By Stacie Shivers, Psy D and Rachel Ascione, MA

NJPAGS 2015 Report By Stacie Shivers, Psy D and Rachel Ascione, MA

Executive board: Chair- Stacie Shivers Chair-Elect- Rachel Ascione Past Chair- Brian Amorello Past Past Chair- Michael D’Addona Secretary/Treasurer- Katelyn Coffey Advisors: Dawn Gemienhardt, Krista Dettle, Kathy Torsney

Members-At-Large: COLA- Kristen Gayle Communications- Qianna Snooks Diversity- Mary Vespa Ethics- Ashley Zultanky Foundation- Christina Davison Membership- Neil Rigney Programming- Michelle Pievsky (November/December 2015)

Campus Representatives: Chestnut Hill (Neil Rigney)

FDU (Michelle Pievsky)

FDU PsyD (Elisabeth Endrikat)

Rutgers GSAPP (Julia Brillante)

Rutgers PhD (Arielle Linsky/Alyssa McCarthy)

SHU PhD (Jiwon Yoo)

William Paterson (Lauren Illge)

Yeshiva (Amanda Addolarato)

Events/Programs:

Internship Fair – Offered to student members to provide information about the internship application process. Program speakers were Barry Schreier, PhD, Staff Psychologist and Coordinator of Training Princeton University, and Laura Palmer, PhD, ABPP, Clinical Neuropsychologist. In addition, the internship fair consisted of a panel of training directors and representatives from metropolitan area internship programs, all of whom provided information about various internship programs. Presentation about Psychoanalytic Theory- Presentation by Dr. C. Seth Warren, clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst and director of the Center for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis of New Jersey. The program was entitled, Contemporary Psychoanalytic Perspectives on the Concept of 'Resistance’. It consisted of an informal presentation and discussion on resistance in psychotherapy, including discussions about what resistance is, what it means in therapy, how to work through it, and clinical examples of working through resistance.

Poster presentations at Fall Conference- Students submitted posters on databased research or theoretical presentations on any topic. In order to be showcased at the NJPA Fall Conference, submitted posters were reviewed and accepted.

Monthly MAL Update: Post monthly updates to NJPAGS listserv to help student members stay abreast of the topics and information shared at committee meetings, promoting transparency and inclusion in an effort to increase involvement in NJPAGS and NJPA.

Program planning- Drafted a list of ideas from NJAPGS board and general members for future programs. Students were able to provide their input on topics of interest for programs to be held in 2016.

Q&A with 2015 NJPA President (Dr. Kenneth Fruendlich) and NJPA President Elect (Dr. Barry Katz)- Drs. Fruendlich and Katz participated in a Q&A with NJPAGS board and general members following our end of year transition meeting. During this Q&A, Dr. Fruendlich and Katz responded to various questions related to ways to help NJPAGS evolve and improve lines of communication and connection with NJPA board and general members.

Student of Excellence Award- The annual Dawn Gemeinhardt Student of Excellence Award was established to recognize key NJPAGS members who have demonstrated exemplary student leadership and initiative through significant contributions to the organization. This award serves as appreciation for the efforts of NJPAGS members who have gone beyond expectations. It seeks to recognize outstanding student leaders and to encourage them to continue on their leadership path. The 2015 award recipient was, Stacie D. Shivers, Psy.D.

MAL Diversity visited program(s) to promote and recruit members for NJPAGS-

Annual Retreat- NJPAGS hosted another annual retreat to promote cohesion amongst all NJPAGS members. The retreat consisted of team building activities to increase communication and interactions amongst members. Another focus of the retreat was to identify beneficial ways to increase and sustain membership.

"Coffee and Conversation" - provides students an opportunity to attend informal, off-hour gatherings at psychologists’ private or group practices/ hospital or clinic settings/ college or university counseling center settings/ or academic settings. Hosting psychologists provide a tour and overview of his/her position to provide students with a first hand look at various possibilities for their future careers. “Conversations” include such topics as theoretical orientation, choosing specialization areas, private vs. group practice, dealing with insurance, billing, setting up your office, building a caseload, etc. and any other questions which students may have.

Social Media Postings- Weekly postings to NJPAGS social media pages about various NJPAGS events and programs, interesting articles, and relevant psychology information for graduate students. Each person of the board was responsible for posting and interacting on our social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We also used these platforms for promoting NJPA events and news.

Program at Fall Conference – Program co-lead by 2015 NJPAGS Advisor, Krista Dettle, Ph.D. and Chair-Elect, Rachel Ascione. Program was entitled “Psychologist Self-Care Across the Life Spectrum and included information on the trends of self-care in graduate students and seasoned psychologists. The program also featured the Chair-Elect who discussed implementing self-care as a Masters and now Doctoral student and ways in which other students can benefit from making self-care an active part of their lives.