| New Member Spotlight | |
Dr. Melissa Lea, Ph.D. is originally from Attica, MI, but currently resides in Flowood, MS with her husband, Dr. Ryan Darling, a Ph.D. Biopsychologist. Dr. Lea received her B.S. in Cognitive Science from the University of Michigan - Flint, her M.A. in Psychology from Miami University (Ohio), and her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Miami University (Ohio).
During graduate school Melissa participated in the Preparing Future Faculty Program which is a program designed to train graduate students to become successful teachers. She was also part of the American Psychological Association pilot study on the development of the Preparing Future Faculty program. This experience provided her with the opportunity to develop good teaching habits and to learn how to be creative and inspiring in the classroom. She loves teaching and enjoys the challenge of teaching the highly engaged Millsaps College students.
She is currently starting a new major at Millsaps College in Neuroscience and Cognitive Studies. This major will train undergraduate students in the growing and highly interdisciplinary study of neuroscience so that they can competitively pursue a graduate degree in a related field.
Her main interests of research are with person perception, specifically the relationship between names and faces. Her dissertation empirically demonstrated the old adage "you look like your name". She is currently investigating possible perceptual and social causes for this relationship. Dr. Lea is also interested in how categorical processes influence eating habits, such as over eating and binge eating. For example, if someone deems food to be "healthy," will that lead to overeating, while continuing to believe they are still exhibiting healthy eating behaviors?
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Silent Auction is Back! | |
Back by popular demand: The 2nd Annual Convention Silent Auction!
If you have items which you would like to donate, please contact Lisa Yazdani.
LisaYazdani@MSN.com or 601-372-5374.
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2010 MPA Executive Council and Committee Chairs |
President
Martha J. Cain, Ph.D., Jackson
(601) 978-7867
cmartj@aol.com
Past-President
Angela O. Herzog, Ph.D., Jackson
(601) 981-5757
aoherzog56@aol.com
President-Elect/Financial Officer/Public Education Coordinator
Lisa Yazdani, Ph.D.,
Byram
(601) 372-5372
lisayazdani@msn.com
Representative to the APA Council
James D. Herzog, Ph.D., Jackson
(601) 981-5757
jdherzog1@aol.com
Federal Advocacy Coordinator
Natalie W. Gaughf, Ph.D., Jackson
(601) 815-1180
nwgaughf1@ent.umsmed.edu
Communications Officer
Karen Christoff, Ph.D., Oxford
(662) 915-5195
pykac@olemiss.edu
Region I Representative
- Vacant -
Region II Representative
Amy Hudson, Ph. D., Jackson
live4ward@yahoo.com
Region III Representative
Sara S. Jordan, Ph.D., Hattiesburg
sara.jordan@usm.edu
Region IV Representative
Chester D. Gaston, Ph.D., Gulfport
chetgaston@hotmail.com
Continuing Education Chair
Vicki Prosser, Ph.D., CIM., Jackson
(601) 979-4197
v.prosser@att.net
Newsletter Editor
Beverly Smallwood, Ph.D., Hattiesburg
(601) 264-0890
bevsmallwd@aol.com
Diversity Representative
Cheryl Moreland, Ph.D., Jackson
cdmoreland@hotmail.com
Membership Chair
Penni Smith, Ph.D., Jackson
(601) 815-1067
psmith3@anesthesia.umsmed.edu
Rural Health Coordinator
Scott Cardin, Ph.D., Biloxi
(228) 523-5495
scott.cardin@va.gov
Executive Director
Tracey Curtis
(601) 372-7755
mpassoc@comcast.net
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The President's Desk |
 Martha Cain, Ph.D., MPA President
Private Practice, Jackson
Ah, springtime in Mississippi...each year I'm amazed at how quickly it arrives, how rapidly the temperatures begin to rise, and how big the mosquitoes are! And yet, along with the familiar comes opportunity for change and new growth. MPA is experiencing a springtime of sorts, taking a fresh look at what we do and how we do it as the "voice of organized psychology in Mississippi." The consensus of your Executive Council is that we can do better! MPA leadership is starting at the foundation: a complete review and updating of our Policies and Procedures is underway. We hope to increase our effectiveness in serving you, as well as to generate your enthusiasm for becoming more actively involved in our Association.
Highlights of MPA's Efforts
· With the sunsetting of our State licensure statute scheduled to occur in 2011, Dr. Gerry O'Brien is serving as Chair of the Statute Review Group, a committee of the Mississippi Board of Psychology. Representing MPA on this committee are Drs. Mike Roberts, Natalie Gaughf, and C.D. Gaston. Numerous issues are being addressed, including sunsetting, definition of practice, psychology training, fees, and exemptions from licensure. Please see Dr. O'Brien's article in this issue to learn more details.
· MPA's Annual Day at the Capitol, organized this year by Government Relations Officer Dr. Natalie Gaughf, was held on January 26. We believe that developing positive relationships with our legislators will be helpful when legislation arises that is relevant to psychology. Drs. Pat Alexander, Martha Cain, Karen Christoff, C.D. Gaston, Angela Herzog, Jim Herzog, Amy Hudson, Emily Johnson, Vicki Prosser, Beverly Smallwood, and Executive Director Tracey Curtis provided Public Education pamphlets on mind-body health topics, brief discussions promoting psychology, and a delicious breakfast (even Starbucks Coffee!) for legislators and staff. Our goal for next year is to entice more of you advocate for MPA at our Day at the Capitol.
· Our APA Council Representative, Dr. Jim Herzog, attended the February 19-21 Council meeting in Washington, D.C. Business included APA's adoption of a revised and updated Model Licensing Act, with the in-depth report to appear in May's Monitor. The Council also adopted a core values statement as part of the APA Strategic Plan, addressed changes to the Ethics Code, provided for dues credits, and established Steering Committee and Guidelines Development Panels to create APA treatment guidelines.
· On March 6-8, the APA State Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., was attended by Drs. Lisa Yazdani (MPA President-Elect) and Penni Smith (Membership Chair), and Tracey Curtis. SLC was developed to train leadership from state organizations around the country. This year's theme was "The Power of Advocacy," and our attendees returned with new strategies to help Mississippi psychologists create a culture of advocacy.
· Dr. Vicki Prosser, Continuing Education Chair, organized a CE event and social mixer for Region 2 on March 26. Drs. Clea Evans and Chad Vickery graciously shared with us their expertise on "Psychological Treatment for Patients with Neurological Disorders." Afterward, we enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and lots of good networking! · Early Career Psychologist Chair, Dr. Molli Clark, and Membership Chair, Dr. Penni Smith, have worked diligently to create new MPA promotional packets designed to recruit, welcome, educate, and facilitate MPA involvement of new members and early career psychologists. Regional Representatives, Dr. Amy Hudson, Sara Jordan, and C.D. Gaston, and I are joining them to visit all psychology training programs and university graduate departments to distribute these packets.
· On April 26 MPA is again co-sponsoring the Double Decker Bike Ride in Oxford as a mind-body health promotion event. Communications Officer Dr. Karen Christoff is still accepting volunteers to point riders in the right direction!
