2007 Annual Reports for Boards and Committees
Commission for Recognition of Specialties and
Proficiencies in Professional Psychology
CRSPPP Members: Drs. Roberta Nutt (Chair), Cindy Carlson, John Stuart Currie, Neil Massoth, Scott Meit, Nancy Tippins, Reiko True, and Claire Guthrie Gastañaga (JD and Public Member). During the later half of the year, Dr. Jan Hughes joined CRSPPP (as a replacement for Dr. John Stuart Currie). Dr. Ronald Rozensky, the APA Board of Directors liaison, attended CRSPPP meetings during the 2007 year.
Staff Liaison: Catherine Grus, PhD
CRSPPP held two meetings in Washington, DC in 2007: May 3-4, and October 11-12 and a business meeting at the APA annual convention on August 18. CRSPPP conducted the remainder of its business via conference calls and e-mail.
Petition reviews
During the 2007 year, CRSPPP reviewed and acted on the petition for the continued recognition of Psychoanalysis in Psychology as a specialty. CRSPPP recommended and Council voted to approve a name change for the specialty of Psychoanalytic Psychology to Psychoanalysis in Psychology and the renewal of the specialty in professional psychology under the new name until August 2014.
CRSPPP review of its policy documents
Periodically, CRSPPP considers revisions to its policy documents, including the APA Association Rule 90.5 and the policy and petition documents associated with the recognition of specialties and proficiencies in professional psychology.
CRSPPP solicited, reviewed, and discussed comments received from various APA Boards and Committees on its proposed revisions to APA Association Rule 90-5. CRSPPP is proposing changes to the Association Rule that will reflect the addition of language that gives CRSPPP the authority to make recommendations that encourage consistency in the use of terms (e.g., specialty) in all literature and written communications distributed by the APA. In addition, CRSPPP reviewed and discussed comments received on its proposed revisions to documents associated with the process for specialty recognition. CRSPPP added language that enhanced the clarity and relevance of the information requested from groups seeking recognition, in addition to, a criterion that requests information on multicultural and diversity education and training. The revised APA Association Rule 90-5 and CRSPPP Principles for the Recognition of Specialties in Professional Psychology will be on the Council of Representatives February 2008 meeting agenda for review and approval.
Review of Other APA Board and Committee Agenda Items
CRSPPP reviewed agenda items and reports of APA Boards and Committees that centered on APA policies and guidelines, including the report on the implementation of the multicultural guidelines. In addition, CRSPPP discussed a request from the APA Membership Committee to recommend Criteria for Recognition of Specialty Certification Bodies for inclusion of member credentials in the APA Membership Directory. CRSPPP discussed the request and made its recommendations to the Membership Committee in 2007.
Board of Directors Taxonomy Task Force
A range of groups and organizations such as CRSPPP, the Council of Specialties (CoS), and the Council of Credentialing Organizations in Professional Psychology (CCOPP) have historically had explicit discussions about the need for a taxonomy, and each has independently sought to develop definitions for key terms such as “specialty.” In 2006, a CRSPPP sub-committee reviewed the possibility of developing a taxonomy and strategies for moving the issue forward within APA governance. Subsequent to discussions at the CRSPPP meetings in 2006, an agenda item was prepared and forwarded to the Board of Directors requesting funding to convene a meeting in 2007 to begin the process of developing a taxonomy for professional psychology. In 2007, the APA Board of Directors created a Taxonomy Task Force, and boards and committees were invited by APA President Sharon Stephens Brehm, PhD to appoint a representative to the Board of Directors Task Force on Taxonomy. A CRSPPP representative was invited to participate as a member of the Task Force.
The Task Force met in 2007, and a request for funding for a second meeting in 2008 has been submitted to the Board of Directors. Currently, the Task Force is preparing a draft document to be distributed for public comment. The draft document outlines a proposed taxonomy for professional psychology and includes a lexicon of terms. CRSPPP will make recommendations regarding any association policy that may be crafted from the report.
CRSPPP Convention 2007 sessions and liaison activities
CRSPPP offered two hours of programming that featured a discussion of taxonomy for professional specialties in psychology during the 2007 APA Convention in San Francisco.
CRSPPP continued its liaison activities with the Council of Specialties (CoS) and the Council of Credentialing Organizations in Professional Psychology (CCOPP). In addition, a CRSPPP Commissioner attended the 2007 Accreditation Assembly and the 2007 Educational Leadership Conference (ELC).
Diversity Policies
During the 2007 year, CRSPPP reaffirmed its position that all petitions, submitted by APA Divisions, Boards, and Committees, that seek review of APA recognition or renewal of recognition as a specialty or proficiency in professional psychology are required to articulate how programs will address education, training, and the practice of psychology related to individual and cultural diversity consistent with APA documents, such as the Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists (APA, 2002). In response to comments from boards and committees, CRSPPP has added a criterion to its policy documents to reflect attention to cultural awareness and diversity in education, training, and practice.
Diversity Representation
Dr. Reiko True, elected to represent the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI) is an ethnic minority. Each year, CRSPPP includes in its call to APA Boards and Committees a request for ethnic minority representation.
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