Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) ratings were compared with ratings comprising the 12-item WAI, Short Form (WAI-S). Responses were collected from 54 university counseling center client-therapist pairs after the 4th therapy session as well as at a final ratings point. WAI and WAI-S scores were highly correlated and had comparable descriptive statistics, internal consistencies, and subscale intercorrelations within and across rater perspectives. Predictive validity estimates for WAI and WAI-S total scales were also very similar. Fourth-session WAI and WAI-S scores were moderately predictive of therapy improvement ratings. Results support the interchangeability of scores on the WAI and WAI-S scales.

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There is little empirical evidence to support the claim that cognitive- behavior therapy (CBT) is an especially suitable treatment for culturally diverse clients. The purpose of this study was to compare the applicability of CBT in a community sample of European American and American Indian individuals. Participants completed the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Applicability Scale (CBT-AS), in which they rated their preference for characteristics consistent with three tenets of CBT. European Americans rated a stronger preference for CBT's focused in-session behavior and structured therapeutic relationship than did American Indians. Both groups rated the active stance domain of CBT as mutually acceptable. On the basis of the findings, several modifications to CBT for therapists working with American Indian clients are proposed for future investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

How do clinical psychology PhD training programs decide whether a student should be dismissed? Are these decisions related to the student's clinical competency or suitability? Accredited, scientistpractitioner clinical psychology PhD training programs were surveyed about their experiences with dismissal decisions and clinical competency evaluations. Average rates of student dismissal and prompted resignations were low (less than 3% and 6%, respectively) but highly variable across programs. The most common basis for dismissals and resignations pertained to clinical competency concerns and academic standards. However, for 29% of programs, documented dismissal criteria did not include expectations for achievement of a prescribed level of clinical skills proficiency. Implications and suggested courses of action are discussed.

The authors investigated Asian-American underuse of mental health resources as a function of attitudes about the nature of mental health (mental health values) and resource preference for assistance with serious personal problems, with 91 Caucasian-American and 90 Japanese-American undergraduates. Mental Health Values Questionnaire (MHVQ) results revealed that Japanese Americans more strongly related several MHVQ scales to mental health (good interpersonal relations, trustworthiness, and absence of negative personal traits) than did Caucasian Americans. Nevertheless, they were less likely than Caucasian Americans to rank mental health professionals as first choice for assistance with serious interpersonal/emotional problems and more likely to prefer close friends for assistance. Mental health values and attitudes about appropriate help-seeking behavior are discussed in relation to the Asian-American underuse phenomenon. LANCE V SUAN is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of North Dakota, where he received his MA in 1989.