essay--psychological intervention

College of Science, Health and Engineering

School of Psychology and Public Health

PSY3PIN Psychological Interventions Critical Essay Topics 2020

Dr. Kirstie McKenzie-McHarg – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder following Childbirth. You have a new job as a psychologist working in the maternity department of your local hospital. You have a meeting with the head of midwifery and one of the senior obstetricians. They tell you that they are concerned about the number of women who are going on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder following childbirth. They would like you to do a review considering how they can reduce the number of women who develop the disorder, with a specific focus on prevention of perinatal/maternal PTSD. Starting reading (which you can choose to include/not include in your report):

• Hollander, M. H., van Hastenberg, E., van Dillen, J., van Pampus, M. G., de Miranda, E., & Stramrood, C. A. I. (2017). Preventing traumatic childbirth experiences: 2192 women’s perceptions and views. Archives of Women’s Mental Health 20(4), 515- 523. doi: 10.1007/s00737-017-0729-6

Tips:

• Wherever possible, utilise the best quality research. This means that if meta-analyses

and systematic reviews exist on the topic, these would be the first to consider in order

to answer this question, supplemented by more recent or particularly high-quality and

relevant randomised controlled trials. If you can’t find these type of studies, focus on

larger sample sizes and work down from cohort studies to case studies, always noting

in your discussion if studies are of lesser quality/size

• Remember that this question is focused on prevention of perinatal PTSD, not

treatment

• Keep your focus on perinatal or maternal PTSD, not PTSD more broadly, although it is

acceptable to use more general research on PTSD to ‘set the scene’ if necessary

Professor Jordana Bayer – Child Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder You are required to review and critique literature on psychological interventions to treat child attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It will be important to explain what makes treatment studies ‘well-designed’. It is essential to reach a conclusion about the most appropriate treatment to recommend for a 10-year-old boy who is inattentive, overactive and aggressive, at school and at home. Starting Readings:

• Nolan, M. & Carr, A. (2000). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In A. Carr (Ed.), What Works for Children and Adolescents? A critical review of psychological interventions with children, adolescents and their families (pp. 65-101). London: Routledge.

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• Fonagy, P., Cottrell, D., Phillips, J., Bevington, D., Glaser, D., & Allison, E. (2015). What Works for Whom? A critical review of treatments for children and adolescents (2nd ed., pp. 199-231). New York: Guilford Press.

• Readings available via the PSY3PIN library reading list Professor Eleanor Wertheim – Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction You are assisting at an Outpatient Clinic. A female, adult client has come to the Clinic. During the assessment process she has been diagnosed with a depressive disorder. She mentions that she has heard that mindfulness-based interventions may be a way to improve her symptoms. You decide to review the evidence for Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy to decide whether you would like to go ahead with such an approach. Use the research evidence to guide your discussion of what you would recommend and why. Remember in answering the question to read the literature to understand which therapeutic approach is likely to be most effective for a particular type of client with a particular type of problem. Starting reading (for your information, but you do not need to include this in your essay):

• Baer, R. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and

empirical review. Clinical Psychology-Science and Practice, 10(2), 125-143.

doi:10.1093/clipsy.bpg015

Tips:

• If meta-analyses and systematic reviews exist on the topic, these would be your first

types of papers to look at to answer this question, potentially supplemented by more

recent or particularly high-quality and relevant randomised controlled trials.

• In your analysis of these articles, look at effect sizes to see how large they are. Note

that different types of effect sizes mean different things. Think about if the effect size

is just looking at pre-post differences in scores, or if it is comparing pre-post changes

between two conditions (such as between the MBSR intervention and a wait list

control group, or another type of intervention). These will mean different things. An

important question is not only whether a particular treatment works, but if it is better

than other options.

• Look at moderators of effects. In other words, see if effect sizes differ depending on

characteristics of the client, the type of disorder or the type of outcome of the

intervention. This can help you decide what type of client to use a particular

treatment with and what sorts of outcomes you can expect to achieve.