A recent study provides insight into how obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) develops. Led by Claire Gillan and Trevor Robbins at the University of Cambridge and Sanne de Wit at the University of Amsterdam, the study suggests that compulsive behavior may not be a response to obsessive fears, but instead may be a precursor to those fears (American Journal of Psychiatry, July 2011). That is, compulsions such as repetitive hand-washing may lead to an obsessive fear of germs—rather than the other way around.

“It has long been established that humans have a tendency to ‘fill in the gaps’ when it comes to behavior that cannot otherwise be logically explained,” said Gillan in a recent issue of Cambridge’s Research News. “In the case of OCD, the overwhelming urge to senselessly repeat a behavior might be enough to instill a very real obsessive fear in order to explain it.”

The study, which involved 20 patients suffering from OCD and 20 control subjects, measured patients’ tendency to develop habit-like behavior. Participants were required to learn simple associations among stimuli, behaviors, and outcomes in order to win points on a task. The researchers found that patients suffering from OCD were much more likely to continue to respond with a learned behavior, even when that behavior did not produce the desired outcome; that is, they quickly formed habits, or irresistible urges, to perform a task. These behaviors, initiated and observed in a laboratory setting and in the absence of any related obsessions, suggest that the compulsions themselves may be the critical feature of OCD.

This finding seems to support the approach of exposure and response prevention (ERP) as a treatment for OCD. ERP is a therapy that challenges patients to discontinue compulsive responding and learn that the feared consequence does not occur. Proponents of ERP say that once the compulsion is stopped, the obsession tends to diminish or disappear.

What do you think? What therapies have you found most effective for your clients with OCD? PAR wants to hear from you, so leave a comment and join the conversation!

We are proud to announce the winners for our PARPOP and PARMATCH games. The games were part of the launch of the new PARiConnect platform, PAR’s innovative online testing Web site.

Anthony Donofrio from Ashland, Ohio earned the fastest score on PARPOP, which asks players to race against the clock to test sequential processing speed.

Tricia Cassel from Coral Gables, Florida took the top spot in PARMATCH, a memory game that asks users to match up the logos of various PAR assessments two at a time.

Both winners will receive 25 free administrations and reports on the new PARiConnect system. Congratulations!

Will you be attending the American Board of Vocational Experts 2013 Conference? If so, don’t miss the presentation given by James A. Athanasou, PhD, MAPS, entitled “The Use of the Earning Capacity Assessment Form™-2 in a Medico-Legal Setting: An Australian Experience” on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at 3 p.m.

The American Board of Vocational Experts 2013 Conference will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona from April 12-14, 2013. For more information on the Earning Capacity Assessment Form-2^nd Edition, visit its product page to learn more, read a review of the product, or view a PowerPoint presentation.

We are delighted to introduce you to PARiConnect, an online assessment platform that gives you access to your favorite PAR instruments through the convenience of a secure, easy-to-use Web site.

PARiConnect is an intuitive system that allows you to focus on what is most important to you—whether that means scoring your favorite PAR assessments quickly and easily, administering instruments through our secure online system, or allowing our powerful interpretive logic help formulate your treatment plans. Whether you are a researcher looking for a quick way to score paper-and-pencil administrations, a clinician in need of immediate interpretation, or a school psychologist wanting to use e-mail to send assessments, PARiConnect is a highly individualized and customizable interface that brings your work to you, wherever you are.

We are so proud of the PARiConnect system that we would like to offer you three free assessments and three free reports so you can try it without risk. Register today and experience PARiConnect yourself.

Visit www.pariconnect.com to learn more or call 1.855.856.4266 to register.

PAR’s Customers clearly understand what “Creating Connections and Changing Lives” means—our 2012 “Capture the Connection” photography contest solicited 178 entries! Narrowing our choices to just three was a difficult task conducted by two professional photographers and our in-house marketing team.

The efforts and talent of all those who entered are greatly appreciated. The full gallery is available at http://www.parinc.com/capture/Gallery.aspx.

And now, on to our winners!

First Place
Aloha C. Romay, MS
Clinical Psychology
Paducah, KY

When I think of the word "Connection," I think of Family. Everything that we are and we will be begins at home. This photo to me describes how, even before we are born, we create a bond with those around us, those who love us unconditionally. A life that is about to begin has already changed the lives of those who have already started one.

Thank you PAR, Inc. for not only providing us therapists with the tools and resources we need to do our jobs more efficiently, but also for the amazing opportunity to be a part of this contest. For the latter one, I feel very grateful.

