Convergence: Connecting Levels of Analysis in Psychological Science
In the past, our field harbored distinct, and often competing, schools of thought that tackled different problems and produced findings that often appeared to diverge. Today, investigators attack shared problems at complementary levels of analysis and produce results that converge. Studies of people in a social world; mental systems of cognition and emotion; and biological mechanisms of the genome and the nervous system interconnect and yield an integrated psychological science. The APS 23rd Annual Convention displays, and celebrates, these advances in our field.

Invited Address

Culture as Treatment for American Indian Mental Health Problems: Pursuing Evidence Through Community Collaborations

Saturday, May 26, 2012, 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
Missouri

Joseph P. Gone
University of Michigan

American Indian communities exhibit alarming disparities in mental health status. Despite such need, advocates and professionals in these settings insist that mainstream clinical interventions are irrelevant and ineffective on cultural grounds. Instead, many American Indians assert that “our culture is our treatment,” a claim that motivates the research described in this presentation.

Read the APS Daily Observation on Joseph P. Gone.

Continuing Education: 1 APA Credit

Learning Objectives

This workshop is designed to help you:

1. Summarize American Indian dissatisfaction with mainstream mental health treatments.

2. Explain American Indian commitments to traditional cultural practices and activities.

3. Discuss American Indian assertions that traditional cultural activities are effective mental health treatments.

Continuing education for psychologists is sponsored by the Psychology Department at the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center (WHASC). The Psychology Department at WHASC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. WHASC maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Point of contact for the CE Program is Howard Garb. He can be reached at howard.garb@us.af.mil, or 210.671.4084.

Subject Area: Clinical