Papers by Craig Gonsalvez
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Nov 1, 2006
Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere appreciation to several individuals for their ... more Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere appreciation to several individuals for their help and support during the completion of this thesis. I would like to exten my warmest gratitude to both, my supervisor, Associate Professor Craig Gonsalvez, particularly for sharing his wealth of knowledge regarding OCD and valuable feedback regarding drafts of this thesis; and my co-supervisor, Dr. Rodney Croft, his guidance with the statistics, his constructive comments and criticisms, and gi unfailingly of his time. My sincere thanks also go to Professor Philip Boyce for h generosity regarding patient referrals and employment, and Dr. Allison Fox for her contributions in the early stages of this thesis. I would like to acknowledge those individuals who participated in the research, and to thank the NSW Institute of Psychiatry who granted me a research and training fellowship. My final acknowledgement is reserved for Andrew. For his endless dedication, love, and particularly his patience. Your understanding, support and encouragement to always keep reaching, kept me persevering over the years.
Psychiatry Research-neuroimaging, Aug 1, 2004
Suppression of the P50 component of the evoked potential is an electrophysiological index of sens... more Suppression of the P50 component of the evoked potential is an electrophysiological index of sensory gating that is blunted in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Although P50 suppression is thought to be related to symptomatology, this is yet to be shown. The failure to demonstrate this relation has led some to argue that P50 suppression and symptomatology are not related. However, a possible confound has recently been corroborated {i.e., chronic smoking is related to superior P50 suppression [Crawford et al., Neuroscience Letters 317 (2002) 151]}, and a relation has been found in questionnaire-defined individuals with indications of schizotypy {i.e., psychometric schizotypy is related to poor P50 suppression [Croft et al., Biological Psychiatry 50 (2001) 441]}. The present study attempted to replicate and extend both studies by examining P50 suppression, smoking histories, psychometric schizotypy and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-V) scores in 37 healthy participants. Replicating Crawford et al., P50 suppression was better in the heavier smokers. Providing a partial replication of Croft et al., P50 suppression was inversely related to schizotypy scores in participants who smoked little or not at all; however, P50 suppression was positively related to schizotypy in heavier smokers. Covarying for age and NEO-V scale scores had little effect on these relations. The findings provide evidence of important confounds that would limit our ability to detect P50 suppression/ symptom relations in schizophrenia.
PsycTESTS Dataset, 2017
Objectives: The last two decades has witnessed a strong endorsement of competency-based models fo... more Objectives: The last two decades has witnessed a strong endorsement of competency-based models for both practitioner training and professional supervision. The valid and reliable measurement of supervisee and supervisory competence is an essential step towards progress, yet currently there are few instruments that can claim to measure the range of supervisor competencies. The current study establishes the Supervision Evaluation and Supervisory Competence (SE-SC) scale as a new, psychometrically sound instrument. Method: A total of 142 supervisees anonymously completed overall evaluations of supervision satisfaction and supervisor effectiveness and of specific supervisor competencies using the SE-SC instrument. The specific competencies were subjected to a hierarchical cluster analyses to determine the underlying structure of supervisory competence. Results: The results supported a six-cluster solution that included (a) Openness, caring and support, (b) Supervisor's Knowledge and Expertise as Therapist, (c) Supervision Planning and Management, (d) Goal-Directed Supervision, (e) Restorative Competencies, and (f) Insight into and Management of Therapist-Client Dynamics and Reflective Practitioner Competencies. The results yielded excellent internal reliability, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity for the six clusters, with high and meaningful correlations with subscales of the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory (SWAI) and the Supervisory Styles Inventory (SSI). More importantly, the six clusters together better predicted overall scores on supervision satisfaction and effectiveness (85% of variance) than did subscales of the SWAI (56%) and the SSI (57%). Conclusion: The SE-SC demonstrates good psychometric properties and is a useful scale to measure a supervisee's evaluation of supervisory competence.
Nimhans Journal, Jul 1, 1988
Previous research has implicated two important factors in the recall deficit in schizophrenics: m... more Previous research has implicated two important factors in the recall deficit in schizophrenics: mnemonic organization and an inability to recall items occupying primacy positions in a list. The present study used ten schizophrenics and ten normals and studied the influence of both these factors in a task that required recall of lists of numbers. Lists were of three types based on the degree to which items of the list could be organized. Four different types of errors were delineated to determine whether schizophrenics were prone to a particular error-type. Results confirmed the finding that schizophrenics were deficient in recall and indicated that while decreased mnemonic organization was associated with poor performance in schizophrenia on lists that lacked organization, a serial position deficit in schizophrenia was more pervasive, and more adequately explained the results. Schizophrenics committed a greater proportion of errors in general, but were not found to be vulnerable to any particular error type.
Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh), 2013
Australian Psychologist, Apr 1, 2017
PsycTESTS Dataset, 2021
Objectives: The last two decades has witnessed a strong endorsement of competency-based models fo... more Objectives: The last two decades has witnessed a strong endorsement of competency-based models for both practitioner training and professional supervision. The valid and reliable measurement of supervisee and supervisory competence is an essential step towards progress, yet currently there are few instruments that can claim to measure the range of supervisor competencies. The current study establishes the Supervision Evaluation and Supervisory Competence (SE-SC) scale as a new, psychometrically sound instrument. Method: A total of 142 supervisees anonymously completed overall evaluations of supervision satisfaction and supervisor effectiveness and of specific supervisor competencies using the SE-SC instrument. The specific competencies were subjected to a hierarchical cluster analyses to determine the underlying structure of supervisory competence. Results: The results supported a six-cluster solution that included (a) Openness, caring and support, (b) Supervisor's Knowledge and Expertise as Therapist, (c) Supervision Planning and Management, (d) Goal-Directed Supervision, (e) Restorative Competencies, and (f) Insight into and Management of Therapist-Client Dynamics and Reflective Practitioner Competencies. The results yielded excellent internal reliability, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity for the six clusters, with high and meaningful correlations with subscales of the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory (SWAI) and the Supervisory Styles Inventory (SSI). More importantly, the six clusters together better predicted overall scores on supervision satisfaction and effectiveness (85% of variance) than did subscales of the SWAI (56%) and the SSI (57%). Conclusion: The SE-SC demonstrates good psychometric properties and is a useful scale to measure a supervisee's evaluation of supervisory competence.
Support for the production of this report has been provided by the Australian Government Departme... more Support for the production of this report has been provided by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Department of Education and Training.
The Clinical Supervisor, Jul 30, 2023
Clinical Psychologist, Feb 24, 2022
Background The loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) has been proposed as ... more Background The loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) has been proposed as an electrophysiological marker for assessing serotonergic function in vivo in humans, although accumulating evidence suggests that it is insensitive to acute changes in serotonergic neurotransmission. Very little is known about the sensitivity of the LDAEP to other neurotransmitter systems including the noradrenergic system. The current study examined the effects of noradrenergic modulation as well as serotonergic modulation on the LDAEP. Methods The study utilised a double-blind placebo-controlled design in which the LDAEP in 17 healthy males and females was tested following acute administration of each of citalopram (20 mg), reboxetine (4 mg) and placebo. Results Neither citalopram nor reboxetine modulated the LDAEP relative to placebo treatment (p > 0.05). Conclusion These findings suggest that the LDAEP is insensitive to acute changes in serotonergic or noradrenergic neurotransmission and thus is a poor pharmacodynamic marker of these systems.
Clinical Neurophysiology, Mar 1, 2014
Objective Impaired inhibition may perpetuate repetitive symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder... more Objective Impaired inhibition may perpetuate repetitive symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), however OCD-specific deficits have yet to be established. We investigated neural correlates of inhibition in OCD vs. healthy and anxious controls. Methods ERPs and reaction times (RTs) were compared between participants with OCD (n = 20), panic disorder (PD; n = 20) and healthy controls (HCs; n = 20) during an adapted Go/NoGo task, which manipulated inhibitory difficulty. Results A classic P3 NoGo anteriorisation effect occurred across groups. Both clinical groups showed RT impairment, and similar topographical anomalies of several (P2, N2 and P3) ERP components. Notably, both clinical groups lacked the strong frontally maximal N2 component topography seen in the HCs, across stimuli. Additionally, with increasing inhibitory difficulty, N2 latency increased in HCs but not in the clinical groups. Conclusions Unexpectedly, ERP and behavioural anomalies during inhibition in OCD were not qualitatively different to those in PD, but were generally more severe. Common general and inhibitory deficits may underlie intrusive mental phenomena in both conditions. Significance This first ERP response inhibition study in OCD to include anxious controls disconfirmed hypotheses regarding OCD-specific inhibitory deficits, indicating the importance of comparing OCD to other conditions, to evaluate neurobiological models.
