Network exercise gives leaders test of new strategies

The State Leadership Conference provides opportunities for psychologists to practice networking.

By Lisa Rabasca
Monitor staff

Psychology association leaders got a close-up glimpse of networking in action during the annual state leadership conference, when six of them were assigned to develop an action plan as the rest of their colleagues watched. This exercise was part of an opening session that also provided an opportunity for conference participants to practice their networking skills.

During the group exercise, six leaders were asked to develop a unified action plan for advancing state patient-protection legislation, while six others were assigned to critique their plan.

The participants rehearsed how they would reach out to members of APA's federal legislation, state legislation, public education, business and legal managed-care networks to develop an orchestrated plan for advancing health-care reform. They learned how working in a coordinated fashion and combining the resources available to them through these networks and their leadership positions can help maximize their effectiveness.

Role-playing realistic situations is an excellent way for psychologists to see the benefits of coordinated planning because it is a technique most practitioners are familiar with through their own work with patients, said Ron Fox, PhD, chair of the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice and facilitator for the exercise.

"All of us know that a person will be better prepared to act in a particular fashion if they are able to picture it clearly and then actually rehearse what they will say and do in as realistic a situation as possible."

Setting the scene

Fox set the scene for the exercise. A state's psychological association wants the state legislature to enact a law that would allow consumers to sue their managed-care plans, he said. The association's resources include $100,000 in reserves, an annual budget of $243,000, a statewide legislative advocacy network, a public education network and a representative from APA's Business of Practice Network. About half the state's licensed psychologists are members of the association.

In addition, there are some challenges. The local insurance industry opposes the bill and has a large budget to persuade legislators, business leaders and the public that patient-protection legislation isn't necessary because the industry is policing itself.

"The opposition is using a lot of the arguments that psychologists think are their arguments: better care, doctor-driven decisions, patient choices," Fox said. The six leaders chosen for the exercise where asked to devise as many elements of a coordinated plan as they could in 30 minutes while six other state leaders watched and took notes.

The plan they devised, as the audience watched, suggested strategically using resources from the legislative, public education and business networks and then forming alliances with other provider groups such as physicians and hospitals.

According to their plan, the legislative network would contact and encourage lawmakers to support the bill while the public education network was providing media contacts with information about patients who had been denied care.

At the same time, members of the business network would be used to educate local business leaders and the chamber of commerce about the benefits of providing comprehensive mental health care. The participants also agreed that the issue could be used as a recruitment tool for new members by inviting all licensed psychologists in the state to support the legislation and join the state association.

Providing feedback

The Texas Psychological Association used a similar strategy to pass state legislation in 1997, which enables patients to sue their health maintenance organizations, said Jerry Grammer, PhD, president of that association, and one of the six offering feedback.

Although the action plan developed by the association leaders was well received, several of the six critiquing the plan suggested ways to beef it up.

Don't overlook the resources of other provider groups working with you, said Michael Murphy, PhD, federal advocacy coordinator for the Indiana Psychological Association. Medical associations and physicians groups often have full-time lobbyists.

In addition to telling the public and lawmakers what's wrong with managed care, demonstrate the benefits of psychology, said Jana Martin, PhD, regional public education campaign coordinator for the Los Angeles/
Orange counties.

"We need to have examples of how therapy has worked and how psychologists have had a positive effect," she said.

Remember to educate psychologists about why this issue is important to the profession, Martin said. She also suggested looking at the bigger picture.

"We're not just fighting this one issue, we're setting the groundwork for all the future legislation we might need to promote," she said.

Following the group exercise, the remaining 450 attendees broke into smaller groups to practice networking skills they had just seen demonstrated. Participants role-played one of three different scenarios--how to:

* Win prescription privileges for psychologists.

* Include behavioral health as part of an integrated health plan.

* Define the role of telehealth in the delivery of mental health care.

"From what I saw, it was a good process and exercise," said Russ Newman, PhD, JD, APA's executive director for practice. Newman visited 10 of the 16 smaller groups.

"In every group the issue of how to educate the membership about the issue was in there with recognition that it's a difficult task," he said.

"We can concentrate on public education but we can't afford to overlook our own profession's education about these issues."



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