Tools for practitioners

At APA's 2006 Annual Convention in New Orleans, APA's Practice Directorate and the Board of Professional Affairs will sponsor a variety of programs aimed at giving practitioners tools for their clinical work.

This year's sessions include the following.

• On Friday, Aug. 11, 10-11:50 a.m., the APA Practice Organization and the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice (CAPP), with support from APA Div. 31 (State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Association Affairs), will present "Tools for Growth: Effective and Ethical Marketing Strategies for Psychologists." The 2006 symposium will expand upon last year's marketing program to provide more practical resources to help practitioners reach clients who could benefit from psychological services. J. Paul Burney, PhD, an independent practitioner in Conroe, Texas, will chair the session. Presenters will include David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA, of APA's Practice Directorate, and Rosalind S. Dorlen, PsyD, an independent practitioner in Summit, N.J.

• On Saturday, Aug. 12, 2-3:50 p.m., the CAPP Task Force on Serious Mental Illness/Severe Emotional Disturbance and APA Div. 18 (Public Service) will co-sponsor the symposium "Evidence-Based Programs and Practices for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness."

The development of evidence-based practices for patients with serious mental illnesses (SMIs) began several years ago with the introduction of psychosocial rehabilitation services. The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (PNFC) provided an impetus to implement these practices, recognizing their role in helping those with SMIs recover. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has the overall responsibility for implementation of the PNFC recommendations and, as part of that effort, has begun a National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. Many of the interventions have been developed and tested by psychologists and show promise as effective treatment for SMIs.

This symposium, chaired by Mary A. Jansen, PhD, of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Mental Health Services, will present information on development of the National Registry at the federal level; APA's perspective on the National Registry; and information from the CAPP Task Force on Serious Mental Illness/Severe Emotional Disturbance, which recently developed a compendium of evidence-based programs and practices.

Presenters include A. Kathryn Power, director of the Center for Mental Health Services at SAMHSA, on evidence-based practices; CAPP task force member Will Spaulding, PhD, of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, on the task force's role; Keven D. Hennessy, PhD, of the SAMHSA Office of Policy, Program and Budget, on SAMHSA's contributions to translating "science to service"; Geoffrey M. Reed, PhD, of APA's Practice Directorate, on use and misuse of evidence to improve mental health services; and Steven M. Silverstein, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, on facilitating the implementation of best practice for people with serious mental illnesses. Power will also serve as the discus sant.

• On Saturday, Aug. 12, 4-5:50 p.m., the symposium "When Multicultural Worlds Collide: Working with Arab and Muslim Americans" will inform practitioners about working with Arab Americans and Muslim Americans. Presentations will focus on such issues as internal conflicts for Arabs and Muslims, practice issues for clinicians, cultural conflicts and working with marginalized groups within the Arab and Muslim population. Speakers will cite research literature to encourage the use of best practices.

Chaired by Larry C. James, PhD, of Tripler Army Medical Center, the session will feature presentations by Mona M. Amer, PhD, of the Yale University School of Medicine, on breaking down barriers to service use; Julie Hakim-Larson, PhD, of the University of Windsor in Canada, on individual identity resolution in Arab Americans; Sameera Ahmed, PhD, of Muslim Family Services in Detroit, on understanding and working with Muslim youth; Saba R. Ali, PhD, of the University of Iowa, on Muslim women in the American work force; and Ibrahim Kira, PhD, of ACCESS Community Health and Research Center in Dearborn, Mich., on treatment and research regarding political oppression victims.

• At the session "COPPS Unveils Record Keeping Guidelines," Friday, Aug. 11, 1-1:50 p.m., presenters will review revisions to the APA Record Keeping Guidelines (RKG) with an emphasis on changes that the Committee on Professional Practice and Standards (COPPS) made to the previous guidelines. The presenters will provide the rationale for the changes and field questions about their implications. Presenters will touch on differences between the current version of the RKG and previous versions, as well as special considerations in institutional record-keeping. Maintenance of records and the guidelines revision process will also be discussed. The session will be chaired by 2006 COPPS chair Mary Connell, EdD.

The discussants will be Michele Galietta, PhD, of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Carolyn M. West, PhD, of the University of Washington, Tacoma; and Larry C. James, PhD, of Tripler Army Medical Center.

-Compiled by APA's Practice Directorate