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 Ronald E. Fox, Ph.D.
1. History of Service: I ask you to elect me as one of Division 42’s representatives to APA’s highest governing authority, the Council of Representatives. Having served the Division as chair of the Fellows Committee, as a member of the Board of Directors, and as President, I know our Division and how it works quite well. I believe I can work effectively to get things done in the Division.
2. Relevant Experience: You should vote for me for several reasons.
- I have previous experience on Council as President of APA, Recording Secretary, and representative of two different divisions,
- As a past president of Division 42, I am well qualified to “hit the ground running” with respect to effectively representing the interests of independent practitioners and the Division.
- I know how Council operates and how to negotiate its Byzantine rules and political intrigues to move issues of importance through the process. I actually have received awards for my ability to do just that.
- I have been a leader in helping our profession grow and develop including pioneering the prescriptive privileges movement. Founder or co-founder of: the Association of Psychology and Postdoctoral Internship Centers, the Wright State University School of Professional Psychology, the Practice Directorate in APA, family therapy clinics at two major universities, and both Division 29, and 55.
- Recognized by Divisions 12, 29, 31, 42, 43, 45 and 55, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Foundation for contributions to practice, the education of women and minorities, and the development of the profession.
- Currently, serve as Vice Chair of the APA Insurance Trust and as Chair of the Association for the Advancement of Psychology, our national psychology political action committee.
3. Critical Issues: The critical issues confronting independent practitioners are: 1. Protecting and enhancing access to the full range of psychological services while maintaining our ability to earn a decent living; and 2. Becoming an important advocate for changing the design of the nation’s health care system --- which is in the process of collapsing around our ears.
4. How to Address the Issues: First, we must complete plans I began as President for using the Division’s financial assets to directly benefit our practitioners by more direct intervention in the political process rather than continuing to grow our corporate savings account. Practice is under attack and we must use our resources to fight back. Second, we must push APA to become much more active in exposing problems in the nation’s current health care system and proposing solutions that are in keeping with our perspective as psychologists.
My life’s work and passion has been the enhancement, protection and development of our profession. I want to grow our practices rather than acquiesce to their being eroded away from under our feet. I would be honored to serve as one of your Representatives to the APA Council. I respectfully ask for your vote and your support.
 Josephine D. Johnson, Ph.D.
I have had the opportunity to serve Division 42 in several capacities. I am currently Diversity Member-at-Large and Chair-Elect of the Membership Committee. My term as Program Chair in 2004 culminated in an exciting Convention in Hawaii. I have been an active member of the Program Committee and Diversity Committee. Last year I was privileged to run for President of the Division. I have vigorously recruited new members, represented the Division at Conferences, presented at Convention; I am a “42 Ambassador”. A member of several divisions, I have been most active in 42 because I am an independent practitioner and feel that my strengths and diverse perspectives have been welcomed in governance.
I bring many years of seasoned experience as an association and division leader to the role of Council Representative. I have held many positions within the Michigan Psychological Association including President and alternate Council Rep. I was Chair of the APA Committee of State Leaders, and member of the Task Force on Evidence Based Practice. I have been appointed to the Task Force on the Implementation of the Multicultural Guidelines. Council re-elected me to CAPP this year. With more than 20 years as a solo practitioner I know firsthand the challenges that we face in managing the business of practice.
What are those challenges—the critical issues? Reaching the goals of advancing practice/ protecting and enhancing income” through the following objectives:
- Improving graduate education to include courses on practice building; Shortening the time toward licensure
- Staying abreast of the policy and regulatory changes affecting practice. The “next big thing” is pay-for-performance (PFP)-- initiatives to allow the outcome of patient treatment to influence payment. Providers who deliver better patient outcomes would be paid more than those who don‘t. FYI- Medicare and Medicaid initiatives are already underway.
- Continuing the fight for the “other” parity—equality with psychiatry re: prescriptive authority and ultimately equal pay for those services; Advocating for hospital admission privileges
- Educating members about the importance of political advocacy-- political giving and activism; especially in light of increasing legislative control of our profession
[Internal to APA]—Working to insure budgetary support for practice needs
Div. 42 alone cannot address all of the issues but partnering we can:
- augment graduate training with Business of Practice workshops while lobbying universities to offer such courses; Empower early-career psychologists as needed
- alert and educate the membership about PFP; appoint an Interdivisional Task Force to identify alternative ways of improving treatment outcomes.
- financially support prescriptive authority initiatives and hospital admissions efforts such as Psychology Shield to the extent that our C3 status will allow.
