Church On The Hill, Lenox, MA, by Ilene Serlin Ilene Serlin: This church carried for me a sense of the archetypal village church in a small New England town. It brought back many refreshing memories of summers I spent as a young person in the Berkshires, and the sense of timelessness and tranquility from these lovely spots.

Letter from the President

Dear Division 32 Members, Friends, and Colleagues:

This will be the first of monthly "From Your President" messages that I will send to members via our newsletter, listserv, and website. My hope is to keep you informed about what is going on in Division 32 and to get you involved in it. Before assuming the presidency this past August, I created a list of goals for our division. They are enclosed below. Please take a look at the goals and suggest other services that you might like your division to provide for you.

A primary goal is to increase services to members. As the Membership Chair for the past three years, I learned that, each year, we increase our membership by about 150 persons but lose over 100 members annually. Therefore, it seemed to me that some members left because they did not find the services we offered them sufficient to stay. Consequently, I created these annual goals based on what I felt would be most relevant to you as professionals and graduate students.

Another major goal was to make Division 32 and humanistic psychology more visible and impactive within the field of psychology and the general population. Humanistic psychology seems particularly relevant in current times where our world is becoming increasingly dehumanized by sociopolitical discord, war, poverty, the adverse effects of technology and many other stressors. With a strong history and value of social activism, I hope we can do our part to make the field of psychology and our larger communities more humane places to live and work.

Your division also provides you with opportunities to become meaningfully involved in a contributive way. If you will let me know how you might like to get involved, I will find a place for you to help. Just email me at: david4@fda.net

One of the most exciting projects designed to serve members is the initiation of our First Annual Conference. Each year the Division plans to offer members a 3-day conference just preceding the APA Convention. This year the conference is entitled "Humanistic Psychotherapies for the 21st Century: Evolution in Theory, Research, and Practice" and will take place August 14-16, 2007, in San Francisco. It will feature some of the most prominent and accomplished humanistic psychotherapists from all over the world. Mark your calendar. This is an event you will not want to miss. The conference will provide CE units for mental health professionals. Your conference committee will soon make available a registration form and issue a Call for Proposals.

We are fortunate to have an outstanding and hard-working Executive Board serving the Division. It is filled with persons who have made substantial contributions to the field of humanistic psychology and to its advancement. I look forward to working with the board on your behalf. My guiding theme: becoming more visible and relevant.

Warm Regards,
David J. Cain

GOALS FOR THE DIVISION OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY FOR 2006-2007

Guiding Theme: Becoming More Visible and Relevant

Membership Service Goals

1. Make our Website a Vital and Useful Resource
*Provide CE courses through our website for re-licensing.
*Provide a bookstore of humanistic books, tapes, and CDs (at member discounts when possible).
*Keep our website up-to-date with relevant information.
Upcoming events and workshops
Articles on humanistic psychology
Update membership directory every three months
Provide links to humanistic resources
*Improve the graphics and ease of use of our website.

2. Mentoring Services for Graduate Students and Early Career Psychologists
While this service is already available, it needs a coordinator to make it known and to identify persons interested is serving as mentors.

3. Writing and Publication Team
This service is designed to enable members to identify writing and publication projects that members are interested in and locate persons interested in contributing to the projects.

4. Increased Participation on the Listserv
Only about 100 of our 750-800 members actually participate. I hope to have more involvement so members may meet each other and take advantage of the resources available.

5. Broaden the Scope of our Newsletter
As one of the major sources of communication, our newsletter could be expanded and issued more often, at least quarterly instead of twice annually.

6. Provision of an Annual Conference
An annual conference is intended to meet a need for members to meet, learn, and have the opportunity to take CE courses to fulfill the requirements of their state licensing boards. This is an important service that has the potential of generating income for our division. Our annual conference will be held each year just preceding the APA Convention.

