The prevalence and effects of alcohol misuse and mental health problems on work behavior among professionals were examined using psychologists as prototypic of professionals in general. Members of the American Psychological Association (APA; n = 507) completed the Needs Assessment Survey developed by the authors concerning colleague alcohol misuse and mental health problems. Results indicated that at least one third of the respondents knew of colleagues who misused alcohol on the basis of fairly overt signs of impairment. Only a select few of the respondents (« = 61) confronted colleagues about their alcohol misuse; those confronters tended to be older men who saw clients with alcohol problems. In contrast, many more respondents confronted colleagues about their mental health problems (n = 182) and had better treatment outcomes. Considering the ambivalence of psychologists to confront colleague alcohol misuse in the presence of job-related detriment, use of the employee assistance program model of confrontation on demonstrable evidence of job decline seems appropriate. The roles of professional self-help organizations such as Psychologists Helping Psychologists in facilitating recovery of alcohol misusing psychologists and of APA in assisting psychologists in distress are discussed.

Clients bring to therapy sessions a diverse background of spiritual beliefs and religious orientations that they perceive as valuable resources and coping skills. Yet, not all psychologists know how to address effectively these beliefs and orientations. The author uses case examples to describe his experience within the United States Air Force community gained while establishing a collaborative relationship with the clergy. Recommendations include the following: how to start the collaboration, establishing a collegial relationship, pursuing continuing education on faith factors in counseling, how to utilize pastoral counselors, marketing your respect for the clergy, and capitalizing on the value of clergy in providing continuing education to psychologists. FRANK C. BUDD received his PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is a Lieutenant Colonel (Select) in the U.S. Air Force and serves as the 437th Behavioral Sciences Flight Commander. His research interests include disaster psychology, community education and prevention, and Christian counseling.

The demographic, alcohol use, and drug use characteristics, work behavior, and recovery experiences of 108 alcoholic psychologists in an abstinence-based recovery organization (Psychologists Helping Psychologists) were investigated through survey sampling procedures. Respondents were similar in several variables to psychologists in the American Psychological Association and to other health professionals with drug and alcohol problems. The majority of respondents were in good recovery and tended to use a wider variety of relapse-prevention strategies as their length of sobriety increased. Respondents reported several indicators of alcohol-related work impairment, which was observed though seldom confronted by colleagues. Results of multiple regression analyses revealed that alcohol dependence and quality of sobriety were related to relapse and that use of a broad array of relapse-prevention strategies and satisfaction with several life areas were related to the length of sobriety.

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