Second Place
Bonnie Voegeli, PsyD
School Psychologist
Brookfield, CT

My sons had spent an afternoon last summer playing in the sprinkler and on their swing set. In an effort to get all three kids into one picture, I spontaneously hung my youngest from the chains and had each brother grab him around the waist. They were so surprised and they stayed this way just long enough for me to capture this shot.

As I considered the theme of “Creating Connections, Changing Lives” this photo instantly came to mind, for the obvious reason of my youngest connecting to his two older brothers. Beyond that, however, is the life-changing connection that occurs from growing up with siblings. The bonds that are formed from simple joys such as a sprinkler, a swing set, and a warm summer day are as life-changing as you can get!

When PAR called to tell me that my photo had won second place, it was three days after my hometown of Newtown, CT had been devastated by the horrific school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Needless to say, our community is heartbroken over the loss of our town’s babies, teachers, administrator, and a fellow school psychologist. The news from PAR was such a welcomed surprise, and I told PAR that it was the first time I had smiled in three days. Thank you, PAR!

Third Place
Terri Sisson
School Psychologist
Madison County, VA

My name is Terri Sisson and I’m the one-and-only school psychologist in my small hometown, Madison County, Virginia. I love taking photos… and the photo session in Virginia Beach was no exception! This picture is one of my favorites because it is truly about “creating connections, changing lives.” Every year, my family goes camping in Virginia Beach with several families from our community. We spend lots of time at the beach, riding bikes, and bonding around the campfire. We are truly making connections and creating memories that I hope our children will cherish for a lifetime. I cannot express my excitement over the fact that my photo won the third-place prize. I am so happy that the judges saw the potential in a photo that is so near and dear to my heart. Thank you to PAR for this opportunity… What a wonderful Christmas present!

According to the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, one in five adults in the United States suffered from a mental illness in 2011. This federal government report defined mental illness as a person having a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder, and included more than 65,000 Americans aged 12 and above.

The rate of mental illness was found to be twice as likely in the 18-to-25-year-old age group, close to 30 percent, than it is in those age 50 and above (about 14 percent). Furthermore, women were more likely to have suffered a mental illness than men (about 23 percent versus 16 percent).

Of the 45.6 million people with a mental illness, about 11.5 million reported a serious mental illness, about 5 percent of the adult population. About 38 percent of adults with a mental illness in 2011 received treatment during the year – and about 60 percent of those with a serious mental illness sought help during that time.

Youth also were studied, and it was found that 2 million adolescents between age 12 and 17 had a major depressive episode in 2011, about 8 percent of the population. Young people who had a major depressive epsidoe were more than twice as likely to use illicit drugs than those who did not (36 percent versus 17 percent).

Rates of mental illness remained stable from the prior year.

PAR is pleased to announce the release of the Standardized Assessment of Miranda Abilities™ (SAMA™).The SAMA is designed to help forensic psychologists evaluate a defendant’s understanding of his or her Miranda rights.

Since the watershed decision of Miranda v. Arizona in 1966, the Supreme Court has continued to define what is legally required for Miranda warnings and waivers. Today, Miranda warnings are required to address five issues:

• the right to silence;


• the risk of waiving the right to silence;


• the right to counsel;


• the availability of counsel for indigent defendants; and


• the option to reassert these rights at any time.

In addition, any waiver of Miranda rights must be made voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently.

Developed by Richard Rogers, PhD, ABPP, one of the leading experts on Miranda law in the U.S, the SAMA includes five measures that assess vocabulary and comprehension of the wording typically used in Miranda warnings as well as the knowledge, beliefs, misconceptions, and reasoning skills that may affect an individual’s choice to exercise or waive his or her rights. Highly valid and reliable, the SAMA provides a clear picture of a defendant’s thinking in regard to Miranda decision-making.

To learn more about the SAMA or any of PAR’s other forensic/legal products, visit www.parinc.com or call 1.800.331.8378.

A new study suggests that people who hold positive attitudes about aging are 44% more likely to recover from a serious disability than those who view aging in a more negative way. The study, led by Becca R. Levy, PhD, director of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division at the Yale School of Public Health, is described in a research letter in the November 21 Journal of the American Medical Association.

Over a 10-year period, Levy and her colleagues studied a group of 598 individuals who participated in a health plan in greater New Haven, Connecticut. All participants were at least 70 years old and free of disability at the start of the study, and all experienced at least one month of disability from active daily life during the follow-up period.

