Spa Exchange Volume 18, Number 2 Summer 2006
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spa exchange Volume 18, Number 2 Summer 2006 President’s Message: The Glamour of Assessment Psychology Irving B. Weiner, PhD University of South Florida The President’s Message in this issue of the and professionally rewarding, perhaps even found its way back into my professional life. Exchange customarily consists of the address glamorous. So I have titled my talk “The In the autobiography I wrote for the Journal that he or she gives at the annual midwinter Glamour of Assessment Psychology.” of Personality Assessment (Weiner, 2005), meeting. This year in San I described various events that kept me I want to spread word about this glamour Diego, those in attendance involved in practicing, teaching, and writing of assessment psychology to assessment enjoyed an excellent scientific about assessment. I finally gave in completely colleagues who may not fully appreciate program and the wonderful to these events and began several years ago to how valuable their specialty can be camaraderie that has long identify myself as an assessment psychologist. in meeting the psychological needs characterized our meetings, I am not going to retell this story today. of persons in distress and facilitating but did so under the pall of Instead, I want to talk with you about what is administrative decisions that serve the the recent deaths of two of glamorous about assessment psychology, or, purposes of the community. I want to the major figures in our field, in the words of the late Jackie Gleason, “How spread word of this glamour to other John Exner and Paul Lerner. I sweet it is!” professional colleagues who have preceded my talk during the never experienced or who have lost I need to give you the bad news first. According plenary session with some sight of how interesting, challenging, to many clinical psychologists, and probably comments about the passing and rewarding it can be to function in the eyes of most aspiring clinicians as well, of these two men, who will be effectively as an assessment psychologist. the paths of glory and excitement in our field sorely missed by all who knew them. I added Most of all, I want to spread word of the lie in providing treatment for psychologically that both of them would have liked to see us glamour of assessment psychology to students disturbed and poorly adjusted persons- proceed with our meeting at full throttle, and and young professionals who are in the -helping them to find relief from their both would have liked what I was going to say process of choosing among alternative career symptoms, solutions to their problems in about the glamour of assessment psychology. directions. living, and ways to realize a fuller and more I then gave the following address, just as it rewarding life style. By comparison, it is often appears in this column. Let me begin with a bit of personal history. felt, and sometimes said, that psychological Like many of the people in this room, I went I would like to add my welcome to all of you, assessment is a routine, humdrum, boring, into psychology because of an interest in and my wishes that you will have a socially and uninteresting clerical task. From this people, in listening to what they have to say, enjoyable and intellectually stimulating stay perspective, assessors serve only as persons- and in helping them deal with problems in in San Diego. For the next few days, and in-waiting to psychotherapists, and the their lives—to be a therapist, in other words. beginning yesterday or this morning for really important people in delivering mental Along the way in my graduate training, I was those who attended workshops, we will be health services are the ones who are doing taught assessment. And back then, we were listening to presentations on a broad range treatment. As you will have surmised from really taught assessment—a three-semester of substantive topics. We are going to hear course with intellectual assessment in the first about new research findings, advances in semester, personality assessment in the second ...continued on page 8 conceptual formulations, and guidelines semester, and differential diagnosis in the for clinical practice. If you are like me, you third semester, combined with a second-year will be listening closely, making some notes, practicum placement in assessment. I never collecting handouts, looking at power point In this issue... saw a person for psychotherapy until the slides, and perhaps raising a question or two third year of my graduate program, which in or seeking out a presenter after a session to talk President’s Message ...........................................1 retrospect was probably not an optimal way further some particular point. In a word, we Special Topics in Assessment ...........................2 to educate a clinical psychologist. At any rate, will be working hard during the parts of the Ge tting Students Interested in I wanted to become a psychotherapist, and program designated as scientific sessions. Psychological Assessment............................2 I eventually became one. I had a half-time