- work collaboratively with APAPO to fund qualified political advocacy efforts (considering C3 limitations). As a member of CAPP I am uniquely positioned to voice our needs.
- initiate and support allocations for practice initiatives through our Council Reps. We need to elect a practice oriented APA President.
I would greatly appreciate your support and will translate your vote into effective representation.
 Elaine S. LeVine, Ph.D.
Dear Member of Division 42:
Thank you for this opportunity to introduce myself and explain why I am asking for your vote as Council Representative for Division 42.
I have been a member of Division 42 since its inception and was voted a Fellow of Division 42 in 2005. Over the years, I have offered Division 42 sponsored presentations at the APA and at midwinter conferences. I have been very active advocating for rights and privileges of independent practitioners and their patients at both the State and National level. In addition, I now serve as a member of the Board of Psychologist Examiners in New Mexico. I served as Chair of the APA Committee on Rural Health and helped create new methods of bringing more practitioners into rural areas. I am now President-Elect of Division 55, the American Society for the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy. In this role, I have been working on ways to facilitate closer communication and advocacy efforts between Division 42 and Division 55.
I was responsible for sparking the interest in RxP in the New Mexico Psychological Association and then leading a group of committed, forward-looking psychologists through the legislative process, resulting in Governor Garry Johnson signing into law the first bill in the United States granting properly trained psychologists prescriptive authority. I continued to work toward the implementation of our Law and now am one of the initial psychologists licensed to prescribe psychotropics. For these efforts, I received an APA Presidential Citation from Robert Sternberg in 2003 as well as Division 35 and Division 55 awards. I believe I am uniquely qualified to assure that as psychologists we maintain our identity as we develop this new practice field. If elected as your Council Representative, I will bring my experience and determination to help RxP become a reality in all fifty states.
Like you, I am very concerned about the many issues facing private practitioners (from shrinking practice opportunities for those in traditional practice to managed care constraints). If elected to Council, I would serve diligently to address these concerns by focusing on and stimulating new and emerging areas of practice, fighting for the practitioners’ autonomy, and looking for new ways to support and bring, into the Division 42 fold, young psychologists attempting to begin private practice.
I believe strongly in the scientist-practitioner model of practice, as evidenced by my having published over 50 articles in refereed journals (specializing in cross-cultural and child therapy) and three books: Crossing Cultures in Therapy: (Brooks/Cole, 1980), Listen to our Children: Theory and Practice (Kendall Hunt, 1986, 1992, 1998) and Law & Mental Health Professionals in New Mexico, (APA 2005).
I will offer Division 42 my energy, enthusiasm, and well-seasoned experience in developing the new practice area of prescriptive authority for psychologists and will apply the knowledge I gained from these efforts to opening other markets by linking with varied several APA constituencies as well as with other organizations. I will continue my commitment to further professional psychology and to reach diverse and underserved populations through an integrated, biopsychosocial approach to care.
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME FOR COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE!
 Bonnie Markham, Ph.D., Psy.D.
Our members believe that the interests of practitioners should have a significant voice in APA governance and have voted to send seven Division 42 members to Council. I would like the opportunity to forward the Division’s agenda as one of your representatives to Council.
OUR PRIORITIES IN THE MARKETPLACE
Division 42 members are, for some part of their work life, in business for themselves. The ability to succeed in the business of psychology requires good graduate education, fair and reasonable steps to licensure, the ability to collect fees that reflect the true value of our services, broad opportunities in the marketplace, competence to work with diverse clientele, in diverse ways, and in diverse settings, public understanding of the role of psychology in their lives, and an appreciation of the knowledge base of professional practice.
OUR PRIORITIES IN APA
It is in the best interests of Division 42 members to work closely with all the organizational components of APA. APA is our organization and it is our job to make sure that our agenda is articulated at Council and within other parts of APA such as the APAPO and CAPP. The resources of the Division available to accomplish our goals are enhanced exponentially when our goals are also in the forefront of the American Psychological Association.
SOME IDEAS ABOUT FORWARDING OUR AGENDA IN APA
Advocacy and coalition building are essential. All parts of APA are seated at Council. Here is where we can build coalitions and advocate for our members. There are many divisions and affiliates of APA that share at least some part of our agenda. Working together with other groups will strengthen our position and make our voice stronger.
MY EXPERIENCE
For the past six years I have served as Treasurer of the Division. During that time I helped the Division develop fiscal policies and procedures that have assured good financial health. Currently, I am a Member-at-Large of the Board and on the Advocacy Task Force. Having served on the task force that created the long-range plan for Division 42, I am well-versed in the key issues facing our members. In acknowledgment of my work, the Board of Directors named me Distinguished Psychologist of the Year for 2005. As a member of several APA Divisions, and currently Treasurer of Division 31, I am in a position to build links and form alliances that will be in the best interests of psychologists in independent practice within the framework of APA governance.
