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Representative to APA Council (3 to be elected)

I am currently finishing my term as Member at Large of Division 42, and would be gratified to be able to serve on the Council of Representatives.

Although I have come to APA governance late in my career, I feel privileged to have been able to contribute to practice in general, and Division 42 in particular; in diverse and relevant ways.

First, I have been a plaintiff in Virginia’s successful and ongoing lawsuit against a particularly devious managed care company. Many do not know that, in addition to winning the breach of contract component of the suit, the existence of our lawsuit was cited as a reason for the prevention of the company’s merger with another large insurance company. The commissioner cited the lawsuit as an example of the company’s poor relationship with its providers. Additionally, our appeal on the fraud issue is still pending, and we were not muzzled! I am proud that the influence of our lawsuit has been significantly greater than we expected. Thank you, Practice Directorate!

The day after 9/11, I was stationed, as part of the Red Cross’s Disaster Mental Health team, about 150 yards from impact at the Pentagon. In addition to whatever I was able to contribute on-site, I was subsequently able to use this experience to educate the broader community about resilience and self-care during wartime and the value of what psychologists have to offer.

Last year, when the United States Congress had a health fair, several other psychologists and I represented the APA at the Longworth building. In addition to plenty of conversation, we provided brochures about Resilience, Depression, and Anxiety. It was gratifying to hear from the congressional staff the high levels of esteem in which psychologists are held. We are becoming the “go-to-guys” when help is needed. That other major profession was not represented, by the way.

With respect to Division 42, I was Chair of the Taskforce on Guidelines. Many of our suggestions for alternative language in the proposed guidelines for both geriatric psychology and multicultural psychology were accepted by the Division 42 Board and became quite influential in toning down some of the “edgier” language in the guidelines that were finally adopted by the Council of Representatives.

Some of the most critical issues confronting independent practitioners include keeping watch-- by means of a reinstituted Taskforce on Guidelines-- on all proposed guidelines in order to maintain our scope of practice. I would love the opportunity to continue to influence this process as Council Representative.

No less important is using our C6 status to fund guild projects designed to expand our scope of practice and increase practitioner incomes. If necessary, the division could fund these activities by partnering with other practice divisions.

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