The Personality Assessment Inventory™ (PAI®) has earned its reputation as one of the most important innovations in personality assessment. Its 22 nonoverlapping scales cover the constructs most relevant to a broad-based assessment of mental disorders. Now with the introduction of the PAI Plus, there are even more ways to interpret PAI data.

A recorded webinar from presenters Kevin Lauer, PhD, and Sierra Iwanicki, PhD, is now available on the PAR Training Portal. It covers topics such as:

• The development, theoretical framework, and structure of the PAI 
• An overview of the PAI product family, including the updates made in the PAI Plus
• Available PAI resources

Visit partrainingportal.com to view it today!

Join us for a live Webinar on Wednesday, November 15 from noon to 1 p.m. ET to discover the features and benefits of our online assessment tool.

The information presented is useful whether you’ve recently signed up for PARiConnect or if you’re just curious and want to learn more.

Whether you’re in private practice or part of a large organization, this interactive session will help you learn how to use PARiConnect to simplify your assessment process.

During this Webinar, you will:

• See a real-time demonstration of PARiConnect, including viewing the online assessment process from start to finish.
• Learn about the flexibility of the system, in particular the different administration options available (e.g., e-mail,  onscreen, and manual data entry).
• Find out how to manage large numbers of accounts, clinicians, and clients.
• Observe how to import and export data in large batches.

Get information on capturing the current status of inventory and reallocating uses.

Register now! Don’t miss this month’s informative Webinar.

1. PARiConnect streamlines the assessment process. Assess clients when and where you wish—on-screen in your office, remotely via Internet, or by entering responses from paper-and-pencil administrations.


2. PARiConnect saves time. Instant scoring and reporting means you get immediate feedback, enabling you to spend more time with your clients and less time waiting for results.


3. PARiConnect improves accuracy. Built-in verification tools help you confirm the accuracy of data entry, so simple mistakes won’t cost you valuable interpretation time.


4. PARiConnect protects your data. Designed with HIPAA compliance in mind, you can be sure your data are secure, safe, and protected.


5. PARiConnect offers 3 FREE assessments and reports for the instruments of your choice! Register for PARiConnect today to take advantage of all this innovative online assessment platform has to offer!

Join us on Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 12 to 1 p.m. ET. Register now, space is limited!

Join us for a free Webinar on how to make PARiConnect work for you! Whether you are new to this innovative, online assessment platform and curious as to how it can help your assessment process or if you are a current user who wants to learn more, there is something for everyone!

• New users will learn how to import client information, assess clients when and where you wish, and generate score and interpretive reports.


• Experienced users can deepen their understanding of the platform, learning how to manage inventory, reallocate uses for large multi-user accounts, and organize client groups.


• All attendees will be able to submit questions and comments throughout the Webinar so their particular concerns can be addressed.

In less than an hour, you will learn how PARiConnect streamlines the assessment process, whether you are a single practitioner in private practice or a large institution with varied assessment needs. Join us on Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 12 to 1 p.m. ET. Register now, space is limited!

In April 2013, President Obama announced the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative. During the speech, he said, “We have a chance to improve the lives of not just millions, but billions of people on this planet through the research that's done in this BRAIN Initiative alone.”

The BRAIN Initiative’s purpose is to help researchers better understand brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, depression, and traumatic brain injury. It will allow researchers to produce dynamic pictures of how the brain records, processes, uses, stores, and retrieves vast quantities of information and shed light on the complex links between brain function and behavior.

According to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins, “The human brain is the most complicated biological structure in the known universe. We’ve only just scratched the surface in understanding how it works—or, unfortunately, doesn’t quite work when disorders and disease occur… This is just the beginning of a 12-year journey, and we’re excited to be starting the ride.”

Many technology firms, academic institutions, and scientists, such as the NIH, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Science Foundation (NSF), have committed to advancing this initiative. The NSF has partnered with NBC Learn to produce a video series entitled “Mysteries of the Brain,” which draws on research conducted through the White House for the BRAIN Initiative. The series will discuss how the brain develops, controls emotions, and creates memories.

This eight-part video series will include the following segments:

• Searching for Answers—Discusses how new research has begun to decipher the unsolved mysteries of the brain.


• Thinking Brain—Discusses how the brain can store and process large amounts of information.


• Evolving Brain—Discusses how the basic movements of a tiny fish can teach us big ideas about how the brain's circuitry works.


• Emotional Brain—Discusses using a virtual reality room to study how the brain reacts to positive and negative emotions.


• Brain States and Consciousness—Discusses the study of a fruit fly to understand how the brain's cells communicate to control sleep patterns.


• Building a Brain—Discusses how the brains of tadpoles help us understand how neural circuits develop and absorb information from the surrounding environment.


