APA President

Suzanne Bennett Johnson, PhD

Introduction

Suzanne Bennett Johnson, PhD Welcome to the website of the American Psychological Association (APA) and particularly to my presidential page. APA is the world’s oldest and largest organization of psychologists, and I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to serve as the 2012 APA president.

The issues facing psychology today are diverse, complex and numerous; selecting which issues to address is no small task. The APA continually struggles with the multiple needs and demands of its members and the public as it seeks to make the best use of its resources. The recent economic downturn put even greater stress on the association, as it tried to do more with less.

Strategic Plan

In response, the APA embarked on an effort to develop a strategic plan for the first time in its 117-year history. The process was inclusive, involving input from many components of the organization including the elected members of APA’s governing bodies: the Council of Representatives, APA’s Boards and Committees, and its Board of Directors. The objective was to focus APA’s resources more strategically on high priority goals that were identified by inclusion and consensus. As a member of the APA Board of Directors, I was very fortunate to participate in this process; in my opinion, it was an outstanding success. APA now has a strategic plan with three goals:

To maximize organizational effectiveness;
To expand psychology’s role in advancing health; and
To increase recognition of psychology as a science.

I believe the strategic plan captures some of the most important issues facing psychology today. As president, I am excited about the strategic plan. Drawing on my unique and varied experience and perspective, I want to help make it a reality.

Presidency

After 35 years in academia, I have stepped down as chair of my medical school department to devote my time to research and service. I am grateful for my career as a psychologist. Through my APA governance experiences, I have met many committed fellow psychologists. I have enjoyed the rewards of patient care and mentoring students, and the intellectual stimulation of legislative advocacy and the scientific enterprise. I have been blessed, and service to psychology has been my way of giving back. I am honored to serve as president of the American Psychological Association.

Curriculum Vita (PDF, 143KB)

Biography

Suzanne Bennett Johnson, PhD, ABPP, is an APA Fellow and Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University (FSU) College of Medicine. She received her B.A. in psychology from Cornell University and her PhD in clinical psychology from SUNY at Stony Brook. She was director of the Center for Pediatric and Family Studies at the University of Florida Health Science Center until 2002, when she became the chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences at FSU College of Medicine, the first new medical school to be established in 25 years. For more see SBJ for APA.

Science

With 30+ years of research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), her work has focused on medical regimen adherence, childhood diabetes, pediatric obesity, and the psychological impact of genetic screening on children and families. She received awards for her research contributions from the Society of Pediatric Psychology, the Association of Medical School Psychologists, and the American Diabetes Association.

Practice

A licensed psychologist and ABPP, for 30+ years, she saw children and families in a pediatric diabetes clinic, as part of an integrated multidisciplinary care team. She worked with the American Diabetes Association to develop standards for the psychological care of patients with diabetes and worked with the APA Practice Directorate to establish the Health and Behavior CPT codes, permitting psychological services to be reimbursed as part of the medical benefit.

Education

She has chaired 56 completed master’s theses and doctoral dissertations and has been instrumental in developing an innovative, integrated biopsychosocial curriculum for FSU’s new College of Medicine. She received awards for her mentorship from both the McKnight Foundation and APA’s Div. 54 (Pediatric Psychology).

International

As co-chair of the psychosocial studies committee of a NIH’s The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study, she is responsible for all psychological components of this international study. The National Academy of Science’s report on International Collaborations in Social and Behavioral Research was a product of her work as chair of the US National Committee for the International Union of Psychological Science. She is currently a member of the International Union of Science’s Planning Group on Health and Well-being in the Changing Urban Environment.

Leadership and Service to Psychology

She served as president of the Society of Pediatric Psychology (now Div. 54), president of Div. 38 (Health Psychology) and was an APA Council Representative from Florida and Div. 38. She chaired APA’s Board of Professional Affairs and its Board of Scientific Affairs and is currently a member of APA’s Board of Directors. Her leadership and service has been acknowledged by awards from the Florida Psychological Association, Div. 38 (Health Psychology) and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Health Policy/Advocacy

Serving as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow for Senator Hillary Clinton, she helped develop Senator Clinton’s response to the mental health needs of New York City children after 9/11. The Lifespan Respite Care Act, which Dr. Johnson wrote during her fellowship, became law in 2006.

Initiatives

There are several over-riding issues that are important to me in developing my APA Presidential Initiatives. First, all of the initiatives must be consistent with the APA strategic plan to (1) maximize organizational effectiveness, (2) expand psychology’s role in advancing health, and (3) increase recognition of psychology as a science. I am committed to the strategic plan and want to use the office of the President, including those resources dedicated to presidential initiatives, in the service of APA’s strategic plan.

Second, initiatives that are collaborations between two or more groups or organizations are preferred. I believe that APA can have greater impact if it collaborates with other groups working toward common goals. I am interested in collaborations between APA and other organizations but also collaborations between groups within the APA family.

Third, I am not married to a specific format for my presidential initiatives (e.g., a Task Force). Rather, I would like to encourage many groups interested in one or more of my presidential initiatives to develop ideas to make them a reality. I am happy to use the office of the President in any way I can to promote many groups’ activities in these arenas. The more collaborations and initiatives generated , the better.

Presidential Initiative 1: Interdisciplinary Science and Practice

Science is becoming more and more interdisciplinary; the really hard questions we face as a society cannot be answered by a single discipline. In my view, psychological science is underrepresented on interdisciplinary research teams and psychology is training too few scientists to participate effectively in these teams.

On the practice side, health care is moving to models of integrated care delivery. We know that patients are cared for most effectively when their needs are addressed through patient-centered care interdisciplinary teams. Integrated care will require psychologists to practice side by side with other health providers. In my opinion, too few psychologists are trained to deliver services as part of integrated care teams and too few integrated care teams include a psychologist.

This initiative is consistent with goals 2 (expand psychology’s role in advancing health) and 3 (increase recognition of psychology as a science) of APA’s strategic plan.

Presidential Initiative 2: Obesity

Obesity is the second leading cause of death in U.S. and is expected to become the leading cause within the next few years. Because of obesity, the U.S. is facing a diabetes epidemic; 33% of boys & 39% of girls born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetimes. The prevalence of diabetes in minority populations is even higher, with 50% of African American women expected to develop diabetes in their lifetime. The costs associated with obesity are likely to bankrupt the health care system and US life expectancy will decrease for first time in a century. Psychology needs to become a bigger player in society’s efforts to address this major threat to the human health and well-being.

This initiative is also consistent with goals 2 (expand psychology’s role in advancing health) and 3 (increase recognition of psychology as a science) of APA’s strategic plan.

Presidential Initiative 3: Engaging the Next Generation of Psychologists

The mean age of APA members in 2010 was 54.3 years and their mean number of years post-degree was 20.6 years. The percent of APA membership that consists of early career psychologists is declining and few early career psychologists join APA divisions. Unless we engage the next generation of psychologists, APA will no longer be the influential organization it is today.

This initiative is consistent with goal 1 (maximizing organizational effectiveness) of APA’s strategic plan.

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