 Roger Moore, Ph.D.
I have been a member of Division 42 since entering private practice a dozen years ago and have been an active advocate for independent practice issues in the many leadership roles I have held at the national and state levels since graduate school, although I have not yet held any positions in Division 42. As an executive board member of APAGS in its early years, I was a liaison with numerous APA boards and committees, including serving as liaison to CAPP for three years. I also have served in many state level positions including Chair of the Public Relations Committee, State Coordinator for various Practice Directorate marketing programs, President-elect/President/Past President of the North Carolina Psychological Association, President (three years) of the North Carolina Psychological Foundation and Vice Chair of the state’s psychology PAC.
In these roles I have focused on maintaining the strongest possible milieu for independent practitioners. Throughout my career I have been mentored by leaders in the field who have fostered my understanding of the political process and how to represent effectively. I believe I have learned these lessons well. Being at the midpoint of my career allows me to blend a good understanding of the evolution of independent practice with a strong investment in preparing the pathway for the years to come.
The Division represents practitioners providing a range of services in a variety of niches. The most critical issues confronting independent practitioners center on three primary domains: fostering a broad scope of practice, assuring maximal access to services, and strengthening reimbursement streams. Fostering scope requires that we continue to broaden our own areas of practice and expertise while remaining vigilant to outside attempts to encroach onto our areas of specialization. Assuring maximal access requires that we continue weakening barriers to our services by decreasing panel restrictions, reducing disincentives for using out of network providers, expanding participation opportunities in governmental health care programs and developing direct to consumer outreach plans to prepare for increasing utilization of health savings accounts. Strengthening reimbursement requires continued pressure to reduce planned rate cuts and to refine fee scheduling to reflect service specialization, as well as continuing to address untoward strategies that are used to delay payment for provided services.
In order to assure that these domains remain a central aspect of APA’s focus, the Representatives to APA Council must be advocates, diplomats and guardians. They must be able to present Division concerns and strategies in a strong, convincing, acceptable manner. They must be able to work with other divisions and coalitions to build support to enable proposals to be accepted by the Council. Finally, they must be guardians who are ever vigilant to efforts that would impinge on the three domains so critical for strong independent practice.
I have the energy, the passion and the skills to be an effective Council Representative. I care deeply about this profession and have a strong desire to serve. I ask for your vote to become one of your representatives to the Council. Thank you.
 Karen Zager, Ph.D.
1. It’s difficult to briefly summarize 20+ years of service to the Division, so I’ll just give you some highlights:
I served as President in 1993, Council Representative for 5 years, Treasurer for 2 three-year terms, and Editor of the Independent Practitioner. I’ve Chaired many committees and Task Forces, including Publications and Communications, Fellows, Finance, Awards, Nominations and Elections, Governance and Committee Structure, and The Task Force on Adolescence. I am a Fellow of the Division and received the Distinguished Psychologist of the Year Award in 1991.
2. I not only know the Division very well since I’ve been involved in governance since its inception, but have already served a couple of terms on Council. I am ready to return to Council to keep our Independent Practice agenda at the forefront of APA decision-making. A good Council rep needs not only thorough knowledge of the Division and of the workings of APA and Council, but also needs to be intimately in tune with practitioners’ needs. As a full-time practitioner whose main and only job is private practice, I am fully prepared to advocate for the needs of my Divisional colleagues.
3. All of practice is a critical issue! We are losing our autonomy to managed care, we are losing our incomes, we are squeezed and threatened from every side. Maintaining privacy and confidentiality for our clients is critical. HIPAA regulations are critical. Evidence-based practice and its implications are critical. Masters level licensing is another hot issue, as are prescribing privileges. I am not a one-issue psychologist, but would hope to be able to address whatever issues arise in Council in order to protect and advance our autonomy, our right to practice independently. I firmly believe that a Council Rep needs to be prepared to advocate on many fronts and not be narrow in focus.
4. I have a broad background in both the Division and in APA Governance, where I’ve served on a variety of Committees and Chaired a couple of Presidential Task Forces, as well as being elected to two terms on Council. This will enable me to well represent our Divisional interests on Council. Council needs strong voices to protect and advance our members’ interests. I am prepared to do just that. After a 2 year hiatus from Divisional governance, I’m ready to return, infused with even more energy and dedication than before.
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