· All psychologists in the State were mailed "Save the Dates" magnets for the MPA Annual Convention, to be held September 8-10 at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. (I'm still wondering if the beautiful sunset on the magnet was just coincidental...) Dr. Angela Herzog, Past President, has selected the theme "Transcendent Psychology: Everywhere You Look. In Everything We Do." You won't want to miss the outstanding lineup of presentations and activities being planned.
In addition to the outstanding work Dr. Beverly Smallwood does on The Mississippi Psychologist, MPA also supports the following agendas for the year:
· Diversity Chair, Dr. Cheryl Moreland, is helping MPA advance its capacity to recruit diverse members and to educate members on issues of diversity. Currently we're looking at ways to identify and address diversity issues in all our endeavors.
· The APA Public Education Campaign for MS is being co-chaired by Drs. Glenna Rousseau and Lisa Yazdani. The PEC serves to strengthen the presence of psychology and the voice of psychologists in all public arenas, including media, press, education, healthcare, and government. The general purpose of the PEC is advocacy and education.
· The Disaster Relief Network, chaired by Dr. Emily Thomas Johnson, coordinates with the American Red Cross to recruit psychologists to assist with disasters.
· The Rural Health Committee, designated to promote health in underserved, rural area, is headed by Dr. Scott Cardin.
· We remain sensitive to members' wishes regarding advocating for prescriptive privileges for Mississippi psychologists. Drs. Bob Nevels and Eldridge Fleming have donated countless hours as co-chairs of the Psychopharmacology Task Force, which studies and makes recommendations for the training of, and potential expansion of, the scope of practice of, licensed psychologists into the area of psychopharmacology. This Task Force reflects and supports the expansion of both training and practice as recommended by APA.
· Dr. Gil MacVaugh chairs the Psychology and Law Task Force, which seeks to advance forensic psychology as a science and as a profession through scholarship, practice, and public service to Mississippi.
We Need You!
Are you surprised that MPA gets so much done, especially with only one staff person? Obviously, there's no way we can fulfill our mission without the help of wonderful psychologists who are willing to give to our Association. Several of you are serving in multiple roles just so we can meet our Association goals, and we are very grateful for you. Won't those of you who aren't yet actively involved in MPA please take a moment to consider how you might help us move forward? Just like Uncle Sam, MPA wants YOU!
As always, I'm interested in your comments and ideas, and I welcome the opportunity to talk with you. If you have additional items that you'd like included in our agenda, please let me know. What an exciting year this is shaping up to be!
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| Clinical Corner | |
Evidence-Based Practice: An Introduction
By Linda M. Cox, Ph.D.
V.A. Hospital, Biloxi
There has been much discussion over the past several years about Evidence-Based Practice, a concept that has even made its way into the annual planning documents and management philosophies for many mental health organizations. Mental healthcare providers often have a variety of reactions to this concept, ranging from enthusiasm to confusion ("what is it?") to ambivalence to downright hostility. As we move toward implementing more evidence-based practices into our work in our diverse settings, it is important we all develop a broader and deeper understanding of this concept.
So what is Evidence-Based Practice? And why is it such a growing focus in the practice of psychology?
Evidence-Based Practice: A Definition
Let's start with trying to answer the first question. Sometimes it helps in defining a concept to first articulate what it is NOT. Evidence-Based Practice (henceforth referred to as EBP) is not "cookbook treatment," a common myth that perpetrates some clinicians' misgivings about the practice. A related term, Evidence-Based Treatment, is closer to the "cookbook" concept we often correlate to EBP. Evidence-Based Treatment (EBT) is a concept in which we apply concrete, pre-formulated treatment strategies to a particular psychological issue or problem. This concept is sometimes called a "manualized approach" to treatment, and its roots lie in the medical model, more specifically the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) utilized extensively in pharmaceutical research. There is certainly value in this approach. This type of clinical study calls for carefully controlled experimental conditions, however, that are difficult to replicate in the messy and complex "real world" of psychological practice. The broader philosophy many psychologists endorse is that of Evidence-Based Practice, which focuses on the common elements and variables that research has shown to positively impact clinical outcomes.
EBP is a philosophy rooted in the psychotherapy model, grounded in scientific Psychology, in which scientific evidence and clinical information are integrated and used to guide and improve psychotherapeutic processes, interventions, therapeutic relationships, and outcomes. As stated in the book, Evidence Based-Psychotherapy (Goodheart, Kazdin, and Sternberg, Editors, 2006), Evidence-based psychotherapy implies a coherent and clinically-expert process of assessment, case formulation, identification of goals, treatment planning, alliance building, research-informed intervention, monitoring of progress, adjustments as needed, and termination-all in the context of collaboration with the client. This is the ground where research and practice meet. We recognize that excellence in psychotherapy combines science with artistic craftsmanship. Any of us who practice psychotherapy have experienced the (sometimes rare) session in which our analytical skills, our empathy, and our creativity all merge to produce a very powerful intervention or therapeutic moment. EBP is focused on helping us clarify, corroborate, and communicate the elements, variables, and processes that help us replicate excellence...without oversimplifying a complex process or stripping clinicians of their clinical autonomy, creativity, and judgment. There are other definitions of EBP being put forth in the field. The Institute of Medicine (2001) defined EPB thusly: "Evidence-based practice is the integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values." American Psychological Association (APA) in 2005 provided this definition: "Evidence-based practice in Psychology (EBPP) is the integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture, values, and preferences." These definitions are not substantively different than the one proferred by Goodheart, Kazdin, and Sternberg, except for one element-they add the client into the equation. And this is an important variable to consider. Client variables (motivation, insight, openness, resources, treatment preferences) all impact the therapeutic outcome as much if not more than therapist variables.
Reasons for Growing Focus on EBP
The second question posed "Why is EBP such a growing focus in the mental healthcare field" is a bit more difficult to answer. Coming out of college mental health and higher education administration, I can tell you from my experience that there is simply a growing focus nationwide on accountability for how we use fiscal resources. With growing financial needs outstripping financial resources, it is more difficult to successfully lobby for and obtain secure funding in today's economic environment. Even in private, not-for-profit entities like the community mental health center, one still has to answer to government oversight agencies, governing boards, and taxpayers. Grant funding agencies typically want an assessment plan that measures outcomes also. So the general environment in government, social services entities, and education is demanding increased demonstration of outcomes.
Another reason for this shift to a focus on accountability for outcomes is that as a relatively "new" field compared to medicine, physics, and other fields of study, psychology (and other mental health fields such as social work and counseling) are naturally moving to a stance of more objective scientific inquiry. Most fields tend to start off with broad philosophical ideas and then move to more and more specialized areas of inquiry and study. Part of this movement to increased specialization typically includes a greater focus on scientific analysis and inquiry into outcomes.
It is sometimes difficult to scientifically measure and "prove" clinical outcomes when dealing with human beings, with all their complications and variety. Yet in order for us to teach and replicate excellent outcomes, as a discipline, we have to try to scientifically understand what interventions and approaches seem to work best for a variety of problems and client contexts. So in a way, this movement toward EBP is an extension of our discipline's commitment to ethical practice. It is a comprehensive, integrative, and sustained effort to understand and replicate the "best practices" of our field. |
| Good Grief |
Su McLain, Ph.D.