Division Goals

1. Increase Division Membership
Our membership has increased modestly over the last three years while many APA divisions are losing members. Recruiting new members is one of the best ways we can serve our division and generate funds for it.

2. Increasing the Visibility and Impact of Division 32 within APA and the Field of Psychology
We remain a small presence within APA and the field of psychology, even though humanistic psychology is flourishing in Europe and expanding in impact in other countries. Developing collaborative relationships with persons, groups, and organizations with whom we have common values and interests is desirable.

3. Increase Sources of Funding for Division

The primary source of funding is membership dues. Other sources of funds are needed to enable us to offer more services to members and expand our impact.

National Goals

1. Humanizing an Inhumane World
Division 32 is a natural leader to address the variety of forms of inhumanity that exist in the world. This project was initiated by and will be led by president-elect, Frank Farley, a past president of the American Psychological Association.

2 Making Humanistic Psychology a Household Word
We are still fairly invisible to the field of psychology and to the general population. We need to find ways to increase our profile. One way includes more publications in places that have large circulation, such as Psychology Today, Psychotherapy Networker, New York Times, Reader’s Digest.

Call For Nominations
Division 32 will elect its President for the one-year term beginning 2008-09; and, for three-year terms beginning 2007-2008, its Treasurer, its APA Council Representative, and two Members-at-Large. Send your nominations, including self-nominations, to David Rennie: drennie@yorku.ca, or by regular mail to him at the Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada, M3J 1P3, or by fax to 416-736-5814. The deadline for nominations is December 15, 2006.

Call for Humanistic Psychology Articles/Chapters: Anyone interested in writing an article for a special issue of The Humanistic Psychologist on the relationship between positive and humanistic psychology is invited to contact either Brent Robbins [bdeanrob@ADELPHIA.NET] or Harris Friedman [harrisfriedman@FLORAGLADES.ORG], who will be the co-editors of this special issue. In addition, articles may be considered, in modified form, to become chapters in a later book on the same topic. Finally, anyone interested in contributing a book chapter, but not an article, is also invited to contact the co-editors. To be considered, please respond with your ideas for an article or chapter by December 15, 2006.

Dr. Ilene Serlin is teaching a new CE online course in humanistic psychology. The new online course is available at the Zur Institute: http://www.drzur.com/humanisticpsychologycourse.html

Dr. Kirk Schneider has completed a DVD for the American Psychological Association Video Series "Systems of Psychotherapy" on existential psychotherapy, which can be purchased at the APA Video Series website: www.apa.org/videos/series1.html

The disk includes a 45-minute session demonstrating existential psychotherapy with an actual client; a 40-minute discussion of the critical moments of this therapy with the interviewer, Jon Carlson; a 15-minute "couch interview" on existential psychotherapy; and a "voice-over" describing step by step Kirk’s thinking as he worked with the client. To his knowledge, this is the first existential psychotherapy video available through the APA and should be helpful to humanistic trainees and as an introduction to existential practice for trainees and therapists who are more conventionally schooled. Visit the website above for more information on the video and Kirk’s perspective on existential practice.

Dr. Ilene Serlin has been appointed to the Editorial Board of PsycCRITIQUES, the APA journal that reviews new books and films in psychology. Dr. Serlin is a frequent contributor to PsycCRITIQUES and her recent film review can be found at http://www.apa.org/psyccritiques/

Collateral Damage: The Psychological Consequences of America's War on Terrorism has been published by Praeger. The book, a collection of chapters from people on APA’s War on Terrorism Task Force, features a chapter by Dr. Ilene Serlin on a humanistic, postmodern response to terrorism.

Letter from the Editor

For the complete review, see http://ileneserlin.com/BrokebackMountain.html

August 2006, New Orleans

Dr. Koocher opened the meeting with an update on one of his Presidential Initiatives – mentoring. A task force has generated a good deal of helpful material that can be found at the APA website.

