The InterPsych Newsletter 2(6)
IPN 2(6) Section C: InterPsych Update
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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 6 THE INTERPSYCH NEWSLETTER JULY, 1995
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SECTION C: INTERPSYCH UPDATE
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* INDEX *
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1. ELECTRONIC FORUM UPDATE
A. Computers-in-mental-health
B. Emergency Psychiatry
C. Forensic Psychiatry
D. Psychoanalysis
E. Psy-Language
F. Rural-Care
2. JULY'S FEATURED FORUM: TRANSCULTURAL-PSYCHOLOGY
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1. ELECTRONIC FORUM UPDATE
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A. Computers-in-mental-health
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Over May and June there have been a large number of new
subscriptions to the computers-in-mental-health list. Postings
have ranged on such topics as the use of new developments in
CompuServe to allow psychology. trainees get their feet on the
digital superhighway; the appearance of psychology and
psychiatry ftp sites; Rorschach interpretation programs and PCs
in administration; Technology conference notification; Loading
Psychology. WWW URLs into Net Browsers; Discussion on computer
based psycho-pathology questionnaires; Windows95; and did you
know that PC video screen gives out 'positive' ions all day--
very depressing news.
Contributor: Carl S Littlejohns (csljohns@cix.compulink.co.uk)
B. Emergency Psychiatry
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The emergency psychiatry list has been discussing the use of
Droperidol for severe agitation. We've also been discussing the
impact of managed care on the ER and inpatient visits.
Contributor: Nancy Tice (nwe@panix.com)
C. Forensic Psychiatry
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Foren-psych has had much activity with people subscribing and
unsubscribing like mad. The unsubscribes have particularly
evolved since our apparent joint decision to publish the Mad
Manifesto of the Unabomber for purposes of group analysis.(We
have agreed to split the million if we succeed in doping out his
or her or their identity. Those who have departed were
apparently fearful of being targeted for the next explosive
greeting...the rest of us have sufficient denial to get through
such worries. Numerous other topics have been discussed
including: the meaning of "reasonable medical certainty",
treatment of sex offenders, expert testimony, effects of drugs,
competency, etc. In general the list seems lively and several
posts have been complimentary. We have been networking, teaching
each other and avoiding rancor.
Contributor: Ronald Shlensky, M.D., J.D. (3004rs@rain.org)
D. Psychoanalysis
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The psychoanalysis forum continues lively discussions on a
variety of topics, including the psychodynamics of its own
operation. Among the subjects addressed have been how new ideas
are (or are not) brought into the field, what sort of
information is pertinent to psychoanalytic theory, whether case
history material can properly to discussed on an internet forum,
the nature of aggression and newer psychoanalytic theories.
Contributor: Robert M. Galatzer-Levy (gala@midway.uchicago.edu)
E. Psy-Language
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The forum has been in operation for almost a year now. For the
last months membership numbers are relatively stable. Although
the stability of members seems to indicate that members are
satisfied with the functioning of the forum, the group remains
extremely quiet. Occasional postings are replied to with
enthusiasm, and very interesting discussions are generated.
Initial postings are, however, only occasional.
Recent discussions have mainly focused on the evolution of
language. The debates were around the neurological, anatomical,
geophysical and social factors in language evolution, the role
of non-verbal, perceptual and affective elements in language
acquisition, theories of language acquisition and development,
and explanations for the diversity of languages. There was also
an interesting series of exchanges on the role of parental
neglect in child ear infections, which -rather unfortunately-
developed into an intense debate around the professionals'
pathologization of parents.
Contributor: Eugenie Georgaca (e.georgaca@mmu.ac.uk)
F. Rural-Care
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Rural-Care continues to grow in numbers although posts are
blessedly few for those of us on multiple lists. The content of
Rural-Care focuses around informational posts and requests for
assistance. Plans are still in the making for on-line
continuing education conferences which will eventually be
offered for continuing education credit. Although we had
expected to have the conferences initiated by early summer,
technical glitches (as always :-) suggest late summer or early
fall for the inaugural conferences. Upcoming conferences are
anticipated on women's health care and mental health care in
rural areas and on telemedicine.
