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APAGS examines new psychologists' concerns
APA's student arm is looking at the concerns of new psychologists in hopes of providing services that will ease their transitions from school to work.
The American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) Task Force for New Professionals defines as "new" any psychologist in the first five years of his or her postdoctoral career. And, say APAGS leaders, today's new psychologists are entering a profession that looks much different than it did when they started graduate school half a decade ago.
"As they leave their programs they enter an increasingly tumultuous marketplace," says APAGS Task Force Chair Corey Habben, PsyD, "owing more in student loan debt than ever, and find themselves looking frantically for answers to the questions that were not taught to them in graduate school."
The goal of the task force is to determine what the most significant issues are for new psychologists and how APA is addressing these concerns. The group will also recommend further action to APA.
Within the last year, APAGS established an e-mail listserv (NEWPSYCHLIST), which has become the most populous open-forum listserv APA offers, with 818 people participating.
"You see new psychologists helping their fellow colleagues on a daily basis," says Habben, "whether the topic is chairing your first dissertation, applying for the first time for managed-care panels or obtaining grant funding as a new scientist. You see a lot of advising among the new psychologists out there in the trenches with firsthand information about how to get established as a new professional in today's marketplace."
The task force's recommendations to APA detailing the needs of new psychologists will be out next year. Habben hopes that the results will strengthen not only new psychologists, but the future of the profession itself.
"Psychology has been faced with some crises lately," he says, "and what this next generation of psychologists does with these crises--acting rather than reacting--will have a significant impact on the future of the profession."
Three psychologists slated to lecture at regional meetings
Sarah Boysen, PhD; Morton Ann Gernsbacher, PhD; and Lewis Lipsitt, PhD, will participate in APA's 2000 Distinguished Scientist Lecture Program, sponsored by the Science and Education Directorates.
As part of this program, these researchers will be featured at the annual meetings of three regional psychological associations.
The Board of Scientific Affairs, with the support of regional association presidents, developed the program 11 years ago as part of its mission to promote scientific psychology.
Boysen, a professor of developmental psychology at Ohio State University, will present her research at the New England Psychological Association meeting in Lewistown, Maine, Oct. 2021. Her research interests include animal cognition, with a special focus in the acquisition of counting abilities and numerical competence in nonhuman primates, and cognitive development in apes.
Gernsbacher is the Sir Frederic C. Bartlett Professor of Psychology at the University of WisconsinMadison. Her research investigates the general cognitive processes and mechanisms underlying language comprehension. She will speak on "the role of suppression in language comprehension" at the Eastern Psychological Association meeting in Baltimore, March 2426.
A developmental psychologist at Brown University since 1957, Lipsitt retired in July 1996 as a professor of psychology, medical science and human development. Now an emeritus professor, he is also a research professor, supported by a four-year NIH grant to continue longitudinal work on 4,000 children studied at Brown since birth. Lipsitt's address, "Pleasure, attachment and annoyance in humans: lessons in reciprocity from infants," will be featured at the Southwestern Psychological Association meeting in Dallas, April 2022.
APA co-sponsors NIH research workshop on sexual orientation, mental health and substance abuse
At a recent APA co-sponsored National Institutes of Health (NIH) research workshop researchers agreed that there have been important research advances, but much more work is needed. Among the suggestions presenters made were the need to include sexual orientation as a demographic question in national health surveys.
"While some may wish to dismiss the asking of sexual orientation questions in health surveys as a political ploy, we as researchers are very clear that it is not," said Susan D. Cochran, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles. "To meet the federal mandate of disease surveillance in the U.S. population, federal agencies need to collect information on respondents' sexual orientation in those surveys that assess health issues for which we have suspicions that sexual orientation is associated with differential rates of morbidity."