A quick budget update indicated the following:

Budget 2005 - 4.8 million surplus

2006 probable 142,500 surplus

2007 probable 125,000 surplus

Norman Anderson discussed the multiple problems with the current APA website (actually APA has 37 different websites), including that there is not a consistent and seamless user experience and the search engine doesn’t work very well. APA has formed multiple work groups with the goal of rolling out the new APA.org by Dec 2007.

He reported the early data on the New Orleans Convention. There were 7275 advance registrants (In 1989 they had 9617 advance registrants). APA budgeted for 8000 total.

Council devoted a good deal of time to the issue of the role of psychologists involved in the treatment of detainees. General Kiley (Army Surgeon General) addressed Council and spoke in very general terms about the current situation. Kiley emphasized his belief that military psychologists are able to do their jobs and adhere to the APA ethics code. He shared the following data. There are currently 125 clinical psychologists on active duty in the Army and 45 in the National Guard and Army Reserve. This works out to 1 psychologist per 4000 soldiers.

Dr. Steven Reisner, a psychologist and senior faculty member at Columbia University’s International Trauma Studies Program, sensitized us to many of the same concerns that we have been discussing in Division 32. He expressed his belief that psychologists should not be present in any capacity at Guantanamo or places like it. This presentation was included to balance the presentation of General Kiley.

We also heard about the ongoing work being done in response to the PENS report. The most significant outcome was the adoption of a 2006 resolution against torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. This now replaces the 1986 Human Rights Resolution relating to torture as policy of APA. This resolution is part of the ongoing attempt to make it clear that psychologists must in all cases abide by our ethical standards. The full document will soon be available on the APA website. Three of the most important paragraphs state:

BE IT RESOLVED that regardless of their roles, psychologists shall not engage knowingly in, tolerate, direct, support, advise, or offer training in torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment.

BE IT RESOLVED that psychologists shall not provide knowingly any research, instruments, or knowledge that facilitates the practice of torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment.

BE IT RESOLVED that psychologists shall not participate knowingly in any procedure in which torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment is used or threatened.

Parts of the 8/10/2006 press release follow: "The Council of Representatives of the APA has approved a resolution reaffirming the organization’s absolute opposition to all forms of torture and abuse, regardless of the circumstance. The resolution furthermore affirmed United Nations human right documents and conventions as the basis for APA policy.

The Association unequivocally condemns any involvement by psychologists in torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This APA policy applies to all psychologists in all settings.

The resolution, approved on August 9, 2006, further underscored the duty of all psychologists to intervene to stop acts of torture or abuse as well as the ethical obligation of all psychologists to report such behavior to appropriate authorities."

These statements address a number, but not all, of the concerns that Division 32 raised in its response that it submitted.

Council, as part of an agreed upon phase-out plan, discussed voting to discontinue the program of concurrently accrediting doctoral education and training programs as of 2007. A number of issues of concern caused Council to refer this proposal for further study.

Council approved a $10 increase in journal credit from $45 to $55.

Council voted to reauthorize the Public Education Campaign at $1 million annually from 2007-2009.

The last two issues before Council dealt with reports on Socioeconomic Status and Diversity.

The next meeting of Council will be in February 2007 in Washington, D.C.

APA provided Council members with a detailed summary of the meeting, and I want to share those details with you also.

Council also:

• Adopted Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major. The guidelines provide support to academic departments by describing a set of learning goals and outcomes for the undergraduate psychology major designed to improve the quality of learning and teaching in psychology. APA's Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) Task Force on Undergraduate Psychology Major Competencies drafted the guidelines. The guidelines (www.apa.org/ed/resources.html) address development of competencies in students seeking entrance to graduate or professional schools, as well as those entering the labor force. The task force also developed a companion resource on effective assessment strategies for the competencies called the "Assessment Cyberguide." The guide is available online at www.apa.org/ed/guidehomepage.html.