Madison, MS
Grief is an inescapable part of human experience. We recognize death and divorce as causes of grief, but other losses are often less obvious. With Katrina still haunting us, the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile were reminders of other causes of grief: destroyed homes, ruined businesses, and lost financial security.
MPA was fortunate recently to have William Worden present a workshop on the grieving process and our role as psychologists in helping our clients move through grief and reinvest in life. Worden's work utilizes Bowlby's attachment theory as a basis for understanding the tasks of grieving.
Task One is for the grieving person to accept the reality of the loss. In the recent earthquake in Haiti that task became difficult when so many bodies had to be buried in common graves before identification could be accomplished. One of the most life- changing losses is the death of a child. When one loses a child to death, his or her personal constructs about one's own identity are severely shaken. It is essential that parents not ignore the grief of a surviving sibling who may sometimes feel guilty or responsible for the loss.
Task Two focuses on working through the pain of grief. As we work with our grieving clients, it is important not to try to rush to completion of this task, though it is equally important to assist them to work at this task. It may take some time to fully accomplish this task, as the grieving parent or widow faces the end of life tasks that often absorb so much energy. It is essential that our clients not simply idealize the lost person, but allow the deceased to be a whole person, faults and all. Otherwise, the bedroom, clothes, belongings may be made into a sort of shrine that undermines moving on with life.
Task Three, adjusting to an environment in which the deceased is missing, involves the painful work of returning to activities that were once done with the lost person. Withdrawal from social life is self-defeating and sabotages the grief process. Here is where friends or grief-focused groups can be helpful. At the end of this article are two links to particular grief groups that I have found helpful in my work with grieving parents and spouses.
Task Four requires the griever to emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with life; that is, to reinvest in life as a survivor. Sometime survivor guilt poses a barrier to successful completion of this task. We can assist grieving survivors to recognize ways they can honor the deceased by living life fully, rather than by giving up. Planting a tree, starting a scholarship fund, joining MADD are some ways people have found to make a positive use of their personal grief.
Worden, J.W. (2009). Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy (4th ed.) New York: Springer.
http://www.suicidology.org/web/guest/sssg l m#MS
Three chapters in MS: Biloxi, Hattiesburg and Madison, MS.
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| Sunset for Psychology |
 SUNSET FOR PSYCHOLOGY:
Change is Coming
C. Gerald O'Brien, Ph.D.
Chair, MBOP/MPA Statute Review Group
Sunset provision:A clause in a statute, regulation or similar piece of legislation that provides for an automatic repealing of the entirety or sections of the law once a specific future date is reached. Once the sunset provision date is reached, the pieces of legislation mentioned in the clause are rendered void. If the government wishes to extend the length of time for which the law in question will be in effect, it can push back the sunset provision date any time before it is reached.
[http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sunsetprovision.asp]
As I reported in an open email to MPA members several weeks ago, the current
law which licenses psychologists in Mississippi will expire, or "sunset," effective
July 1, 2011, just over a year from now. If sunset were to occur, the consequences for psychologists and all stakeholders in the health care arena in Mississippi would be devastating.
Psychologists have worked hard to establish the professionalism and ethics of our profession and to establish clear licensure laws in order to protect the public. What happens if anyone can represent himself /herself as a psychologist, or offer psychological services to the public? How will the public be informed? How will the public be protected?
Fortunately, there are established methods for removing or extending sunset dates because sunset is a procedure the Legislature attaches to many providers and agencies, presumably in order to force a periodic review of respective laws. However, removing or revising the sunset provisions will require an organized, grassroots approach, including regular contact with key legislators. These include Representative Steve Holland, Chair of the Public Health and Human Services Committee in the House, and Senator Hob Bryan, Chair of the Public Health and Welfare Committee in the Senate.
For this process to be effective, we - all MPA members and licensed psychologists - will need to support our MPA Executive Council, our President, Dr. Martha Cain, and especially our Government Relations Officer, Dr. Natalie Gaughf. We must take direct and organized action for the remainder of this year and into the 2011 Legislative session.
How You Can Help
Here are some simple things you can do to help:
1) Identify your state Representative and Senator, if you have not already.
Here are two resources:
2) Make contact with your legislators: Call, send an email, write, or perhaps invite them for coffee after this session ends, introducing yourself as a constituent and psychologist interested in the legislative process. When you do, let MPA know
(see below).
3) Review the members of the Committees listed above (Public Health and Human Services Committee in the House, and Public Health and Welfare Committee in the Senate) or look for any legislators with whom you have a relationship at billstatus.ls.state.ms.us.
There are also other issues we will be addressing in the 2011 Legislative session in cooperation with the Mississippi Board of Psychology (MBOP), through our Statute Review Group, comprised of MPA and MBOP members, including Dr.Gaughf.
We are reviewing not only sunset, but changes in our definition of practice, training issues, fees, exemptions from licensure, and other areas. Some of these are the result of the 2007 Legislative PEER Committee report which focused on MBOP, and also their reviews of the Social Work/MFT Board and the LPC Board. In effect, PEER said they had trouble differentiating between the respective scopes of practice found in statute, and also made suggestions about merging certain (MBOP, SW/MFT, LPC) licensure board activities. The MBOP/MPA Statute Review Group is therefore working diligently to help protect psychology licensure from misinformed or inappropriate external pressures, while we move forward on sunset repeal or revision.
If you have more questions about sunset or other issues listed above, you may also contact me via email:DrOB@netdoor.com.
Some of you have already done so, and I encourage your continued comments and suggestions.
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| Linking for Legislative Action |
 Natalie W. Gaughf, Ph.D.
MPA Government Relations
Mississippi Psychological Association's Day at the Capitol 2010
The Mississippi Psychological Association held its fourth annual MPA Day at the Capitol January 26, 2010, at the Mississippi new Capitol Building. Day at the Capitol was a great success, and we had more participation by MPA members than ever before. Our exhibit of educational materials was outstanding, and the breakfast table was beautiful. MPA was well represented.
I am most excited about the opportunities we had to talk with our legislators and Capitol staffers. I am certain that we initiated many new relationships with our state leaders. These relationships allow us to serve our state and our patients more effectively. I would like to thank all of you who took time out of your busy schedules to be there and those of you who donated funds and/or food for breakfast!
On a related note, thank you for responding to the recent Action Alert regarding Medicaid reimbursement to psychologists. It is important that we continue to inform our state legislators about how these types of decisions affect us ability to provide appropriate treatment.
(See photos below.)
MPA Federal Advocacy
American Psychological Association Practice Organization State Leadership Conference 2010
Each year the American Psychological Association Practice Organization (APAPO) sponsors an event called the APA State Leadership Conference. It is an advocacy training conference for leaders in psychology. The conference was held in March of this year, and the theme was "The Power of Advocacy".
