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Last Updated May 7, 2004

Conference Corner

SCP 2004 Mid-Winter Conference in Pasadena, California

Thanks to everyone's efforts, our Mid-Winter Conference in Pasadena was a success! Mid-Winter program chairs Virginia Mullin and Kevin Somerville created a terrific lineup of keynote speakers and breakout sessions. Keynote speakers included Jag Sheth on "Why Good Companies Fail," Susan Mohrman on "Do No Harm: Helping Leaders Through Fundamental Change," David Campbell on "Leadership as Obsession: It’s Not About Balance," and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on "Leadership and Creativity."  Breakout sessions included Martin Chemerson "Leadership for a New Era," Ben Dattner on "Narcissistic Leaders," Amy Owen on "Succession Planning Metrics," and more.  If you missed these in Pasadena, click here to visit the Division 13 website, then follow the "Presentations" link on the main menu.

The conference received very high ratings by participants. On a 5-point rating scale, the mean was 4.52, with 55% of the participants giving the conference a perfect 5.0 rating. Most participants plan to attend the conference next year (74% yes and 23% undecided). Participant favorite aspects of the conference were the program, continuing education opportunities, and the Getty Museum excursion.

APA Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii: July 28 - August 1, 2004

The Society of Consulting Psychology is offering a variety of programs, symposia, and continuing education workshops so members can upgrade their skills and knowledge in paradise. Programs Diana Gordick, SCP Program chair, has arranged include:

  • Applications For Using Positive Psychology
  • Organizational Politics
  • Executive and Organizational Trauma
  • Work Team Consultations
  • Return on Investment and Outcome Measurements
  • A special symposium represents collaboration among divisions 13, 14, 31, 39, and 42 on Psychologists without Borders – Trends and Implications for Cross-Divisional Practice
Continuing Education Workshops for Division 13
  • Daniel Denison and Bill Neal on Culture and Leadership
  • Randall White on Executive Coaching

Other APA programs and events:

  • Convention Race and Walk - Saturday, July 31st at 7:00 AM. Information at www.APA47.org and in your convention packet.
  • Education Advocacy Breakfast Meeting - Saturday, July 31st from 7:30-9:00 AM.  Topic: The Campus Care and Counseling Act (HR 3593) with Congressmen Davis Osborne
For a complete program schedule and registration: http://www.apa.org/convention/

SCP 2005 Mid-Winter Conference in San Antonio, Texas: February 11- 13, 2005

Consulting Psychology: Bridging the Past, Present, and Future will focus on transforming best practices learned from individual, social, human factors, and system theories into actionable business strategies. The Hyatt Regency on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas has been selected as the site for the 2005 Mid-Winter Conference.  The conference has five principle objectives:

  • Create a multi-level learning experience that will appeal to practitioners at different career stages, including beginning, transitioning, mid-level, and senior.
  • Present topics in a format focused on translating best practices into real world examples of work done with clients.
  • Deliver learning opportunities across a variety of formats.  Similar to past conferences, individual speakers, panels, teams, and workshops will provide innovative ideas, skills, and experiential learning opportunities.
  • Provide activities that contribute to our core strengths as a division—our collegial and inclusive atmosphere. There will be social opportunities, a town hall meeting, and time for members to connect, share ideas, and network informally.
  • Develop a cohesive marketing plan that will help build awareness of the division and its offerings.

Mark your calendars now!

Spotlight On Consulting Issues
The Family Businesses Special Interest Group
 Mark I. Sirkin, Ph.D.
   

Any family business consultant will tell you, on a good day the work is a heady combination of high risk, high profile, high stakes consulting opportunities.  But not for the faint of heart, because on a bad day, the complexity of the challenges, the height of the passions, and the multi-disciplinary needs of the business can be overwhelming.  Family business consulting is a specialty within a specialty for those psychologists who have been willing to take up the challenges.  Continuing a member-to-member format, this Spotlight focuses on four experienced family business consultants: Bernard Kliska, Bill Criddle, Christine Maginn, and Everett Moitoza.

Click here for full story

Past Spotlights are available on the Archives page

A Letter From the President
Paul Winum, Ph.D.

