic groups are available. Penny (Masters student) has developed a series of innovative workshops targeted at managing chronic pain and stress in the workplace and Sandra (also a Masters student) is developing and facilitating a group for arthritis sufferers in our community. Enquires about the clinic can be directed to Marcella Cullin, Clinic Coordinator on telephone 46 311673.

Psychology Newsletter 8