• Adopted the report of the APA Working Group on Psychotropic Medications for Children and Adolescents. The report cites an urgent need for improved access to evidence-based mental health care for children and adolescents and identifies serious gaps in the knowledge base for treatment of young people with mental health disorders. A press release and full text of the report will be available the second week in September at http://www.apa.org/releases/

• Adopted the report of the APA Zero Tolerance Task Force. The task force reviewed 10 years of research on zero tolerance policies in schools and found that they did not have the desired effect of reducing violence and disruption and in some instances can actually increase disruptive behavior and drop-out rates. The report recommends that zero tolerance polices not be abandoned but that teachers and school administers be given more flexibility in the implementation of disciplinary actions.

• Adopted the report of the APA Task Force on Socioeconomic Status and established a Continuing Committee on Socioeconomic Status. The Committee will look at the effects of socioeconomic status on psychological development and well-being.

The Council took two actions concerning the accreditation of programs in professional psychology. The first item adopted as changes to the association rules the recommendations of the June 2005 Summit on Accreditation. The item included changing the name of the Committee on Accreditation to the Commission on Accreditation and adding to the membership of that body. The membership changes include additional seats for internship programs, postdoctoral residency programs, a diversity seat, as well the inclusion of open seats. Further, these changes highlight the continued efforts of the Committee/Commission for the inclusion of individual and cultural diversity in all aspects of the accreditation process. The second action deleted a clause in the Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation allowing for doctoral accreditation in "emerging substantive areas" and set forward a mechanism that allows for "developed practice areas" to be added to the scope of accreditation for doctoral programs.

Additionally, Council passed the association’s 2007 budget that included reauthorization of the Association’s public education campaign, modified the eight-year dues ramp-up schedule for early career members and increased the members’ journal credit to $55. Dues for 2007 will be $270 for full members (dues increases are based on the consumer price index) and $50 for APAGS members.

And the Council passed an action item restructuring the Membership Committee into a Membership Board and creating a separate Fellows Committee reporting to the new Membership Board. This action requires a change in the association’s Bylaws. The Bylaw amendment will be sent to the full membership for a vote in early November. If approved, the Membership Board will begin seating members in January of 2008.

Please feel free to contact me at lyonsa@moravian.edu if you would like to discuss any of these issues with me.

Art Lyons, Council Representative

Present: David Rennie (Chair), Sara Bridges, Virginia Stern, Harris Friedman, Art Lyons. Scott Churchill, Mark Stern, Frank Farley, David Cain, Brent Robbins, Maureen O’Hara, Heidi Levitt, Art Bohart, Will Wadlington, April Metzler, and Fred Wertz (Secretary).

Approval of the Minutes of Midwinter Conference: Unanimous.

President’s remarks

David Rennie thanked the board for its support during the year of his presidency and suggested that in the future, the board might want to consider appointing a continuity officer to improve organizational efficiency. He thanked outgoing board members Scott Churchill (Past President) and Maureen O’Hara (Member at-Large) for their outstanding contributions as executive board members. The board thanked President David Rennie for his effective and inspiring leadership during his successful term in office.

Treasurer’s report

Sara Bridges presented the treasurer’s report and noted that given current membership numbers and the lack of income from continuing education, there is a $4,000 deficit. She also noted increasing costs of the journal, which is more expensive than anticipated. Good notes on 2006 include savings on the newsletter, which followed its becoming electronic. Proposed budget for 2007 includes increases for the journal, for Winter Meeting, Membership, and a new line for development, and for the website. A balanced budget was possible on the basis of increase in membership dues, and this is based on a conservative estimate of anticipated membership numbers.