Contributor: B. Hudnall Stamm (afbhs@vms.acad2.alaska.edu)
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2. JULY'S FEATURED FORUM: TRANSCULTURAL-PSYCHOLOGY
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TRANSCULTURAL-PSYCHOLOGY (short: TP) has been established
to provide a world-wide electronic forum of communication,
primarily for psychologists and psychiatrists, but it is also
open for professionals-to-be, and professionals in other
disciplines: Among others for social workers, nurses,
traditional healers, anthropologists, librarians, and
sociologists. The breadth and diversity of the list represents
one of its main strengths.
Because TP has undergone some major changes in structure,
quantity and quality of information, it looks like a good
time to provide a more comprehensive update. The following
table shows some figures on volume of mail since the
beginning of this year (it also includes header information,
so the actual content is less):
January 95 285.461 kb
February 95 96.720 kb
March 95 250.966 kb
April 293.274 kb
May 95 503.775 kb
June 95 587.572 kb
July 95 486.096 kb (on 15 July 95)
TP was started at the initiative of Dr. Kirk Zimbelman at the
South Dakota Human Services. It was first set up as a forum for
discussing delivery of mental health services in non-Western
settings and to minorities. The list officially started
in May 1994. It was coordinated solely by Sunkyo Kwon,
(then: Free University Berlin) from October 94 until recently.
TP has presently more than 400 members. Because of its
initial focus, it must be emphasized that the forum
is _not_ primarily for clinically oriented
psychologists, but for practitioners and
academics alike. Both groups, and many professionals from
neighboring disciplines find a unique "virtual place"
for exchange of information and opinions of common
interest.
With further expansion of the forum, more contributions
from areas in psychology, such as social, developmental,
cognitive or personality, but also from methodologists
are expected and welcomed.
The table below shows a breakdown of items posted to
transcultural-psychology in June 1995:
DISCUSSION (topic, approximate no. of postings):
Ethical Relativism 38
White Psychiatrists in Black Communities 17
(incl. Therapist-Client Ethnic Matches)
Latinos-Hispanics-Chicanos 11
Discussion of a Model Program 5
Psychiatric Nosology 5
Cross-Cultural Measures of Stress 3
Using Tests in Spanish 3
Miscellaneous 41
(incl. Interracial Counseling, Service Utilization,
Grief, Death)
INFORMATION/ADMINISTRATION
Administrative Messages 13
Books/References 13
Research: Assistance/Collaboration 8
Member Introductions 7
Internet (TP-Related) Information 6
Employment 5
Conferences 4
Miscellaneous 9
(incl. Offers to help, Virus Warning, General
Internet Resources)
JUNK MAIL
Misdirected Mail 31
(incl. unsubscribe requests sent to the wrong
places, private messages sent to the group)
jointly coordinated by a team:
COORDINATORS:
Sunkyo Kwon (General Coordination)
Humboldt Univ. Berlin, FRG
Paul B. Pedersen
Syracuse University (starting ca. 1/1/96)
Carol Z. Stearns
Private Practice (presently), Pittsburgh, PA
CO-COORDINATORS:
Adil Saeed Felix Qureshi
University of Southern California
Elsa R. Germain
James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia
The forum has also a new Board of Advisors:
Robert Brislin University of Hawaii
Zack Z. Cernovsky St. Thomas Psychiatric
Hospital, Ontario, Canada
Bjarne Fjeldsen University of Trondheim, Norway
Ryo Imamura The Evergreen State College
David Ingleby University of Utrecht, The
Netherlands
Yoshito Kawahara Mesa College
Basanti Majumdar McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
Anthony Marsella University of Hawaii
Florence Sushila Niles Northern Territory University,
Australia
Paul B. Pedersen Syracuse University
Adil Saeed Felix Qureshi University of Southern California
Kirk Zimbelman South Dakota Human Services Center
All readers interested to join the transcultural-psychology
forum may send an email to the general coordinator, Dipl.-Psych.
Sunkyo Kwon (fu03c2dj@fub46.zedat.fu-berlin.de)
Or for automatic subscription, email to:
listserv@netcom.com
message (subject line blank, without the indentation):
subscribe transcultural-psychology
end