I am writing to you from Rajastan, India, about 100 miles form the Pakistan border. Traveling, as you know, can be both enriching and challenging.  It has included a camel ride, visits to castles and temples, as well as  beggars, hawking, dirt and numbers of people on a scale that is hard to believe.   Travel gives you the opportunity to see many things that you would not see or experience on your home front and to think and reflect on what is important in your life, both as  an individual as a professional  and as a citizen. I will spare you my reflections on my own life. Professionally it has reaffirmed some of what I have long thought of as important for us as a division and as a profession.

In my first column I had indicated that I would focus on one topic important to the 25th anniversary of Division 42 in each of my columns.

My focus today is on Advocacy

Just a few weeks ago I went to the Advocacy Summit organized by Elaine LeVine, president of Division 55 and co-sponsored by Divisions 42 and 55.  This was attended by members of both divisions and others as well. A number of Division 42 members presented, including Bob Resnick, Lenore Walker, and I.  It was an enthusiastic and inspiring conference.  Why this is important for us to consider is of course because the topic is an important one.  Moreover it reflects a major change in the way we as a profession see ourselves.  Twenty-five years ago we barely knew about advocacy for psychology.

Recently, Division 42 set up an Advocacy Task Force which the board of directors of the division seeks to convert into a standing committee.  I am delighted to say that Jean Carter, a former division president, has agreed to chair this Continuing Committee.

There certainly is a different relationship to advocacy in our profession than there was 25 years ago.  At that time we were not so invested in it as a profession, with the exception, perhaps, of the licensing laws that were achieved in all of our states.  Individuals may have been active in advocacy but the profession was not organized for it.  Today most of us understand that advocacy is critical for our profession as well as for us as change agents.  In fact it is through advocacy that we can be social change agents

How do we do this?

Advocacy falls into several categories.

Support of a member of a legislative body, or running for a legislative seat, state or federal.  In our profession at this point we have several PACs set up specifically to support legislators for you. When you support a candidate  or member it doesn’t mean that you will automatically get support for your issues.  What it does mean is that you are likely to get the ear of the individual that you have supported.  As one presenter at the conference indicated, politics is not about money or power, it is about relationships.  If you develop a relationship with your local state representative, he or she will turn to you when advice is needed on a specific issue.  Presenter after presenter spoke about the importance of knowing your local state legislatures.  And it is easier than you think.  Go to a fundraiser for your candidate or member.  Or just introduce yourself. Let him or her know that you are available for comment on legislation related to psychology or social welfare or whatever else you are comfortable commenting about.  Offer your services for advice to staff beleaguered by the public asking for service.

Support a legislative effort-pro or con.

This is easier than you think.  Division 42 has a federal advocacy coordinator (FAC) whose task it is to let us know what relevant bills are coming up for consideration or are in the pipeline.  Jerry Grammer, our federal advocacy coordinator, sends out announcements to the listserv and advises us about what is coming up.  You can write via email to your congressperson or senator by using the practice organizations website. The APAPO, the practice  organization has on its website the information you need to access the names of your congressperson, house and senate and a link to writing to them. I am sure that your state association can provide similar information for your state legislators.

Develop new legislation or a legislative effort.

This may seem complicated but if you wish to make change in policy, see what your state association is doing.  Division 42’s advocacy committee is spearheading an effort to work on hospital privileges for psychologists.  This is a complicated topic, but one that is important for psychologists and our patients. It is also important because although you may not wish personally to be involved in admitting patients to the hospital, having hospital privileges will integrate you more completely into  your local  health care system. In some states, psychologists do have hospital privileges, but the privileges are not necessarily available because of specific hospital administrative policies.  I am delighted to say that Glen Ally, a member of the Division 42 board of directors and a Louisiana psychologist who was instrumental (with others) in getting prescriptive authority for psychologists in Louisiana, will be chairing this effort.  If you have ideas for him or are interested in working on the issue, please contact Glen.  Thank you, Glen, for agreeing to do this.

I will close here, although I have  much more  to say, because here the internet connections has a way of failing when you need them most. I hope that my words can help you start some new travels. I look forward to hearing form you with your thoughts on these matters.

Laura