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VOLUME 29, NUMBER 3 - March 1998 ASSOCIATION NEWS
Psychologists and others concerned about mental health are urged to participate in ?Walk the walk: For lives touched by mental illness,? a one-mile walk in Washington, D.C., that is being organized to dispel negative preconceptions about people with mental illness. Thousands of people from all over the country are expected to participate in the event, which will take place on May 2 at 11 a.m. The walk is sponsored by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Center for Mental Health Services. APA is one of 20 consumer and provider mental health organizations supporting the event. Tipper Gore, Rosalynn Carter and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala are honorary co-chairs of the event. For more information on the event, call (800) 789-2647, or visit the walk?s web site at http://www.mentalhealth.org/campaign/index.htm.
About 600 research specialists from various health-related disciplines are expected to attend an APA-organized conference in May on the role that behavioral and social sciences play in public health. ?Public Health in the 21st Century: Behavioral and Social Science Contributions? will be held May 7?9 at Marriott Marquis Hotel in Atlanta. APA is organizing the multidis-ciplinary conference in collaboration with scientific and professional groups and federal agencies. The aim of the conference is to foster interaction and collaboration among researchers in behavioral and social sciences and in public health. Researchers working on the integration of behavioral and social sciences and public health are encouraged to attend. The event was designed in response to the need for more integration of behavioral and social sciences in public health and biomedical research, prevention and treatment programs, APA officials say. Public health officials are recognizing the important contribution that behavioral and social sciences can make to understanding the development, prevention and treatment of disease and disability, they add. Topics to be discussed at the conference include: ? Community-based initiatives to reduce substance abuse. ? Physical activity as a disease prevention strategy. ? Injury prevention. ? Behavioral factors in immunization. ? Social and behavioral intervention in violence prevention. The cost to attend the conference is $90 for registration received by APA before April 1, and $125 afterward. Space is limited, and registration will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Those planning to attend the conference must reserve a hotel room directly by calling the hotel, which is offering single or double rooms at $96 per night. The conference will be organized into three themes: ? Risk factors?related to chronic and infectious diseases, injury and violence, environmental health, occupational health and safety, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis. ? Interventions?community efforts to promote health and prevent and control disease. ? Evaluation in prevention and health promotion?conceptual and methodological challenges for evaluating health interventions, meeting standards of scientific rigor and public accountability. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention is sponsoring the conference, with supplemental funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the Office on AIDS Research at NIH. Organizations that collaborated in planning the event are the American Academy of Nursing; American Anthropological Association; Association of American Geographers; American College of Epidemiology; American Evaluation Association; American Psychological Society; American Public Health Association; American Sociological Association; Consortium of Social Science Associations; Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences; Society of Behavioral Medicine; Society of Psychological Study of Social Issues; and the Society for Public Health Education. For more information, contact Julia Silva, PhD, conference manager, at the APA address, (202) 336-5187.
April 1, 1998, is the preregistration deadline for the 24th International Congress of Applied Psychology, to be held Aug. 9?14 in San Francisco. Hosted by APA on behalf of the International Association of Applied Psychology, the congress program will feature an array of individual and group presentations on: ? Organizational psychology ? Psychological evaluation and assessment ? Psychology and national development ? Educational, instructional and school psychology ? Clinical and community psychology ? Applied gerontology ? Health psychology ? Economic psychology ? Psychology and law ? Political psychology ? Sport psychology ? Traffic and transportation psychology ? And other areas such as applied social, applied developmental, human factors and ergonomics, and social issues. The congress program will also offer an exhibit of major publishing, technological, and psychological companies; continuing education workshops; site visits to clinics, laboratories and industrial settings; and excursions to nearby tourist attractions. Registration materials are available from the Congress Secretariat, APA Office of International Affairs, 750 First St., N.E., Washington, DC 20002-4242; fax: (202) 336-5956; e-mail.
