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Psychologists in New York are finding new ways to reach consumers -- and utilizing innovative strategies to stretch campaign resources. Following are highlights from New York City and Nassau County:

New York Psychological Association

Recognizing the effectiveness of media messages, the New York Psychological Association (NYSPA) utilized Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to further inform the public about the benefits of psychology. Elizabeth Carll, Ph.D., NYSPA Public Education Campaign Coordinator, worked with Cablevision, a local cable television company, to produce a PSA about coping with breast cancer. Cablevision, as part of its community service program, provided the technical support, production and air-time for the PSA. The estimated dollar value of the technical production and airtime was $5,000 - $6,000.

"This has been a wonderful opportunity for NYSPA, and the cost to the Public Education Committee was only a few hundred dollars," Dr. Carll said. The PSA aired nearly 100 times in April on cable networks such as CNN, CNBC, A&E, Lifetime, The Family Channel, USA Network, ESPN, Discovery Channel, and in some areas Court TV, FOX News, MSNBC, BET and the History Channel. Outreach efforts continued in May as the NYSPA Public Education Committee co-sponsored a conference entitled I'm OK - Surviving Cancer: Medical, Psychological, and Legal Issues that Affect Cancer Patients and Their Loved Ones. The conference was sponsored by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and hosted on Long Island. Call Elizabeth Carll, Ph.D. at 516.754.2424 for information on coordinating community outreach events in your state.

Nassau County Psychological Association

Members of the Nassau County Psychological Association teamed up with the Suffolk County Psychological Association to provide runners of the Long Island Marathon with supportive psychological services before the race. The volunteer "Psych Team" helped reduce pre-race anxiety by helping the runner connect to inner resources using supportive counseling, reframing, anchoring and stress inoculation training.

Public awareness of the mind/body connection has grown so rapidly that a business group created a program at this year's marathon called "Motivate Me." As part of this program, motivational quotes were posted on 7-foot-high signs at each mile mark in the race. "The presence of the "Motivate Me" signs proved to be a convenient icebreaker in the process of introducing individual runners to the Psych Team interventionists," said Gloria Rothenberg, Ph.D., Chair of the Nassau County Psychological Association Public Education Campaign Committee.

"The athletic community has become increasingly aware of the value of mental preparation in training and performance," added Dr. Rothenberg. More than 50 runners took advantage of the free, on-site sports psychology services offered at the marathon. The Psych Team consisted of five licensed psychologists and a graduate student from the Hofstra University Clinical Program. The Team was formed last year as part of local efforts to implement APA's public education campaign and focuses on the mind/body connection. Plans to expand the scope of sports psychology services offered at the marathon are being discussed with race organizers. During next year's marathon, the team would like to provide supportive services to runners during the race, as well as before.

The Nassau County Psychological Association has been successful in other efforts to promote the value of psychological services. During National Mental Health Month, the association sent the sample proclamation supplied in the APA National Mental Health Month kit to local civic leaders. As a result, May was declared Psychological Health Awareness Month by the Nassau County Executive's Office.

Plans are currently underway for National Depression Screening Day in October. Various sites will be staffed throughout Nassau County by members of the association, which has participated in the event since 1995. The association also keeps the community informed through its newsletter. The one-page publication, called the Community Interest Page, is distributed to local libraries, schools, PTAs, local legislators, senior centers and various community organizations. Many association members also keep copies in their waiting rooms.

If you are interested in developing similar outreach activities in your community, Gloria Rothenberg, Ph.D. and Jack Bowman, Ph.D. have agreed to share their success stories. Call them at 516.223.9318 for some helpful tips.

Hosting a town hall meeting is an effective way to bring national issues to the local level, while at the same time bringing psychologists and consumers together in a dynamic and interactive environment.

A Focus on Quality

These meetings also provide a great service to consumers. The rise of managed care has made quality, not cost, the primary concern of today's health care consumer. The more information that is made available to consumers about the different levels of quality among managed care providers, the better health care decisions they will be able to make. And the town hall meetings provide an ideal forum to educate consumers about the value of quality psychological care.

"Clearly the public understands there are problems with quality in managed health care," said Russ Newman, Ph.D., J.D., APA Executive Director for Professional Practice. "Conducting a town hall meeting that focuses on this issue is an important step in APA's effort to link health care providers and health care consumers in a united effort for reform."

Panelists should bring a variety of perspectives to the discussion. Individuals such as psychologists, employee benefits managers, human resource specialists, educators, politicians and local business owners make interesting participants. Identify consumer groups and other community organizations and distribute personalized invitations to potential attendees. Then follow-up with personal phone calls to encourage those invited to attend.

San Diego's Success Story

The San Diego Psychological Association (SDPA) hosted a community forum entitled Mental Health Care in the Changing Health Care Environment in November 1997. The forum focused on trends affecting accessibility to mental health care, the need to balance quality care and its costs and ways to evaluate mental health plans. The program encouraged audience participation and allowed for open dialogue between panelists and more than 70 attendees.

1998 APA Convention Town Hall

Emmy award-winning journalist Charlie Rose will moderate a panel discussion entitled, "A Rising Call for Quality Health Care - Reforming the System Through Unified Advocacy," as part of APA's 1998 National Convention in San Francisco on the morning of Saturday, August 15th. The town hall meeting will focus on the concerns that consumers and health care providers have about the quality of managed health care. Co-sponsors are Families USA, the Center for Patient Advocacy and the National Mental Health Association.

A wide array of organizations and consumers have already been invited to attend the town hall forum. Psychologists are encouraged to bring friends and colleagues to attend this unique event.

For more information on APA's 1998 National Convention and town hall meeting, contact Tricia Alvarez of the APA Practice Directorate at 202.336.5910. We look forward to seeing you in August.