"It has been a great gift of our law that we have been mandated to create training programs in hospitals, clinics, and medical centers. Creating the medical rotations has, indeed, generated much good will and lots of interdisciplinary work among the medical, the psychiatric, and the psychological communities. Undergraduate and graduate students are also taking advantage of training opportunities in our state to become prescribing psychologists. There are currently as many as 15 graduate students who are ready to embark on earning their joint degrees in Clinical Psychopharmacology at New Mexico State University while pursuing their doctorates in clinical psychology at schools in Illinois. At the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, there are 75 undergraduates who have chosen to 'concentrate' in a 'pre-prescribing psychologist' curriculum and I have been asked to formally mentor them. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology will be opening its doors to training students in Clinical Psychopharmacology on September 1st.
"On August 18th I hosted a networking dinner for our prescribing psychology trainees, ranging in age from 19 to 85 years old; our hospital and medical center CEOs and medical directors; the assistant director and the chief psychologist of the Illinois Department of Corrections; the Executive Director of NAMI; the Vice President of our largest social service organization, Thresholds; and the President, administrative staff, and faculty of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Governor Pat Quinn, our former Illinois governor who signed our legislation into law on June 25, 2014, was there to give a rousing speech on the importance of prescribing psychologists and the revolution in healthcare around the nation. More than 105 individuals were present and we are looking forward to our next event in January, 2018 with some additional special guests [Beth Rom-Rymer]." Beth recently sponsored up to nine $5,000 scholarships – following up on her earlier commitment at Alliant International University -- to support graduate students and practicing licensed psychologists to complete their training in psychopharmacology. Her expectation is that half of the scholarships, which give a preference to those committed to working with the underserved, will be awarded to pre-doctoral graduate students.
Give an Hour: For the past 12 years, Give an Hour has provided free mental health care to those who serve, our Veterans and their families. Give an Hour's generous volunteer mental health professionals have collectively donated over 124,000 hours of free care and support valued at nearly $23 million. Psychologist Barbara Van Dahlen founded the organization and has become a noted expert on harnessing skill based volunteers as well as the mental health consequences of military service. She has received numerous honors for this innovative work – most notably, she was named to Time Magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World for her creation of Give an Hour in 2012. In 2013 she received an APA Presidential Citation from President Don Bersoff and in 2014 Barbara received the Outstanding Civilian Service Award from the U.S. Army.
Give an Hour also leads the Campaign to Change Direction [www.changedirection.org], a collective impact effort that includes the APA as a founding member. This public health approach is focused on changing the culture of mental health by encouraging everyone to Know the Five Signs of Emotional Suffering. It also encourages everyone to Learn the Healthy Habits of Emotional Well-Being. President Barack Obama has personally heralded their importance.
Barbara's work has been so successful in identifying and engaging champions for this work including First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, Richard Gere, Brian Wilson, and Chris Stapleton. Through her relationship with the Royal Foundation, Barbara secured participation in the Campaign by Prince Harry. She recently wrote a poignant piece about the anniversary of Princess Diana's death – and how Price Harry and Prince William are carrying on their mother's legacy of caring for those who are suffering emotionally [http://bit.ly/2vART1E].
Give an Hour's model has been proven and is now being expanded to address the mental health concerns of other populations in need including at risk teens, at risk seniors, survivors of gun violence, and victims of human trafficking. Give an Hour offers psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and other mental health professionals the opportunity to join the network in order to respond to natural and man-made disasters. Most recently, Give an Hour opened its network in response to the trauma in Charlottesville and is opening its network to respond to the devastation in Houston. If you aren't currently giving your hour, please consider giving your gift of time and expertise and join today at [www.giveanhour.org].
We are especially pleased with the extent to which Barbara has been supportive of our efforts at the Uniformed Services University (USU) to train the next generation of military clinical psychologists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. Faculty member Teresa Combs of the Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing: "For approximately the past two years, I've volunteered for Give an Hour. I've treated several members and volunteered at several of their local events. The Service Members I've seen are genuinely appreciative to have this service available. I'm convinced there is the need for more mental health providers to offer services. It is not uncommon for the Members to report the length of time they have waited for services. Furthermore, there is a sign of relief when they are convinced the sessions are absolutely confidential." Will you make that all important individual commitment?
Especially in the Face of Adversity: In April, 2010 the Governor of Oregon vetoed the OPA psychology RxP legislation. This August, another Governor vetoed HB 3355, expressing concern "particularly related to patient safety and ensuring appropriate prescribing." OPA's legislation had overwhelming passed both houses of the Oregon legislature, which clearly has a different perspective. Our sincerest appreciation to Robin Henderson and her colleagues for continuing to work tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of their state. The Governor's expressed concerns can be satisfactorily addressed. Her comment "There is insufficient evidence that the bill will improve access or quality of care" ignores the federal experience, especially that of Oregonian Morgan Sammons. "I dream of things that never were, and ask why not." Aloha.
Pat DeLeon, former APA President – HPA -- September, 2017
Sent from my iPhone