With this edition of the SCP Newsletter, our Society enters its last quarter of this program year with many things already accomplished and several important tasks remaining before we conclude the year with convention in Honolulu.  In this column, I’d like to highlight some of the accomplishments as well as some of the work we still need to accomplish.

Progress and Accomplishments
First and foremost, thanks to the dedicated efforts of many people led by co-chairs Virginia Mullin and Kevin Somerville, the 2004 Mid-Winter Conference on Consultation to Corporations and Businesses was a resounding success!  With more than 240 in attendance, this year’s Mid-Winter Conference was better attended, received higher ratings and generated more revenue for our Society’s programming than any in its twelve-year history.  For a fraction of the cost of most business conferences, attendees left Pasadena stimulated by a host of new ideas, a variety of new professional contacts and, in many cases, a year’s worth of Continuing Education credits now required by many states.  Perhaps most heartwarming were the many comments from participants about how the warm, friendly and collegial culture that has distinguished this conference from so many others was maintained despite the increase in attendance.  Thanks to all who participated and contributed to this highlight event of the year.  The co-chairs for next year’s conference, Diana Gordick and Stewart Cooper, have already begun preparations to make the 2005 Mid-Winter Conference even better than this year’s one so spread the word to hold the dates February 10-13 for San Antonio, Texas.

Two other notable highlights at Pasadena were the Town Hall Meeting and the initiation of the SCP Shared Interest Groups.  The Town Hall Meeting yielded some very useful suggestions from the 200 SCP members who were there about how to increase the effectiveness of the Society in fulfilling its mission.  The membership particularly expresses support for the implementation of distance learning initiatives to provide training and education opportunities for those of us working as consulting psychologists.  Also, six Shared Interest Groups were kicked off in Pasadena and promise to offer networking and collegiality to participating members in the following areas:

  • Independent Practice – led by David Brewer
  • Diversity Interests – led by Greg Pennington
  • Family Businesses – led by Mark Sirkin
  • Emerging Professionals and Students – led by Rob Fazio and Richelle Reyes
  • Consulting Firms – led by Laurie Moret
  • School Consultants – led by Sylvia Rosenfield
  • Transitioning Clinicians – led by Scott Service

President-Elect Steve Gravenkemper and Membership Chair Andrew Berns will be working with the board and the leaders of the SIGs to advance each of these areas.  Please contact either of them or the SIG leaders if you are interested in learning more about the opportunities these initiatives offer to members.

Within the Education and Training arena, Stewart Cooper and his colleagues on this committee have begun to populate a training directory on the SCP website (www.apa.org/divisions/div13) listing programs and professionals available for supervision and consultant development.  Also, our APA Council Representative Ann O’Roark has been working hard with APA’s Board of Professional Affairs to get our Education Training Guidelines approved.  This will be an important step in advancing consulting psychology as a distinct practice area requiring specific knowledge and skills.

In other news, our Webmaster, Steve Kincaid, has added a new Job Postings section to the website which already lists several position openings of interest to job seekers.  Past-President Dick Diedrich has assembled a slate of outstanding candidates for SCP Board positions.  Ballots and candidate statements should be arriving very soon if you haven’t already received them.  You should also know that Diana Gordick with assistance from Sheila Kampa has put together a terrific program for the APA Convention in Hawaii this August.  Please plan to be there if you haven’t already done so.

A Call to Action
One of the important goals I proposed for our organization for this year was to increase the engagement and dialogue with clients and I still believe this is critical to ensure that the services consulting psychologists are properly focused and relevant.  There seems to be a strong consensus about this.  Some of the highest rated sessions at the Mid-Winter Conference were those that involved client executives.  On the survey distributed at the Town Hall meeting, participation by those on the receiving end of consulting services was suggested repeatedly as one way to strengthen SCP.  Your help is needed to do this!

How can you help?  By getting your clients to become Professional Affiliate Members of our Society!  As you may recall from the Fall newsletter, the Professional Affiliate membership category provides a great way for us to engage our clients in the mission of SCP.  In addition to the benefits we derive from client involvement, membership as a Professional Affiliate enables our clients to:

  • use the List Serve to solicit ideas and resources from the community of SCP psychologists,
  • identify candidates for open positions they want to fill by using the Job Posting service,
  • get plugged into best practices in executive and organizational development through the Consulting Psychology Journal,
  • participate at the Mid-Winter Conference with no registration fee (at the $495 level),
  • and most importantly, contribute to the development of a profession intended to serve their needs well.

