Forty percent of the public — and an equal share of physicians — have a very favorable view of psychology as a profession, Luana Bossolo, associate executive director of practice communications at APA, told participants at APA's State Leadership Conference.
"That's good news," said Bossolo, citing data from a survey APA commissioned in 2014. But to stay relevant in a fast-changing health-care environment, said Bossolo, psychologists must continually convince consumers, physicians and other health-care providers and payers that what they have to offer is valuable. In a session sponsored by the Council of Executives of State and Provincial Psychological Associations, she and a practitioner shared tips for "selling" psychology.
"Within the profession, we all know the breadth, width and depth of what psychologists can do, but how do we get beyond the perception that what psychologists do is sit in their offices and see patients?" moderator Sally Cameron, executive director of the North Carolina Psychological Association, asked participants.
Reaching out
In the 2014 survey, 32 percent of participants said they had received treatment or therapy from a psychologist or other mental health professional, a big increase over previous decades, Bossolo said.
But while psychologists were the No. 1 choice of provider when primary-care physicians recommended patients seek psychological care, 65 percent of respondents reported that their physicians had never suggested they seek psychological services.
"That's an opportunity for psychologists," said Bossolo. "We need to be doing more relationship-building with the physician community."
Treating depression and anxiety ranked among the top ways both consumers and physicians thought psychologists could be helpful. Areas such as pain management and lifestyle and behavior change ranked lower on the list. "We need to do more work in that area," said Bossolo. "How can we better explain the relevance of what you do in terms of managing chronic disease?"
When asked why they didn't refer patients to psychologists to treat psychological or behavioral factors that affect physical illness, physicians reported that the main reason was availability. "That gives us something more to examine," said Bossolo. "Is it that they're not able to find a psychologist or that they don't have a list of psychologists they can refer out to?"
Psychologists also need to get out more, emphasized private practitioner Lindsey Buckman, PsyD, a member of APA's Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice. "Our work is very internal and private, and that often creates barriers for other people understanding what we do," she said. "We usually disappear into our offices, but we need to be more assertive and entrepreneurial."
Buckman shared suggestions for reaching out to consumers, health-care professionals and even policymakers:
- Get out in your community. "We need to get out in the community, talk about our work and meet other people who aren't psychologists," said Buckman, urging practitioners to "invite themselves" if other groups don't think to include them. At triathlons, for example, other professions sell their goods and services in tents before races. A psychologist could be there talking about performance anxiety, performance enhancement and related issues.
- Give psychology away. Social media represent a new way of communicating the value of psychology, said Buckman. Use Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and other platforms to share news articles, APA resources and other tidbits to a wider audience, she suggested. Radio and television are another way to disseminate accurate psychological information. By bringing good, free information to the public, she said, you'll also be attracting people to your own practice.
- Assist legislators. Be a volunteer resource for your state legislators as they draft legislation with a mental health angle, Buckman recommended. "Sometimes you have to force that relationship to happen, since they may not seek us out," she said. When you see a legislator mention something relevant on social media, radio or television, give the legislator a call or send a note expressing your interest in their work and offering to help. "That gets correct information into the hands of legislators," said Buckman. "Maybe they'll even pass better legislation."
Some state, provincial and territorial psychological associations have also produced pamphlets with tips on how legislators and their staff should communicate with constituents in distress. "It's a great way to win legislative staff over, because they're the ones who usually have to communicate with these folks directly," said Buckman. "Having something to give them is a way to communicate our value and provide a little relief."