Here are some worthwhile books that can be ordered from the American Counseling Association (ANA):

1. Hays, D. G. (2013). Assessment in Counseling: A Guide to the Use of Psychological Assessment Procedures. Fifth Edition.

This is a bestselling text, and the latest version includes updates and changes in assessment procedures. Test selection, interpretation of findings, and communication of these to others in a professional manner are covered. More than 100 tests are described.

The issue of assessment may be particularly important for those seeking masters-level licensing in counseling fields—some disorder, e.g., schizophrenia and major depression, among others, must be seen under supervision.

Most of us, unless we have the personalities of saintliness, find ourselves in an irritable mood once in a while. Parents may be particularly prone to these episodes. One hopes that they pass without even a cranky word; although it's difficult to stifle one's facial expression.

Justin Meyer, writing in the Washington Post, brings refreshing honesty to this topic. He hangs up on customer representatives. He watches his children on the playground with the guardedness of a Papa Bear. When driving, he says, "I cut off other drivers in traffic, then flip them the bird."

President Barack Obama made headlines with his proposal to encourage American scientists to work toward understanding the great mysteries of the brain. Done as a massive project, this could rival past collective enterprises such as Getting a Man to the Moon; when President Kennedy suggested this, it took everyone's breath away. It looked unattainable in the early 1960s. But the country did it.

The new project has garnered unusual bipartisan support.

Since the Greek philosophers there has always been great interest in the brain. St. Thomas Aquinas believed it was necessary but not sufficient for human consciousness. Descartes believed there was an interaction between the brain and the soul: melding somewhere in the pineal gland.

Many other philosophers have speculated that consciousness is a byproduct of the brain itself and concluded that we are the products of the natural forces we are comprised of. As such, our lives our determined by the forces of chemistry, biology, genetics, and past experience.

Several months ago the Cuomo administration announced that budgets for nonprofit agencies serving the developmentally disabled would be cut.
This had led to an outcry from parents, community members, and those who work at these agencies. Recently it was announced that the cuts would be changed.

Although this is helpful, it still leaves most organizations with expenses that would not be covered by incoming monies. And the loss will be substantial.

The Mid-Hudson Valley in New York State may be atypical from many other localities: it has the highest proportion of developmentally disabled persons in the country. Over 10,000 developmentally disabled residents from Willowbrook, Letchworth Village, and Wassaic Developmental Center have been re-integrated into the community. A large number of jobs—private and nonprofit—are part of the caring network.

Federal budget cuts, and state cuts, will hurt the families and people with developmental disabilities, as well as reduce many jobs. The Poughkeepsie Journal reports this morning.

A young man with Down syndrome has died at the very hands of the police he idolized, the Washington Post reports. The death of Robert Ethan Saylor, aetat. twenty-six, occurred while being handcuffed with at least three set of cuffs as he was being taken by three deputies from a theater in Frederick County, Maryland. Previously he had been confronted, the Post said, for refusing to leave a movie after it was over.

"Late last week, the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Baltimore ruled Saylor's death a homicide as a result of asphyxia. Since then, the case has ignited the fears of parents of children with Down syndrome, caught the attention of advocacy groups and left one family questioning how a young man who loved learning about criminal investigations could become the subject of one.

Consumers of mental-health services may not realize the extensive system of codes that go into insurance billing and medical records, both for mental-health services and other medical services. For mental health, every person who receives insurance reimbursement receives a diagnostic code from the most current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, as well as a code describing the service. The codes are called CPTs (Current Procedural Terminologies).

There are nearly 300 diagnostic codes in the DSM IV TR. These range from well-known and common conditions such as major depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. Lesser known diagnoses such as Munchausen's syndrome are also included. The clinician is also able to note a secondary code if a learning disorder, developmental disorder, or personality disorder is diagnosed.

After physicists split the atom, unanticipated positive effects emerged—such as medical isotopes—and many negative ones as well. Where do we store the waste? How do we understand fallout and its deadly effect? What happens when there are nuclear plant accidents?

Biologists work in a similar environment as they work to split the genome. Once again, there may be negative effects unrealized. One is the temptation to use genetic manipulation to "improve" humanity. A look at what happened a century ago gives pause. Then, and now, genetics may be viewed as a way to enhance human thinking and mental health.

More and more in our society, any kind of testing that compares people with each other is viewed negatively. Different kinds of testing: No Child Left Behind, End of Year testing, and Intelligence Testing are all types of testing that come under criticism. Here is a different spin on the kinds of tests given by psychologists. In all that follows, assume that "testing" is always linked with "assessment"—the skilled interpretation that takes other factors into account.

Testing helps to resolve real-life problems. Many psychologists work with people at important decision points in their lives: placing children in schools, consulting in medical situations, or advising in medical and clinical situations. Testing can provide more data than observation or interviewing alone.

Testing can discover strengths and weaknesses. Joseph Matarazzo, former President to the American Psychological Association, likened test-givers to athletic coaches in that helpful feedback—affirming strengths and developing strategies for weaknesses—can be given. Coaches, and testers, may even become cheerleaders at times.

Testing can serve both individuals and groups. In many situations, testing may be conducted to help an individual: a college student takes an alcohol screening test to see if drinking has progressed beyond "experimenting" and has become a problem; an MMPI may be given to a middle-aged man at repeated intervals to see if his depression is responding to medication.

Word from ABILITIES FIRST in Poughkeepsie, NY

October 5, 2012, Poughkeepsie, NY—As Dr. Lori Crispi’s term on the board of Abilities First, Inc., a Dutchess County based nonprofit that serves children and adults with disabilities, was coming to an end, she felt that she couldn’t just walk away. “I enjoyed being part of the organization so much, especially the work I did on a committee that allowed me to be around the adults with disabilities that the organization serves. It just didn’t feel right walking away, I wanted to do more.”

One of the areas of the organization in need of support had just the opportunity for Crispi, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Marist College. Abilities First’s Work Training Center (WTC) is a vocational program where adults are able to do paid work for private businesses with the assistance and support of Abilities First staff who are trained in working with adults with disabilities. Until 2009 the WTC was able to offer an adult education program through Dutchess County BOCES, who provided the staffing until funds for the program were no longer available. The participants at the Work Training Center were not happy. “For the past three years not a week goes by that one of our participants doesn’t ask me when the program is coming back,” says Charlie Bender, Director of WTC, “these are adults with disabilities that were school aged at a time when educational opportunities for them were limited or not available at all. Many of them have the capacity to learn but have never been given the opportunity.”

Previously I've written about Recovery International, founded by psychiatrist Abraham Low in the 1940s in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Low initiated a revolutionary brand of treatment that we now call cognitive therapy: by changing one's thoughts, one could change troublesome feelings and through practice attain better mental health. Dr. Low used the word apprenticeship to denote the long-learning period needed to put his ideas into practice.

One of his most beloved books is Manage Your Fears, Manage Your Anger. This is a compendium of lectures he gave during the last two years of his life, recorded on tape and then transcribed. By reading them, one obtains not only an excellent overview of the Recovery method, but a glimpse into Dr. Low's compassionate but directive style.

Following are passages that give a glimpse at Dr. Low's personality and style.

Two important areas in mental health are prevention and resiliency. Prevention includes all efforts to prevent a person from developing a mental-health problem. One of the most effective prevention programs has been Head Start—from the 1960s, these centers have been a path for positive adjustment for many young persons of disadvantaged backgrounds. Another prevention program is the AMHF grant to Astor Services—we are hoping and trying to learn how to prevent schizophrenia and other serious psychoses among at-risk teens.

Related to prevention is resiliency: the quality of bouncing back from stress, staying at a high level or even becoming stronger when facing adversity. In the past decade numerous books have been written on how to inspire the development of resilient children.

These scholarly based endeavors are laudatory. But are we missing the great efforts in prevention of mental health problems and resiliency-building in an organization so well known to everyone that it risks becoming a mere brand of favored cookies?

A new commemorative coin, authorized by Public Law 111-86, honors the centennial of the founding of the Girl Scouts by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia on March 12, 1912. Current CEO Anna Maria Chavez said, "The Girl Scouts is committed to girls' leadership development and training and being the best leadership experience for girls. That will certainly continue to drive our work." The unveiling of a commemorative coin, the USA Centennial Silver Dollar of 2013, was noted in the November 2012 issue of The Numismatist.

Marilyn Reback, in the article "Girl Scouts Centennial Dollar Designs Unveiled," notes—

Successes of all kinds—academic, vocational, monetary, and material—are highly valued and obsessively pursued. But even those who "have it all" may find themselves spiritually adrift and existentially empty. Paul Wright, M.D., a cardiologist, found himself in this position after having made it to the top in a demanding medical specialty. On November 9, 2012, I heard him present his book Mother Teresa's Prescription: Finding Happiness and Peace in Service, published by Ave Maria Press, at the annual Medical Committee meeting of the Knights of Malta. They are a lay religious order which strives to serve the poor and the sick.