• Perceiving Brain—Discusses how functional magnetic resonance imaging allows researchers to view the brain and determine how it distinguishes important information from every day scenes.


• Brain-Computer Interface—Discusses how devices can monitor and extract brain activity to enable a machine or computer to accomplish tasks, from playing video games to controlling a prosthetic arm.

The "Mysteries of the Brain" series is available for free viewing at NBCLearn, Science360, and the White House Blog. The National Science Teachers Association is developing lesson plans for middle and high school students, which will be available later this summer.

Did you watch the series? If so, what did you think? PAR wants to hear from you, so leave a comment and join the conversation!

http://youtu.be/8Kn2LXJDxik

Make 2015 the year you try PARiConnect.

PARiConnect is an online tool that allows you to easily administer, score, and obtain interpretations for more than 50 of your favorite PAR instruments.

PARiConnect broadens your administration and reporting options by allowing you to choose when, where, and how to get the results you need—with no new hardware or additional equipment required. Easy to use, flexible, and secure, PARiConnect will change the way you practice.

Plus, PARiConnect has new features to make online assessment even easier. Manage large numbers of accounts, clinicians, and clients; import and export data in large batches; and capture the current status of inventory and reallocate uses.

We will even teach you how to use it!

Register now for a free, live Webinar that will help you become better acquainted with this dynamic assessment platform.

Join our Webinar on Thursday, January 29 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET or 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET. Space is limited. Register today!

Want to learn more about the Academic Achievement Battery™ (AAB™)Screening Form? PAR's Training Portal now offers a  free course on this new product. Whether you have already purchased the AAB Screening Form and want to learn more about this instrument or are looking for more information to help make your purchase decision, this training course will give you a quick overview of the product, explain what makes it unique, and give you insight into how it was developed.

To access the Training Portal, use your parinc.com username and password to log in. Don’t have a free account? Register now. Training courses are also available on the Vocabulary Assessment Scales™ (VAS™), the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™), and the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™). Training on the AAB Comprehensive Form will be available shortly, with more presentations coming in 2015.

 

We are proud to announce the release of PAR’s free Training Portal. The Training Portal is a versatile resource: it’s a great way to get acquainted with a product before purchasing or to learn more about an assessment tool you already use. Each online training session provides an overview of a specific instrument, a description of how it was developed, an explanation of how it’s scored, sample items, and normative and clinical data. Designed with your valuable time in mind, each interactive video lasts approximately 20-60 minutes.

Training is currently available on the Vocabulary Assessment Scales™ (VAS™), the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™), and the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™). Trainings on the Academic Achievement Battery™ (AAB™) Screening Form and the AAB Comprehensive Form will be available shortly, with more presentations to be added in 2015.

To access the Training Portal, use your parinc.com username and password to log in. Don’t have a free account? Register now.

 

Beginning on September 14, PAR author Lisa Firestone, PhD, will be offering a six-week online eCourse entitled, “Overcome Your Inner Critic: How to Free Yourself from Imagined Limitations.”

Dr. Firestone explains, “Each of us has an ‘inner critic’ judging our every action and instructing us on how to live our lives. But how much are we letting this inner critic control us? Are our actions based on what we really feel and believe, or are we living our lives based on our inner critic’s negative programing? Learning to effectively overcome our ‘critical inner voice’ is central to all areas of life: personal development, healthy relationships, self-esteem, and career success.”

In the course, participants will learn about ways to counter self-critical thoughts, develop a healthy outlook, and focus on positive goals.

For an interesting visual introduction to the topic, be sure to check out Dr. Firestone's whiteboard animation, “The Critical Inner Voice.” For more information about the eCourse and how to sign up, visit the PsychAlive eCourses Web site.

Dr. Firestone is the Director of Research and Education at The Glendon Association and author of the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts™ and the Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent™ (FAST™-FASI™) and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts™ (FAVT™). 

 

A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but sometimes a Webinar is better. Join us on Wednesday, February 26th at 12 PM EST for Introduction to the Vocabulary Assessment Scales, a one-hour Webinar presented by Senior Clinical Assessment Consultant Julie Alexander, PhD, NCSP. Delve into the details about this innovative new measure and learn how the Vocabulary Assessment Scales−Expressive (VAS−E) and Vocabulary Assessment Scales−Receptive (VAS−R) can help you measure vocabulary throughout the lifespan using full-color photographs. Realistic photographs are easily discernible and more ecologically valid than line drawings—giving your students and clients every opportunity to show you what they know.

Register now for this insightful Webinar. Space is limited!

Unable to attend the Webinar, but interested in learning more about the VAS−E and VAS−R? Watch an interview with author Rebecca Gerhardstein Nader, PhD.