It is up to us to invite our clients’ involvement as Professional Affiliate Members.  Accordingly, I ask each of us to get just one of our client executives to join our Society using the Invitation Form (available here).  Amy Owen of Motorola is spearheading this campaign and would welcome any questions you may have about this.  If we were willing to ask, most of our clients would be happy to support our organization and enjoy the benefits of membership.

I appreciate your support of this initiative and of all of the efforts that the SCP Board undertakes to advance our common mission.  I hope 2004 is unfolding as a great year for each of you and I look forward to seeing you in Honolulu!

Sincerely,

Spotlight on Consulting Issues
Internal Consulting
Brian Buford, Ph.D.

A conversation with members of the Internal Consulting Special Interest Group.

Click here for full story

Past Spotlights are available on the Archives page

Spotlight on Consulting Issues
Crossing the Border: 
Venturing into International Consulting
Jennifer Boyce, Ph.D.

How do you go beyond borders? That is, how do you expand your practice outside of the US? Perhaps more importantly, how do you expand your mind outside the US? Caution: This is not for the meek.

Click here for full story

Past Spotlights are available on the Archives page

Graduate Student Corner
Richelle Reyes and Rob Fazio

Graduate Student Corner Announcements

  • Upcoming Events at APA in Hawaii: Meet The Professionals at the APA conference in Hawaii on July 29th from 2-2:50pm in the Division Hospitality Suite. The main objective of Meet The Professionals is to create a welcoming atmosphere where students and professionals can meet each other and establish new professional relationships.
  • We are trying to increase the use of the D13 Student Listserv. Click here for directions on how to register. This is a free service for members and non-members. Important announcements will be delivered through this Listserv, so stay tuned!
  • Recap of the Graduate Student and Emerging Professionals meetings at the Mid-Winter Conference: We are in the process of building and developing the graduate student and emerging professionals community within the division. This is an exciting time to become more involved. By creating a network of young professionals and students we can share ideas and strategies on a variety of topics such as gaining entry and experience.
  • RHR International Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award: This award, given to a doctoral student or recent graduate for exemplary research contributing to theory or practice of consulting psychology, is funded by RHR International. The winner receives a $1000 check and travel funds to present the award winning research at the APA annual meeting. Click here for instructions on how to apply.
  • Become more active in the division! Contact us to find out how: Richelle Reyes and Rob Fazio

The Consulting Psychology [Graduate] Student Roundtable
Doctoral students in the Consulting Psychology doctoral program at Alliant International University (AIU) have started The Consulting Psychology Student Roundtable, an information-focused student interest group, to help students develop their professional identity in the field of consulting psychology.

The Roundtable facilitates "coffee talks" between veterans in the consulting field and students. These talks are purposefully informal to promote discussion at that “nitty-gritty” level so often missed during formal colloquium presentations. Members of the Society of Consulting Psychology are invited to take advantage of this opportunity to meet and talk with students. Anyone interested in learning more about the Roundtable and/or in signing up for a coffee talk is welcomed to contact Kopitzee at kthornton@alliant.edu.

International Council of Psychologists 
Call for Student Poster Presentations
Jinan, Shandong, China, August 3 – 6, 2004
The chairs for this session are Ann M. O’Roark, Ph.D. [St. Petersburg, Florida]; Pittu Laungani, Ph.D. [London, England]; and, Albert Dietrich, Ph.D. [Graz, Austria]. Posters will be displayed throughout the conference. Each submitter will receive a letter of appreciation and feedback from a Board member or senior leader in ICP. Three will be selected to receive special recognition, including a year’s membership in ICP.

U.S. students should send an abstract and your resume/biographical information to Dr. O’Roark as soon as possible.  European submissions are to go to Dr. Laungani or Dr. Dietrich (addresses supplied upon request.). All submissions are to have international psychology as a focus. Completed poster presentations must be ready for mounting by June 15.

For more information contact:
Dr. Ann M. O’Roark
866 Amelia Court NE
St. Petersburg, Florida 33702

A Letter From the Editor
Debra Robinson, Ph.D.

