Texas Psychological Association

APA is a 150,000 member organization of some of the most able minds in the world. We have the power to lead the world toward peace and humanity through the science, education, and practice of psychology. I want us to realize that power through drawing a circle that includes all of our practitioners, all of our scientists, all people of color, all international psychologists, all state and regional associations, all genders, all religions, all with disabilities, all gays, lesbians, bisexuals, all orientations, all ages, all ethnicities-all psychologists.

We must solve problems of managed care and prescription privileges. We can use our science community to bring power to the fight that practitioners are having with insurance companies and legislators who do not understand what it takes to bring quality care to the mental health needs of our society. Further, we need those same bright minds to support necessary changes in the current reciprocity/mobility efforts by ASPPB, the National Register, and ABPP as licensing laws change. We need scientific data to substantiate the practicality and rationality of license portability so that we can support our case to those who have questions.

We must bring together the best minds from our practice, education, and science communities to implement the Science Directorate agenda, PSY 21, a plan to set scientific priorities in APA. We need help with Institutional Review Boards. Practitioners must be in the science circle so that practice can strengthen scientific research and help those in influential places understand the essential place of psychological science in the building and flourishing of society.

We must include in the circle the best minds from education, science, and practice so that we can solve pipeline issues. Who will be the next generations of psychologists? We are aging and need more psychologists who care about issues that matter.

We must include practitioners, scientists, and educators who can help us implement the diversity guidelines and implement the recommendations from the Presidential Task Force on Enhancing Diversity within APA.

Within APA we have too many factions and fractures and far too many groups and individuals feel disenfranchised. When we have factions and fractures, our power is diluted and we do not have the energy TO take on the major issues. I will establish a task force charged to bring action-based solutions for strengthening the science-practice collaboration. WE can host a summit that is structured as a practice/science collaboration that is problem-based and solution focused. The problem could be "Managing Managed Care: Insuring that Psychologists Can Earn a Living" or it could be "Funding the Science of Psychology." The team of psychologists would determine the problem . It is the duty of the President to present the larger picture and then ask colleagues to bring their time and talent as practitioners, educators, and scientists to help specify the problems and find the methods that direct us toward solutions .

I want to be your President. Please give me your number 1 vote.