To measure the participants’ attitudes about aging, researchers interviewed them monthly and asked them to complete written assessments every 18 months during the course of the study. In these assessments, participants were asked for five terms or phrases they associated with older people. Their words were rated on a 5-point scale, with 1 being most negative (e.g., decrepit) and 5 being most positive (e.g., spry).

Although the disabilities experienced by the participants varied, the study defined recovery based on the ability to perform four activities of daily living: bathing, dressing, moving from a chair, and walking. These abilities are associated with longer life expectancy and less frequent use of health care facilities.

“This result suggests that how the old view their aging process could have an effect on how they experience it,” said Levy in a November 26 news story on the Yale School of Public Health Web site. “In previous studies, we have found that older individuals with positive age stereotypes tend to show lower cardiovascular response to stress and they tend to engage in healthier activities, which may help to explain our current findings.”

This research suggests that the next step may be interventions that encourage older people to think about aging in a more positive light. According to the authors, “Further research is needed to determine whether interventions to promote positive age stereotypes could extend independent living in later life.”

Dance classes, which have long been seen as simply an extracurricular activity, may have an important influence on the mental health of teenage girls. According to a new study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, teenage girls who took dance lessons reported reductions in their stress levels and psychosomatic symptoms – and these results stayed consistent even 20 months later.

In a randomized trial, girls from age 13 to 18 years with internalizing problems were enrolled in an 8-month-long dance intervention. According to self-reports, 91 percent of the teens reported improvements in their health status and deemed the dance class a positive experience.

One hundred and twelve Swedish girls participated in the study. They all had a history of visits to the school nurse for psychosomatic symptoms (e.g., pain in the head, stomach, neck) or persistent negative affect or tiredness. Half the girls attended twice-weekly 75-minute-long dance classes; the control group was given free movie passes during periodic interviews. The girls’ health problems were not addressed during the dance class.

The teens were interviewed on topics of health, emotional distress, psychosomatic symptoms, negative affect, depression, sleep, and more. Those in the dance group saw reductions in self-reported stress at 8-month and 12-month follow ups compared to those in the control group. Most teens (i.e., 87 percent) also reported good or very good health at the 12-month follow-up. At the 20-month follow-up, the intervention group still reported reductions, well after their dance lessons had ended.

To read more about this study, visit the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Hallucinations, a new book by Oliver Sacks, MD, hit store shelves (and e-readers) this month, and—like many of his other books—it is sparking conversations not only in the scientific community but also more widely among the reading public.

Sacks is a clinical neurologist and professor at New York University School of Medicine. He is best known for his books that examine case studies from his own research and practice, including The Mind’s Eye, Musicophilia, Uncle Tungsten, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and Awakenings (which inspired the 1990 feature film starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams).

In this new book, Sacks asserts that, contrary to popular belief, hallucinations are not the sole purview of the mentally ill. In fact, they are surprisingly common among individuals with sensory deprivation (e.g., blindness) or medical conditions such as migraine, epilepsy, or Parkinson’s. Many healthy people experience hallucinations in the moments before sleep or upon waking, according to Sacks. Strong emotions associated with major life changes can trigger hallucinations, for example, when a bereaved spouse experiences a “visit” from his or her lost loved one. And of course, hallucinations can be a side effect of medication or intoxicants.

Hallucinations is a collection of fascinating stories, anecdotes, and case studies. Sacks describes a woman who hears not spoken voices, but music; a man who smells roast beef when he feels a migraine coming on; and a respected botanist who walks into his lab, only to see himself already at work. Drawing on history, art, religion, and popular culture, Sacks seeks to describe and better understand the experience of hallucination. As a clinician and researcher, he also delves into the biology of the brain and the neurological reasons behind many types of hallucinations.

With this book, Sacks hopes to ameliorate some of the stigma associated with hallucinations. In a recent interview with Slate magazine, he said, “I think there’s a common view, often shared by doctors, that hallucinations denote madness—especially if there’s any hearing of voices. I hope I can defuse or de-stigmatize this a bit. This can be felt very much by patients. There was a remarkable study of elderly people with impaired vision, and it turned out that many had elaborate hallucinations, but very few acknowledged anything until they found a doctor whom they trusted.”

In a 2009 TED Talk entitled “What Hallucination Reveals About Our Minds,” Sacks provides an introduction to his subject, along with some background on the work that led to his recent book. The 20-minute TED Talk is available free online, so take a look—and let us know what you think. PAR wants to hear from you, so leave a comment and join the conversation!