I am honored to stand for election for APA President. Unity within our field is critical.  By electing a president who understands the broad spectrum and diversity of psychology we can advance the promise of our great discipline.  Working together as scientists, clinicians, and public policy makers, psychologists can provide society and world significant assistance to improve the human condition.   I will work tirelessly to enhance psychology through expanding opportunities for all psychologists. I ask that you give me your #1 vote for APA President.
The following are critical issues we need to address.

Economic Viability

 

APA is a strong and powerful organization.  However, talking with hundreds of psychologists--practitioners, scientists and educators--many are struggling to make a reasonable living and are apprehensive about their future in psychology.  Psychologists are concerned with the cost of APA membership in relation to specialty societies, decreasing reimbursements for psychological services, problems with the annual convention, lack of resources for CARE and other science initiatives, and attracting young psychologists, to name just a few.

 

Science Issues. Over 50% of health problems are caused by psychosocial and life-style factors, yet less than 7% of the NIH budget is spent on research in these areas.  Although NIH and NSF budgets are at record high levels, many scientists, new and established, cannot get their research funded.  Psychological science makes life-changing contributions to our society, but we often are not recognized for the contributions.  For example, two psychologists have been named Nobel Laureates, yet their prizes were in economics and not psychology.  In the age of translational research and advances in science (neurobiology, genetics and others) psychology is more relevant than ever.  

 

It is time for APA to join with other behavioral science groups, like APS, to increase the percentage of the NIH and NSF budgets for psychological science for the benefit of all psychologists.   We need to develop incentives for young scientists to join APA and maintain a psychology identity.  We also need to stop Congress from undue interference with the peer review process and research with children. 

 

Practice Issues. Practitioners are besieged with threats to scope of practice from other professions.  Managed care continues to ravage our profession, as they over-regulate and withhold psychological services from our clients/patients.  Insurance premiums are going up, executive salaries are going up—but payments to psychologists are going DOWN!  What’s wrong with that picture?

 

Psychological practice in the 21st century requires that we change our traditional ways of education, practice and research to take advantage of the new possibilities in society.  Excellent opportunities include expanding our practice into primary care, gaining prescriptive authority for appropriately trained psychologists and providing business and industry with innovative psychological services.

 

Primary care providers treat over 60% of mental health problems, without assistance from psychologists.  PCPs are the de facto mental health system due to managed care policies and over-reliance on medications.  Research indicates major health problems (diabetes, heart disease, obesity, HIV-AIDS) are due to psychosocial and lifestyle problems, yet these issues are not effectively addressed by the medical profession.  Minority, underserved, and elderly patients suffer even more from these systems of care.  Psychologists are often not involved in the prevention and treatment of these problems because we are not seen as an integral part of the healthcare team. This must change.

 

Through our research and practice, psychologists can provide solutions to effectively prevent and treat the major health and mental health problems of our nation because we are the profession that knows the most about human behavior and how to change it.

 

Education Issues. Educators are also struggling with funding cutbacks.  Our young psychologists are leaving graduate school with record levels of debt, making it difficult for them to make a reasonable living.  Students considering psychology as a career are re-thinking their decisions because of economic limitations within the profession and this disproportionately impacts students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds. 

A Culturally Expanded Profession

 

We require more psychologists who are culturally and linguistically competent and to get more minority students we need to start earlier in the educational pipeline-at the high school level.  We need more funding for community health psychology and to eliminate managed care so that practitioners have reasonable reimbursements and can provide needed services.   Since people of color are more likely to receive psychological services in primary and community health care settings, expanding psychological practice in these settings will meet those needs.

 

In psychology and other professions women are becoming a majority, yet leadership in these professions does not often reflect this change.  I propose that APA develop a, Women in Leadership Institute, for psychologists and other professions (business, medicine, law) that utilizes psychological knowledge and principles to support women becoming leaders in their respective fields.  

Member Communication and Retention

 

In meetings with hundreds of psychologists I was repeatedly asked why they should continue their membership in APA.  Many members did not realize the ways that APA serves our professional needs.  This is an internal public relations problem.  To continue to be a strong organization, we must improve communication between the Association and you, the member.

 

How Will We Accomplish These Goals? 

 

We need to work together to support all psychologists through:

1. Advocacy.  Increase our state advocacy to expand and to deal with threats to our scope of practice and federal advocacy to garner additional funding for psychological science, educational programs, and expand practice opportunities. 

2. Public Education.  Raise our public presence through media and new technologies to increase community understanding of psychological science (e.g., neuroscience, adult development and aging contributions) and psychological services and to reduce mental health stigma. 

3. Build Bridges.  Collaborate with other organizations (family medicine, nurses) and trial lawyers to eliminate managed care and create bridges with other organizations to expand funding for psychological science.  Create a mutually beneficial context between practitioners and scientists to support the development and translation of effective interventions into practice. 

 

For more information visit: http://www.bcm.tmc.edu/familymed/jbray.

 

A former APA president said when we circle the wagons to always shoot outwards and not at each other.  I will bring this perspective as APA President.   I ask that you give me your #1 vote for APA President.