APA co-sponsored the workshop, "New Approaches to Research on Sexual Orientation, Mental Health and Substance Abuse," with NIH to showcase current research and draw attention to the need for NIH to take a visible leadership role and provide expanded support to research on the prevalence and causes of health problems among lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Among the 15 presentations in the two-day meeting, one theme emerged repeatedly--that mental health morbidity is correlated with victimization, especially in childhood and adolescence. Anthony D'Augelli, PhD, of Pennsylvania State University, who studies developmental and contextual factors that contribute to mental health problems, noted the relatively high prevalence of direct victimization among lesbian, gay and bisexual youths, but also the invisible vicarious victimization that occurs when adolescents observe their peers being victimized.
"The implications of these developmental experiences for mental health are likely to be profound," says D'Augelli.
"This workshop was the realization of a long-standing objective of the APA Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns (CLGBC)," says Margaret Schneider, PhD, CLGBC chair. "I expect that the combination
of the Institute of Medicine report on lesbian health research that was released last year and this workshop at NIH
will lay the groundwork for more
and better investigator-initiated proposals to NIH."
CLGBC will review the presentations and the suggestions made during the workshop during its March meeting and identify how it may further promote research through collaborative work with the NIH and other federal research agencies.
"I am very gratified NIH is recognizing the importance of health issues for lesbian, gay and bisexual people," says Schneider. "This workshop will assist NIH program officers to better appreciate the importance of this research. The mental and physical health problems of lesbian, gay and bisexual people affect not only those with the problems but also families, co-workers and communities."
American Psychological Foundation Henry Hécaen and Manfred Meier Neuropsychology Scholarships
The American Psychological Foundation (APF) and APA's Div. 40 (Clinical Neuropsychology) are pleased to announce, and seek applications for, the Henry Hécaen and Manfred Meier Neuropsychology Scholarships.
Both scholarships offer one-year grants of $2,500. The scholarships seek to identify two graduate students who show great promise or achievement in their graduate studies, as signified by scholarly or research activity.
The scholarships were established with the foundation by Arthur Benton, PhD, who wished to honor two esteemed colleagues in neuropsychology: the late Henry Hécaen, PhD, the French neurologist instrumental in the founding and development of neuropsychology as a science, and Manfred Meier, PhD, of the University of Minnesota, who helped establish the neuropsychology laboratory, where Meier conducted neuropsychological research on patients with epilepsy, cerebrovascular disorders and Parkinson's Disease. Students who want to compete for these awards should submit a letter that documents their scholarly or research accomplishments. In addition, students should explain their need for this financial award and for what purpose it will be used. Letters should be co-signed by faculty mentors or training directors, who must certify the accuracy of the student's presented information.
Seven copies of the letter and of any supporting materials (e.g., a copy of the cited scholarly or research work) should be sent to: Hécaen and Meier Scholarships, APF at the APA address. All applications must be received by June 1.
Nominations sought for lesbian, gay and bisexual achievement award
APA's Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns (CLGBC) is accepting nominations for the annual Outstanding Achievement Award, which recognizes psychologists for significant contributions to the mission of CLGBC.
The committee:
* Studies and evaluates the best way to explore the issues and concerns of lesbian, gay male and bisexual psychologists.
* Encourages objective and unbiased research in areas relevant to lesbian, gay male and bisexual adults and youths, and the social impact of such research.
* Examines the consequences of stereotypes about lesbian, gay male and bisexual adults and youths in clinical practice.
* Develops educational materials for distribution to psychologists and others.
* Makes recommendations regarding the integration of these issues
into APA's activities to further the cause of the civil and legal rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual psychologists within the profession (APA Association Rule 150-4).
Nominees may have made significant contributions to CLGBC's mission either through direct CLGBC service or through independent work. The contributions may be of a scientific, professional, educational, leadership or political nature.
All nominations should include a letter of nomination including a brief description of the specific achievements and contributions of the nominee (500 words maximum), a curriculum vitae, and the names of three people who have been asked by the nominator to write reference letters.
Current members of CLGBC or staff of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns Program are not eligible for consideration. The deadline for receipt of nominations is May 1.