MPA was represented by Dr. Lisa Yazdani, President-Elect, Financial Officer, and Interim Public Education Coordinator; Dr. Penni Smith, Membership Chair and Associate Federal Advocacy Coordinator; and Tracey Curtis, MPA Executive Director. Our representatives made visits to Capitol Hill to advocate on a federal level for appropriate Medicare reimbursement and the roles of psychologists in healthcare reform. Thank you, Dr. Yazdani, Dr. Smith, and Mrs. Curtis!  MS State Senator Hillman Terome Frazier, District 27 - Hinds, Dr. Pat Alexander and Dr. Amy Hudson
 Drs. Angela Herzog, Karen Christoff and Emily Thomas-Johnson
MS State Senator David Blount, District 29 - Hinds and Dr. Natalie Gaughf
Dr. C. Gerald O'Brien and MS House Representative Steve Holland, District 16 - Lee
MS House Representative Larry Byrd, District 104 - Forrest, Lamar, and Dr. Beverly Smallwood
Dr. Beverly Smallwood and MS House Representative Larry Byrd |
| APAIT | |
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| Psychology and Law Update |
The Psychologist as Forensic Expert
Gilbert S. Macvaugh III, Psy.D.
Clinical & Forensic Psychologist
Greenville, MS
As chair of the MPA Psychology and Law Committee (PLC), I have been asked by the newsletter editor to prepare an article to address some aspect of psychology and law for this issue, and it is a pleasure to do so. This article is designed to present a brief overview of the ways in which psychologists in Mississippi may be asked to serve in the role of forensic expert. It is intended for those psychologists who may not necessarily specialize in forensic work but are interested in learning more about the field.
I also would like to first take this opportunity to briefly report some of the progress of the newly formed PLC and to describe the overall purpose and goals of the committee. Thus far, invitations have been extended to a select group of psychologists and lawyers from around the state, each of whom has graciously agreed to serve on this committee. The committee will convene for an initial organizational meeting that will be held in Greenville later this spring.
Currently, the 13- member PLC is comprised of the following individuals:
Psychologists
Gilbert S. Macvaugh, III, Psy.D. (Chair, Private Practice, Greenville, MS)
W. Criss Lott, Ph.D. (Clinical Director, St. Dominic Counseling Center, Jackson, MS)
Gerald S. O'Brien, Ph.D. (Private Practice, Jackson, MS)
Michael Roberts, Ph.D. (Executive Director, Communicare, Oxford, MS)
Angela Herzog, Ph.D. (Herzog and Herzog, PA, Jackson, MS)
Beverly Smallwood, Ph.D. (The Hope Center, Hattiesburg, MS)
Robert M. Storer, Ph.D. (Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System/Forensic Division)
Kristine Jacquin, Ph.D. (Department of Psychology, Mississippi State University)
David Marcus, Ph.D. (Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi)
James L. Robertson, J.D. (Wise, Carter, Child & Caraway, P.A., Jackson, MS)Marvin L. White, Jr., J.D. (Assistant Attorney General, Capital Litigation)Andre de Gruy, J.D. (Director, Office of Capital Defense Counsel, Jackson, MS)W. Heath Franklin, J.D. (Special Master, Washington County Chancery Court) The PLC is fortunate to have both experienced forensic practitioners and researchers who have made scholarly contributions in the area of psychology and law. We also are grateful for the enthusiastic interest among our four practicing attorneys, whose collective legal experiences include capital defense litigation and death penalty appeals, as well as judicial experiences that range from Chancery Court Judge to former Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. The representation by our legal colleagues on the PLC will prove to be tremendously valuable. Their combined knowledge of, and experience with, the ways in which the legal and mental health systems intersect is a key component to the success of the PLC.
The primary goal of the PLC is to advance the field of forensic psychology as a science and as a profession through scholarship, practice, and public service in Mississippi. The PLC will seek to achieve this goal through the following duties and responsibilities: 1. educate psychologists in matters of law and educate legal professionals in matters of Psychology;
2. clarify psychologists' roles as experts in civil and criminal legal proceedings;
3. propose standards for professional qualifications and competencies necessary for the practice of forensic psychology;
4. provide consultation to colleagues who engage in the practice of forensic psychology;
5. develop position statements for the Association (as indicated) and assist Executive Council in identifying strategies to influence public policy;
6. adhere to the basic Duties and Responsibilities as outlined for Executive Council Members, with the exception of only the Chair being required to attend Executive Council meetings. Although it is not the purpose or the intent of the PLC to dispense legal advice, one of the functions is to offer professional consultation regarding ethical and legal issues that may arise within the contexts of both general clinical and forensic practice. Another function of the PLC is to keep members informed of the relevant case law, statutes, and other rules and regulations that affect psychologists' professional practices in forensic cases. By facilitating an exchange of ideas through MPA publications, as well as assisting in sponsoring symposia and continuing education workshops at annual conventions, the PLC will seek to improve the quality of forensic mental health services around the state to better serve attorneys, courts, and others who are involved in the legal system. Readers of this newsletter may also look forward to future issues that will continue to feature a "Psychology & Law Update" devoted to describing recent legal developments and addressing other relevant issues that impact the practice of forensic psychology in Mississippi. Psychologists as Forensic Experts
In his article entitled "FAQ's for Non-Forensic Psychologists," which appeared in the last issue of this newsletter, Dr. Gerald S. O'Brien cogently described several situations in which psychologists may inadvertently find themselves having to respond to requests by attorneys and/or to appear in court for legal proceedings related to the patients whom they treat. As Dr. O'Brien pointed out, there is an important distinction between a clinical and a forensic expert. Although there are some exceptions, when a treating clinician is called to court, he or she is functioning in the role of a fact witness to provide factual information regarding their assessment and/or treatment of a person who is involved with the legal system. A treating clinician may be permitted to offer an expert clinical opinion about a patient's diagnosis, response to treatment, or a related clinical issue, but they generally are not permitted to offer an expert forensic opinion. In contrast to the role of the treating clinician, a forensic expert works for the court (or attorney) and performs evaluations on persons (whom they have not previously treated) in order to provide an opinion to answer a specific legal question.
It is not uncommon for psychologists to unknowingly find themselves functioning in a forensic role. When psychologists are retained by attorneys, are court-ordered, or are hired by other state and federal agencies to perform mental evaluations on individuals who are involved in the legal system, they are engaging in the practice of clinical forensic psychology. Clinical forensic psychology is defined as the application of the principles of clinical psychology to assist the fact finder (i.e., Judge or Jury) in legal decision-making.
As a subspecialty, clinical forensic psychology is distinguished from other subspecialties in the field of forensic psychology (e.g., scientific research applications of social, developmental, and cognitive psychology, also called "legal psychology"). Research psychologists provide expert witness testimony about a particular scientific issue (e.g., research on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, false memory, jury behavior, the effects of divorce on children, etc.), but these types of forensic experts do not conduct a clinical evaluation of an individual. It also is important to make a distinction between a psychologist who performs an evaluation to answer a legal question and one who provides treatment to persons who are involved in the legal system, i.e., treatment of offenders in correctional facilities (also referred to as "correctional psychology").
Forensic Activities
Clinical forensic psychologists are likely to engage in any number of activities, including but not limited to, performing evaluations on adult criminal defendants, juvenile offenders, child custody litigants, respondents of civil commitment proceedings, and mental disability claimants, to name just a few.
When psychologists are asked to evaluate adult criminal defendants for Mississippi circuit courts, the typical referral questions in pre-trial cases may include competence to stand trial, criminal responsibility (mental state at the time of offense), competence to waive Miranda rights at the time of a confession, violence and/or sexual violence risk assessments, mitigation, and assessments of mental retardation in capital murder defendants. Post-conviction referral issues may include questions regarding competence to assist in post-conviction appeals, competence to be executed, and assessments of mental retardation in death row inmates.
