New support videos for LGBT college students on Youtube

The APAGS Committee on LGBT Concerns produces short Youtube videos on topics that frequently arise for graduate students related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender topics. Just last week, the committee debuted two new videos. Check them out below and visit the committee’s training video page for two others.

Seeking support as an LGBTQ student in college — Discusses how LGBTQ students can feel comfortable in college and find various sources of support on and off campus.

Navigating discrimination as an LGBTQ student in college  — Discusses stigmatization and discrimination that LGBTQ students might face on their college campuses, and offers different ways students can address them.

5 reasons I/O psychology graduate students should get involved in APAGS

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APAGS Committee – Fall Business Meeting 2013

1. We’re stronger together.

Like other divisions, APAGS consists of psychologists (or soon to be psychologists) who are concerned with improving the field of psychology.  However, unlike other divisions who have one or two student representatives, APAGS is full of representatives for students.  APAGS is recognized within APA as an important, valid voice and we can achieve more through our combined efforts than a single student representative within a division can individually.

2. The wheel has already been invented, so jump on board.

APAGS has been established as part of APA, the premier national psychological association with relationships and connections to media outlets and government entities. Utilizing an already visible organization such as APAGS to address issues and concerns is easier and more effective than creating new networks and connections.

3. Network tMC910216362[1]o get work.

Getting involved in APAGS governance provides the opportunity to interact with important and, in some cases, famous psychologists. Becoming personally acquainted with some of the most notable psychologists of our day can only help your career by providing mentorship, pointing towards job opportunities and supplying you with impressive recommendations.

3. Want an edge? Get a broad view.

Participating in APAGS exposes you to other areas of psychology besides I/O. Understanding other issues in the general field of psychology gives you a more comprehensive view of the field as a whole. Broader involvement provides access to developments and innovations that may be directly applicable to your area of interest, giving you an edge when it comes to advancements in the field and might even inspire you to be innovative yourself.

5. APA is an organization too.Office

Just because APAGS is full of psychologists doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. Solutions to systemic and organizational problems are still needed and I/O psychologists are highly qualified to deal with these problems. By getting involved with APAGS, I/O psychology students can get hands on experience with systemic work, making changes in large organizations and, at the same time, improve the field of psychology.

Free Videos on Demand: Report Writing, Primary Care Practice

New from APA’s Education Directorate — two free training videos for students, one on report writing and the other on primary care practice. These videos will be particularly relevant to trainees in clinical, counseling, and school psychology programs:

  1. Psychological Report Writing: Resources, Research, and Strategies. This video introduces the challenges, problems, research, and resources associated with report writing. The primary focus is on six core principles of an optimal report. Each of the principles are accompanied by clear, specific strategies on how they can be achieved along with case and report examples. Presenter: Gary Groth-Marnat, Ph.D., ABPP, ABAP.
  2. Competencies for Psychological Practice in Primary Care. This video familiarizes viewers with the recently developed Competencies for Psychological Practice in Primary Care along with examples of how these competencies are demonstrated in the primary care setting.  The workshop concludes the benefits and opportunities to advance primary care psychology practice through the use and dissemination of thee competencies. Presenters:  Barbara Ann Cubic, Ph.D., Christopher Hunter, Ph.D., Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., and Nancy Ruddy, Ph.D.

To view these videos, click the links above, add them to your cart, and then proceed to create an account. Once registered, you will see the videos in your “Available Products” under “My Dashboard.”

If you watch one of these videos, let us know what you think in the comments! We just might reward one lucky commenter with an  APAGS internship workbook or APA spiral-bound style guide.

Will you take the Internship Pledge?

APAGS is committed to ending the internship crisis, and we need your help. We ask that you sign this pledge and add your name to the chorus of supporters that want to see high quality internships for doctoral students in clinical, counseling, and school psychology. For a full list of ways that you can make a difference — whether you are a graduate student or psychologist — please go to http://on.apa.org/internshipcrisis.

I will stay informed about the internship crisis for psychology doctoral trainees.
I will help educate others about the internship crisis and potential solutions.
I will advocate for high quality graduate training opportunities.
I will take steps in my power to help end the internship crisis on a local level.

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Improving Life for People with Schizophrenia Using my APAGS Grant

Imagine you had a hard time learning from a behavior that brought rewards. This very dilemma is a reality for people with schizophrenia.

If you know something about Skinner’s contributions to reinforcement learning, you know that human behavior is shaped by outcomes. Quite simply, behaviors that result in positive outcomes (rewards) should increase in frequency over time, while behaviors that result in negative outcomes (punishments) should decrease over time.  But imagine for a second that you had a hard time learning from a behavior that brought rewards. Would you be more likely to engage in that behavior in the future?

This very dilemma is a reality for people with schizophrenia. Such individuals have difficulty learning from behaviors that result in rewarding outcomes and in turn, engage less in those types of behavior. Decreased social engagement is the most common manifestation of motivational impairment in people with schizophrenia and a leading cause of disability in this illness — even though the mechanisms underlying this problem remain unclear.

Through the generosity of APAGS’s Basic Psychological Science Research Grant [next deadline: 12/3/14], participants in my study will use a novel social reinforcement-learning paradigm to interact with virtual players. To investigate learning, virtual player behavior will be designed to result in either positive (rewarding) or negative (punishing) social outcomes.

My proposed research seeks to investigate the following questions:

  • How do people with and without schizophrenia learn from social interactions with positive and negative outcomes?
  • Can utilizing a social partner’s emotional display facilitate learning from social interactions?

Hopefully, results will increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying decreased social engagement among people with schizophrenia. My goal is improve the quality of life and social well-being of people with schizophrenia through tested interventions. Given that motivation is also a prominent feature in depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety, these findings may also shed light on potential targets for a transdiagnostic approach to treatment.

Tim Campellone picFor more information on this project, please feel free to contact me at tcampellone@berkeley.edu or visit our lab website.

Editors note: This post was written by Basic Psychological Science Research Grant winner Tim Campellone, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at University of California, Berkeley.