Journal of Clinical Psychology
Training and Education in Professional Psychology
This study responds to an urgent need for innovative approaches to competence assessment in the f... more This study responds to an urgent need for innovative approaches to competence assessment in the face of strong evidence that several current instruments may be vulnerable to systematic rating biases. Building on previous research, the current study aimed to (a) design a full catalogue of vignettes for the Vignette Matching Assessment Tool (VMAT); (b) establish a matrix of calibration scores for the catalogue of vignettes by having experts rate each of the vignettes; (c) evaluate its psychometric properties by comparing competence ratings derived from the VMAT with those from a conventional instrument, the Clinical Psychology Practicum Competencies Rating Scale (CΨPRS); and (d) assess whether the VMAT reduced halo and leniency biases. An initial catalogue of 52 vignettes was recalibrated by a large sample of experts (N = 45) to establish a final catalogue of 41 standardized vignettes across 10 domains and multiple stages of competence. The VMAT used the matrix of calibrated vignettes to help supervisors anchor competence trajectories attained by trainees for each of 10 competency domains. The results provide initial support for the validation of the VMAT. The VMAT attenuated halo effects, and most supervisors endorsed the VMAT as their preferred instrument. Compared to the CΨPRS, cutoff scores on the VMAT identified a larger number of trainees with serious competence problems (n = 3 vs. n = 1). The current study has important implications for competence assessments and benchmarking within psychology and valuable cross-disciplinary applications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Public Significance Statement—Accurate measurement of competence during and at the end of training is important to ensure trainees are capable of providing quality care to the public. This study describes the creation of a new instrument to measure competence and demonstrates that the new instrument provides more credible assessments than other available instruments. These findings have potential benefits for trainees, training institutions, and the public. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved
Clinical Psychologist, 2019
Background: Supervision has long been recognised as a highly influential aspect of training withi... more Background: Supervision has long been recognised as a highly influential aspect of training within psychology. The scientist-practitioner model underpins postgraduate psychology training programs. During such programs, clinical supervision plays an important role in the development and acquisition of evidence-based practice and scientist-practitioner competence. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive, current, and systematic review of the empirical research on supervisory interventions or practice that monitored and/or shaped the development of scientistpractitioner competence among psychology trainees. The secondary objective was to conduct a critical appraisal and assess the methodological rigour of included studies. Methods: Four major electronic databases were systematically searched against a priori inclusion criteria. Eligible quantitative studies investigated were located and assessed to identify evidence-based practice and scientist-practitioner factors within supervision in the psychology training settings. Results: A large pool of studies was retrieved but only four studies (N = 724 participants) met inclusion criteria indicating a major gap in the area. A narrative synthesis was conducted. Included studies were of good methodological quality, had small to medium sample sizes, and produced significant and valid results. Included studies used competency evaluation rating forms and compared supervision interventions. Conclusions: Despite the large body of literature on supervision, this review highlights a lack of empirical investigations into evidence-based practice and scientistpractitioner competence within supervision during psychology training. Future research directions are provided, and recommendations and implications for training and supervision are discussed.
Clinical Psychologist, 2019
Background: Although accurate self-assessment is essential for professional development, little i... more Background: Although accurate self-assessment is essential for professional development, little is known about psychology trainees' abilities to self-assess. The present study enhances our understanding of the influence of clinical psychology training on self-assessment and competence development, by systematically examining self-assessment capacity among postgraduate trainees visa -vis supervisors' assessments of trainee competence across multiple domains of competency. Methods: Self-and supervisor-assessment ratings were measured by the Clinical Psychology Practicum Competencies Rating Scale, which assessed trainees across global and specific psychology practitioner competencies. Assessments were in relation to trainees' end-of-placement evaluation, and included 35 trainee-supervisor dyads. Results: Results indicated that trainees are reasonably accurate in their self-evaluations, although they tended to underrate their performance. Assessments by both trainees and supervisors suggest that functional competencies develop more slowly than foundational competencies. Clinical experience and reflective practice were unrelated to self-assessment accuracy, although the use of observational techniques in supervision increased trainee and supervisor agreement concerning assessments. Conclusions: Results support the developmental model of competence attainment, offer preliminary support for the reliability of trainee self-assessments, and demonstrate the importance of observation-based supervision for fostering accurate self-assessment.
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Papers by Craig Gonsalvez