Division board discusses APA/division relations

Effective communications between APA and its divisions and sections was the main topic of discussion at the October meeting of the Div. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology) Board of Directors.

"Div. 12 wants to ensure that section and division activities are not contrary to the mission and objectives of APA," says Div. 12 Past-president Larry Beutler, PhD, of the discussion. He adds that the division wants to "encourage members to develop new ideas to address difficult and important issues within the profession and find ways of doing this that maximize communication among all levels of the organization." The group has not yet developed recommendations on improved relations, notes Beutler, however, it did conclude that there are often conflicts between expressions of division autonomy and APA requirements for compliance.

Guests at the meeting included APA Senior Counsel James McHugh, APA's Executive Director for Science Kurt Salzinger, PhD, and representatives from the Committee on Division/APA Relations. The discussion is ongoing, but those who are interested in the issue can contact the Div. 12 Central Office at div12apa@attbi.com.

Div. 18 welcomes new section

Div. 18 (Psychologists in Public Service) has established a new section for psychologists who work with and provide health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The new section will soon finalize an official section name, but has already started to specify an agenda for advocacy, research and training. One priority of the founding members--many of whom work for or with the Indian Health Service--is the relationship of traditional healing methods among American Indians to contemporary science and complementary or alternative health care.

One of the section's first initiatives will be establishing a task force on culture-free psychological testing and best practice approaches for providing psychological services.

For information on the new section, e-mail john.spaulding@phx.ihs.gov.

Divisions celebrate New Mexico RxP bill

Divs. 18 (Psychologists in Public Service) and 55 (American Society for the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy) celebrated the passage of the New Mexico prescription privileges bill at APA's Annual Convention in Chicago, Aug. 22-25. Hundreds of psychology advocates took a break from their legislative and training activities to laud the big win for psychology, which, according to Div. 18 Past-president Bob Ax, PhD, is "the first of 50 victories in the various state legislatures for psychologists seeking prescriptive authority."

Participants honored Pat DeLeon, PhD, JD, for his longtime dedication to the prescription privileges movement, psychologists Elaine LeVine, PhD, and Mario Marquez, PhD, who played key roles in getting the New Mexico bill passed, and the Department of Defense Psychopharmacology Demonstration Program graduates.

Prescription privileges are viewed by Divs. 18 and 52 as key for improved access to better quality treatment services for many underserved public sector patient populations, including the seriously mentally ill, prisoners and American Indians.

Members of both divisions are looking forward to this year's Annual Convention in Toronto, Aug. 7-10, and to, hopefully, celebrating more legislative victories.

Join the dialogue on feminist leadership

Div. 35 (Society for the Psychology of Women) invites feminist psychologists and Div. 35 members to participate in the division's 15 online discussion boards on feminist leadership issues, at www.feministleadership.com.

"The discussion forums have really taken off," notes Div. 35 President Jean Lau Chin, EdD, who launched the project in November as part of her presidential initiative on feminist leadership. The online dialogue will eventually become material for an online publication and traditional book.

Topics of discussion so far have included the delineation of dimensions of feminist leadership, communication styles and the stress associated with trying to implement policy as feminist leaders, says Chin.

All the discussion forums are public and available to all Div. 35 members. Chin also encourages Div. 35 members to offer feedback and discussion on feminist issues and Div. 35 activities through the Web site.

Div. 35 is also a co-sponsor of the upcoming National Multicultural Conference and Summit to be held Jan. 23-24. Register online at www.multiculturalsummit.org.

Religion, spirituality is 2003 focus for Div. 44

The 2003 theme for Div. 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues) is "Religion and spirituality: the impact on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people."

Div. 44 President James S. Fitzgerald, PhD, selected the theme and has encouraged researchers to submit 2003 Annual Convention proposals on this area of study.

"We are seeking to better understand the intersection between the roles that religion and/or spiritual values play in the daily lives of sexual minority individuals," says Fitzgerald. "We want to look at the issues both from the perspective of the church as well as from the experiences of LGBT people."

For more information about Div. 44 activities and convention programming, contact Fitzgerald at Jfitz404@aol.com.

--J. CHAMBERLIN