Behavioral Emergencies Update

In this issue...

The Role of Positive Psychology in the Study and Prevention of Suicide

Section members in press

Clinical Emergencies and Crises at APA

The definitional problem strikes again

Members at APA, August 2005

Section VII Board Members

Alec Miller, Psy.D., the program chair for Section VII at the 2005 APA Convention in Washington, did a terrific job of putting together an exciting series of presentations on behavioral emergencies at the convention. The highlights included a symposium entitled Assessment and Treatment of Adolescent Violence which Dr. Miller chaired and which featured presentations on assessing risk for youth violence by Dr. Gina Vincent, reducing aggression among female juvenile offenders by Dr. Naomi Goldstein, and treating juvenile offenders with Multisystemic Therapy (MST) by Dr. Phillippe Cunningham. Section VII President, Dr. Dean Kilpatrick, served as a discussant at this symposium. Dr. Miller also chaired a Section VII Invited Address by Dr. Marsha Linehan entitled Latest Research on Suicide and DBT. The program concluded with Dr. Kilpatrick’s very interesting Presidential Address on the role of trauma in behavioral emergencies.

For the first time this year, several of the Section VII Board members held a full day Continuing Education Workshop at the convention. It was entitled Behavioral Emergencies: Evidence-Based Evaluation and Management. Dr. Kleespies chaired the workshop and presented an overview of behavioral emergencies while Dr. Lanny Berman presented on the evaluation and management of suicide risk, Dr. Dean Kilpatrick (assisted by a Post Doctoral Fellow, Dr. Shannon Self-Brown) presented on assessment and intervention with victims of violence, and Dr. Dale McNiel presented on the evaluation and management of short-term risk of violence.

The Section also presented two awards at the convention. Dr. Miller presented the Section VII Career Achievement Award to Dr. Marsha Linehan at the end of her Invited Address. This award was given to Dr. Linehan for her many and enduring contributions to the assessment and management of suicidal behavior. The Section VII Graduate Student Research Award was given to Laura S. Guy, M.A., from Simon Fraser University in Canada, for her excellent review entitled The Role of Psychopathy in Clinical Emergencies: A Meta-Analysis of Its Relation to Institutional Violence.

Of further note, Dr. Paul Duberstein, the Section VII Secretary, was the recipient of The American Psychological Foundation Theodore Millon Award for his impressive research on personality and the relationship of personality disorders and suicidal behavior. The award was presented to Dr. Duberstein at the Division 12 Awards ceremony.

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