In this Issue
Your Div. 18 sections
By Shaynna Herrera
VA Section
Section Leader: Jodi Bremer-Landau, MA, is a counseling psychology doctoral candidate at Lehigh University. She recently began her internship at Battle Creek VA Medical Center in Michigan. Research and clinical interests include trauma, PTSD, substance use disorders and gender issues.
Our Interest: Psychologists working for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) serve our nation’s veterans in a national network of health care facilities. We promote the department’s mission through patient care, research, training and consumer activities, and are the only VA-related group open to all VA psychologists.
News: The VA section recently launched the Members in Action initiative, which links students to Div. 18 psychologist leaders. Students have the opportunity to interview leaders in the field and complete a write-up that will be posted on the Div. 18 website. Be sure to check out the Div. 18 website to learn how these VA psychologists got where they are today. Furthermore, they also recruited students to become student ambassadors to post current news and events throughout the week on the newly created VA Section Facebook and Twitter pages. If you’re interested in becoming a student leader or student ambassador, please feel free to contact them to be a part of these exciting opportunities.
Section Leader: Nicole Bartholomew, MA, is a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology at Texas Tech University, and is currently on internship at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Medical Center, Carswell. The section will have a new student representative in the near future, as Bartholomew will be graduating in August 2015.
Our Interest: Members of this section work primarily with individuals who are involved in the criminal justice system (e.g., incarcerated, on probation) and with administrators who operate correctional facilities. They aim to improve the mental health treatment provided to offender populations through treatment, assessment, training, research, and advocacy.
News: The CJ section has a Facebook page (search Div. 18 – Criminal Justice section) that they update frequently with opportunities within the division and information related to section interests. Additionally, the CJ section also has its own newsletter called The Gavel, which can be accessed through the CJ section Web page.
Community and State Hospital Section
Section Leader: Behin Abedi, MA, is a clinical psychology doctoral candidate at the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology, and will soon be completing her advanced practicum at a local community mental health center. She plans to apply for an internship this fall.
Our Interest: Members of this section have a wide range of shared interests including delivery of psychological services, program development, outcome research and management of systems. Many are employed in public sectors where individuals with serious mental illness are often treated, such as community mental health centers and psychiatric hospitals.
News: The section has elected new officers. Will Newbill has been elected as the new section chair, with Jenn Snyder as the new office secretary/treasurer.
Section Leaders: Emily Treichler, MA, is a clinical psychology doctoral candidate at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her primary research interests are in treatment of serious mental illness, and she has completed practica in a community mental health center and residential psychiatric rehabilitation center, as well as conducting groups in a day rehabilitation center. Kiara Vogel, MA, MS, is a clinical psychology doctoral candidate at Widener University and an intern with AIDS Care Group at Kensington Hospital in Philadelphia.
Our Interest: This section is focused on serious mental illness (SMI) in adults and severe emotional disturbance (SED) in children. Members of this group work in a variety of settings and focus on optimizing functioning in people with SMI or SED through recovery-oriented and evidence-based treatment. They pursue this goal via multiple avenues including treatment, research, advocacy, administration and policy.
News: The new APA Curriculum on Recovery and Rehabilitation for People with Serious Mental Illness has been released. To get a copy of it, contact Andrew Austin-Dailey. Be sure to check out our Facebook page.
Psychologists in Indian Country
Section Leaders: Greg Urquhart is a counseling psychology doctoral student at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. Cady Williams is a counseling psychology doctoral student at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Our Interest: Members of this section share an interest in providing psychological services to native people in the United States and Canada. They typically work on reservations or reserves, employed by tribes, urban programs or the Indian Health Service. This section provides them with an organized professional voice, advocacy for issues and concerns, and a communication network among their members, who frequently work in isolated rural areas. As the newest sections in Div. 18, it welcomes all who have an interest in serving native people.
News: Currently, plans are evolving for a midwinter convention in Billings, Montana, sometime in March/April 2015. The convention will address the grassroots effort of the prescribing psychology movement in Indian Country and midwestern states. Stay tuned.