The Ethics Code Task Force (ECTF) is moving forward with processes that will culminate in a revision of the 1992 APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (American Psychologist, Vol. 47, No. 12, [December 1992], pages 1597?1611; Also http://www.apa.org/ethics). For details of revision processes prior to the appointment of the ECTF, refer to American Psychologist for annual reports from the Ethics Committee. (The most recent: Report of the Ethics Committee, 1996. American Psychologist, Vol. 52, No. 8, [August 1997] pages 897?905). The ECTF requests input from the membership regarding this important revision. Previously accepted comments, collected in an ongoing fashion following the publication of the 1992 Ethics Code, will be included with any new comments received as a result of this call. The ECTF seeks (1) feedback on the adequacy of its existing Ethics Code, as well as (2) recommendations for additional principles and standards to address areas currently not covered. Possible areas for revised or new standards include (but are not limited to) the following: telehealth, electronic databases, and other new technologies; managed care and other organized systems of care; media psychology; practice in institutional settings (e.g., schools, military, law enforcement); empirically supported treatments; practice with families and groups; supervision; multiple relationships and abuses of power (sexual or nonsexual) with current or former clients and students; forensic activities; and research, teaching, and practice with diverse populations. For each comment you submit, describe a brief situation of which you have direct knowledge that provides a context for discussing how the components of the Preamble, the six General Principles, and/or one or more of the 109 Standards: a) enhance or impair the ability of psychologists to conduct their work in an ethical manner, b) protect (or do not protect) the public, c) reflect (or do not reflect) the scope of psychologists? work-related activities, d) are (or are not) clearly understood, and e) are (or are not) enforceable. If applicable, suggest wording for specific revised or new principles or standards that would address your ethical concerns. Examples or descriptions that include personally identifying information about others will not be used. Return responses to Ethics Code Revision March Call, APA Ethics Office, 750 First St., N.E., Washington DC 20002-4242 as soon as practical but no later than June 30. Please, provide your name, address, type of employment setting, gender and ethnicity.
The tear-out booklet describing all of the Continuing Education Program?s workshops to be offered during APA?s Annual Convention in San Francisco will appear in the May Monitor. More than 60 workshops are scheduled from Aug. 14?18, both whole and half-day, and all carry CE credit. In addition to a proven slate of workshops on research methods and statistics with appeal to academics and scientists, are many new titles of interest to practitioners. Among them are workshops on geriatrics, social phobia, chronic headaches, women?s health, neurological assessment and many more. Mark your calendar to remove the booklet from the May issue. Enrollments are limited and many of the workshops fill rapidly. If you have any questions, call APA?s CE Office at (800) 374-2721, select menu option 8. For more information on any of these association news items, contact the relevant program at APA, 750 First St., N.E., Washington, DC 20002-4242.
Psychologists can now obtain brochures and posters that explain the ?Mental Health Bill of Rights? that APA and eight other organizations of mental health professionals drafted last year to protect patients from substandard mental health-care coverage. The brochures and posters describe the principles contained in the bill of rights, including the individual?s right to know about the extent of their mental health benefits and the right to be guaranteed confidentiality. APA is selling the posters and brochures to providers who want to show them to their patients. The bill of rights also calls for third-party payers to guarantee his or her enrollees the right to choose a provider, and to offer mental health-care coverage equal to medical benefits. It asserts that payers and treating professionals should be held accountable for harm they cause a client. The materials also list questions clients can ask providers or benefits managers, such as, ?Is anyone besides my professional involved in my treatment decisions?? and ?Does the plan reward the professional for limiting services?? APA?s 1996 President Dorothy W. Cantor, PsyD, spearheaded the development of the bill of rights. The other organizations that crafted the document are the American Psychiatric Association, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Counseling Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, the American Nurses Association, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, the National Association of Social Workers and the National Federation of Societies for Clinical Social Work. The group is forging contacts in the business community, hoping to convince major companies to support the bill of rights for their employees. Cantor encourages any APA members that can help to contact her through e-mail. In addition, the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association has signed on to the document, and more consumer groups are adding their support. ?When the message comes from practitioners, it sounds self-serving, but when you have the support from patient groups, the impact is stunning,? says Cantor. President Clinton also released a patient bill of rights last year, although that document doesn?t address mental health issues specifically, Cantor notes. Brochures and posters are available in sets of one poster and 10 brochures. To order, contact APA's Order Department at the APA address, (202) 336-5510. Each set costs $10, plus shipping and handling. Also, posters and brochures can be purchased separately. Posters are $10 each and brochures are 50 cents each.