Membership report

David Cain noted that membership numbers are down across many divisions, and Division 32 is no exception. Division 1 has dropped in the last 10 years from 3000 to 1000. Currently there are 744 members in contrast to 780 last year, and around 760 are expected when the numbers are finally in. It is good news that the Division is holding its own by virtue of recruitment of new members to compensate for retirements. David C. suggested making services more visible to members; 500 individual invitations were sent out with 20% discounts offered, along with discounts to members of sister organizations and ads. Offering prizes to members who recruit new members has not been effective. Mary Madrigal made excellent special efforts in recruiting and was offered thanks. David welcomed Brent Robbins, who will take over as Membership Chair as David Cain becomes President-Elect. There was a discussion about ways the Division can recruit new members from among those many professionals who share the Division’s interests. The board extended to David its appreciation for his outstanding work as Membership Chair.

Council Representative report

Art Lyons reported that APA is doing fine financially with $4.5 million excess. APA is excited about the new dictionary that is coming out. There was discussion of the issue of psychologists being involved in military initiatives regarding torture. Art and Scott were disturbed by representatives of US military who in informal discussion advocated psychology’s cooperation with the military in contrast to the ethical refusal of psychiatry. They did not make public in the meeting an understanding of the role of psychologists that is consistent with professional expertise and ethics. Representatives were disturbed by Council’s apparently uncritical favor expressed toward representatives of the military. However, the Division of Peace Psychology’s new "Resolution Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment or Punishment" will replace the 1986 APA statement concerning psychologists involved in military activities with stronger prohibition. APA Divisions for Social Justice are a group of divisions that have become involved in the effort to assure professional ethics in this area. Art proposed that Division 32 join for the $25 fee, and the board unanimously approved his suggestion.

Publication Oversight Committee Chair’s report

Listserv. David Rennie reported a new manager for the listserv, Dr. Zaynab D’Elia, who will serve as manager and moderator, in close cooperation with the Division President, who will serve as a back-up. The board considered the liability risks involved in the listserv and discussed the possibility of reducing the risks by limiting the listserv to members. Some board members expressed the importance of having an open listserv for recruiting new members and spreading interest. Numerous means of protecting the Division from the risk of litigation were discussed, such as an announcement on the listserv that it is not a resource for those in need of and seeking mental health services. Others suggested that litigation risks could only be eliminated if the listserv is limited to division members. Maureen O’Hara moved that participation in the listserv be limited to APA and Division 32 members, affiliates, and associates (Sara Bridges seconded). 10, yes; 0, no; 1, abstained. Further suggestions included adopting the APA’s Ethical Code and APA’s regulations for listservs on the divisional listserv as well as consulting with APA’s Council. Motion: send a notice on listserv that gives current participants until October 1 to become eligible for participation together with an explanation of the listserv’s becoming closed. 8, for; 1, abstained.

Website. Will Wadlington has resigned as website manager. Christie Jacobsen at Moravian College has volunteered to continue in this capacity for a fee of $35 for redesign and $25 for postings. The budget covers this, but someone is still needed to manage the content. David Cain suggested a Communications and Public Relations Committee, and the issue was tabled until the incoming meeting.

Newsletter. David Rennie discussed the upcoming newsletter editor. Elli has agreed to continue as editor if it remains in electronic form. The board expressed its gratitude to Elli for a great job on the newsletter and for her willingness to continue. The President will review the newsletter before publication, and the Secretary has been asked to formulate a motion to assure that board members have an opportunity to review a draft of the minutes prior to publication in the newsletter.

Journal. Erlbaum has offered the opportunity to make previous journal issues available online. It was pointed out that old issues were not copyrighted and that the new editor would look into it to be sure that the Division retains ownership of old issues in case a new publisher is ever adopted.

Journal Editor Search and Appointment

Mark Stern (Search Committee Chair) reported that the opening for a new editor was advertised without appropriate response. Scott Churchill is assuming the position of interim editor with Harris Friedman as associate editor. Jonathan Raskin and Scott Churchill expressed interest in the position and both submitted mission statements, vitas, and recommendations. The Search Committee and the board agreed that both individuals would be excellent journal editors and expressed deep appreciation for their generous offers of this important service to the Division. David Rennie appointed Scott Churchill the new editor of the journal.

