The Professional School of Psychology (PSP) not only provides training and education programs, as well as salons, laboratories and field stations, it also offers books, assessment instruments and other tools that aide those providing psychological services — be these services in the domain of psychothearpy, counselling, Professional coaching or organizational consulting.
Honoring the tradition of general stores that offer a bit of everything to its customers, the Professional School of Psychology provides resources in multiple areas of professional psychology.
Tools and Instruments
In the front left side of the store we feature tools and insturments that The Center for Personal and Organizational Assessment (CPOA) at PSP has prepared. CPOA has created suites of inventories and related documents over the past thirty years that have been used extensively in training programs, as well as consulting and coaching sessions. They have also appeared in several widely read books that offer concepts and research findings related to these CPOA documents.
CPOA offers assessment instruments that are distinctive in several important ways. First, all of the CPOA inventories are based on extensive research and scholarship. They are theory-rich and thus lend themselves to enhanced dialogue between a coach or consultant and their client. While many other inventories might have been derived from analysis of data gathered from large sources (the so-called empirically based inventories) they are likely to offer numbers that are interesting and perhaps valid–yet not yield the kind of insightful conversations that a theory-based assessment can produce.
Each of these theory-based CPOA inventories come in a set of three printed booklet that each contains a copy of the inventory, score sheet, and description of the concepts and theories that provide a foundation for the inventory.
Second, most of the assessment instruments that focus on individual respondents provide three perspectives:
* the respondent’s own self-assessment,
* assessments of the respondent by other people, and
* assessment of the organizational environment (climate/culture) in which the respondent works and through which the respondent is being perceived by other people with whom they work.
In several instances, the respondent is also asked to predict how they think other people will perceive or judge their performance/behavior.
All of the printed CPOA inventories and booklets are available through the Professional Psychology Press (a sub-division of The Professional School of Psychology.) With regard to the digital version of the inventories, CPOA administers the Survey Monkey that is used for collection from multiple respondents and provides multiple levels of analysis for results obtained from this digital survey.
A listing and brief description of each assessment instrument available from the CPOA catalogue can be found by clicking on the following link: CPOA Catalogue
Specific asssessment instruments can be ordered by clicking on the following link: CPOA Order Form
Alongside the assessment instruments are a set of tools that can be used by the professional psychologist for xxxxx.
Books
A set of psychology-related books are for sale at the front left side of the Professional Psychology store. These books has all bene pullishe by Ash Point Publishing–another affiliate of PSP. Beginning in the Summer of 2020, under the auspices of Ash Point Publishing, three publishing centers that address the application of professional psychology wisdom and practices in three different ways. One of these publication centers (Pacific Soundings Press) has been in operation for many years (having been established in California during the 1970s and having published numerous books over the past four decades). It focuses on postsecondary education. The other two publishing ventures were establilshed in 2009 established. One of these (Professional Psychology Press) focuses, at the name implles, on the perspectivea and practices of professional psychology. The other publicvation venture (Atlantic Soundings Press) addresses broader societal issues from a psychological perspective.
The distinctive Editorial Vision of Ash Point Publishing is based on a distinction to be drawn between static books and “living” books.Traditionally books were published in print form and distributed, read and archived without any changes ever being made (or even possible given its printed form). Even with the introduction of digital publications, it was assumed that the “printed” word remains unchanged. A mechanistic/closed system perspective on publication. Digital publishing and just-in-time/low volume publishing allow for the creation of publications that are growing, changing, dialogic in nature and format. An organic/open system perspective on publication is engaged at three levels:
Level One: the publication can include both written words and video recordings (through use of Vimeo and other modes of digital storage). The reader is introduced to the author “talking” about their work, as well as (potentially) other people commenting on the work (via video recording) in the midst of the written document.
Level Two: the publication is changing, with the author(s) including new material, based on comments regarding earlier versions and their own reflection on the work. The work is always “in progress.” The video recordings influence the ongoing work.
Level Three: the publication is set within a broader dialogic framework, with brief digital presentations by the author and/or question/answer/commentary sessions being part of what the “reader” purchases (subscribes to). In a more expansive format, the “book” can be incorporated in a workshop program or even complete certification/academic credit-generating program. Content from the digital presentations/dialogues being incorporated in the publication: there is full integration of the printed word and the enacted (and recorded) dialogue.
Many of the publications associated with Ash Point Publishing are aligned with this vision of the “Living Book.”
Links to the three publishing centers under Ash Point Publishing are to be found on the right side of this page.
Essays and Periodicals
When one wanders to the back of the Professional Psychology Store they find in the back left corner a news corner containing essays, journals and other documents related to contemporary professional psychology perspective and practices. Specifically, this corner of the store features the 400 documents contained in the curated and organized Library of Professional Psychology (LPP). This library is an internet based growing collection of documents focusing on the challenging practice of professional psychology. Articles posted in this library range over many topics – from brief psycho-biographical essays that allow us to view moments in the lives of men and women from many different cultures, to extended analyses regarding complex personal, organizational, societal and cultural dynamics. Some of the articles offer practical suggestions and relevant insights while others encourage questions, inviting reflection and the opportunity to challenge established psychological principles and practices. Here is a link to the digital Library of Professional Psychology (which like Ash Point Publishing is dedicated to the vision of “living” publications):
Bulletin Board
Finally, at the left rear corner we find a bulletin board on which are tacked the many ongoing activities of PSP. This includes the distinctive “salons” being offered by the PSP Global Community. A statement regarding the “spirit” of the PSP salons is offered by John Krubski (a member of the PSP Global Community). His video statement is following by a description and link to longer description regarding the two salon activities now being engaged by PSP. The Salon link
The studios (reviews of recent movies from a psychological perspective), laboratories (focused constructive dialogues regarding specific psychological and societal challenges) and field stations (ongoing studies regarding important psychological issues making use of digital survey tools). Here is a link to the PSP Bulletin Board.
