Utility of the Rorschach in psychological assessments for diocesan and religious candidates.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 278-301
Author(s):  
Gerard J. McGlone ◽  
Donald J. Viglione
Author(s):  
Heather Churchill ◽  
Jeremy M. Ridenour

Abstract. Assessing change during long-term psychotherapy can be a challenging and uncertain task. Psychological assessments can be a valuable tool and can offer a perspective from outside the therapy dyad, independent of the powerful and distorting influences of transference and countertransference. Subtle structural changes that may not yet have manifested behaviorally can also be assessed. However, it can be difficult to find a balance between a rigorous, systematic approach to data, while also allowing for the richness of the patient’s internal world to emerge. In this article, the authors discuss a primarily qualitative approach to the data and demonstrate the ways in which this kind of approach can deepen the understanding of the more subtle or complex changes a particular patient is undergoing while in treatment, as well as provide more detail about the nature of an individual’s internal world. The authors also outline several developmental frameworks that focus on the ways a patient constructs their reality and can guide the interpretation of qualitative data. The authors then analyze testing data from a patient in long-term psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy in order to demonstrate an approach to data analysis and to show an example of how change can unfold over long-term treatments.


Author(s):  
Irena Boskovic ◽  
Thomas Merten ◽  
Harald Merckelbach

AbstractSome self-report symptom validity tests, such as the Self-Report Symptom Inventory (SRSI), rely on a detection strategy that uses bizarre, extreme, or very rare symptoms. Thus, items are constructed to invite respondents with an invalid response style to affirm pseudosymptoms that are usually not experienced by genuine patients. However, these pseudosymptoms should not be easily recognizable, because otherwise sophisticated over-reporters could strategically avoid them and go undetected. Therefore, we tested how well future psychology professionals were able to differentiate between genuine complaints and pseudosymptoms in terms of their plausibility and prevalence.Psychology students (N = 87) received the items of the SRSI online and were given the task to rate each item as to its plausibility and prevalence in the community.Students evaluated genuine symptoms as significantly more plausible and more prevalent than pseudosymptoms. However, 56% of students rated pseudosymptoms as moderately plausible, whereas 17% rated them as moderately prevalent in the general public.Overall, it appears that psychology students are successful in distinguishing bizarre, unusual, or rare symptoms from genuine complaints. Yet, the majority of students still attributed relatively high prima facie plausibility to pseudosymptoms. We contend that if such a trusting attitude is true for psychology students, it may also be the case for young psychology practitioners, which, consequently, may diminish the probability of employing self-report validity measures in psychological assessments.


Author(s):  
Gemma Chawke ◽  
Patrick Randall ◽  
Simon C. Duff

Pre-sentence psychological assessments of men who have sexually offended can provide useful information regarding an individual’s pathway to offending, risk of recidivism, and treatment needs. The outcome of the assessment can be used in court and has implications for the assessee and society at large. This research sought to explore offenders’ opinions regarding the clinicians’ approach to the assessment, to identify facilitative aspects of the clinicians’ style and to understand how accuracy and honesty can be enhanced in these interactions. Six interviews were conducted with sex offenders on completion of a pre-sentence forensic assessment at a private practice. Applying Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the findings highlighted the relational nature of the assessments, the assessees’ feelings of powerlessness, and their perceptions that the interaction helped them personally. The findings and approach advocated for by the assessees are discussed in terms of the associated ethical considerations and practice implications.


2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley L. Brodsky ◽  
Allyson D. Bennett

Concerns about mentally retarded individuals in the justice system have been addressed in research and in recent appellate rulings. Research studies have reported cognitive deficits in decision-making, planning, and rational understanding, as well as, social impairments, limitations in language abilities, and susceptibility to acquiescence and suggestibility. For suspects functioning in the intellectual and adaptive category of mental retardation, a voluntary, knowing, and intelligent waiver of Miranda rights becomes uncertain. The validity of confessions during police interrogations by mentally retarded persons should routinely be questioned. False confessions elicited by leading questions and interrogative pressure can have adverse consequences. No specific legal or clinical guidelines presently exist regarding the assessment of competence to waive Miranda rights in retarded citizens. The present paper explores psychological issues and proposes three domains and five forensic-clinical recommendations in the evaluation of competence to waive Miranda rights in mentally retarded individuals.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Tenali. Rajini ◽  
Dr. Podaralla. Ramakrishna

The etiology of Gender Dysphoria case is explored through the case history of a male adult with depressive features. Elicited Psychological ramifications. Emotional turmoil and cultural obligations are also highlighted. Standardardized Psychological Assessments were administered and interpreted accordingly.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000313482110385
Author(s):  
Gratiana O. Alqadi ◽  
Amulya K. Saxena

Aim This study aimed to review the literature with regard to the psychological aspects in patients with pectus excavatum (PE) and pectus carinatum (PC). Methods The literature was reviewed by analyzing articles on PubMed using the search terms “psychology” and “pectus.” Results The literature search revealed 22 articles that offered a total of 2214 patients for analysis. Regarding chest wall deformities (CWD), there were 15 articles referring to PE, 4 articles on PC, and 3 pertaining to both PE and PC. Authors used various types of questionnaires and 14 studies which also included a parent questionnaire. There are 14 reports which analyzed both the preoperative and postoperative psychological status and 4 reports in which a control group was used. Treatment of CWD was shown to have consistently positive results. There is no consensus regarding the correlation between severity of CWD and psychological issues. Only 2 studies found no statistically significant results after treatment. Conclusions The literature reveals a great concern for psychosocial issues in CWD patients. Most articles describe improvement in overall quality of life (QOL) after surgery. An increase in social and physical function, body image, and self-esteem was observed in CWD patients, which is supported by parent responses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-11
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Murano ◽  
Jenny Slatman ◽  
Kristin Zeiler

This article examines how people who are shorter than average make sense of their lived experience of embodiment. It offers a sociophenomenological analysis of 10 semistructured interviews conducted in the Netherlands, focusing on if, how, and why height matters to them. It draws theoretically on phenomenological discussions of lived and objective space, intercorporeality and norms about bodies. The analysis shows that height as a lived phenomenon (1) is active engagement in space, (2) coshapes habituated ways of behaving and (3) is shaped by gendered norms and beliefs about height. Based on this analysis, the article challenges what we label as the ‘problem-oriented approach’ to discussions about growth hormone treatment for children with idiopathic short stature. In this approach, possible psychosocial disadvantages or problems of short stature and quantifiable height become central to the ethical evaluation of growth hormone treatment at the expense of first-hand lived experiences of short stature and height as a lived phenomenon. Based on our sociophenomenological analysis, this paper argues that the rationale for giving growth hormone treatment should combine medical and psychological assessments with investigations of lived experiences of the child. Such an approach would allow considerations not only of possible risks or disadvantages of short stature but also of the actual ways in which the child makes sense of her or his height.


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