Twenty years ago
At the conclusion of our nation’s longest war, former APA President Phil Zimbardo—“On September 11, 2001, America was shown vulnerable to terrorist attacks, as we all experienced vividly via TV portrayals of two commercial airliners being ballistic missiles exploding the World Trade Towers. Terrorism had hit the home front, creating new fears and spreading anxiety far and wide throughout the nation. The first NY Fire Department on the scene was from Brooklyn Heights coming over directly across the Brooklyn Bridge into downtown Manhattan. However, the collapsing building destroyed its engine and killed eleven of its firemen; among the 343 who died in the collapse of the Twin Towers. I sprung into action to visit first that fire station, talking with its Chief, and then with the Superintendent of the Brooklyn Fire Department about setting up free counseling services for these first responders and their families. With the help of local therapists, Ellen McGrath and her husband Harry Wexler, I organized a series of counseling teams involving a number of resident clinical psychologists and psychiatrists who agreed to offer extended services pro bono. I spent time getting to know one young fireman, Richie Murray, who arranged for our visit to ‘the Pile,’ the debris-strewn mound at Ground Zero. I later arranged to honor those fallen heroes by having Richie accept an APA award at our Chicago convention on behalf of his buddies, living and deceased heroes.”
In the late 1990s, RxP quests seriously began
New Mexico and Louisiana obtained prescriptive authority thanks to the dedication of Elaine LeVine and the late-Jim Quillin in 2002 and 2004 respectively, with Mario Marquez applying for the first Conditional Certificate and John Bolter writing Louisiana’s inaugural psychology script. On June 25, 2014, Illinois succeeded. Beth Rom-Rymer: “On Saturday evening, I convened our Illinois Tenth Biannual Prescriptive Authority Networking Dinner event. I had hoped that we could all be together in person but, because of Covid constraints, only some of us could come together, in person, while others joined us on Zoom. A prototypical hybrid event, becoming more common during this era. Kyle Bonesteel, Illinois’ seventh prescribing psychologist, and his talented wife Rosy Bonesteel, co-hosted the event, outdoors on their spacious patio. We were very fortunate that we had a balmy summer’s evening (with the rain having thundered down just two hours before the start). Enjoyably, we were able to have a meaningful dialogue between our in-person audience (45 of us) and our Zoom audience (50 colleagues).
“The in-person audience came to Chicago from around the country, including: Florida, Virginia, Alabama, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. The Zoom audience was from out of the country and was representative of many states, including:Brazil, Canada, California, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Georgia, Nebraska, Iowa, Kentucky, Puerto Rico, Virginia, DC, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine.
“I noted the far-reaching participation in my opening remarks as well as the solid character, inherent in our culture, of psychologists: ‘We came from far and wide to be here this evening, despite a host of forces trying to keep us apart! But, as in everything we do, as psychologists, we persisted and persist we must!’
“Our keynote speakers were each exceptional: Anita Brown, Matheus Teles Araujo, Pat, and Jennifer Morrison. I will be talking more about our keynote speakers and the significant impact that they have had on our national and international Prescriptive Authority Movement, on social media.
“To see each other in person and to have been able to conduct conversation across state and national boundaries, was exhilarating! We celebrated the burgeoning growth of international interest in prescribing psychologists and the growth of our Illinois Prescriptive Authority Movement. We also celebrated the many RxP successes that we have had in other parts of the country. To have a vision for the growth of our field and, then, to see it coming to pass is an extraordinary experience. The hard work, the sleepless nights, the fierce political battles, melt away as the clouds open up and the sun shines brilliantly.” “The way we were…” (Barbra Streisand). Aloha, (2x)