The Role of Psychologists in Healthcare During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted individuals, communities, and whole populations. Experts across many different fields contributed their time and efforts in different ways to respond to the pandemic. Psychologists working in healthcare provided support and led many initiatives, both regionally and nationally. However, it is unknown how this has differed across Europe and its full range of activities and contributions. Aim: The current study is a survey of European member associations of EFPA, carried out to understand the current contributions and the impact those psychology contributions have had on the COVID-19 pandemic response, to share lessons learned, and to propose a roadmap for the future. Results: Overall, our study highlights how psychological expertise was integrated into many countries’ policy/decision-making, action-planning, caregiving, and the promotion of health and well-being to health professionals and the general public. Even in places where psychologists were not directly integrated into governmental systems, they played an important role in responding to this pandemic by providing their services and empirical knowledge. Discussion: Many psychologists possess the skills and tools to adapt their practice to the digital provision of services and to provide a continuity of care during the pandemic. Research carried out by psychologists has contributed important and new knowledge on pandemic effects, consequences, and interventions; yet, more research financial support is needed. We make recommendations for augmenting psychologists’ contributions in the future. In a global health crisis, where the main possible treatment is a preventive approach concentrated on sustainable behavior change, psychologists should be included every step of the way – they can make a difference.

The expediency of questioning of a child in court during the determination of place of residence

The modern theory of psychology and the practice of forensic psychological expertise, in cases related to child upbringing and living arrangement disputes, allows to confidently claim that the questioning of a child under the age of 14 in court is always a stressful situation for him/her and an extremely inefficient procedure for obtaining information in order to establish an objective truth. Firstly, it is due to the age-based characteristics of children and their psyche development peculiarities, and secondly – to the external conditions, such as parents, pressure from the entourage, etc. Parents may knowingly or unknowingly involve a child in loyalty conflict, which negatively affects the child’s psychological state and prevents the court from drawing an objective conclusion on a true wish of a minor to reside with a particular parent. The aim of the article is the psychological substantiation of inexpediency of questioning of a child in court in order to determine his/her place of residence with father or mother after their divorce and during resolving the other controversial issues of child custody. When considering the issue of summoning a child, judges incessantly use the provision of article 171 of the Family Code of Ukraine – if a child is able to express his/her opinion, he/she must be heard. At the same time, judges often interpret this provision as a requirement to question a child directly during the court hearing. However, according to the author, this approach contradicts the European one and does not take into account that in order to prevent a negative impact on the child psychological state, obtaining his/her opinion should take place in the atmosphere of friendship, trust and understanding, by a person who was specially trained for this purpose. The article reveals the problem that it is difficult for the court to determine the authenticity of the child’s choice between parents, which is due to the lack of volitional regulation, the absence of developed ability to reflection and other age-based characteristics of a child. The author of the article reveals the concept of loyalty conflict (conflict of choice between parents) as the process of involvement of a child in parents’ conflicting relationship, and provides the examples of conscious or subconscious actions and statements of the child’s entourage that force him/her to make a choice between parents and to reject the «unwanted one» of them, which brings complicated psychological claims to a child, leads to his/her neuroticism and other psychological disorders. The possible reasons for the authentic («real») reluctance of a child to communicate with one of the parents had been outlined in the article. The necessity to involve a qualified specialist (expert-psychologist) in the process of obtaining the child’s opinion has been substantiated, in the form of questioning of a child in the «Green room» or ordering of a psychological expertise. Keywords:loyalty conflict, questioning of a child, parental alienation syndrome

The psychological impact of life-limiting conditions on the child

The children and families who speak in this chapter articulate concerns that are shared by many who are living with potentially life-shortening illnesses or conditions. They have all had to negotiate the changing, and often narrowing, of their world that the progressive losses that illness can bring and find ways to live with these changes and the ongoing uncertainty. The chapter explores how the availability of sensitive emotional support and psychological expertise throughout the course of the child’s and family`s journey can bring much comfort, ease suffering and distress, and even aspire to enable growth in the face of enormous challenge.

SCIENTIFIC AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE TEACHING OF THE DISCIPLINE "MEDICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION"

The discipline "Medical and psychological examination" was created in order to obtain more in-depth professional knowledge and competencies in such an applied field of clinical psychology as expert activity. Among the tasks solved by a clinical psychologist in health care, one of the main is his/her participation in various types of examinations. The purpose of this article is to highlight the features of the methodology of teaching a new discipline "Medical and psychological examination". To achieve this goal, the tasks were formed: to identify topical issues of this discipline, to establish and describe the content of competencies and expected results. Important tasks of studying medical and psychological examination are: mastering by students of practical skills and abilities used in medical and psychological examination; consolidation of skills of practical implementation of skills on preparation of the materials necessary for the substantiation of the description of the conclusion of medical and psychological examinations; the ability to draw up an expert opinion, following the rules of the sequence of registration. It is established that the subject "Medical and psychological examination" lays the foundations for students to study psychiatry, narcology and other clinical disciplines, and provides for the integration of teaching with these disciplines; provides the formation of skills to apply knowledge of medical and psychological expertise in the process of further training and professional activities; lays the foundations of a doctor's knowledge of the psychology of a sick person, prevention of mental disorders in the process of life and in various diseases, medical and psychological examination of patients. Based on theoretical analysis and practical developments, we were able to generalize and systematize approaches to studying the problem of teaching the discipline "Medical and psychological examination". It is established that at the present stage of the educational process of teaching the discipline "Medical and psychological examination" is a new, important and complex task that must be comprehensively solved and improved using different teaching methods.

Making Sense of Terrorist Violence and Building Psychological Expertise

This chapter is broadly concerned with the assessment of targeted violence, a term referring to instrumental and predatory violence, framed and justified by a shared ideology in the case of terrorists, or a more idiosyncratic belief system in the case of lone actors. It reviews some of the frameworks developed to identify threat before the crime and to assess the risk of extremist violence after the crime, and discusses the learning that has accrued from postdictive studies and ongoing empirical research, with the aim of synthesizing this learning and deepening the understanding of what drives these crimes. The roles of criminality and mental disorder are specifically discussed in relation to a possible triple pathway model for radicalization that clarifies the role of both in each pathway. The importance of theorization is stressed at this stage of current knowledge, with some suggestions for future research.