Timothy Schriver, writing in the Huffington Post (Oct. 27, 2012), forwards to writer Ann Coulter a letter from a young man with Down syndrome. Recently Ms. Coulter used the "R" word while criticizing the President of the United States:

"Dear Ann Coulter,

"Come on Ms. Coulter, you aren't dumb and you aren't shallow. So why are you continually using a word like the R-word as an insult?

"I'm a 30 year old man with Down syndrome who has struggled with the public's perception that an intellectual disability means that I am dumb and shallow. I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you. In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night.

Paul Gionfriddo, formerly a state legislator in Connecticut, writes about his son, who showed signs of schizophrenia when very young and whose life has been ravaged by the disease. (Article, My Son Is Schizophrenic—the Reforms I Worked for Have Worsened His Life in the October 15, 2012, edition of the Washington Post.)

"Tim is homeless. But when he was a toddler, my colleagues in the Connecticut state legislature couldn't get enough of cuddling him. Yet it is the policies of my generation of policymakers that put that formerly adorable toddler, now a troubled 6-foot-5 adult, on the street. And unless something changes, the policies of today's generation of policymakers will keep him there.

"If you were to encounter my son, Tim, a tall, gaunt man in ragged clothes, on a San Francisco street, you might step away from him. His clothes, his dark unshaven face and his wild curly hair stamp him as the stereotype of the chronically mentally ill street person.

Public Law 94-142, passed by the Congress in 1976, and following legislation including Individual Education Disabilities Act (IDEA), defined different handicapping conditions for which a child could receive additional support (and therefore additional funding) in the public school system.

A continuum of extra supports was initiated. This could range from being in a smaller class with additional teaching help to a small self-contained class to a Board of Education Cooperative Educational Services Class and even to residential treatment. In current dollars I suspect the range of funding goes somewhere from a few hundred dollars per child to over two hundred thousand dollars per child for specialized residential treatment.

PL 94-142 defined a specific category for children who displayed a mental-health problem that interfered with learning in the classroom. Note that emotional problems or conditions that were present but did not affect classroom behaviors or performance were not eligible for classification or funding. The initial classification was Emotionally Disturbed but this has been updated and is now called Emotional Impairment.

The AMHF grant to Astor Services for Children—to identify and evaluate interventions that help adolescents at risk for suicide and psychosis, and to create scientifically supported guidelines—supports the exact kind of empirical investigation recommended by American Psychological Association President Suzanne Bennett Johnson.

Edward Hallowell and John Ratey have published a follow-up to their successful book Driven to Distraction. On a hopeful note, it is titled Delivered from Distraction. The first book was written in the 1990s. It contains much good advice on ADHD: diagnosis, medications, telling it apart from other conditions as well as finding it in combination with others, and—exceptionally helpful—it offers structured ideas for parents, teachers, and those who have ADHD themselves. This more-recent book gives a superb update on medications and includes detailed case history. These are two exceptional volumes.

Although the education of children and teens with autism is covered both in Public Law 94-142 and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), even with these supports some parents and advocates worried that the intense needs of those with autism were not being fully addressed. This led to the passage of PL 109-416. This act:

(1) provides information and education on autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities to increase public awareness of developmental milestones;
(2) promotes research into the development and validation of reliable screening tools for autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities and disseminate information regarding those screening tools;
(3) promotes early screening of individuals at higher risk
for autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities as early as practicable, given evidence-based
screening techniques and interventions;
(4) increases the number of individuals who are able to confirm or rule out a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities;
(5) increases the number of individuals able to provide evidence-based interventions for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disabilities; and
(6) promotes the use of evidence-based interventions for individuals at higher risk for autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities as early as practicable.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a national organization which matches volunteers to children who could use a supportive adult in their life. Children in foster care, in single parent families, children with an incapacitating illness--are the kinds of youngsters who might be given priority status.

The sponsoring agency has been known to do a careful job in screening would-be volunteers. For example, one branch of this national agency recruited clinical psychologists to offer pro bono psychological testing using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and clinical interview to screen potential volunteers.

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that the Dutchess County Big Brothers Big Sisters is closing.