Forensic clinicians also regularly perform evaluations outside of a criminal context. For example, psychologists may be asked to evaluate individuals for the purpose of civil commitment proceedings in Chancery Court, as well as to address a number of other civil capacity questions, such as testamentary capacity, guardianship, conservatorship, and competence to consent/refuse treatment. Evaluations of personal injury litigants, workers' compensation claims, fitness for duty cases, and mental disability assessments also are examples of civil forensic evaluations.
Psychologists also are frequently called upon to conduct evaluations within the context of youth court proceedings, such as assessments of juveniles' competence to stand trial in adult court (also referred to as "waiver" or "transfer" hearings), evaluations of child abuse and neglect, and other issues related to child custody proceedings (e.g., parental competence, disputed visitation, relocation, termination of parental rights).
For most referral questions, the forensic clinician's task is to assess for symptoms of mental disease or defect, and if present, to determine the extent to which, if any, the symptoms of a mental disease or defect cause significant functional impairment in the evaluee's psycholegal capacity in question. An exception to this threshold type of assessment includes cases in which a diagnostic finding is dispositive as to the legal issue (i.e., mental retardation and death penalty eligibility). In most types of cases, however, the presence of a mental disorder alone is necessary but not sufficient in determining a mental state defense. Generally, there must also be data that are suggestive of significant impairment in the capacity at issue (e.g., competence-related abilities, parental competence, capacity to waive or assert constitutional rights) due to the symptoms of the mental disorder.
These are just some of the ways in which psychologists may function in a forensic role. There are, of course, a number of other conceptual and ethical issues related to the practice of clinical forensic psychology that one must carefully consider prior to engaging in forensic practice. However, such topics are beyond the scope of this article. Please stay tuned for future issues of the Mississippi Psychologist, as efforts are underway to include additional articles in the new "Psychology and Law Update" section of the newsletter, which will cover many of the topics discussed herein but with greater detail. Anyone who is interested in authoring or co-authoring a paper for the newsletter related to any aspect of psychology and the law should forward requests either to myself or to the editor, Dr. Beverly Smallwood. I look forward to working with you.
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| Public Education Campaign |
 You Are A Vital Part of Our Public Education Campaign!
Lisa Yazdani, Ph.D.
Private Practice, Jackson
So, you know that being able to communicate about the role psychology plays in wellness, disease prevention, and disease management is an integral aspect of the work you do every day. However, do you ever wonder about the resources available to help you with this?
Benefits of the PEC
A.P.A.'s Public Education Campaign offers a wealth of information that will help you:
1) inform people about how psychology can benefit them;
2) connect with the community- at- large; and
3) build relationships with other professionals, community leaders, and referral sources.
In other words, educating yourself about the Public Education Campaign will not only benefit you, but it will also benefit the populations you serve and the community in general.
Areas of Focus
The Public Education Campaign has three major areas of focus:
1. Resilience;
2. Mind-Body Health, which includes the Healthy Families initiative with the YMCA's;
3. Warning Signs.
If you're like most psychologists, you have a lot of knowledge about each of these topics, but you really don't have the time to put together brochures, fliers, videos, and other materials to hand out to the public. You probably also don't have time to set up events which will help you educate the public about prevention and about your services.
This is where M.P.A.'s Public Education Campaign Task Force is working for you. Our goals this year include holding Mind-Body Health Fairs in each region of the state; developing key contacts with the YMCA's around the state to launch the healthy families initiative; coordinating with our Federal Advocacy Committee to educate legislators about psychology and to participate at the next Day at the Capitol; and further developing our media coverage links throughout the state.
Being a part of the Public Education Campaign in Mississippi is also a great way to network with psychologists who share your interests.
In fact, the Public Education Campaign Task Force is looking for new members. What's asked of those who commit to the P.E.C. Task Force is simply that you attend a training about the P.E.C., and then decide to help with one of the projects that the task force is working on this year.
If you're interested in joining M.P.A.'s Public Education Campaign Task Force, please contact me at Lisa Yazdani@MSN.com or 601-372-5374..
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| News from APA Council |
APA COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2010 MEETING
SUMMARY
James Herzog, Ph.D.
Private Practice, Jackson
APA Council Representative
APA's governing body met February 19-21. Twenty-six business items were voted upon. Executive staff and elected officers made various presentations, including diversity training. I can forward a copy of the minutes of the meeting if any member so desires at my email address: jdherzog1@aol.com.
The following is a summary of the highlights of the meeting, with a focus on those issues most relevant to psychologists in Mississippi.
Model Licensing Law
The APA Council of Representatives adopted a revised and updated Model Licensing Act. This model was designed to position the discipline of psychology and communicate its priorities. The new Model Licensing Act incorporates needed updates since the last revision in 1987 in such areas as prescriptive authority and telehealth. An in-depth report will appear in the May Monitor.
The model act describes the education and training of psychologists and provides guidance to states or other jurisdictions when developing or modifying licensing statutes or regulations. The Council approved a substitute (and compromise) motion that modified the existing exemption for providers of psychological services in schools. The act recognizes the authority of appropriate state education bodies to issue titles to those who provide psychological services in schools as long as those titles incorporate the word "school," The act continues to restrict the practice of such individuals and their use of their title to employment within school settings.
The Council also adopted a core values statement as part of the APA Strategic Plan. The statement reads:
The American Psychological Association commits to its vision through a mission based upon the following values:
Continual Pursuit of Excellence
Knowledge and its Application Based Upon Methods of Science
Outstanding Service to Its Members and to Society
Social Justice, Diversity and Inclusion
Ethical Action in All that We Do.
Changes to the APA Ethics Code were approved to address potential conflicts among professional ethics, legal authority, and organizational demands. The revised language to Standards 1.02 and 1.03 is intended to ensure that the standards can never be interpreted to justify or defend violating human rights.
The standards, from APA's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct" (2002), address situations where psychologists' ethical responsibilities conflict with law, regulations, other governing legal authority, or organizational demands. Previously, it appeared that if psychologists could not resolve such conflicts, they could adhere to the law or demands of an organization without further consideration. That language has been deleted and this new sentence added: "Under no circumstances may this standard be used to justify or defend violating human rights."
The Council created a $25 dues credit for full members of APA who are also members of the Association for Psychological Science; the Society of Neuroscience; any organizations that are part of the Federation for the Advancement of Behavioral and Brain Sciences; and members of the state, provincial and territorial psychological associations, and the four national ethnic-minority psychological associations. The dues credit will begin with the 2012 dues cycle. For members of APS and the Federation organizations, it will replace their current 25 percent dual membership discount.
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel Controversy
In response to the concerns of some Council reps and others, the Council's August meeting and some division meetings will not be held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel. The owner of the hotel made a sizable donation to the Proposition 8 campaign to overturn a California law allowing gay marriage. Some Council representatives, who were hurt and incensed by this, vocalized their opposition to meeting at the hotel. Be aware that there will likely be protestors picketing that hotel and possibly APA members coming and going from that property. If any MPA members attend the APA conventio, they should be aware of this political subterfuge. More on this issue will be coming out from APA publications soon.
Treatment Guidelines.
The Council provided for creation of APA treatment guidelines and the establishment of a Steering Committee and Guidelines Development Panels for that purpose.
