Member to member

If you send us info about your latest achievements, insights, publications, challenges, and questions, this is where you’ll see it published. 
 
Members of Division 34/SEPCP Get a Grant!

The Committee on Division/APA Relations announced the recipients of the 2013 Interdivisional Grants. These five projects were selected by CODAPAR and approved by the APA Board of Directors for funding, as indicated below – and one has participants from Division 34/SEPCP. The purpose of the program is to support joint activities that enhance the work, interests, or goals of two or more divisions.
 
The 2014 Call for Interdivisional Grants will be released in March and due in September 2013. For more information on the grants, please contact any member of CODAPAR. 
 
2013 Interdivisional Grant Recipients 
 
Coaching Psychology Competency Project ($5,000)
Divisions 13, 14
Abstract: Divisions 13 (Consulting Psychology) and 14 (Industrial and Organizational Psychology) are collaborating on a project to develop a competency model for the practice of coaching psychology. This project will fund two key steps in the Practice Analysis phase of the project: (1) Interviews with Subject Matter Experts and (2) Development of the Practice Analysis Survey Questionnaire. These steps and the output from them are described, elaborated, and highlighted in yellow on the attached Project Plan. While many members of both divisions are donating their expertise and time, these two steps are likely to require tools and resources necessary to administer the project in an effective and efficient manner.
 
Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction ($5,000)
Divisions 28, 50
Abstract: Two APA Divisions are dedicated to understanding and ameliorating the harm caused by substance misuse and addictive behaviors, but from different perspectives. Both are interested in research, training, and clinical practice in the field of addiction, but Division 28 places more emphasis on the psychopharmacology of substance use disorders, and Division 50 focuses comparatively more on clinical practice and on a broader range of addictive behaviors. This CODAPAR grant will provide needed funds for a conference that will bring together members from Divisions 28 and 50 with a focus on engaging students and early career psychologists in cross-division collaborations. Without CODAPAR grant-enabled discounts, there is a strong likelihood that only established investigators and clinicians will attend. The conference will provide opportunities for networking, research presentations, and pre-conference workshops to facilitate communication across divisions. Attendance by students and early career psychologists will be encouraged by exciting keynote speakers, networking opportunities, and, most vitally, by providing discounted registration and travel awards for students and early career attendees. This is the inaugural year of what we expect will be an annual event.
 
Short Course in Policy Involvement by Psychologists ($5,000)
Divisions: 8, 9, 27, 34, 41
Abstract: The proposed project includes the development and implementation of a two-day short course aimed at assisting psychologists at all career stages in developing skills for policy involvement as well as providing exposure to different avenues and career tracks in several policy arenas. The workshop is broader than the federal advocacy training offered by APA in considering multiple ways that psychological researchers interested in social issues can be involved in policy work and consultation. It builds on the mutual concern of the participating divisions in the policy relevance of psychological training and science, the different expertise of the divisions, and some previous collaborative relationships. Although the proposed workshop focuses on environmental issues and sustainability as a context for considering policy involvement, the goal is to develop a model for a regular and self-sustaining training program that also could be offered at stand-alone conferences of different APA divisions and professional societies.
 
Dissemination of Evidence-Based Practices for Children: Needs and Barriers at State and Local Levels ($4,861)
Divisions: 37, 43, 53
Abstract: Given the lack of applied information about needs and barriers at agency and providers’ levels to adequate implementation and dissemination of evidence-based practices in child mental health, it is imperative to better understand the constraints and barriers that agencies and providers experience. This aim is consistent with the APA’s (2005) Policy Statement on Evidence-Based Practice in Psychology, and with the recommendations of the APA Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice with Children and Adolescents (Kazak et al., 2010). The goals of the planned CODAPAR-funded project are to examine the issue of needs and barriers related to dissemination of evidence-based practices at two levels: (1) needs and barriers at the level of state and community agencies, and (2) in an exploratory way, needs and barriers at the practitioner level. It is anticipated that this information will lead to national, regional, and local policies related to more effective dissemination of evidence-based intervention practices.
 
The Forensic Practitioner’s Toolbox ($5,000)
Divisions: 41, 42
Abstract: A significant number of independent practice psychologists are expanding their practice activities to the criminal and civil justice systems. This phenomenon arises from a convergence of a demand for these services from the justice system and the need for independent practitioners to find practice markets that fall outside the purview of managed care. However, many psychologists are not prepared to do forensic work for a host of reasons, including a lack of understanding of the role psychologists play in the justice system, the difference between therapeutic and forensic roles, the guidelines that shape forensic practice, and the application of ethical standards in forensic cases. The goal of the proposed project is to provide forensic practitioners with information and resources pertaining to forensic work through a number of methods including the introduction of a specific forensic practice concept for nine consecutive months. A joint website will be developed, “The Forensic Practitioner’s Toolbox.” The website will be collaboratively developed by both academic forensic psychologists and forensic clinicians. It will include publications, blogs, and an interactive continuing education module. The website and programming that will hopefully become institutionalized for the two divisions and continue past the grant funding period.

Interesting New Yorker Article
 
From: Richard Wener
 
The new issue of the New Yorker has a long piece on a pickpocket – Apollo Robbins – which is fascinating for its take on the psychology of attention and inattention. But he also discusses how he makes use of proxemics in his work. I found several videos of his on YouTube, and the one below is a lecture he gave in which he discusses the uses of proxemics (about 11:38 into the video). I am planning to use it in my environmental psych class, and I thought others might like it, too.