Commission to consider petition for proficiency recognition
APA's Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology (CRSPPP) has received a petition to recognize psychopharmacology as a proficiency.
This petition is the result of combined efforts and contributions of APA Divs. 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse), 31 (State Psychological Association Affairs), 42 (Independent Practice), 50 (Addictions) and 55 (American Society for the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy). Prior to CRSPPP's consideration of the proficiency-in-psychopharmacology petition, a period of public notice and opportunity for comment is required by CRSPPP's procedures.
Copies of the petition will be available for review and comment during this two-month period of public notice that began on June 1. Copies of the petition are available upon request. Written comments may be submitted to CRSPPP until Aug. 1.
Upon receipt of comments, CRSPPP will publish an announcement in subsequent issues of the Monitor on Psychology to offer members an opportunity to review the petition and the comments. Replies to comments may be submitted to CRSPPP. After the period of public review and comment, CRSPPP will review the petition and the comments during its next regularly scheduled meeting in 2001.
For more information, contact Martha Braswell, special projects officer, Education Directorate, at the APA address, (202) 336-6140; e-mail.
Watch the mail for your APA membership
directory questionnaire
APA's Directory Office has started production on the 2001 edition of APA's Membership Directory. To ensure that membership data are accurate, this summer, each member will receive a questionnaire to update profile information from Harris Publishing. The all-new APA directory will be the most complete and up-to-date reference of information ever compiled on APA's membership, providing you with an indispensable networking tool.
The format of the new directory will make it easier to find the information you need with detailed personal, academic and professional data that will be cross-referenced in five separate sections, helping you to locate more than 90,000 members by name, geographic location, division affiliations, diplomate rosters and international affiliates.
Please keep an eye out for the questionnaire, check it for accuracy when it arrives and return it to APA's Directory Office promptly.
Committee seeks multilingual volunteers at convention
APA's Committee on International Relations in Psychology (CIRP) is seeking multilingual volunteers who are willing to be on call for international visitors at APA's 2000 Annual Convention in Washington, D.C., Aug. 48.
If you speak more than one language, plan to attend the Washington convention and are willing to volunteer your time, please contact CIRP through the Office of International Affairs at the APA address, (202) 336-6024; fax: (202) 218-3599; e-mail: international@apa.org.
APA develops online aging and human sexuality resource guide
APA's Aging Issues Office has created an online resource guide for mental health professionals to increase understanding of aging and sexuality.
The Aging and Human Sexuality Resource Guide lists books, journal articles, films and videos, and links to aging and other organizations. The online guide offers summaries and citations of a variety of topics, such as counseling older adults, sexuality of gay men and lesbians, sexual issues in nursing homes, and psychological and medical aspects of sexuality following a stroke.
Resources include journal articles from the New England Journal of Medicine, West Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Gerontology. Through the site, psychologists can also log on to The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, the National Council on Aging, The Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, and several other Web sites for further research.
To view the Web page, visit www.apa.org/pi/aging/sexuality.html.
Nominations sought for aging committee
APA's Committee on Aging (CONA) seeks nominations for two members to serve January 2001 to December 2003.
CONA ensures that older adults, especially growing numbers of women and minorities, receive the attention of the association. Committee members plan, develop and coordinate activities that affect the status of older adults, such as making sure that aging issues are not excluded from public policy discussions (i.e., poverty or research on mental health), developing resolutions to prevent ageism on the part of psychologists, creating brochures or information to share on various aging topics to correct misconceptions about older persons.
CONA is committed to ensuring the representation of all constituencies within APA, and encourages members with academic, clinical and research experience to apply.
This year, the committee is interested in having candidates from diverse groups apply for the openings.
Committee members are required to attend two committee meetings a year in Washington, D.C., with expenses reimbursed by APA. Members also work on aging-committee priorities when necessary between meetings and attend a CONA meeting during APA's Annual Convention at the member's expense.
Nomination materials should include the nominee's qualifications, a letter from the nominee indicating willingness to serve on CONA and a curriculum vitae. Nominations are open to retired APA members or those employed less than full time.
Nominations and supporting materials should be sent by Aug. 1 to Weldon Bagwell, Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address.
Lesbian, gay and bisexual concerns committee seeks new members
The Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns (CLGBC) seeks nominations for two positions beginning Jan. 1, 2001.
CLGBC is interested in nominees with strong backgrounds in research with expertise and experience in:
* Youth and family or workplace issues.
* International issues and psychological concerns.
* Human diversity including issues relating to bisexual or transgendered identity, the concerns of ethnic minorities or people with disabilities.
The committee welcomes nominations of ethnic-minority psychologists and other psychologists who are members of underrepresented groups.
The committee has six members, three women and three men, appointed for staggered terms of three years. It reports to the Council of Representatives through the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest. Committee members are required to attend two committee meetings a year in Washington, D.C., with expenses reimbursed by APA. Service on the committee also involves a substantial time commitment beyond the meetings themselves.
A statement of the nominee's interest in and qualifications for CLGBC and a current curriculum vitae should accompany the nomination. Self-nominations are accepted. Send nomination materials by Aug. 1 to CLGBC Nominations, Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address.
--M. WATERS
