Research has consistently demonstrated that performance is degraded when participants engage in two simultaneous tasks that require the same working memory resources. This study tested predictions from working memory theory to investigate the effects of eye movement (EM) on the components of autobiographical memory. In two experiments, 24 and 36 participants, respectively, focused on negative memories while engaging in three dual-attention EM tasks of increasing complexity. Compared to No-EM, Slow-EM and Fast-EM produced significantly decreased ratings of image vividness, thought clarity, and emotional intensity, and the more difficult Fast-EM resulted in larger decreases than did Slow-EM. The effects on emotional intensity were not consistent, with some preliminary evidence that a focus on memory-related thought might maintain emotional intensity during simple dual-attention tasks (Slow-EM, No-EM). The findings of our experiments support a working memory explanation for the effects of EM dual-attention tasks on autobiographical memory. Implications for understanding the mechanisms of action in EMDR are discussed.

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The goal of this study was to evaluate Joseph, Williams, and Yule's cognitive-behavioral model of response to traumatic stress when applied to a sample of 122 female sexual abuse survivors. Participants completed surveys that measured each variable presented in Joseph, Williams, and Yule's model (i.e., event stimuli, personality, appraisals, coping, crisis support, event cognitions, and emotional states). Path analysis showed that although Joseph, Williams, and Yule's model did not fit the data, a modified version based on the sexual abuse literature fit the data well. Modifications to the model included the removal of the variable coping and the addition of paths from event characteristics to crisis support and from personality to event characteristics.

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Canadian psychology professionals (n = 591) and psychology students (n = 272) were asked for their opinions about prescription privileges for psychologists. A majority of respondents indicated that properly trained psychologists should be allowed to prescribe, and that the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) should advocate for such privileges. Few people felt that prescribing was theoretically or philosophically opposed to the field of psychology or that it would compromise psychological service delivery. Not surprisingly, clinical students were more likely than other psychology graduate students to indicate that they would seek prescription privileges if these were available.