Fred Wertz, Secretary

Hospitality Suite, New Orleans

Present: David Rennie and David Cain (Co-Chairs), Frank Farley, Sara Bridges, Heidi Levitt, Virginia Stern, Mark Stern, April Metzler, Kathleen Wall, Brent Robbins, Maureen O’Hara, Will Waddlington, Harris Friedman, Art Lyons, and Fred Wertz (Secretary).

Continuing Education

April Metzler has reapplied for the Division’s continuing educator status with APA. Christine Farber has stepped forward with willingness to be involved in this area of divisional activities.

Awards

Kathleen Wall announced that this is the first year of the Early Career Awards and showed the board a beautiful plaque given to the winners, Heidi Levitt and Doug MacDonald. Nominations for 2007 (San Francisco Convention) are due November 1, 2006, as are the nominations for the Charlotte Buhler award (no nominations are due then for the 2007 May and Rogers awards because they have already been awarded, but nominations may be received by then for the 2008 awards [Boston Convention]). Early Career Award nominations, with a paragraph describing qualifications and contact information, will go to a committee chaired by Mark Stern (including Connie Fischer and Scott Churchill). Kathleen suggested providing a certificate of outstanding contribution to Diana Rosenthal of the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology, who has served the committee admirably. Maureen O’Hara also suggested providing Anne Luckiesh such a certificate for her past work with the committee. Kathleen noted that after 7 years of service, she would like another person to step forward to assume responsibility of Awards Chair. The board thanked Kathleen, and David Cain will appoint a new chair.

Fellows

Maureen O’Hara wanted the board to know of Michael Mahoney’s death by suicide this past May, a massive loss, and offered to provide a memorial minute. Michael, a Division Fellow, was a giant--a poet, athlete, great thinker, and good friend. There was a discussion of the relationship of post-modernism and depression. Some members felt that the Division can play an important role in contemporary times by addressing this issue and emphasizing the importance of hope and care in an effort to help sustain colleagues in our community.

Hospitality Suite

Heidi Levitt acknowledged the help of three students and noted that the suite is not rented as long as in past years. The program is full and excellent. Heidi was given special thanks for transporting food and supplies from Memphis and for making the hospitality suite such a welcoming and lovely place.

Development

Fred Massarik continues to make progress in fundraising.

President

David Cain passed around a handout with three pages of goals. He emphasized the importance of membership numbers. Last year only 5 divisions had increases. Maintaining membership is difficult. He discussed motivations to renew membership and introduced the principles of relevance and visibility. Specific ideas include CE courses on the website; a website-based discounted bookstore; and an annual conference, Humanistic Psychology for the 21^st Century, the first one to take place August 14-16, 2007, at the Marriott on the Bay, San Francisco, where 68 rooms at $116 per day need to be filled. David considers this conference the top priority for his presidential year. He reported that he has a core committee of 5, with 10 more people being active. He welcomes help from other division members. This conference is to be patterned after the Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference, with name presenters and film distribution, and is expected to be a great success. Maureen O’Hara suggested a more innovative conference design than the "sage on a stage" format, one that is interactive and dynamic—not just talks but, for instance, master training and hands-on learning of the latest psychotherapy techniques, and David Cain confirmed this format but plans other formats as well, in 1- to 3-hour blocks. Information about the conference will be on the Division website by October. His second priority is the website. He maintained that it should be full of resources and vitality. He will appoint a Communications Coordinator, who will help with divisional publicity. Sixty percent of divisional attrition is students, and a mentorship program can be developed. David Rennie noted that the by-laws indicate that two student members should be on the executive board, and the consensus was that this is important and that they should be appointed, perhaps based on nominees from the students themselves, at least to attend executive board meetings at annual APA Conventions. David Cain voiced the importance of increased income from sources other than membership dues and commended Fred Massarik for his outstanding efforts behind the scene. David suggested the additional important national goal of fundraising projects and referred in particular to the long-range project by our president-elect. Frank Farley’s idea of "Humanizing an Inhumane World" can begin in the coming year and continue in Frank’s presidential year. Frank expressed enthusiasm and reported that Division 32 can link with other divisions, and that he will liaise with the Division 1 (general), the Media, and Peace Divisions. Virginia Stern suggested the Division’s organizing of a social action project like Habitat for Humanity before the annual APA conference.

