APA's Public Interest Directorate and Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI) are spotlighting the mental health needs of the incarcerated, the elderly and children throughout APA's 2005 Annual Convention programming.

In addition, two psychologists will be honored for their service and dedication to public interest psychology:

• Margaret Beale Spencer, PhD, winner of the Senior Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest. Spencer will present her award address on Friday, Aug. 19, at 11 a.m. on "Crafting identities and creating opportunities post-Brown."

• Daniel Dodgen, PhD, winner of the Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest. Dodgen will give his award address on Saturday, Aug. 20, at 11 a.m. on "Taking psychology upstream: Shaping the policies that shape our lives."

Prison psychology: Challenges and diversity

BAPPI will sponsor two sessions on the issues and challenges psychologists face in working within correctional facilities. The first, "Mental health and U.S. correctional institutions: Issues, challenges and solutions," will be held Friday, Aug. 19, at 10 a.m. Invited speaker Deputy Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, MD, will make an opening statement at the session, which is co-sponsored by APA's Board of Professional Affairs. Other presenters include:

• John Miles, McKing Consulting in Atlanta, "How did the jail become the community mental health center?"

• Thomas Fagan, PhD, University of Mary Washington, "Management and treatment of the mentally ill within the correctional environment: Implications, barriers and issues."

• Joel Dvoskin, PhD, University of Arizona Medical School, "Correctional psychology: If not here, where? If not us, who? If not now, when?"

The second session, "Mental health and U.S. correctional institutions: Addressing the needs of diverse populations," will be held Friday, Aug. 19, at 2 p.m. and co-sponsored by APA's Div. 18 (Public Service). Allan S. Noonan, MD, of Morgan State University, will chair the program.

Panelists include:

• Dennis Waite, PhD, Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, "Mental health needs of incarcerated juveniles--A racial comparison."

• Angela Browne, PhD, Harvard University, "What's driving this motor? Mental health-care issues with incarcerated/detained women and girls."

• Corinne Ortega, PhD, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, "Latinos in the criminal justice system: Toward culturally competent correctional psychology."

• Rebecca S. Allen, PhD, and graduate student Laura Phillips of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, "Care alternatives in prison systems: Older prisoners."

• Jeffrey D. Strain, of Indiana State University, "Identifying and meeting the mental health needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) clients in correctional facilities."

Aging issues

Additional programming will blend multiculturalism and the needs of older Americans. The session "Older adult mental health: Multicultural infusion into education, training, research, practice and policy," will be held Saturday, Aug. 20, at 10 a.m. and chaired by Toni Antonucci, PhD, of the University of Michigan, and Todd J. McCallum, PhD, of Case Western Reserve University. Other panelists and their topics include:

• Jennifer Manly, PhD, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University, "Clinical ethnogeropsychology: The challenge of infusing issues of cultural diversity into research, training and practice."

• Richard Zweig, PhD, Yeshiva University, "Deconstructing race and education for research on cognitive aging."

• Martha Crowther, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, "Mental health needs of ethnic-minority and rural elders: Research and service considerations."

• Susan Krauss Whitbourne, PhD, University of Massachusetts, "Infusing diversity into the undergraduate curriculum on aging."

Also notable is a session on "Psychopharmacological, psychosocial and combined interventions for childhood disorders" hosted by the APA Board of Directors Working Group on Psychoactive Medications for Children and Adolescents. Ronald T. Brown, PhD, of Temple University, will chair the session. Panel participants include David Antonuccio, PhD, University of Nevada School of Medicine; George DuPaul, PhD, Lehigh University; Cheryl King, PhD, University of Michigan; William Pelham, PhD, University at Buffalo of the State University of New York; John Piacentini, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles; and Benedetto Vitiello, MD, National Institute of Mental Health.

--COMPILED BY APA'S PUBLIC INTEREST DIRECTORATE

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