Disaster case management and individuals with disabilities.

Purpose: To examine the case management and disaster recovery needs of individuals with disabilities following Hurricane Katrina. The case managers and supervisors in this study provided case management to individuals with disabilities as part of the largest coordinated disaster case management program in U.S. history, the Katrina Aid Today consortium. This study provides an account of the disaster case management needs of individuals with disabilities as well as a picture of their long-term recovery process two years following the disaster. Design: Forty-two case managers and 12 case management supervisors from this program provided services to a collective caseload of 2,047 individuals with disabilities and their families. Interviews and telephone surveys were conducted with these participants 20–24 months after the disaster. The qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology, and descriptive statistics summarize the demographic data. Results: Findings suggest that the disaster recovery process is typically more complex and lengthy for individuals with disabilities and requires negotiation of a service system sometimes unprepared for disability-related needs. Barriers to disaster recovery for individuals with disabilities included a lack of accessible housing, transportation, and disaster services. Supports to disaster recovery included the individual effort and advocacy of a case manager, connecting with needed resources, collaboration with other agencies, and client motivation and persistence. Implications: Results suggest that disaster recovery is facilitated by case managers with disability expertise, including knowledge about the needs of individuals with disabilities and about disability-related services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Very little program-level research on psychology graduate research training environments (RTEs) exists despite the RTE being a program-level (vs. student-level) construct. In the current study, the authors investigated correlates of programs’ RTEs, including characteristics of the students, the faculty, and the programs themselves. Proportional stratified sampling of American Psychological Association-accredited PhD programs in clinical, counseling, and school psychology yielded data from 40 programs. Students and faculty in those programs completed Internet questionnaires, and additional faculty and program characteristics were coded. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that programs with positive student-rated RTEs had faculty who also viewed the RTE as positive and had satisfying faculty–student relations. These programs also had students with higher levels of research interest and stronger advisory alliances, yet within-program student differences in the RTE explained more variance in these student characteristics than did between-programs differences. This research supports the value of examining the RTE at both the student and program levels, and it suggests that training interventions ought to occur at both levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

The Special Section for Social Justice in Training of the journal for Training and Education in Professional Psychology adds to the growing social justice literature and offers advances in training. This article reflects on the main themes presented in the Special Section including the prevalent role of developmental perspectives, multiculturalism, implementation of learning through action, and organizational recommendations. Further, we highlight areas for additional consideration including the importance of examining values and assumptions of the profession, issues of power within training programs, the need to provide training in navigating and negotiating in systems, benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration, pragmatic and ethical issues in shifting to a social justice framework, and professional development needs of faculty and supervisors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Through a qualitative, critical incident research design, this study identified and defined critical incidents that cultivated a social justice orientation among counseling psychology doctoral students and professionals. Research questions included: (a) What incidents are critical in the development of a social justice orientation? (b) Of these incidents, which are most influential? (c) How do these incidents affect social justice orientation development? Thirty-six counseling psychology doctoral students and professionals, who demonstrated a commitment to social justice through scholarship and clinical practice, completed an online survey, which consisted of rank-order and open-ended items. Qualitative data were analyzed utilizing the constant comparative method. Analyses revealed five categories of critical incidents to which participants attributed their social justice orientation development. In addition, five themes were identified that categorized the ways in which critical incidents changed individuals. Analyses of rank-ordered items indicated that the categories of Exposure to Injustice and Influence of Significant Persons were most frequently ranked as the most influential critical incidents in the development of a social justice orientation. Implications of these results and future directions for education, training, and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Calls from the psychological literature have highlighted a need for the integration of social justice training in both didactic and fieldwork practicum experiences in professional psychology. This article presents concrete strategies for practicum instructors and applied fieldwork training site staff to integrate social justice work into practicum experiences. The authors review current scholarship on social justice training, identify foundational principles of social justice and recommendations for teaching social justice in applied training facilities, and apply these principles and recommendations to practicum experiences. Learning activities and evaluation methods are identified and presented, and recommendations for integration of these methods for teaching psychology trainees are underscored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

This article addresses the challenge in the predoctoral education of professional psychologists of providing practicum training experiences with a strong social justice focus while also ensuring that students are acquiring the full range of foundational competencies expected of practicing psychologists. The theory-based distinction between interactional, procedural, and distributive justice will be discussed as a framework for considering a developmental progression in practicum training, moving from individually focused skills to more advanced competencies emphasizing social/institutional change. The article concludes with aspirational recommendations for any academic program seriously committed to the pursuit of social justice as part of its training mission. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)