Fred Wertz, Secretary

President’s remarks

David Rennie noted a number of initiatives that have been resolved this year. The two roles of moderator and manager have been unified and Zaynab D’Elia has assumed the position. She will work closely with the president, who will serve as back-up. Headway has been made toward reorganizing the management of the website. Will Wadlington has done a superb job of Webmaster for the last 6 years. He is now stepping down and progress has been made on finding his replacement. We decided to publish the newsletter on the website, saving the Division money. The listserv will be restricted to members, affiliates, and associates of the Division and of APA in the future to reduce the Division’s liability risks. The journal contract with Erlbaum has been renewed and the publisher has offered to make back issues available in electronic form. The board was enthusiastic but had concerns about the potential loss of copyright. Scott Churchill will look into the matter and report back to the board. We were approached by APA for the publication but the executive committee will honor the Erlbaum contract. It is positive that APA is interested in our journal. There has been a search for an editor of the journal to replace Larry Leitner, and Scott Churchill will serve as interim editor for the next year. Two outgoing members of the executive board, Maureen O’Hara (M-a-L) will stay on as Fellows Chair. Scott goes off the executive board as a voting member (leaving the past president position) though he will remain on as interim journal editor. David gave his thanks to them for great work. Certificates of appreciation went to Will Wadlington (Program Chair and Webmaster), Heidi Levitt for her splendid work as Chair of and organizer of the program of the Hospitality Suite, as well as her work as a member of the Division’s Program Committee. Virginia Stern was thanked for generously and effectively stepping in to moderate the listserv this year. Mark Stern was thanked for his job as Chair of the Search Committee for a new journal editor, as was Larry Leitner for his 6-year term as editor. The Division underwent its 5-year review by APA, which reported that is was delighted and enthusiastic about the Division’s activities.

Treasurer

Sara Bridges announced that uncertainty about journal costs with a new publisher has made projections difficult but that we now have a better understanding. We are able to project a balanced budget in 2007. We are below where we need to be on membership and therefore have discussed various ways of generating income from other sources. There was a $5 increase in membership dues, and we increased the line item amount for an annual conference that we hope will generate income.

Membership

David Cain stated that the APA has 55 divisions with only 5 gaining membership. We did increase over the last 5 years and may have a slight drop-off of 20 this year. We have done more work during the past year to bring in new members. He announced that Mary Madrigal deserves special recognition for her efforts. Each year we sign up around 150 and lose around 120. We need to increase services that are relevant for current members to promote retention. Members question the worth of continuing when they get the bill each year.

Presentation of the Oilcan, New President

David Rennie said that he worked closely with President-Elect David Cain and Past President Scott Churchill to increase continuity, and thanked them for their energetic help. David expressed awe as he gazed at the oilcan, which he took to Birk’s, the best engraver in Toronto, to have David Cain’s name added. With enthusiasm he turned it over to David Cain, who thanked David Rennie for his energetic efforts all year and praised the executive board. David Cain asked past presidents to stand and reminded the audience that the current president-elect, Frank Farley, is a past president of APA; he highlighted Frank’s continuing commitment to the organization and the promise he holds for integrating the Division deeply into APA. Division visibility is a top priority. David plans to enhance the website in order to make it a vital hub as our face to the world. It will be a great membership benefit. He is expanding the website to include a Division bookstore as well as continuing education opportunities. He stressed the need to offer value to students, such as making mentors available. A writing and publication team will also serve students in their efforts at research and publication. This is especially important for those students on academic career tracks. As the listserv becomes more well known, subscription to it should increase. The Division will have its first Humanistic Psychotherapies for the 21^st Century Conference. Brent Dean Robbins will be the new Membership Chair. Frank Farley will take on the goal of a project entitled "Humanizing an Inhumane World." David offered the membership an invitation to become more involved in the Division on any of the initiatives mentioned today. He looks forward to his year as president and many years of active involvement to come.