Future of Psychology Practice Report
The Council received the final report of the 2009 Presidential Task Force on the Future of Psychology Practice, which studied ways to help practitioners thrive in a changing world. The report can be viewed on the Web at www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/future-practice.pdf.
Homeless Report
Public Education Campaign
Council reauthorized APA's Public Education campaign, directing that it be consistent with the goals and objectives of APA's Strategic Plan.
Advertising Policy
The proposed APA Advertising Policy for APA Publications was approved. This policy restricts advertising of educational programs on the APA Web site to those schools or other institutions full accredited by regional or other institutional accrediting associations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and for those areas of professional psychology where APA or Canadian Psychological Association accreditation is currently provided (e.g., clinical , counseling, school, combined).
Budget
APA's 2010 budget was approved. The budget includes forecasted revenues of just over $114,400, 000, with expenditures of $113, 500,000, resulting in a forecasted operating margin of $900,000. The Council has directed staff to budget for an annual operating margin to avoid the possibility of deficit budgets. |
| Progress on Psychopharm |
 Psychopharmacology Cases from My Practice: "Think Small"
Bob Nevels, Ph.D., MSCP
Co-Chair, Psychopharmacology Task Force
Case 1:
The attractive 27-year-old woman sitting on the couch in my office sounded distraught, desperate, and perplexed. Her affect was blunted, and her eyes were worried and mildly bloodshot. She hadn't been sleeping much.
Until five weeks prior to seeing me, she had been taking Lexapro 10 mg a day for two years for depression. The Lexapro had begun working within a few weeks of initiation, and she had recovered from the depression--was happy, and everything was fine when a primary care physician (PCP) suggested discontinuing her Lexapro. She also had been taking Avapro (irbesartan), an angiotensin receptor antagonist, for mild to moderate hypertension and her blood pressure was under good control. In addition to recommending discontinuation of the Lexapro, the PCP suggested she discontinue the Avapro, "because it's an old person's medication." He placed her on Bystolic (nebivilol), a beta blocker. He instructed her to decrease the Lexapro to 5 mg a day for a week, then stop taking it. He discontinued the Avapro without tapering and started her on a maintenance dose of Bystolic.
After just four days on this new regimen, she "crashed and burned," becoming depressed. e.g., insomnia, crying spells, sad mood, loss of libido, anhedonia, suicidal ideation, attention and concentration problems, anergia, etc. She called the physician, and he told her to continue taking the Lexapro at 5 mg a day and call him in two weeks.She got worse-missing work, staying in bed all day.
In two weeks when she called the M.D., he told her to go back up to 10 mg of Lexapro. She did, but her depression failed to remit. She began to despair.
My thinking:
Number one rule of pharmacotherapy-"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I couldn't understand why the PCP had taken her off of Avapro when she had good blood pressure control. I also thought his reasoning, "It's an old person's medication," was faulty. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are extraordinarily good antihypertensives, renally protective, may confer anti-cancer benefits through their anti-angiogenesis effect and, along with ACE Inhibitors like Lisinopril, don't cause depression as a side effect as often as other antihypertensives, especially beta blockers-the worst offenders in this regard.
I called her PCP and suggested she be placed back on Avapro via a cross-taper with Bystolic (you never stop any blood pressure med on a dime, especially beta blockers). I suggested a possible cross-tapering schedule. He made the changes.
The patient called me after three days and said she was beginning to feel a little less depressed. She called at the end of the week and reported she was beginning to "feel normal again." She came to see me the next week, and a different woman sat across the room from me. She also admitted she had been depressed as a young girl and again when she was in college. I recommended she continue on Lexapro at 10 mg a day indefinitely and check in with me anytime by either phone or email. I also recommended a new PCP to her.
We met again in three weeks, and she was doing well. A recent six- month follow-up session found her in remission and doing well with continuing good blood pressure control.
Case Two:
A 38-year-old female patient with Seizure Disorder, Bipolar I Disorder--Most Recent Episode Mixed, Alcohol Dependence, In Full Remission, and several (other than seizures) Axis III disorders, was referred to me. Her neuropsychiatrist, who is very good at what he does, had both her seizure disorder and bipolar disorder under control. She had not had a seizure in over nine months, nor had her bipolar illness invited her back into depression. or mania for over a year-a neat juggling act on his part. (Bipolar presents with depression three times as often as with mania or mixed episodes.) Additionally, she had been abstinent from alcohol for years and attended AA.
Eight months before she saw me, he had added Tegretol IR (immediate release) (carbamazepine-but he was using brand Tegretol) 200 mg twice a day to her regimen, along with 200 mg a day of Lamictal (lamotrigine). These in addition to Cymbalta 60 mg once a day, among many other meds for many other conditions. I reviewed all potential drug interactions.
The problem was, she had started having daily headaches shortly after she started on Tegretol. She had complained to her psychiatrist about the headaches, and he told her to take Tylenol 650 mg twice a day. This was worrisome because she had many hepatically metabolized meds on board, plus she was a recovering alcoholic who had pummeled her liver (acetaminophen potentially is hepatotoxic), and Tylenol didn't help anyway. "Live with it, because everything else is under good control," he then told her.
When she saw me she said, "The headaches are getting to me like Chinese water torture." She rated them "5" on a 10-point scale of severity and said, "If they only happened twice a week, I could live with them."
My thinking:
Tegretol appeared to be the offending agent. Headaches are a common side effect of anticonvulsants. I knew that Tegretol XR, the extended release form, was associated with fewer side effects because of its smoother/slower absorption and distribution. I said, "Let's substitute Tegretol XR for your IR Tegretol and at the same dose and dosing schedule (200 mg twice a day) because I have a hunch it may help reduce both the frequency and/or severity of your headaches while still giving you the same therapeutic benefits." I called her psychiatrist, made the suggestion, he approved and phoned in the script.
After a week she called me and said, "My headaches have gone away." She gave the same report after one month; same at six months; same at one year.
Summary
It often pays to "think small" when evaluating patients and their medications. Both of these situations were resolved by what would often be overlooked - relatively minor changes.
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| Taking Care of Yourself | |
LEARN TO LAUGH AT YOURSELF
(You'll Never Run Out of Material!)
Beverly Smallwood, Ph.D.
Private Practice, The Hope Center
Hattiesburg
Well, it finally happened for real, though it's happened many times figuratively!
A few years ago, after taking my 18-month-old grandson Eli to the park, we stopped by the nursing home to visit my Mom. Eli chose that moment to express his independence in the middle of the hall, balking in loud and no uncertain terms about going in any direction other than the one he chose.
Now, over the years, like you, I have taught many parents what to do when a child has a tantrum. You ignore the little darling. But what if that child is blocking the hall where elderly people are creeping by on unsteady feet or in wheel chairs? And what if you fantasize that people are looking at you like, "So the psychologist can write about it and teach about it, but can't do it!"
Juggling cell phone, an open Diet Coke, keys, and various other small items, I picked the young rebel up under my arm like a sack of potatoes and headed out. He was kicking and screaming, and I felt like doing the same thing.
Just as I stepped off the porch, I felt a large "splat" on my head. "Oh, boy, now it's started to rain," I thought. I was wrong. I guess I should be thankful that the bird wasn't an entire flock just coming from a big dinner in a green apple tree!
