Editor Spotlight

Dawn Ehde, PhD, is a professor of rehabilitation medicine in the Division of Clinical and Neuropsychology at the University of Washington.

In addition to her research, Dr. Ehde has served as a section editor for Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and in various leadership roles, including Treasurer and Member-at-Large, on the Executive Board of APA Division 22 (Rehabilitation Psychology).

Dr. Ehde received her PhD from the University of North Dakota.

Tell us a bit about your background: What is your area of research? What is your most recent journal-editing experience?

As a professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Washington, I devote most of my time to clinical research evaluating behavioral, rehabilitation, and telehealth interventions for chronic pain and/or major depressive disorder in adults with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, limb loss, and traumatic brain injury.

Also, like many readers of Rehabilitation Psychology, I am a clinician. I know firsthand some of the challenges and opportunities of being a psychologist in the rapidly evolving healthcare system.

In addition to serving on the editorial board for Rehabilitation Psychology for many years, I have been a section editor for Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. I have enjoyed working with authors, reviewers, and editorial staff as an Archives section editor and thus look forward to serving as the editor of Rehabilitation Psychology.

Briefly, what are your main priorities? For example, how will you grow readership, what type of scholarship would you like to see in the journal, and what kind of content are you hoping to attract?

I plan to increase readership and the journal's relevance to the rehabilitation psychology community and, more broadly, scientists, clinicians, educators, policymakers, and others interested in rehabilitation psychology and disability.

To do this, I plan to:

• Engage a broad range of journal stakeholders throughout my tenure
• Reach out to authors, manuscripts, reviewers, and readers of rehabilitation psychology who do not necessarily identify as rehabilitation psychologists but who nonetheless are working in spaces relevant to the field
• Enrich the reviewer pool and editorial board
• Decrease the lag time from submission to editorial decision
• Attract a range of manuscripts reflecting diverse research questions, designs, and populations

Why is this journal important for the field? What is its relevance to society/public health? What are the hot issues in your area right now?

The field of rehabilitation psychology has a nearly 60-year history of research, practice, teaching, and advocacy in service to persons with disabilities and chronic health conditions. As the official journal of Division 22, Rehabilitation Psychology has been the primary vehicle for disseminating scientific, clinical, and educational advances in rehabilitation psychology.

I plan to engage a broad range of journal stakeholders throughout my tenure to make sure that the journal seeks contributors, content, readers, and reviewers reflecting the evolving healthcare, educational, and societal landscapes.

What challenges, if any, lie ahead for the field?

Rehabilitation psychologists have been integrated into healthcare for decades, long before the recent emphasis on integrated healthcare. Nonetheless, we cannot rely on this history but instead need more scientific evidence demonstrating the value of rehabilitation psychologists and principles to healthcare systems and payers.

In addition, rehabilitation psychology is built on foundational principles that remain relevant to not only healthcare but also society.

The timeliness of the peer review process is also critical to increasing the number and quality of manuscript submissions. The peer review process is dependent upon time and expertise donated by reviewers.

I look forward to increasing the reviewer pool and looking for ways to engage a range of psychologists in the review process.

Do you have plans for a special issue or changes to the editorial process? Are you making any changes?

In my first year as editor I plan two changes to the editorial process:

• Enrich the reviewer pool: The current Rehabilitation Psychology editorial board consists primarily of senior scientists and leaders within our field. To enrich this board and the reviewer pool, I intend to solicit participation of individuals from under-represented groups and early career psychologists. I also plan to engage students and early career psychologists by providing them the necessary training and mentorship to be effective reviewers and, ultimately, future editorial board members and scientific leaders.
• Decrease the lag time for editorial decisions: Punctual editorial decisions facilitate good will among prospective authors and contribute to timely scientific dissemination. Thus, I will work with Rehabilitation Psychology's associate editors, editorial board, reviewers, and the APA editorial office on strategies to decrease the lag time for reviews and decisions.

I also look forward to working with the rehabilitation psychology community to develop special sections and issues of relevance to our field.

I encourage potential authors and editors of special sections as well as readers to reach out to me with ideas on such content.

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