July/August 2002 | Monitor on Psychology | Vol. 33 No. 7

COVER: Self-Care
- If you do just one thing, make it exercise
Psychologists' research and clinical experience show the critical importance of weaving exercise into your life.
- Don't think thin, think realistic
Losing just a few pounds significantly reduces risks to your health--and you can do it by making small lifestyle changes.
- Do you need to lose weight?
What is your Body Mass Index?
- Put yourself first at convention
Self-care will be the topic of a few sessions during APA's 2002 Annual Convention in Chicago, Aug. 22-25. They include:
- Life-saving changes
A psychologist learns his lesson after a close call.
- Get the massage!
Massage therapy can lower your blood pressure, slow your heart rate and boost your immunity.
- Finding the peace within us
Meditation works the same curative power on healers as it does on their patients.
- Making work your family's ally
It's not job vs. family: Work and family can benefit each other, psychological research shows.
- Sound body, strong researcher
Start with self-care, and the rest will come, a mentor advises his students.
- Normalizing practitioners' stress
More psychologists recognize that self-care helps them be better caregivers.

SCIENCE WATCH
In research that underscores how the brain adapts to the environment, psychologists find that brain regions for spatial memory are bigger and denser in chickadees that live in harsher climates.
IN BRIEF
- Journal focuses on telehealth and chronic disabilities
- APA member is chosen for President Bush's commission on mental health
- 'Discovering Psychology' episode on cognitive neuroscience earns New England Emmy
- What will the year 2010 be like for psychotherapists?
- Stimulation-seeking toddlers have better test scores years later, study finds
- Documentary on resilience set to air Sept. 11
- What makes teens feel connected to their schools?
- Rats, mice and birds excluded from Animal Welfare Act
- Psychologist to lead premier child center
- VA conference focuses on promoting the value of psychologists' services
- AAPA marks 30 years
ETHICS ROUNDS
Experts weigh in on the ethical dilemma posed in the May Monitor.

FEATURES
APA graduate student affiliates who have received or are about to receive their doctoral degree can step up to APA Member status at no additional cost in 2002. Eligible paid affiliates who have received this offer should return their special upgrade application now or as soon as they are eligible to become 2002 members.
Richard Atkinson will be honored with this year's APA Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology.
The APA Practice Organization has created an interactive Web portal to give practitioners the information and tools they want--all in one place.
New ways to analyze research to account for missing data could significantly change research results in the next 10 years.
A study finds that people will start taking a drug when it's paired with money, even if they've previously shunned the drug. The finding may help explain why some people initiate drug use.
APA's Board of Educational Affairs has endorsed learning goals and outcomes for the psychology major.
When the world comes to America, psychologists are increasingly there to help.
Psychologist Jerry Gordon has spawned a new, even more gratifying career through his volunteer work.
APA's Continuing Professional Education Office has had a tremendous response to "CE Your Way in Chicago," its revamped continuing-education programming for this year's APA Annual Convention, Aug. 22-25, in Chicago.
Winners of this year's Templeton Positive Psychology Awards examine the merits of optimism, happiness, goal-setting and resilience.

PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE
APA's 2001-02 congressional and executive branch fellows reflect on their experience and psychology's role in public policy.
CORRECTIONS
COLUMNS
Judicial Notebook
Findings in spy case limit confidentiality of psychotherapyPresident's Column
Apologies for my inadvertent errorThe mind: amazing and mysteriousProfessional Point
A gateway for practitionersRunning Commentary
The quality of their charactersSpeaking of Education
What's going on that's exciting?