Shampoo was one aspect of the cure for my stress, but not the best one. In my opinion, the best part of the remedy was LAUGHTER.
As psychologists, we must learn to use that mood and productivity booster, laughter. In particular, the ability to laugh at ourselves is an essential tool for survival in the stressful profession we have chosen.
Allow me to share three good reasons that laughter is great medicine.
1. HUMOR IS A STRESS RELIEVER.
When you are able to find humor in a difficult situation, it pulls you out of the muck and gives you perspective.
I often speak to and consult with healthcare organizations. An ER team I was working with told me an allegedly true story about a particularly stressful heart-attack, multiple-car-accident, gunshot-wound kind of Saturday night in the ER.
All of a sudden, a man in his 30's burst through the doors, yelling, "Help! Papa's not breathing!" The ER staff rushed to the car where Papa lay in the back seat. Quickly they got him onto a stretcher and rolled him into the trauma room. They coded him and worked feverishly, but Papa could not be revived.
The doctor called the large family together to break the sad news. "We're very sorry. We did all we could. He's gone."
Wails went up from the family crowd. Mama's knees buckled, and as she fell backward, her two sons caught her. "Oh, my God," she cried, that's what they told us at the other hospital, too!"
Gives a whole new meaning to the term "second opinion," doesn't it?
Laughter gives immediate stress relief, releasing endorphins. Point out what is humorous or absurd about a situation or confrontation, you will be guaranteed the upper hand.
2. LAUGHTER IMPROVES PHYSICAL HEALTH.
Data on the health benefits of laughter abound in the research literature. A good old-fashioned laugh does all kinds of wonderful things for your body. Here are a few of them:
· reduces blood pressure;
· relaxes muscles;
· strengthens the immune system;
· oxygenates the blood;
· reduces pain and increases pain tolerance;
· protects the heart.
In his book, "Treating Type A Behavior and Your Heart," Dr. Meyer Friedman concludes: "The person most effectively protecting himself against the continued progress of coronary artery disease is the person willing to see himself and his affairs as ludicrously unimportant in the planetary scheme of things."
King Soloman in the book of Proverbs said, "A merry heart does good like a medicine." The person who laughs, lasts.
3. LAUGHTER BUILDS TEAMWORK AND CAMARADERIE.
I was doing a program in San Diego. I was about to get on the elevator when I passed a man pushing his screaming, crying son in the stroller. This baby was red-faced and was announcing to all the world that he was a force to be reckoned with. I said to no one in particular as I passed by, "Somebody's not very happy."
His dad answered, "Yeah, and the baby's upset, too!"
We shared a laughing ride in the elevator, for laughter brought immediate connection.
Victor Borge said, "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people."
TO SUM IT UP...
We need to take our work seriously, but one of the worse things we can do is to take ourselves seriously.
Laughter is like changing a baby's diaper. It doesn't permanently solve problems, but it surely does make things more acceptable for a while.
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| Neuropsych Notes | |
WHEN ONLY ONE HAND IS CLAPPING:
IMPAIRED SELF-AWARENESS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE
Jim Irby, Ph.D., ABPP-CN
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Methodist Rehabilitation Center and Private Practice
Jackson
One of the more dramatic presentations following right-hemispheric cerebral vascular accident is anosognosia: the denial of neurological deficit. Such patients may acknowledge that they have had a stroke, but vehemently deny that their left side is paralyzed. They often confabulate when they are pressed to explain why they cannot use their left hand. For example, Ramachandran (1996) described a woman who, when asked to clap, made clapping movements with her right hand, but insisted that she was clapping with both hands (which Ramachandran quipped was quite Zen-like because she said that she heard the sound of her one hand clapping).
Neurological Basis of Human Self-Awareness Split-brain studies conducted by Gazzaniga (1995) provide insight into such phenomena. He observed that, when visual information is initially presented only to the right hemisphere of patients whose corpora callosa have been cut, their left hand, in full view of both hemispheres, is able to use the information accurately and successfully. However, when asked to explain their responses, such patients, through their isolated left hemisphere (which mediates language and which Gazzaniga therefore dubbed 'the interpreter') provide a seemingly logical, but confabulated response. Such observations indicate that there is a clear neurological basis of human self-awareness.
Indeed, an increasing volume of research has explored the multidimensional phenomena of impaired self-awareness in patients with both neurological and psychiatric conditions, including traumatic brain injury (Prigatano, 2010), Alzheimer's disease (Vogel, 2010), Parkinson disease (Jenkinson 2009), schizophrenia (Pia, 2006) and bipolar disorder (Varga, 2006). Generally speaking, impaired self-awareness is often found when there has been damage to the right hemisphere (Kortte 2009), but the disruption of broadly distributed neural networks throughout the brain have also been implicated, usually with associated neurocognitive deficits in attention and executive functioning (Sherer, 2005; Bovina, 2008).
Denial or Underdeveloped Awareness?
With the increased understanding of the neural underpinnings of impaired self-awareness, there has been a shift away from psychological theories to explain such denial or lack of insight, particularly in patients with psychotic disturbances (Kruck, 2009). However, in neurologically intact individuals, terms such as "denial" continue to be widely used in reference to poor psychological insight. While I have no doubt in the concept of psychological defensiveness, I think that the use of such descriptive terms as "unawareness" or "poor awareness" may more closely capture what many of our neurologically intact clients are experiencing when they are early in treatment.
Even our own developmental experience is similar to the disconnected left-hemisphere 'interpreter" in our early attempts to make sense of ourselves: We all experienced the full range of human emotion for at least ten years before we developed adequate language skills to tell even a simple story, much less explain our behavior or emotional reactions. This explains why our younger clients (or adults whose psychological development was arrested during adolescence by trauma or substance abuse) often sound as if they are confabulating when they attempt to explain their behavior. But they are not so much "in denial" as they are unaware. Just as with neurologically impaired patients, their ability to attend to the proximal causal factors that best explain and influence their behavior is limited, albeit for developmental and psychological reasons rather than neurologic incapacity (except in cases of chronic substance abuse, in which there is often both neurologic impairment and psychological defensiveness).
Conceptualizing "denial" or "lack of insight" as an awareness skill that is underdeveloped, or a neurologically-based capacity for self-awareness that is impaired, leads us to different levels of intervention. In both cases, there should be a focus on training clients to attend to the most relevant factors that contribute to their difficulties and then reinforcing them for demonstrating that skill. Clients whose capacity for self-awareness has been compromised by neurological injury not only require more frequent and longer periods of more specific training, but their family members and the other professionals and support staff who work with them also need education about the nature of neurologically impaired self-awareness, along with recommendations regarding the best way to respond "when only one hand is clapping."
For further reading, see "The Study of Anosognosia," edited by George Prigatano, Ph.D.
References:
Bivona, U. et al. (2008). Executive function and metacognitive self-awareness after severe traumatic brain injury. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 14, 862-868.Gazzaniga, MS. (1995). Principles of human brain organization derived from split-brain studies. Neuron, 14, 217-28.Jenkinson, PM., et al. (2009). Why are some Parkinson disease patients unaware of their dyskinesias? Cognitive & Behavioral Neurology, 22, 117-21.Kortte, K & Hillis, AE. (2009). Recent Advances in the Understanding of Neglect and Anosognosia. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 9, 455-469. Kruck, C. L. et al. (2009) Lack of relationship between psychological denial and unawareness of illness in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Psychiatry Research 169, 33-38.
