Related Posts

• Opportunity in assessment: Benefits of therapeutic assessment

  

  This week’s blog was contributed by Sierra Iwanicki, PhD. Sierra is a clinical psychologist and project director in the research and development department at PAR.  In the mid-20th century, humanistic psychology emerged in direct response to perceived limitations of psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Contrary to those earlier theories, humanism focused on the individual as a whole person, with the cardinal belief that perceived experiences fundamentally shaped us as human beings. In the 1940s and 1950s, clinicians began to encourage the collaborative use of projective instruments (e.g., drawings, Rorschach, TAT) to develop insight with clients.  A few decades later, clinicians began to write about the use of psychological assessment within a humanistic frame. Ray A. Craddick criticized the approach of treating a “person primarily as a series of building blocks of traits, factors, habits, etc. [calling] the separation of man into parts…antithetical to both the humanistic tradition and to personality assessment.” Drawing from a phenomenological perspective, researchers like Constance Fischer first wrote about the “testee as a co-evaluator,” and later articulated a model of collaborative, individualized psychological assessment. In subsequent years, clinicians continued ...

• APA takes on workplace stress

  

  The changing landscape of workplaces has drawn heightened attention to the needs and expectations of employees nationwide regarding the issues of work–life balance and mental health support.  The recent survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) sheds light on the prevalence of toxic workplaces and their detrimental impact on mental health. Of the data coming out of this survey, most startling was the revelation that 19% of workers reported their workplace as somewhat or very toxic. Even more alarming, those in such environments are three times more likely to suffer mental health harm at work than those individuals who are in nontoxic settings.  This blog discusses the importance of these findings, what employers can do in light of this data, and the role mental health providers can play in supporting individuals facing toxic work situations. Understanding the impact of a toxic work environment  The APA survey brought to light the destructive toll a workplace can have on an individual’s mental well-being.  According to the survey, more than one in five workers revealed they've suffered mental health harm at work. Even worse, reported cases of ...

• New Assessment Tool for Forensic Psychologists Measures Understanding of Miranda Rights

  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 ...

• 2020: An Assessment Round Up!

  

  Many adjectives can be used to describe 2020, but for those of us at PAR, the word busy is one that comes to mind! In case you missed any, look back on some of the innovative products that PAR released this year. BRIEF2 ADHD Form: Use BRIEF2 scores to predict likelihood of ADHD. ChecKIT: A library of popular mental health checklists that allows users to mix-and-match their inventory as needed. Identi-Fi: Measure visual organizational ability. Feifer Assessment of Mathematics (FAM) Interpretive Report on PARiConnect: A new report that provides scores for all 19 subtests and includes detailed interpretations. Feifer Assessment of Writing (FAW) with scoring on PARiConnect: Examine the underlying processes that support written language skills. Scoring available on PARiConnect. Older Adult Cognitive Screener (OACS): Screen for neurocognitive impairment. PAI Plus: Interpret PAI data in a new way; available on PARiConnect. Pandemic Anxiety Screener for Students–12 (PASS-12): Assess the impact of a pandemic on a student’s everyday functioning. Spanish Forms: Serve your clients with Spanish forms for the NEO-FFI-3 Form S Adult Item Booklet, the NEO-PI-3 Reusable Form S Item Booklet, and the NEO-PI-3 Hand-Scorable Answer Sheet, the PAI-A Hand-Scorable Answer Sheet, the PAI-A Softcover ...

• Join PAR at the NASP Virtual Convention

  

  Although NASP 2021 will not be in person this year, there are still so many opportunities to connect, learn more about your favorite PAR products and authors, and interact with PAR staff members. Join us during one of the following sessions:   LIVE session! Attendees will receive NASP CPD credit Wednesday, February 24, 1:30–2:30 p.m. Teleassessment With Children: Strategies for Success Presented by Carrie A. Champ Morera, PsyD, NCSP, LP; Terri D. Sisson, EdS; and Dan Lee, BS   On-demand sessions! Attendees can claim CPD self-study credit A Process Oriented Approach for Identifying and Remediating Reading Disabilities Presented by Steven G. Feifer, DEd, and Jack A. Naglieri, PhD The Neuropsychology of Written Language Disorders Presented by Steven G. Feifer, DEd, author of the FAR, FAM, and FAW Identifying Students with ADHD: Evidence-Based Assessment with the BRIEF2 Presented by Peter K. Isquith, PhD, coauthor of the BRIEF2 Tests and Scales: Evidence for Integrative Assessment of Executive Function Presented by Peter K. Isquith, PhD, coauthor of the BRIEF2 Helping Students Show What They Know: Enhancing Executive Functioning Presented by Steven C. Guy, PhD, coauthor of the BRIEF2 State of Affairs: Trauma Assessment Practices in Children and Adolescents Presented by ...

• Finding digital solutions for your assessment needs

  

  Digital options to help us complete the work we do are increasingly important as digital interactions become more common in psychological assessment. We at PAR are committed to helping you serve your clients and recognize your increasing need for digital materials. Digital assessment options (like online and remote products, e-Stimulus Books, and e-Manuals) offer several benefits, including improved flexibility and support for your practice—whether you work in school, hospital, private practice, or other settings. Digital solutions can also provide increased accessibility and security in addition to environmental benefits like reduced use of paper.  We want to provide you with more options for test administration (e.g., on-screen vs. paper-and-pencil) while reducing the number of materials you need for administration and addressing concerns about hygiene with printed materials. We are expanding our library of e-Manuals, e-Stimulus Books, and remote assessment tools and adding more products offering administration, scoring, and interpretation via PARiConnect. We now offer more than 100 e-Manuals, which are easily accessed from our new Digital Library in PARiConnect. These digital versions of PAR professional manuals are also downloadable (limited to ...