Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
President's Column
Our Summer Workshop in North Georgia has just ended with great success and satisfaction! Everyone who spoke in Community Meetings expressed their heartfelt appreciation to Barbara Nama and Z Rosenzweig, Co-chairs, and to the whole committee for all of their hard work and attention to detail. I am particularly grateful to the members of my family group, and a few important others, for meeting my request of them in such a generous way. I was certainly “changed for good,” as I hope all of you who attended were as well.
Speaking of changes, Jessyca, our executive director, has resigned from Cap Hill and will no longer be our point person there. While this is a good career move for her, it forces us to manage through another change at our Central Office. I indulged in self-pity for about a day but then realized that we are all experts at this sort of change by now, as we have considerable experience with it.
Alyssa Adams, an employee of Cap Hill, will be our new Account Executive. She has experience with association management and with planning national meetings for groups like ours. I’m excited that they have given us someone with even more expertise and experience as we continue to mature as an organization and provide excellent meetings for ourselves and for the interested public.
Your Executive Officers and Committee Chairs are already consulting about their priorities with Brian, as am I. We are all dedicated to creating as smooth a transition as possible. And, while there may be a few hiccups, we will be fine. Jessyca was very open that her resignation has nothing to do with her relationship with us and everything to do with looking for a new career opportunity. She said that she enjoyed working with all of us and will miss us. And we are sure to miss her sweet, competent self. I thanked her in the name of the Academy for all that she has done for us and wished her well on her new adventure. I’m only sorry that we weren’t able to say goodbye to her in person.
The Executive Council and Committee chairs had a satisfying meeting before Summer Workshop in that we came to consensus about the difficult issue of changing our dues structure to meet our budgetary needs. I will go into detail about this in the next issue. Our plans were well received by the attendees of our annual Business Meeting, held each summer. In fact, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the standing ovation you gave me and the whole team for the work we had done. You blew my mind!
We have been hard at work for about two years planning ways we can raise enough income for AAP and the teamwork has been exceptional. Many councilors and chairs have given considerable time and energy to developing this new plan. I continue to be very grateful for the support and dedication of everyone involved. You all make my work so much easier and more enjoyable. Thanks for teaching me in such a loving way to ask for help and support.
As everything is changing all the time, it is my hope that we can accept change gracefully and sometimes even embrace it. As resistance is the path to unnecessary suffering, mindfulness and courage can lead us to greater joy and wisdom for ourselves and for AAP.
Lorrie Hallman,
President, AAP
Tom Burns' crossword puzzle
To work Tom's challenging but wonderful puzzle online, click here .
Once you've done the puzzle, you can check your answers by clicking here.
Once you've done the puzzle, you can check your answers by clicking here.
Scholarship Fund Raffle Brings Energy, Fun, and Funds
By Frances Compton and Linda Tillman
Frances Compton, Joanna Frederick and Arthur Weinfeld organized a Scholarship raffle fundraiser for the Academy. The 2014 Summer Workshop raffle is the kick-off to the fundraising season for the annual Scholarship Program which now sends TWENTY new therapists to the I&C. All the members of the Scholarship Committee sold raffle tickets at $10.00 per ticket.
We raffled three donated art pieces: a Z Rosenzweig & Pat Coyle, a Fern Beu and a Frances Compton. We also raffled two cash prizes of $100 and $200. When the sales of the raffle tickets were totaled, we had close to $1900.00 after the two cash prizes of $200.00 and $100.00 were taken out. The drawing of the winning tickets brought great fun to the dinner entertainment, with folks "drum rolling" their hands on the tables as each drawing took place.
At the Saturday night dinner, Joanna spoke poignantly about what it has meant to be a scholar and now a member. Frances thanked all for their patience and generosity. Arthur pointed out that the future of the Academy depends on programs such as these.
The winners were: Sara Trace, new member and former scholarship winner, won Z and Pat’s framed art used for the cover of the SW brochure; Steven Ingram won Fern Beu’s piece; and Jenny Pelligrini won the Frances Compton piece. Doug Cohen won the $100 prize and Don Murphy won the $200 prize.
Everyone had a good time with the raffle event and we gathered enough funds to pay for two scholarships at the I&C. If you would like to donate to the Scholarship fund to help us bring new therapists to the I&C, click here.
Come to the I&C in Austin
59th Annual Institute and Conference
Austin, Texas
Bring Your Inner Cowgirl and/or Cowboy to Austin in November!