Pia, L. & Tamietto, M. (2006). Unawareness in schizophrenia: Neuropsychological and neuroanatomical findings. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 60, 531-537.
Prigatano, GP. (Ed.). (2010). The Study of Anosognosia. Oxford University Press: New York.
Ramachandran, VS. (1996). The Evolutionary Biology of Self-Deception, Laughter, Dreaming and Depression: Some Clues from Anosognosia. Medical Hypotheses, 47, 347-362.
Sherer, M. et al. (2005). Neuroanatomic basis of impaired self-awareness after traumatic brain injury: Findings from early computed tomography. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 20, 287-300.
Varga, M. et al. (2006) Insight, symptoms and neurocognition in Bipolar I patients. Journal of Affective Disorders, 91, 1-9.
Vogel, A. et al. (2010). Impaired awareness of deficits and neuropsychiatric symptoms in early Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neuroscience, 22, 93-99.
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| Convention Preview |  MPA 61ST CONVENTION
SAVE THE DATES!
September 8-10, 2010
Angela Herzog, Ph.D.
Private Practice, Jackson
Past President and MPA Convention Chair
September 8th through 10th holds great promise as plans are underway for the 61st Convention of the Mississippi Psychological Association. The Convention will be held at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, a beautiful site with great meeting space as well as outstanding hotel accommodations.
The Convention theme is "Transcendent Psychology ~ Everywhere We Look, In Everything We Do." This theme is designed to highlight and emphasize the many ways in which psychological concepts are utilized in the varied roles in which we function as psychologists. Truly, psychological components are infused into every aspect of life., permeating innumerable facets of human experiences and roles. Psychologists continue to exceed usual limits as we excel at extending applications of psychology in the myriad of service roles and settings in which we work.
Won't it be interesting to find out what colleagues are doing these days with psychology? How professionally stimulating and energizing might it prove to share with others and learn from others about the familiar or more common uses of psychology, as well as the less-than-ordinary applications of psychology in one's work?
Benefits of Attending
MPA CONVENTION 2010 promises the following benefits for you:
- increase your knowledge and help you to advance in those areas of psychology in
which you are currently engaged;
- provide opportunities to learn about unique niches that have evolved for others,
gaining ideas for your own career;
- connect with colleagues to build mutually beneficial networks with peers across the state and beyond.
Additional goals of the Convention are to share information and devise strategies to successfully extend the statute that provides for the licensure of psychologists in Mississippi. We have a pressing need to ensure that our statute does not sunset in 2011! (See Dr. O'Brien's article in this Mississippi Psychologist.) We do not want our profession to cease to exist as a licensed and regulated profession. Therefore, statewide efforts must be implemented with great speed and systematic methods. The 2010 Convention will furnish Mississippi psychologists the best opportunity this year for collaboration and strategic planning for the passage of legislation to ensure the viability of the licensure of our profession.
Did You Complete Your Convention Survey?
The 2010 Convention Survey Form (on salmon colored paper) was mailed mid to late March. It is important for the survey forms to be returned to optimize organization of the Convention in a manner that best serves the membership. Please return this Survey Form if you have not already done so. If you need a Convention Survey Form, you'll find a copy at the end of this newsletter. You may either fax your response to the MPA office at (601) 372-5752, or you may copy and paste electronically and email to Tracey at mpassoc@comcast.net
We Need Exhibitors: Can You Help?
Increasing the participation and support of Exhibitors at the Convention is another priority for this year. If anyone wants to know how expensive it is to put on a Convention, please ask. Otherwise, trust that it is expensive, YET, it is something that is offered the membership as a primary benefit.
The convention is also an event that NEEDS to generate income for the organization so that we continue to offer services to the membership. Therefore, we need psychologists from across the state to help us identify and obtain the participation of Exhibitors at the Convention.
Agencies, institutions, businesses, publishers, pharmaceuticals, etc, with whom psychologists are interwoven in our work are all potential Exhibitors at the Convention. We need YOUR suggestions on who to approach and invite their participation at our Convention. A request for "Suggested Exhibitors" (on pink colored paper) was also mailed out, and we ask that you send these post haste so that we can contact and get the MPA Convention committed to and on the calendars of many Exhibitors to participate at the Convention this year. If you cannot locate yours, another is also provided at the end of this newsletter.
Convention Activities
As is typical, Pre-Convention Workshops will be offered on Wednesday prior to the Convention proper, which will include such events as a plenary session, invited speaker, break-out sessions, and poster sessions on Thursday and Friday. Our Silent Auction and Social Hour were very popular last year, and these fun events will return this year, bigger and better.
The Call for Programs has gone out, and if you did not receive it, or need it, get it at the conclusion of this newsletter. Submissions for presentations, symposia, panel discussions, and poster sessions are due by July 15, 2010. If by chance you have heard a presentation recently, or know of and have suggestions for program content, please initiate contact with colleagues to encourage submissions of their presentations and invite the involvement of others who you'd see as invigorating the program through their participation.
SAVE THE DATE magnets were mailed along with the other materials, and they and contain details for contacting the Beau Rivage to make hotel reservations. Register now! If you lack anything you need or have questions, please contact the MPA office at (601) 372-7755.
For ease of reference, the information is listed here:
Mississippi Psychological Association Convention
The Beau Rivage, Biloxi, Mississippi
Wednesday, September 8th - Friday, September 10th, 2010
Call the Beau Rivage at 888-383-7037 toreserve your hotel rooms.
Be sure to state that you are with the Mississippi Psychological Association. You must do so when you book the reservation to ensure the $89.00 rate. Go ahead and do so before the block of rooms for MPA is filled or released.
Contact Tracey Curtis, MPA Executive Director, at 601-372-7755 to: JOIN MPA;
Renew your MPA membership;
Volunteer to help with the convention;
obtain the 2010 Convention Survey Form
REGISTER FOR THE CONVENTION.
Visit the website for the Mississippi Psychological Association at www.mpassoc.org, for additional information.
Contact me directly for your input, feedback, suggestions, and volunteer efforts to ensure an awesome MPA Convention 2010! Angela Herzog, Ph.D.Past President, MPAaoherzog56@aol.com
phone 601.981.5757
fax 601.981.5494
PLEASE SAVE THE DATES AND MAKE PLANS NOW TO ATTEND
MPA CONVENTION 2010 AT THE BEAU RIVAGE IN BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI!
Please visit our website below for copies of the Convention Survey, Exhibitor Form and Call For Programs
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| Call for Articles |
Do you have an idea for an article for an upcoming Mississippi Psychologist? We will consider articles within the categories in this newsletter as well as others of relevance to Mississippi psychologists. We want your newsletter to do a better job of discussing issues of concern and interest you and to all segments of our profession.
Send a brief description of your article idea to BevSmallwd@aol.com, or you can call me at 601-264-0890 to discuss it. The deadline for the next newsletter is July 31st. I look forward to hearing from you!
Beverly Smallwood, Ph.D.
Editor. Mississippi Psychologist |
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