Susan H. McDaniel, PhD, distinguished professor and director of the Institute for the Family in the department of psychiatry at the University of Rochester, has been elected APA's 2016 president. She will serve as APA's president-elect in 2015.
McDaniel is also associate chair of the department of family medicine and director of the Patient- and Family-Centered Care Coaching Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
During her presidency, McDaniel is expected to focus on the integration of psychology into comprehensive health care. She will also focus on how best to prepare psychologists as leaders in team science, inter-professional practice, interdisciplinary education, and advocacy to increase diversity and reduce health disparities.
"I am proud and excited to have the opportunity to lead the American Psychological Association as president in 2016," she says. "One of my primary goals will be to advance psychology as integral to a national health-care system that recognizes behavioral health as fundamental for overall health and wellness. As experts on human behavior, psychologists bring psychological science and practice to bear on our major social problems — including health care, violence and climate change. I look forward to working with the members of APA as we reach out to collaborate with other scientists and practitioners to effect changes that are so needed."
An APA fellow and member of the APA Board of Directors, McDaniel has served on multiple APA task forces, was president of Div. 43 (Society for Family Psychology), chair of APA's Publications and Communications Board, and sat on the association's Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice.
Among her many awards are the prestigious Cummings Foundation PSYCHE prize in 2008 for her contributions to integrated mental and physical health care, the Donald Bloch MD Award for Outstanding Contributions to Collaborative Care in 2009 and the Recognition Award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine in 2011.
She is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters. In addition, McDaniel was co-editor of Families, Systems & Health for 12 years and is an associate editor of APA's flagship journal, American Psychologist. She co-authored or co-edited "Medical Family Therapy," "Primary Care Psychology," "Family-Oriented Primary Care" and 12 other books, which have been translated into multiple languages.
McDaniel received her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a focus on clinical psychology. She is certified in family psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology.