Sandusky Case: Man who evaluated alleged victim was not yet psychologist

By Mike DawsonCentredaily.com
Originally published March 28, 2012

Dr. Morford

After State College psychologist Alycia Chambers talked to an 11-year-old boy about Jerry Sandusky showering with him in May 1998, she concluded Sandusky was exhibiting signs of grooming the boy for sexual abuse.

A couple days later, a counselor, John Seasock, met with the boy and had a different conclusion. The showering episode, Seasock determined, was rather the result of a routine that coaches like Sandusky do after a workout.

Centre County prosecutors did not pursue criminal charges against Sandusky after that incident, and whether the competing conclusions factored into that decision remains a subject of conjecture.

But, almost 14 years later, the fact that Seasock wasn’t a psychologist at the time, according to state records, raises questions about how much weight his opinion should have carried.

“To take that person’s word over a psychologist who has been prepared and licensed by the state is, I would say, very surprising and a serious concern,” said Marolyn Morford, a State College psychologist.

Morford said Tuesday she’s been alarmed by Seasock’s representation as a psychologist at the time in question. That’s how the Penn State police investigation report refers to him, and that’s how Seasock has been referred to in media reports after the document was leaked Saturday.

State records show that Seasock has been licensed as a professional counselor since January 2002.

The entire story is here.

Dr. Morford is a member of PPA's Ethics Committee.

Diversity Based Psychology: What Practitioners and Trainers Need to Know

Diversity Based

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Teen Athletes Should Get Concussion Test Score Before Play

-- Robert Preidt

(HealthDay News) -- Individual concussion baselines need to be created for young athletes at the start of a playing season for them to be accurately diagnosed and treated if they suffer a concussion during the season, researchers report.

The investigators also noted that the sex of the players affects the scores on a standardized concussion assessment tool.

The study included 1,134 high school athletes in the Phoenix area who completed a brief questionnaire regarding their concussion history and were given a score based on the new Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-2 (SCAT2).

There were 872 males and 262 females, average age 15, included in the study. The predominant sports were football for the males and volleyball for the females.

Females scored significantly higher than males on the SCAT2 total score, and athletes with a prior history of concussion scored much lower on the SCAT2 than those with no history of concussion.

The findings were slated for presentation Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) in San Diego.

"Our results showed that otherwise healthy adolescent athletes do display some variability in results so establishing each player's own baseline before the season starts and then comparing it to test results following a concussion leads to more accurate diagnosis and treatment," study author Dr. Anikar Chhabra, of the Orthopaedic Clinic Association in Phoenix, said in an AOSSM news release.

"This data provides the first insight into how the SCAT2 scores can be used and interpreted as a sideline concussion tool and as an initial baseline analysis. With concussions accounting for approximately 9% of all high school athletic injuries, accurately utilizing assessments like these to quickly determine an athlete's return-to-play probability is critical to long-term athletic and educational performance," Chhabra said.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.