Send nominations and supporting materials to CLGBC Awards, Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address.
New brochure raises awareness on disability issues
APA's Office of Disability Issues in Psychology has produced a new brochure called "Enhancing Your Interactions with People with Disabilities," which suggests ways the media, educators and human service providers can shape attitudes about people with disabilities in a positive and helpful way.
The brochure covers several communication, compliance and portrayal issues. For example, the brochure recommends using action verbs--"This person uses a wheelchair" instead of "This person is in a wheelchair"--to avoid images of passivity.
The brochure also offers several other suggestions for improving communication with people with:
* Hearing impairments: Talk directly to the person, not to the sign language interpreter.
* Visual impairments: Explain where major furniture is located and refer to positions in terms of the clock (for example,
"The table is at your three o'clock").
* Mobility impairments: Remain at eye level for people who use wheelchairs if the discussion lasts longer than a few minutes, but do not lean on the wheelchair without permission, since it is considered personal space.
A third section assists psychologists and other mental health professionals in improving compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For example, change criteria that screen out people with disabilities or hire a contractor familiar with ADA requirements when remodeling or building new offices.
To receive a copy of the brochure, contact the Disability Issues in Psychology Office at (202) 336-6038; (202) 336-5662 (TTY); web site: http://www.apa.org/pi/cdip.
New brochure raises awareness of disability issues
For fiscal year 2000, APA's Public Interest Directorate has received $75,000 to continue its Five-Year Plan for Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention and Training in Psychology.
The directorate plans to use the funds to provide seed money for programs that promote diversity and minority recruitment. Eligible applicants are state associations, APA divisions, departments/schools of psychology, APA boards and committees, other entities of organized psychology and individuals.
Three or four proposals will be funded under each priority area. Proposals will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis.
The funding priorities for fiscal year 2000 are:
* Training/Professional DevelopmentLinguistic Minorities--Activities that support programs and faculty development for improving services to linguistic minorities who are learning English as a second language, or activities that establish practicum training in school, clinical, counseling and other applied areas of psychology in settings serving linguistic minorities, such as schools, community centers and churches. Examples include collecting and publishing model programs that focus on training for psychological services with linguistic minority populations; developing grants for research and training in psychology with linguistic minority populations; advocating that regional accrediting bodies support and promote language programs; advocating that the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education and other similar federal grants be given to psychologists to develop such programs. (Approximately $10,000 is available.)
* Training/ScienceMath and Science Research and Training--Activities that serve to identify or disseminate math, science and research education and training strategies (including distance learning) that increase retention of students of color--especially in scientific psychology areas--at any level of the educational pipeline. (Approximately $14,000 is available.)
* Faculty/Professional Develop-ment--This includes activities that promote multicultural competence in teaching, practice and research among psychology faculty. (Approximately $8,000 to $10,000 is available.)
* Student Undergraduate/ Graduate: Grants to Departments for Innovative Programs. Here, small grants are awarded to undergraduate, graduate departments and professional schools to develop strategies for recruitment, retention and graduation of ethnic-minority students in psychology. Applications that focus on undergraduates and their matriculation to graduate programs in psychology are especially welcome. (Approximately $6,000 to $8,000 is available.)
Applications, no more than five pages, should contain descriptions of the goals/problems to be addressed and the procedures for solving or attaining them, expected results, a budget for the amount requested, and a statement explaining how the proposed effort is consistent with the Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention and Training in Psychology's (CEMRRAT) funding priorities and the provisions of the CEMRRAT Five-Year Plan.
In addition, $7,000 in CEMRRAT funds will be matched by $7,000 from the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice. These funds, targeted toward diversity efforts of the state associations, will be administered by the Committee of State Leaders (CSL). For more information, contact Daniel Abrahamson, PhD, Chair, CSL at (860) 644-2541.
Questions should be directed to Bertha G. Holliday, PhD, or Adisa A. Ajamu at the APA address, (202) 336-6029, web site: http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/visions.
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