By Gary R. VandenBos, PhD Regional psychological associations contribute to the flavor of psychology in many different ways, but especially as accessible forums for student presentations and professional exchange of knowledge and expertise. For APA, the regional association meetings provide an opportunity for the association?s Office of Communications to help spread knowledge in the discipline. Seven regional associations are affiliated with APA: the New England, Eastern, Southeastern, Midwestern, Rocky Mountain, Southwestern and Western regional associations. APA will participate at five regional meetings in 1998: ? The Eastern Psychological Association in Boston (Feb. 27?March 1) ? The Southeastern Psychological Association in Mobile, Ala. (March 26?29) ? The Southwestern Psychological Association in New Orleans (April 9?11) ? The joint Western Psychological Association and Rocky Mountain Psychological Association meeting in Albuquerque, N.M. (April 16?19) ? The Midwestern Psychological Association meeting in Chicago (April 30?May 2). ?How to publish? sessions APA?s Publications and Communications (P&C) Board is sponsoring ?How to publish? your manuscript sessions at the meetings of the Eastern, Southwestern, the joint Western?Rocky Mountain and the Midwestern psychological associations, as well as at the APA Annual Convention in San Francisco, Aug. 14?18. These sessions aim to demystify the editorial process of scholarly journals and to assist both novices and experienced researchers in navigating the waters to publication. At each session, successful journal authors provide an overview of their experiences and advice on writing, selecting the right journal, interpreting editors? letters and reviewer comments, handling disagreement with a reviewer, revising and, most importantly, surviving rejection. In addition, experienced journal editors detail the process a manuscript goes through when it is received in an editorial office. They provide information on the selection of reviewers, the meaning of the reviewer?s comments to the editor and the editor?s expectations?including what is really meant by letters of ?rejection with encouragement to revise and resubmit.? Finally, technical production editors outline the process an author can expect after a manuscript is accepted for publication. The most important part of each session is usually the question-and-answer segment, which gives the audience ample opportunity to get advice on all aspects of manuscript writing, review and publishing, as well as on APA publishing policies and ethical guidelines. APA exhibits and ?stores? Exhibits and ?stores? will also be set up at several regional meetings. PsycINFO will exhibit at the Southeastern (March 26?28) and Midwestern (April 30?May 2) meetings. Staff will demonstrate how to search the databases provided for members on the APA web site. The databases cover PsycINFO and APA Journals. Staff will also show how to search commercial versions of PsycINFO and PsycLIT. APA publications?books and special journal issues?will be available at the regional meetings. Books that will be of particular interest are the perennially popular ?APA Publication Manual? and its attendant instructor and student guidebooks, and the 1998 edition of ?Graduate Study in Psychology.? Bestsellers to look for include ?Career Paths in Psychology? and ?Dissertations and Theses From Start to Finish.? Hot topical books already available or coming off the press in the early spring include ?Critical Thinking About Research,? ?Shy Children, Phobic Adults,? ?Generativity and Adult Development,? ?Attribution and Social Interaction,? ?Treating Patients with Alcohol and Drug Abuse,? and ?Learning and Studying Strategies.? These publications will be available at an APA publications booth at the Western-Rocky Mountain meeting and at regional ?stores? at the Eastern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Midwestern meetings. Join us at these regional feasts for stimulating interaction and professional exchange, and sample APA?s array of print and electronic resources. |
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