July is not too soon to begin making plans to join your AAP colleagues in bringing AAP’s unique focus on the person of the therapist to the “third coast” therapist community. If you haven’t read your brochure yet, NOW is the time! We have a fantastic program, a great Hyatt hotel location downtown on the shore of Lake Austin with direct access to the Hike and Bike trail and downtown Austin. Austin weather in early November is mild to warm days and cooler nights, so pack layers along with your walking/running shoes.
A program change: Z’s workshop, #21, is open to MEN only.
Remember that the cut off date BOTH for registering for the I&C AND for reserving rooms at the Hyatt Regency Hotel is September 1, 2014!
Please note: Our contact person at the Hyatt Regency Austin hotel STRONGLY recommends you register FOR YOUR HOTEL ROOMS online by clicking here. By doing so you will be able to view all the options available in our room block and choose what best suits your needs. You also are assured of getting our negotiated rate on any room in the block. If you can't register online or need help, please you this number to contact a hotel reservation agent who SHOULD be able to help: 888 421 1442. Please try these before calling the Town Lake Trail hotel directly.
If you have suggestions for books for the I&C Bookstore, please send them to Roy at mailto:royclymer@gmail.com
If you have not received your brochure and would like a paper copy or extras for your local colleagues, please contact Allyssa Adams (518-463-8664/aap@caphill.com) or visit aapweb.com for the online brochure.
Ellen Carr – Publicity & Volunteers
Phyllis and Roy Clymer – Co-chairs
A Newcomer's Perspective on EC from Your Newly Elected Secretary
By Jonathan Farber
I'd heard the legends, of course, told around the AAP campfire as the light wanes and the marshmallows splutter out, leaving us in the Darkness-That-Swallows-All. After the horrifying tales like the disallowed insurance claims dating from 2009 and the 60-page ethics complaint...
then is heard the whispered name of EC....EC......E!...C! I'd heard EC compared to everything from the Bellevue acute admissions unit to the North Korean Joint Chiefs. But nothing I'd heard prepared me for the reality. Because the reality was surprisingly sane.
For one thing, there is a great deal of structure to the meetings these days, and we all know structure tends to contain both interpersonal and intrapsychic pathology. The agenda is set months in advance, and each committee has prepared a report which EC members have the chance to review ahead of time. The report summarizes the work the committee accomplished and the work yet to be done, and specifies the issues the committee wants addressed in the meeting (e.g. additional guidance, staff, or financial support). The president (Lorrie Hallman) chaired the meeting, and because we all wanted to get the work done and get out of there on time, there were few complaints each time she chose to rein in extended discussion and refocus on completing the agenda.
Besides the sanity, another surprise to me was the amount of time spent checking and updating the Policy and Procedures Manual. When people aren't sure how to do something...they consult the manual. When we decide to change how we do something, we change the manual. So there is always a current and accessible description, in plain English, for every essential Academy function. The past president (Margaret Nichols) has familiarized herself with this voluminous and evolving document with the obsessive passion of a Talmudist. Using what must be some kind of dedicated cross-referencing structure in her brain, she points out when a change in one place logically requires changes in other passages located elsewhere in the manual. Considering the complexity, this also goes rather smoothly, and the result is that any of us doing work for the Academy has ready access to the experience of past members, and leaves guidance to future members.
The discussions were mostly to the point, and always respectful, and everyone's input was welcomed and considered. About half the 20 or so who were present were not elected members: they were there as committee members or chairs, e.g. the historian (Sue Timms), the training chair (Stephanie Spalding) or the program chairs for future national events, or the Voices editors. So there was sometimes a mild awkwardness when an official vote was required for the record, or as required by the constitution, and only the elected half us could cast a vote.
To me, the most impressive discussions involved the complex issues, because we integrated perspectives from diverse corners of the Academy. The matter of raising dues, for instance, began with our treasurer (Robin Truitt) showing us that the current budget was not sustainable without increased revenue, and then the membership chair (Nelia Rivers) and the retention chair discussing the implications for members; the program chairs estimating income from their future conferences...you get the idea. In some of the discussion, I realized afterwards, we played out our familiar Sluggers (“Face reality and balance the budget”) versus Huggers (“But we'll upset our friends, and maybe lose good people”). So we Slugged and we Hugged and developed various complex and creative solutions, until we settled on one plan, and voted to go with it. Even most of the controversial topics ended up with unanimous or nearly unanimous votes, and I assure you, this wasn't because these members were afraid to disagree with each other.
Of course, EC is part of AAP, so it begins and ends with – you guessed it – a process group. Negative experiences from within the room and from elsewhere in our lives were aired and addressed. Positive connections were honored and celebrated, and often proved contagious. Overall, there was the satisfied feeling of having accomplished meaningful work. Together.
