Today was one of those days. My 10:00 am client assumed a fetal position while recounting her mother’s neglect. My 3:00 pm had a panic attack while describing her September 11, 2001 experience. My 7:00 pm wept as he showed me his wedding photographs on the first anniversary of his wife’s death. You’ve probably had similar days. The daily work of independent practice can be quite challenging.

This is my first column in my role as president of Division 42. I am honored to serve you in this capacity. I will begin 2006 with great enthusiasm. Based on the work of the Task Force on Priorities, I am delighted to report that our division leadership achieved every single objective mapped out five years ago! But, there is so much more to achieve.

Supporting our ability to sustain ourselves as independent practitioners is an imperative need. I asked Tammy Martin-Causey to chair a group to explore avenues beyond the health care system for independent practitioners. Our board members continue to spend significant amounts of energy and time exploring how to protect the needs of practitioners. Last year, board members asked the Marketing and Public Education Committee to develop projects and products that enable practitioners to improve their practices. Former president Ron Fox presented his vision for impacting the market on behalf of our members. Bonnie Markham, our past treasurer, worked tirelessly to research options to advance practitioner wellbeing in the current marketplace. We continue to examine alternative proposals tempered by how to best serve our members’ needs.

Psychologists in Independent Practice is the largest APA division. Nonetheless, general trends in APA show a decline in psychologists’ divisional membership. Increasing the number of our members is a high priority. Miguel Gallardo, our membership chair, has “taken up the gauntlet” of previous chairs. Indeed, we are working to make our division “the home for all practitioners in APA”. In this year we plan to target young professionals, student members, and culturally diverse practitioners, among others.

As our society becomes increasingly diverse, it is important to be prepared for changing markets. I chose diversity as a general focus for my presidential term and have been working closely with the Committee on Diversity in Practice and Culture. Its members are developing The Diversity Corner, a resource designed to offer sensible information to use in your practice. Kris Hancock (Diversity Committee chair) and Armand Cerbone (Diversity Committee past chair) have developed an on line course on the APA Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients. Furthermore, we have just completed an on-line course and primer on applying the APA multicultural competence guidelines to psychological practice. Kudos to Jeff Barnett for initiating this effort in collaboration with Divisions 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues) and 17 (Counseling Psychology).

Many multicultural experts agree that we increase our cultural awareness when we engage in non-hierarchical relationships with people from diverse backgrounds, learn another language, visit abroad, immerse ourselves in a different culture, and read literature written by culturally diverse individuals. One of the new resources that we will launch during my tenure is The Novel Project, a catalogue and discussion of works of fiction depicting issues of diversity. Members of the diversity committee have enthusiastically broken ground in this less didactic, more experiential soil.

No matter where you stand on immigration issues, it is impossible to deny their emotional and financial impact on society. France’s recent experience with Muslim youths’ frustration confirms our need to understand and manage the dynamics of diversity. I have collaborated with several colleagues in the planning of the APA Expert Summit on Immigration. This event will highlight practice, research and policy issues, providing a much-needed context to our work with immigrant, migrant, and international clients. The summit will be held on February 2, 2006, followed by our Board of Directors meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Plan now to get away this winter for some warmth and collegiality and attend the summit!

The power of the media provides an opportunity to enhance our professional public image. Dr. Phil’s public praise of psychologists’ work after Hurricane Katrina (“If you see a psychologist, give him/her a hug!”) gave terrific exposure. Indeed, segments of the general public are now applauding APA’s decision to retain New Orleans as the 2006 convention site. Our convention program committee, headed by Anabel Bejarano, is working very hard to bring you outstanding sessions. Besides augmenting the usually excellent sessions on professional practice, we are developing programs on disaster trauma and the delivery of psychological services in a culturally competent manner. You should definitely plan to join us in celebrating in a big way the recovery of Big Easy!

It is an amazing statistic that the amount of money that Americans spend for complementary “medicine” and alternative healing is more than twice than what we spend for hospital care. This is a burgeoning market— largely untapped by many psychologists. Of course, you don’t have to become an alternative practitioner. Instead, you can incorporate aspects of meditation, mindfulness, creative visualization, and other techniques into your work. For my presidential convention theme I’ve selected “Expanding your practice: Diversity, Creativity and Spirituality,” to broaden practitioners’ range of interventions. My goal is that these convention sessions will help you expand and revitalize your practice.

Paraphrasing the African saying, It takes a village to raise a division. As I start this year, I feel fortunate to have past president Jeff Barnett’s collaboration, guidance, and wise counsel. I am also grateful to former presidents Jean Carter and Ron Fox for their mentorship. Furthermore, I am delighted to work with president elect, Laura Barbanel, a trusted colleague of many years. Our division has the spirit that moves us to volunteer time, creativity, and passion. Countless members continue to make division 42 the Home for All Practitioners. I cannot acknowledge everyone in this limited space. However, I must recognize Gordon Herz, Editor 42 On-line, who labored with the Publications and Communications Committee and Board of Directors to develop a Listserv policy and procedures that emphasizes collegiality and efficiency. Thanks to the many of you who have thoughtfully provided input through Gordon’s survey. The listserv is there for you, and it will continue to evolve with your input.

Feel free to contact me cultura@starpower.net, Jeff Barnett drjbarnett1@comcast.net, and or Laura Barbanel lbarbanel@earthlink.net with your ideas, comments, and suggestions.

Gracias,

Lillian

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