Copgtp Newsletter
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CoPGTP has a new web address! www.copgtp.org CoPGTP Newsletter Volume 3, Issue 2 Fall 2011 Editor: Andrew L. Heck, Psy.D., ABPP Chair’s column Geropsychology ABPP Daniel L. Segal, Ph.D. update University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Victor Molinari, Ph.D., ABPP This column marks my second and last University of South Florida contribution as Chair of CoPGTP. It has been my I am pleased to report that the Society of Clinical pleasure to serve in this role and I have been Geropsychology passed the resolution to support delighted to see our group continue to grow and the ABPP initiative by a wide margin of 90-21. prosper during this year. Our first international They join Division 20, PLTC, and CoPGTP in member (University of Queensland, Australia) has agreeing to make financial commitments to defray recently joined CoPGTP and we have had an the expenses of achieving ABPP status. I have inquiry from another program outside of the US. noted that there has been consistent strong The need for geropsychologists is strong in many opposition to ABPP from a few senior places around the world, and it is nice to see that geropsychologists, especially regarding the our organization has “gone international!” My concern that ABPP ultimately will serve as a experiences this year on the board have served to barrier to keep well-trained psychologists who do not apply for the ABPP from getting third party Continued on page 2 reimbursement for geriatric work. At a time when psychological services are so seriously needed I N S I D E T H I S I SSUE with the aging population, almost all geropsychologists agree that such an exclusionary 1 Chair’s column thrust would be counter-productive to achieve our aim to develop a qualified workforce to administer 1 Geropsychology ABPP update to the mental health needs of older adults. The 3 Report from the Education Leadership Conference plan is to have a geropsychology representative from each of the four constituent groups and to 3 Student Representative’s report broaden the gero-ABPP committee to include 4 Survey of Geropsychology Workforce people with such concerns so that they can be addressed. 5 2011 CoPGTP awards After the funds from all the gero groups are in the 6 New CoPGTP Chair-elect CoPGTP coffers, my plan is to speak with David 7 Student spotlight Cox, an executive officer with ABPP who has been very supportive of geropsychology becoming Membership report 9 an ABPP specialty to get a step-by-step timeline 9 Treasurer’s report and especially to determine the ideal composition of the fledging gero-ABPP committee. I have been 10 Recent member publications heartened to have a number of people volunteer to 11 About CoPGTP Continued on page 2 CoPGTP Newsletter Fall 2011 P a g e | 1 Chair’s column continued from page 1 reinforce the notion that we as clinical We are in need of a volunteer “webmaster” who geropsychologists, although relatively small in will help us update the website and ensure its number, are a truly outstanding group of continued usefulness. Since the site was designed professionals. The recent debate on the Society of with a content management system in place, it Clinical Geropsychology (APA Division 12, does not take a lot of technical expertise to help Section II) listserv regarding the relative merits with this project. If you are interested in and disadvantages of pursuing the ABPP in becoming more involved with our group and want geropsychology had strong opinions on both sides help with the website, we would welcome you of the issue, but the dialogue was a necessary one, with open arms! and perhaps most importantly was conducted in a collegial and respectful manner. We must remain A fitting end of the year activity will be our steadfast that no issue in professional Annual Dinner Meeting (to which all members geropsychology serves to divide us as a group, are invited) which will be held on Friday and I hope that as we move ahead with the ABPP 11/18/2011 at 7:00 pm at Legal Seafood located process that we get active participation from in Copley Square, near the convention center in diverse individuals who were involved in the Boston. I look forward to seeing many of you debate to ensure that no negative unintended there as we celebrate the year’s achievements and consequences arise from this pursuit. We have look to the future of our organization. I wish to always tried to be inclusive in geropsychology, thank the members of this year’s board for their and it is important that we continue to share this excellent service and I look forward to being part value as the field continues to mature. For further of the future development of this remarkable details on the ABPP process, please see the article group. Ψ in this newsletter. Geropsychology ABPP update continued from page 1 Another sign of progress for our organization is serve. We obviously first will need to complete the professional redesign and launch of