Dear Society Members,

Welcome to the Spring 2004 issue of the Consulting Psychologist!  The Consulting Psychologist comes out twice per year – May and November. This allows us to stay in contact with our members between our SCP Mid-winter Conference in February and the APA Convention in late summer.

This issue features Spotlight articles written by our Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) on Family Business Consulting, International Consulting, and Internal Consulting.  Spotlight articles from other SIGs will be featured in the Fall 2004 issue.  You can join a SIG if you have not done so already.  Details are provided in the Announcements Section of the newsletter.

We also have an extensive SCP update from our president, Paul Winum, numerous SCP Announcements, a Graduate Student Corner, and the Conference Connection in the Spring 2004 issue.  Check out all of the opportunities available to SCP members!

Mark your calendars to attend the APA Convention in Honolulu July 28 through August 1, 2004 and SCP Mid-Winter Conference in San Antonio February 11 through 13, 2005.

Previous issues of the Consulting Psychologist can be accessed through our archives. The Consulting Psychologist continues to evolve to meet the needs of SCP members.  Please let us know what you would like to see in the newsletter.

Sincerely,

Debra Robinson
Editor

Society Of Consulting Psychology Announcements

Final Call for Nominations

The Awards Committee invites final nominations for the following 2004 SCP Awards:

  • RHR International Perry Rohrer Award

  • The SCP Service Award

  • RHR Student Dissertation Award

Send nominations to:

Paul C. Winum, Ph.D.
President, Society of Consulting Psychology
Area Vice President and Managing Director
RHR International Company
1355 Peachtree Street, Suite 1400
Atlanta, GA 30309
404.870.9160

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATE MEMBERS

One of our goals is to increase the engagement and dialogue with clients to ensure that the services provided by consulting psychologists are properly focused and relevant.  The Professional Affiliate membership category provides a great way to engage clients in the mission of SCP.  Professional Affiliate membership benefits include:

  • Use of the List Serve to solicit ideas and resources from SCP members

  • Use of the Job Posting service to identify candidates for open positions

  • Receipt of the Consulting Psychology Journal

  • Participation in the Mid-Winter Conference (no registration fee at the $495 level)

  • Contribution to the development of a profession intended to serve their needs

Amy Owen of Motorola is spearheading this campaign. We encourage you to invite your clients to become Professional Affiliate Members so they can enjoy the benefits of membership while supporting SCP.  An application form, in Word document format, is available here (left click to open and print, or right click to save to your computer).

 SHARED INTEREST GROUPS

The Society of Consulting Psychology (SCP) is pleased to announce the successful launch of the Shared Interest Groups (SIG’s).  SCP members who share similar interests met face-to-face at the 2004 Mid-Winter Conference in Pasadena.  The response to these meetings was overwhelmingly positive, achieving the goal of connecting members and building a sense of community within the Division.

There is still time to join SIGs of your choice.  Simply send an e-mail to the SIG leader indicating your interest in joining.  There is no charge, but participation is predicted to be priceless.  Several SIGs are in the process of forming their individual List Serves so members can communicate more easily with one another.  If you have an interest of forming a Shared Interest Group that is not listed, please send an e-mail to Andrew Berns, Membership Chair at regarding your interest in beginning one.

Shared Interest Group leaders and their e-mail addresses:

Internal Consultants Group
Leader: Brian Buford

Transitioning to Consulting Shared Interest Group
Temporary Leaders: Gene Ondrusek and Andrew Berns

Family Business Consultants Group
Leader: Mark Sirkin

School Consultants Shared Interest Group
Leader:  Sylvia Rosenfield

Professional Affiliates Membership Group
Leaders:  Amy Owen and Mark Sirkin

International Shared Interest Group
Leader:  Ann M. O’Roark

Independent Practice Shared Interest Group
Leader:  David Brewer

Emerging Professionals and Students Shared Interest Group
Leaders:  Rob Fazio and Richelle Reyes

Diversity Shared Interest Group
Leader:  Greg Pennington

Consultants in Consulting Firms Shared Interest Group
Leader:  Laurie Moret

EDUCATION & TRAINING REPORT

Stewart Cooper announces the following efforts of the Education & Training committee:

  • Supporting the advancement of Guidelines for Education and Training for Organizational Consulting Psychology through the APA approval process 
  • Transferring Education, Training & Mentoring website module to the Society of Consulting website
  • Developing a template for submissions of web-based CE materials
  • Working to offer one or two CE distance learning offerings

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT

Rodney L. Lowman, PhD was named Acting President of Alliant International University and will, after the search for an Interim President is complete, serve as Interim Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs for the University.