SPA Graduate Students .....................................3 With this in mind, I thought that I would not clinic placement with intensive psychotherapy Nu ts and Bolts of the Fitness for work us too hard in this presidential address supervision during my last 2 years in graduate Duty Psychological Evaluation .................4 during our opening session. I am not going school, and then 2 postdoctoral years of Advocacy Corner ...............................................5 to present any data, I am not going to discuss psychoanalytic supervision. I carried a Utility of Assessment Project ............................5 any theoretical perspectives, and I am not caseload of therapy patients for much of SPA Annual Meeting Information ...................6 going suggest any ways of improving the my professional career, I wrote a book on The Teacher’s Block ...........................................7 practice of personality assessment. Instead, psychotherapy (Weiner, 1975, 1998), and I am Maintaining the Frame ....................................12 I want to talk with you about what it means currently teaching and providing therapy SPA Personals....................................................14 to be as assessment psychologist, and I want supervision in the Tampa Bay Institute for Who is the Client? ............................................14 to deliver a message. Here’s the message: Psychoanalytic Studies. From the Editor ............................... Back Cover The teaching, learning, study, and practice of Despite my engagement in psychotherapy, psychological assessment can be personally however, psychological assessment repeatedly spa exchange Special Topics in Assessment Fitness for Duty Evaluations Alan Schwartz, PsyD Christiana Care Health System, Wilmington, Delaware Section Associate Editor In the realm of assessment interventions, the population being assessed. This is most Mark Waugh’s article, “Nuts and Bolts of the psychological fitness for duty evaluation is one notable in fitness for duty evaluations Fitness for Duty Psychological Evaluations,” in which many of the familiar benchmarks involving law enforcement personnel (Rostow provides a concise and excellent primer present in clinical assessments are often & Davis, 2004) in which knowledge of sub- on some of the crucial conceptual aspects elusive, demanding us as professionals population norms and understanding the of these assessments, particularly for to throw light into a shadowy corner. culture of law enforcement are crucial to clinicians who are considering forays The nature of successful work. into this area. David York’s contribution confidentiality, presents some cautionary elements around a In some ways, the increased involvement of the clarity of the case presentation in which the importance of psychologists in determining an individual’s referral question, constructing and adhering to the assessment suitability for work harkens back to the the importance frame is highlighted. Together, these articles historical roots of assessment. Throughout of role-definition capture some of the nuances of the fitness several millennia of China’s history, (e.g. who is the for duty evaluation as well as the conceptual government employees were put through client) as well and practical tools required when thinking their paces to establish their fitness (DuBois, a s l e g a l a n d about them. 1966). In more recent history, the growth p r o f e s s i o n a l of assessment techniques in the early 20th boundaries all Century—such as the development of the require careful References group Army Alpha and Army Beta tests— f o r e t h o u g h t Anastasi, A. (1988). Psychological testing. New York: grew out of the need to classify World War when we are Macmillan Publishing. I soldiers as to their differential abilities to asked to determine if the subject before DuBois, P. H. (1966). A test-dominated society: China perform specialized functions within the 1115 B.C. – 1905 A.D. In A. Anastasi (Ed.) Testing prob- us is psychologically able to perform the armed services. lems in perspective (pp. 29-36). Washington, DC: Ameri- functions of their job. Over the last two can Council on Education. decades, fitness for duty evaluations have This issue’s Special Assessment section Rostow, C. D. and Davis, R. D. (2004). A handbook for developed into a specialization requiring psychological fitness for duty evaluations in law enforce- focuses on the specialized nature of the ment. New York: Haworth Press. knowledge beyond mastery of clinical psychological fitness for duty evaluation psychological assessment, also including with articles by two clinicians engaged in this particular expertise in the vocational demanding and interesting assessment work. Getting Students Interested in Psychological Assessment: Strategies for Early Intervention John Kurtz, PhD As a new member of the editorial board, this mental health and professional psychology. that their feelings about research may change is the first of a regular series of columns I These conversations have been so numerous with more exposure to the joys of doing will write for the SPA Exchange.