The Clinical Consult

Dr. Morgan Sammons discusses prescribing psychology. Dr. Sammons provides a background on the history of health service psychologists prescribing psychotropic medications, an update on current training requirements, and insight on what the future of prescribing psychology might look like.

Drs. Heather Poupore-King and Mandy Conrad discuss the ways in which psychologists are involved in chronic pain treatment and considerations for how practitioners can improve care for these patients. Drs. Poupore-King and Conrad also provide information on Stanford University’s Pain Psychology Fellowship and the importance of education and training on chronic pain.

Dr. Kate Nooner—Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington—talks about the National Register’s Journal of Health Service Psychology. She discusses her role with JHSP and her vision for the mission and future of the journal.

Dr. Anka A. Vujanovic—Associate Professor and Director of the Trauma and Stress Studies Center at the University of Houston—discusses considerations for providing psychological services to firefighters. She discusses fire culture, mental health effects of firefighting, and treatment considerations for working with this population.

Dr. Ryan C. Warner—licensed clinical psychologist, Founder/CEO of RC Warner Consulting, and consultant specializing in inclusive culture development, leadership development, diversity training, and wellness enhancement—discusses the impact of microaggressions on the therapeutic relationship, clinical effectiveness, and strategies for preventing discrimination at work.

Dr. Yun Garrison—assistant professor in psychology at Bates College and an affiliated clinician at Psychology Specialists of Maine—discusses liberation psychology. She delves into the development of liberation psychology and how it serves clients and community members who experience oppression. Dr. Garrison also describes how liberation psychology can be incorporated into clinical practice, psychology literature, and community involvement.

Dr. Heidi Hutman—Assistant Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at Temple University in Philadelphia—discusses supervision and training in health service psychology, with an emphasis on multicultural competency and development. She highlights the importance of a strong supervisor-supervisee training relationship and how to have conversations that encourage trust and understanding in supervision settings.

David Drustrup—a PhD candidate in Counseling Psychology at the University of Iowa—discusses how white clinicians can address racism in clinical practice with white clients. He introduces a clinical process and model for identifying and addressing racism within the therapeutic context and what that can mean for training programs and broader impact on the profession.

Drs. Jeff Nepute and Sarah Tilzey—both of whom are at Colorado State University’s Health Network—discuss the changing presentation and landscape of mental health in university settings. They touch on some of the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and explain the approaches that the iTEAM (Intensive Treatment Education Assessment and Management) utilizes to help students struggling with complex mental health issues.

Dr. Beth Darnall—Director of the Stanford Pain Relief Innovations Lab—discusses psychology’s role in treating chronic pain. She addresses the multiple factors that play a role in chronic pain including biological, psychological, and social factors, and even history of traumatic experiences. She also addresses the use of opioids as part of a comprehensive, patient-centered treatment plan. Lastly, she discusses her compact training program in addressing chronic pain with patients and their families and how this could be integrated into training programs for psychologists.