I'll be back.
DAMMIT, who finished the graham crackers while I was talking?
New Faces at Summer Workshop
New Faces at Summer Workshop
By Nelia Rivers Membership and Mentoring Chair
As membership and mentoring chairperson, I have had the privilege of processing applications of new members. As they are accepted these members are recognized and introduced in the newsletter. For their full introduction, see section titled “Welcome to our most recent new members.“
This summer there were also some additional new faces who are not “new members” and I would like to recognize them by name. Carla Bauer and Curt Arey, who are associate members, were vetted by the membership committee to attend their first summer workshop.
Some of our members who have never attended a Summer Workshop were also there for their first time, including: Brent Coyle, Sally Atkins, James McCracken and Diane Schaffer. Welcome to 14 new faces!
Looking Forward
Looking Forward
Gordon Cohen
Five work groups gathered during the Strategic Planning session during SW ’13 to determine our next long term goal. Neil Makstein helped to consolidate the reactions of his group, which are reported below.
This group focused on the question of promoting psychotherapy to the public, and unanimously decided that this issue should not become our next central goal. While the group expressed gratitude to those members who are devoting time and energy toward this end, whether as part of the RAP Committee, or as individuals in public forums, they did not feel that AAP should elevate this issue above some of the other strategic goals which are aimed at the growth of our own organization.
Letters to the media from our leaders and the RAP Committee have been attempted with the NY Times and elsewhere and these efforts are seen as a valuable contribution to our profession. But, the group did not believe it would be a good expenditure of the energy of the “group as a whole” to try to influence the general public in their perceptions about psychotherapy.
Most AAP members are also members of other professional organizations that have larger resources to devote to addressing the need for public education about psychotherapy. So while members are encouraged to use their other organizational affiliations (state associations, national professional groups like APA or NASW, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, etc.) to voice our concerns, this subgroup reached a consensus that AAP should focus more on the immediate internal organizational concerns. One area, however, that might be worth exploring further is whether we could have some positive influence in graduate school training programs for future psychotherapists, particularly when the focus is on one’s own practice.
Avalanche Danger
ETHICS: In Search of Integrity and Responsibility in the Work Place
Ethics Committee Members: Jane Baxter, Tyler Beach, Damon Blank, Vivian Guze, Carole Light, Jack Mulgrew, Murray Scher, Avrum Weiss, Pat Webster, Marilyn Schwartz, Chair
Avalanche Danger – Dealing with Your Professional Licensing Board
By Marilyn Schwartz
An alarming number of licensed mental health professionals in the state of Georgia have recently been caught either failing to renew their licenses in a timely manner or failing to submit a picture or evidence of citizenship, which is a new requirement. In the latter cases, the licensing board sometimes processed the renewal application and payment but did not actually renew the license. In a number of these cases, the mental health professional assumed his or her license had been renewed because payment had been accepted. These therapists did not discover their error for months or sometimes even two years later when the licensing board charged them with practicing without a license.
If you discover your license has expired for six months or less, you can fairly safely call your licensing board and ask for your license to be reactivated by paying a small fine. If, however, your license has been expired for a longer time, you may need to call a lawyer first to help you deal with the licensing board. Communicating with your licensing board on your own can be perilous. Many clinicians naively assume that boards exist to help you resolve licensing questions or problems. However, licensing boards are state regulatory agencies whose primary purpose is to enforce the laws of your state. Because they are charged with protecting the public by following the letter of the law, they may at times act counter to your interests or even your patients.
Licensing boards demonstrate that they are doing their job by identifying violators and administering penalties. Communicating directly with your board may unfortunately lead to your coming under their scrutiny. For example, if your license has expired for more than six months and you call your licensing board, you will be asked if you are still practicing. If you answer “yes,” be prepared for sanctions such as a “cease and desist” order barring you from practice, or an order to inform all your patients and their insurance companies that you have been practicing without a license, or a request for your patient records, or a heavy fine, and worst case scenario, threat of revocation of your license.
With the exception of your initially applying for your license, you may be involved in a questionable legal situation whenever you have contact with your licensing board. If you suspect this is the case, our best advice is first to seek counsel from a lawyer with experience in administrative law and with experience dealing with the licensing boards in your state.
And remember: REACH OUT TO US, YOUR ETHICS COMMITTEE FOR HELP. We’ve acquired knowledge and experience dealing with licensing boards. We can advise you and we’ll support you.
We can advise you and we’ll support you.
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