Tuesday, October 7, 1986/The Battalion/Page 5
Psychology department runs facility
Psychological clinic offers services
By Kristin Theodorson
Reporter
The Texas A&M psychology
department has operated a teach
ing clinic offering general psy
chology outpatient services to the
public since the beginning of Sep
tember.
Dr. Brian Stagner, temporary
clinic director, said the clinic of
fers individual and family the
rapy, psychological assessments
and special services on a sliding
fee basis. The fee amount will be
determined by the ability of the
patient to pay.
The clinic offers expertise on
sexual dysfunctions, depression,
sex offenders, anxiety disorders
and women’s issues. The counsel
ing will be provided by Drs. Jo
seph Lopiccolo, Albert Casey,
Wendy E. Stock and Jeffrey M.
Kern, Stagner said.
“The services we can actually
offer are somewhat limited by
what our supervisors are good
at,” he said.
The department’s professional
staff and licensed psychologists
will supervise all counseling and
work none by the graduate stu
dents, and local psychiatrists will
provide medical consultation.
Future services will depend on
what kind of faculty the depart
ment will attract now that the new
clinic has opened, Stagner said.
The clinic is geared to fill the
gap in services that was left when
the Mental Health Mental Retar
dation Authority of Brazos Valley
discontinued its outpatient the
rapy services, Stagner said.
The new facility also will be a
research and training site for the
psychology department, he said.
Dr. Stephen Worchel, psychol
ogy department head, said the
clinic is funded by the fees col
lected and by the College of Lib
eral Arts. The funds will support
the operation of the clinic and
help pay for equipment and re
search.
With funding taken care of,
Stagner said the only real prob
lem with getting the clinic started
was the time pressure involved.
“We wanted to be ready to roll
(at the beginning of the semester)
so our students could have the
practical experience during the
semester,” Stagner said.
He said the teaching clinic has
been in the works ever since the
psychology department decided
to offer a doctoral program,
which was established in 1984.
The clinical psychology doc
toral program is not yet accred
ited by the American Psychologi
cal Association.
In a Feb. 11 article in The Bat*
talion, Dr. Paul }. Wellman, assis
tant professor of psychology, said
the program had not been ac
credited because there was no
clinical facility on campus.
Stagner said that even though
the clinic is open, the decision to
apply for accreditation with the
APA has not yet been made, but
should be within the next couple
of weeks.
The department isn’t sure
whether it is ready for the accred
itation process, he said. The proc
ess is very time-consuming and
the department may decide to ap
ply later on so it can work on
other projects.
Before the clinic opened, the
doctoral candidates had to get
their training and experience ei
ther at Greenleaf Psychiatric Hos
pital, MHMR, or the Austin State
Hospital Outreach Center in
Hempstead, Stagner said.
The clinic is temporarily lo
cated in the Bryan Professional
Building at 1301 Memorial Drive,
near Humana Hospital.
Anyone wishing to make an ap
pointment or get more informa
tion should call 845-8017.
A&M personnel learn to fight stress
Workshops offered by employee health, fitness program
By Lisa Fleischmann
Reporter
The faculty and staff members sat in the dark
ened room with closed eyes as they were in
structed to relax and envision a tranquil scene.
After a few moments, they checked each others’
pulse rates and murmured congratulations.
This exercise was part of two stress-manage
ment workshops sponsored by the Personnel De
partment last week.
The workshops are part of the ongoing Em
ployee Health and Fitness Education Program,
which was implemented last year.
“The goal of the program is to help people
identify stress, control it and be more produc
tive,” says Alison Paggi, employee relations rep
resentative. “They (the speakers) talk about
things that you do to yourself — like reliving hor
rible moments in your life over and over again —
and they teach you relaxation techniques.”
Ann McMullan, employment manager, says
she feels that the worksnop may have more
meaning for employees this year.
“It’s stressful to not get a mandated raise,” Mc
Mullan says. “Employees are quitting, and the
other employees are having to do more work.”
Michael Duffy, associate professor of educa
tional psychology, says many people exhibit signs
of stress in their day-to-day lives and that stress is
a motivating and natural aspect of life. But too
much stress can lead to serious physical problems
that can result in death, he says.
“Stress can directly cause allergies, ulcers, mi
graine headaches and backaches,” Duffy says.
“Recent studies show that stress is indirectly re
lated to strokes, high blood pressure, certain
types of cancer, diabetes and colds.”
Dr. Robert Reilley of the educational psychol
ogy department says there are different types of
stress: overload, frustration, adaptive and Type
A personality stress.
Overload stress occurs when people demand
more of themselves than their time and resources
allow; frustration stress occurs when situations
interrupt pre-existing plans or goals; adaptive
stress happens when unexpected changes upset
schedules; and Type A personality stress occurs
when people are overly competitive and con
stantly struggle to get more done in a shorter
amount of time.
Reilley says people can minimize stress by bud
geting their time, planning alternative activities,
minimizing lifestyle changes and taking vaca
tions.
He also suggests taking a few minutes each day
to relax by concentrating on an object and count
ing backwards while breathing slowly or resting
and imagining a peaceful setting.
Nurse Barbara Reilley, Dr. Reilley’s wife, says
poor nutrition habits intensify stress and result
ing health problems.
Stress causes an increase of blood sugar, so
dium retention in the kidneys, stomach acid and
the breakdown of vitamins, enzymes and protein,
she says, and it also triggers a release of hor
mones that causes both the heart rate and blood
pressure to rise.
These physiological problems are exaggerated
when combined with caffeine, she adds.
Dr. George Jessup, of the health and physical
education department, says that while a balanced
diet can alleviate stress, exercise is the most im
mediate solution.
The Personnel Department will sponsor two
other workshops later this year. “Balancing Work
and Family” will be held in November, and “Nu
trition and Weight Control” will be offered in the
spring.
Don't miss
the leader
of lieder—
' A* ’/ *•
' ; V.HC
Elly Ameling!
"She can tell a story in a song: face, hands, diction, tone of voice and
rhythm all contribute at every vivid moment as though there were no
other possible way of doing it." — NEW YORK TIMES
The MSC Opera and Performing Arts Society presents Elly Ameling,
Dutch soprano soloist Friday, October 10, at 8 p.m. in Rudder
Auditorium at Texas A&M.
Elly Ameling has filled the renown concert halls of the world with lied
music, a German art song rarely performed today. Ameling performs
with a mastery of expression which penetrates the listener's very soul.
Whatever the music and whatever the mood, Ameling delivers a stirr
ing performance.
Don't miss this rare opportunity. A few good seats remain for the
October 10 performance. For tickets and more information, call the
MSC Box Office, 845-1234. VISA and MasterCard accepted.
Memorial Student Center • Texas A&M University • Box J*1 • College Station TX 77844-9081
Gramm-Rudman
Bureaucratic Inertia
and
The U.S. Taxpayer
Featured Speakers:
Phil Gramm-United States Senator
James E. Miller Ill-Director,
Office of Management & Budget
John Anderson-Former Presidential
Candidate
Wednesday, October 22,1986
2:30 p.m. J. Earle Rudder Auditorium
Reserve Tickets Available Oct. 8 in the
MSC Box Office
$3. 50 Students, $6. 00 Public