our website, which has shifted from UCCS to a more the application form to make our pitch regarding permanent address at www.copgtp.org. The why it is that we believe geropsychology should website includes many resources including the be considered an ABPP specialty. In this regards, we are lucky that we have the APA following: specialty application as our model (thank you, The Pikes Peak Geropsychology Bob Knight). I plan to keep posted CoPGTP, Knowledge and Skill Assessment Tool which is the sponsoring organization, and the (competencies evaluation tool for other ABPP constituent groups regarding our supervisory or self-rating purposes); progress during this lengthy process of achieving Recommended resources associated with ABPP status. Ψ the Pikes Peak Model attitude, knowledge, and skill competencies (books, articles, websites, including links as available); Geropsychology course descriptions/ syllabi; List of CoPGTP members available to consult regarding development of geropsychology training programs; Newsletter archive; Links to other resources/organizations CoPGTP Newsletter Fall 2011 P a g e | 2 Report from the Education Student Representative’s Leadership Conference report Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. Alexandra Zaleta, M.A. University of Massachusetts Amherst Washington University at St. Louis Each year, APA sponsors an Education Happy autumn! I would like to take this Leadership Conference which brings together opportunity to update everyone on the results of representatives from the major constituencies in the CoPGTP member internship match poll. The APA and affiliated organizations involved in following results are based on responses from 6 training. This year's theme was interdisciplinary graduate programs and 3 internship sites. In and interprofessional teaching, research, and general, among the graduate programs, relatively practice. The schedule included sessions on such few students (mean = 2, SD = 1.4 per program) topics as “The Science of Team Science,” “Core were reported to have a focus in geropsychology Competencies for Interprofessional Practice,” and compared to the total pool of applicants from “The Integration of Behavioral Health in these sites (mean = 10, SD = 6). This Community Health Centers.” These topics clearly discrepancy was more prominent in the are of relevance to professional geropsychology responding Psy.D. member programs. training, a perspective that I shared in the small break-out sessions discussing our field. A second One topic that has been of interest is the match focus of the conference was training participants rate between geropsychology students and for visits to Capitol Hill to lobby on behalf of geropsychology internship training positions. psychology funding. The emphasis this year was Among graduate programs that responded, the on Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) and match rates for students with a primary focus in protecting and funding it to the maximum level geropsychology was slightly better than for the possible. Participants met with the senators and overall pool of applicants among these few representatives from their states and districts to sites. (That is, of the 2 out of 27 Ph.D. students talk about the importance of this program, who did not match, none were geropsychology including the need to restore funding for students, and of the 12 out of 35 Psy.D. students geropsychology. This was a worthwhile who did not match, only 1 student was a conference to attend, and also an important way to geropsychology student.) For the three keep geropsychology on the radar. If you are internship sites that responded, 6 positions out of interested in learning more about education 28 possible spots had major geropsychology advocacy, let the APA Education Directorate Staff rotations; 2 spots (both with geropsychology know. We could definitely use more psychologists emphasis) remained unfilled after phase I of the to advocate on behalf of education and training match, and those 2 positions were filled during funds. Ψ Phase II of the match. I want to acknowledge that these results are Reminder: exploratory, given the relatively small number of Professional Geropsychology is now a participating programs and sites, but I hope that you have found the results informative. If you member of the Council of Specialties in have additional questions about the poll or its Professional Psychology! Visit results, please contact me at [email protected]. www.cospp.org for details. Thank you to all of the CoPGTP site representatives who provided data! Ψ CoPGTP Newsletter Fall 2011 P a g e | 3 APA Committee on Aging (CONA), the APA Survey of Geropsychology Office on Aging, the Council of Professional Workforce Geropsychology Training Programs (CoPGTP), Sara H. Qualls, Ph.D. and the APA Education Directorate. We worked University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with the APA Center for Workforce Studies that is housed in the Science Directorate to Daniel L.