Discussion

Mike Arons mentioned that the Division’s response to the APA’s PENS statement regarding psychologists’ involvement in torture is on the listserv and wanted to draw the members’ attention to it.

David Cain presented David Rennie with a beautiful brass/wood plaque thanking him for his great contributions as president and commended him on his excellent presidential address with its sophistication in philosophy of science.

Fred Wertz, Secretary

Psychology and the Arts Report on Interest Group

The year has been busy with arts-related activities. Here are some:

1) An important focus has been on establishing the creative arts therapies as a mind/body practice. To this end, I have written on the importance of whole person psychology to the creative arts therapies, and was on Ron Levant's Task Force on Whole Person Psychology.

2) Situating the creative arts therapies as an evidence-based modality. This year at APA I have convened a panel of experts on Dance Therapy and Humanistic Psychology research methodology. This will help connect the subjective aspect of evidence-based therapy (the subjective experience of the client and of the therapist) to roots in a humanistic psychology perspective on research. It is called: "Evidence-Based Outcome--Humanistic and Arts Therapies." It is in the Morial Convention Center, on Sat., 8/12/06, from 12-1:50, in room 263. Some of these panels are co-sponsored by Div. 32, Div. 10, and others.

3) Connecting creative arts therapies to mind/body medicine through illness and disability. This year at APA I am on a panel called "Health and Living--Life after Rehab," where I will be working on the theme of "Imagery: Multiple Modalities." I think linking the creative arts therapies to specific health applications strengthens its use as a therapeutic modality.

4) Writing and training: I am currently involved in a series of a 3-volume text by Praeger on mind/body medicine from a whole person perspective. The third volume is specifically on the arts, and chapters will teach about issues in educating creative arts therapists, specific programs in hospitals, clinics, and conflict-resolution trauma work.

5) Journal of Humanistic Psychology: I'm co-editing a special edition devoted to a conference in Israel on the use of the creative arts therapies for conflict resolution. We will have papers written collaboratively by Israeli, Palestinian, and Bedouin healthcare workers.

6) Joint membership: still exploring with David Cain.

7) Invitation from the Journal of Poetry Therapy to submit articles.

Call for Papers

The Journal of Poetry Therapy (http://www.tandf.co.uk/Journals/titles/08893675.asp) is an interdisciplinary journal seeking manuscripts on the use of the language arts in therapeutic capacities. The Journal purview includes bibliotherapy, healing and writing, journal therapy, narrative therapy, and creative expression. The Journal welcomes a wide variety of scholarly articles including theoretical, historical, literary, clinical, and evaluative studies. Areas of special interest include family and group therapy, ethnic and gender sensitive practice, medical problems (e.g., cancer), trauma and creative writing, literary exemplars for the helping professions, the strategic use of symbol/story/metaphor in therapy, reading for guidance, and poetic approaches to clinical practice. Poetry and brief reports (4-7 pages) are also invited. All manuscripts will be submitted for blind review to the JPT editorial board. Maximum length of full length articles is 30 pages (typed, double-spaced, nonsexist language). Style should conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition). All articles must be original material, not previously published or soon to be published elsewhere. Manuscripts will be returned when a self-addressed stamped envelope is provided.

Submit an original and two copies of your manuscript to:

Nicholas Mazza, Ph.D., Editor
Journal of Poetry Therapy
Florida State University
College of Social Work
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2570
nfmazza@mailer.fsu.edu

Ilene Serlin, Chair, Psychology and the Arts Interest Area