 THE CONSULTING PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT ROUNDTABLE SEEKS SCP MEMBERS FOR COFFEE TALKS

 Doctoral students in Consulting Psychology at Alliant International University (AIU) created The Consulting Psychology Student Roundtable, to help students in develop a professional identity in the field of consulting psychology.

The Roundtable facilitates “coffee talks,” between veterans in the consulting field and students.  These informal “coffee talks” promote discussion at that “nitty-gritty” level so often missed during formal colloquium presentations.  This is an opportunity for veterans to share their expertise with a receptive and advanced group of graduate students.  Members of the Society of Consulting Psychology are invited and strongly encouraged to take advantage of this unique opportunity to meet and talk with students by contacting Kopitzee Parra-Thornton, Roundtable President.

NATIONAL MULTICULTURAL CONFERENCE AND SUMMIT 
Hollywood, California, January 27-28, 2005
CALL FOR PROPOSALS AND REVIEWERS

The planners of the 2-day National Multicultural Conference and Summit, 2005 (NMCS, 2005) are seeking proposals and qualified reviewers.  NMCS 2005 will address research, education and training, practice, and public interest issues within the context of the theme “The psychology of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and disability:  What works, with whom, and under what circumstances?” 

Proposals for presentations, symposia, student posters, or difficult dialogues are due to the Committee by July 9, 2004.  All reviews are due by September 13, 2004. For more information contact:

Luis A. Vázquez, Ph.D.
Department Head
MSC 3 CEP
New Mexico State University
P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, New Mexico  88003-8001
Office:  505/646-2121              
FAX:  505/646-803

STUDY ON PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY AND CURRENT PRACTICES OF SCP MEMBERS

This project focuses on the professional identity and current consulting practices of SCP members. The goals of this project are to: 1. Assess and evaluate current practices in Consulting Psychology, which is essential in developing the future direction of our field; 2. Provide a better understanding of the common themes that connect current applied practices in the field; 3. Clarify the different areas in which SCP members currently practice; and 4. Compare results to those of the 1995 Occupational Analysis study (Robinson-Kurpius et al.).  The project is being conducted by graduate students at Alliant University.  The survey takes about 20 minutes .Directions can be found at: www.apa.org/divisions/div13.  Project results will be posted on the SCP website.

CHANGES IN ACCREDITATION PROCEDURES AT APA

The Committee on Accreditation (CoA) of the American Psychological Association is in the process of making changes to its Accreditation Operating Procedures (AOP). These changes are intended to ensure continued compliance with the U.S. Department of Education’s standards for recognition of accrediting agencies and improve the overall accreditation process. 

The public comment period is scheduled to begin on March 26, 2004 and will continue through September 24, 2004.  In an effort to promote thoughtful discussion, the CoA is providing an electronic-based comment form for public review and submission of all comments.  If you wish to participate in this process, please visit the website at http://apaoutside.apa.org/accredsurvey/public/.

APA ANNOUNCEMENT

Steven J. Breckler, PhD, a program director at the National Science Foundation, joined the American Psychological Association as Executive Director for Science on March 29.

Highlights of APA Council Issues pertaining to Division 13

 Dr. Ann O’Roark, Division 13 Council Representative:

  • Mobility of licenses for consulting psychologists: developing and collaborating on licensure policy for non health and mental health service (NHS) providers

  • Revising Guidelines for Education and Training for Doctoral and Post Doctoral Level Consulting Psychologist/Organizational Consulting Psychology

  • Identify and respond to needs of members; community building within the division; improve and enrich internal communications; reach out to students; continue regular iterations of division and board’s strategic planning work
The Consulting Psychologist™
The Society of Consulting Psychology
Debra Robinson, Editor
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American Psychological Association
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