THE CONTINUING HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR
We recently had the opportunity to attend the 2018 APAPO Practice Leadership Conference, joining 350 colleagues from all over the nation and Columbia. This was Executive Director for Professional Practice Katherine Nordal’s farewell event – Advancing Practice Together and her opportunity to formally introduce Arthur Evans, APA’s new CEO, to the leadership of our State and Territorial psychological associations – the backbone of professional practice. At the Opening Session there was a solemn moment of silence for our California VA colleagues who were killed earlier that week, serving those who had placed themselves in “Harm’s Way.” Then the enthusiasm in the room and the genuine appreciation and gratitude that those assembled felt for Katherine’s extraordinary decade of service at APA spontaneously burst forth.
The Times They Are A-Changing: Our profession is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, as is the nation’s entire health care system. As Katherine touched upon the highlights of her journey at APA – achieving mental health parity, protecting against proposed Medicare and Medicaid cuts which would have negatively impacted psychology’s patients, fighting for increasing psychology’s recognition at the federal and local level, etc. -- she made it clear that she had enjoyed creating the type of disruption within the profession that ultimately allowed us to believe in ourselves and remove our historical blinders, in order to move the profession to a higher level of accomplishment. She stressed that psychology will only achieve its true potential by addressing society’s real needs and by appreciating that we can indeed make people and society healthier and happier. Psychology does save lives. Katherine was clear that Arthur Evans was absolutely the right person for psychology at this point in time and was very optimistic about the future. For me personally, the State Leadership conferences are the highlight of the year and this year’s 35th was no exception. If you have the opportunity to represent your state, I would strongly recommend it. It is an exhilarating experience.
Several major themes were consistently expressed throughout the conference, such as the importance of developing genuine personal relationships at the local level with our state and federal elected officials. I was particularly pleased to be in the audience for Doug Walter’s “Inside Congress and the 2018 Mid-Year Political Landscape” political plenary session where the chiefs of staff for Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Michael Crapo (R-ID) shared their extensive experiences on The Hill. The importance of bi-partisan collaboration, hiring excellent staff and then staying out of their way, and having a long-term vision have not changed since I was there. Having a conversation with colleagues, and thereby building trusting relationships, remains the key to success. Money is unquestionably important in the political process; however, very few legislative staff are actually aware of who makes contributions. At the luncheon awards program the recipient, a Nebraska State Senator, made the same points -- stressing how his psychology constituents have been with him from the very beginning and how they are constantly educating him regarding psychology’s contributions to early childhood education and juvenile justice programs. As a businessman-banker he was very impressed by the cost-effectiveness of prevention initiatives, particularly for those on the verge of entering the prison system. Again, long term relationships are the key to access and influence.
Prescriptive Authority (RxP): Beth Rom-Rymer, currently serving on the APA Board of Directors, chaired one of the concurrent workshops: “The Revolution in Health Care: Prescribing Psychologists.” The excitement for the future was palpable, as first-hand descriptions of the various successful models adopted by New Mexico, Louisiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Idaho were described. Renee Willkins from New Mexico reported that they now have 10 prescribing psychologists who have been in practice for over a decade; she and Darlyne Nemeth of Louisiana reported that to their knowledge, there have been no reported complaints to their respective licensing boards. Further, they both emphatically addressed the reoccurring concern that those who obtained RxP might lose their psychology identity by stating that simply was not correct. All of their prescribing colleagues saw themselves first as psychologists and appreciated how they were able to significantly improve the lives of their patients, frequently by modifying previous medication orders. Each successful state had adopted a legislative strategy that was unique to their own circumstances and especially the pressing needs of their rural citizens.
“What is particularly unique is that Illinois graduate students are flocking to the Chicago School of Professional Psychology to earn a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychopharmacology alongside their doctoral degrees in Psychology. It is really exciting that the APA Committee, chosen to review the Clinical Psychopharmacology curriculum for prescribing psychology trainees, has recommended that APA approve the training of graduate students in Clinical Psychopharmacology. This recommendation would give significant impetus to those thousands of graduate students, around the country, who are passionate about becoming psychologists and who believe that having prescriptive authority would give them greater access to a wider range of tools to be utilized in treatment” (Beth Rom-Rymer).
The Master’s Issue: One far-reaching accomplishment by the Council of Representatives, which met that same week in our nation’s Capital, was highlighted at the APAPO conference. “APA is currently recognized by the United States Secretary of Education to accredit doctoral, internship, and postdoctoral programs in psychology. At the March 2018 APA Council of Representatives meeting a motion was overwhelmingly approved to pursue accreditation of master’s level programs in psychology in areas where APA accreditation now applies (clinical, counseling, school, and combinations thereof). Factors that were considered in making this decision include the growth in the number of master’s degrees awarded in psychology by 40% in both health service and research subfields between 2006 and 2016 and the importance of master’s programs in ensuring the viability of doctoral programs. Furthermore, graduates with master’s degrees in psychology are facing increasing challenges to get credentialed for practice secondary to advocacy efforts to restrict the professional counselor credential to those who have graduated from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). This challenge has grown despite the existence of a separate accreditation system for psychology graduates (the Master’s in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council).
“It is important to note that this action was taken with the continued recognition of the doctorate is the minimum educational requirement for entry into professional practice as a psychologist. Next steps will include developing a proposal regarding the decision-making structure of the accrediting body, how that body will need to be developed in accordance with current APA policies, scope of accreditation for that body, a timeframe to develop standards, policies, and procedures for program review, timeframe to seek recognition (federal and or non-federal), and infrastructure issues” (Catherine Grus). This is a critical issue for all of psychology which was discussed in depth by Linda Campbell and her colleagues at last year’s annual convention. When I served as APA President in 2000, we seriously explored various potential options. However, at that time it was not possible to develop the necessary consensus for action. Substantive change always takes time, often far longer than one might anticipate.
The American Academy of Nursing: Long-time psychology colleague Angelia McBride, Dean Emerita of the Indiana-Purdue University School of Nursing and a Nursing “Living Legend,” invited me to serve on the AAN-Institute for Nursing Leadership National Advisory Council. Their Advisory Council met the same week as State Leadership and it was inspiring to participate in very similar discussions with nursing’s leadership regarding how to best serve society and bring their considerable expertise to the table in addressing such societal priorities as decreasing violence, especially within our nation’s schools. As Angie emphasized during their deliberations, the public policy process requires interdisciplinary collaboration. Mahalo, Katherine Nordal -- Psychology’s “Living Legend.” Aloha,
Pat DeLeon, former APA President – Division 18 – March, 2018
