Opportunity for Free CBT-I training

We have elected to participate in a National Dissemination and Implementation grant for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. Support for this project is pending with the federal government (NIH/NHLBI). As part of the bid for funding we need to have therapists in our association complete a brief 9 item survey. If you have an interest in Insomnia and acquiring CBT skills to treat this disorder, please complete the questionnaire located at www.cbt‐i.com (Login). The Username and Password are Therapist and Survey, respectively. Please note that the survey is for research purposes and is voluntary. Additional information may be found at the above web site or by Contacting the study PI, Michael Perlis (mperlis@upenn.edu).

I have been in talks with Dr. Perlis re: this study and if we have enough therapists complete the survey and express an interest in participating, there is an opportunity to receive free supervised training as well as free manuals associated with CBT-I.  I know that in my practice insomnia is very prevalent and a recent article from the American Journal of Public Health entitled "The medicalization of sleeplessness: a public health concern" discussed how the diagnosis of insomnia has increased from 1993-2007 and how people are being overtreated with "marginally effective, expensive medications with nontrivial side effects".
Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21680913

PLEASE NOTE THAT INVOLVEMENT IN THIS STUDY IS ONLY OPEN TO MOPA MEMBERS. 

Eliminate the Post-Doc Year?

The issue of whether or not to eliminate the requirement for a supervised postdoctoral year in order to become licensed in Missouri has been hotly debated amongst our Board as well as amongst members.  If you’d like to weigh in with your thoughts, add your comment to the discussion by clicking the "comments" link below.

MOPA Announces new Rep. to serve on APA's Council of Representatives

Congratulations to Brick Johnstone, Ph.D., new MOPA representative on APA's Council of Representatives (COR).

The APA sent ballots to all Missouri Psychological Association members who are members of APA on November 18.  The election closed January 3.  The ballots have been counted and the Election Committee has certified the election.  On behalf of Garnett Coad & the APA Election Committee we are pleased to announce that Brick Johnstone, Ph.D., has been elected. as MOPA's Representative to the COR. Dr. Johnstone’s term will begin immediately.  Dr. Johnstone is preceeded by Ken Bohm, Ph.D., who served in the role of COR Representative for the previous 6 years.  We are thankful for the outstanding work that Dr. Bohm has done for MOPA and for all the psychologists in Missouri. Dr. Bohm will continue to consult with MOPA Board members as needed

Survey Request and chance to win $50 Gift Card

Reposting this request:

You are being asked to participate in a dissertation research study regarding various theoretical frameworks and therapeutic techniques utilized by Licensed Mental Health Professionals. Should you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete two measures and two demographic/background information sheets, which will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Participation is anonymous and when finished, you will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for one of four $50 Amazon.com gift cards. Please click on the following link to participate:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/larauscher

2010 Report Released from the APA Presidential Task Force on Psychology’s Contribution to End Homelessness

The American Psychological Association’s (APA) Public Interest Directorate has recently released a 2010 report from the APA Presidential Task Force on Psychology’s Contribution to End Homelessness. Helping People Without Homes evaluates contributing factors to homelessness in the United States and discusses the role that psychologists can play in alleviating homelessness.

A state report card issued from The National Center on Family Homelessness recently ranked Missouri 32nd (out of 50) in the nation for child homelessness, based upon the number of homeless children, their well-being, risk for child homelessness, and state policy/planning activities. A particularly poignant report from CBS News’ “60 Minutes” airing earlier this year, highlighted the living conditions of homeless children in the United States, and brought to light the continued need for informed action by both the private and public sectors.

An electronic copy of the APA report can be found by clicking here.

Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and Behavioral Health Integration.

APA comments promote mental health screening and integration of mental and behavioral health services in NCQA medical home mode.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently released a new version of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Patient-Centered Medical Home Survey (CAHPS PCMH Survey) for use beginning in January 2012. Earlier this year, NCQA released its PCMH 2011 standards. Both the PCMH survey and standards reflect efforts to integrate mental and behavioral health into NCQA’s medical home model.

For full story click here.

APA Announces 2012 State Leadership Conference Awardees

Congratulations to Denise H. Bike, MS from the University of Missouri who is the South Central Regional Advocacy Coordinator for the APAGS ACT (Advocacy Coordinating Team).  She is MOPA's former Student Coordinator and is currently an officer in APAGs who is being funded by APA to attend and participate in the 2012 State Leadership Conference in Washington, DC. 

Also, your President and Early Career Psychology Chair has been granted funding to attend and participate in the 2012 SLC as an Early Career Psychologist Delegate.  I look forward to reporting back to MOPA on my experience in DC.  

Monthly Listing from our Sponsor the APA Insurance Trust

To be taken directly to the APAIT website, click here.

Missouri's Efforts re: Evidence-Based Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders

Follow the link below to check out Missouri's Efforts re: Evidence-Based Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders. 

From the website:

The Missouri Autism Guidelines Initiative is now  focused on developing the first comprehensive guide to evidence-based Interventions. Building on the success of its first publication on Screening, diagnosis, and assessment for intervention planning, An advisory committee of parents, health care professionals, anIndividual with ASD, educators and service providers is working to Summarize the latest evidence-based and peer-reviewed research to helpMake information on interventions more understandable. The documentWill provide the tools for making decisions about selection, implementation,and evaluation of interventions. It will be published in Summer 2012.

MOPA's own Dr. Janet Farmer, Dr. Micah Mazurek and Dr. Dawn Huber are all involved in this much-needed project. 

www.autismguidelines.dmh.mo.gov

Upcoming Conference in St. Louis

The Mental Health in Corrections Conference, sponsored by Forest Institute will take place on March 8-10, 2012 in St. Louis, MO.
For more information:  http://forest.edu/mhcc.aspx

Space for Lease in Springfield, MO

Office space available for office sharing or full-time lease.  Independent, fully licensed clinician desired. Lease includes use of established name of company, kitchen, office supplies, and phone services.  If interested, please call Center of Change at (417) 888-0886.

Petition the DSM-V

Though MOPA is not officially endorsing this petition, other Divisions of APA and other various practitioner-related associations seem to be supporting it. It is primarily supported through the Society for Humanistic Psychology, Division 32 of the American Psychological Association. I am posting the link on the blog for people to research and decide if they would like to sign the petition or not. Click here for the website for the petition. 

Health Care Innovation Challenge Announced

 To advance APA’s priorities of integrated health care and workforce development, we would like to call your attention to the new Health Care Innovation Challenge, which was recently announced by the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.  This major initiative will award up to $1 billion in grants to applicants who will implement the most compelling new models to deliver “better health, improved care, and lower costs to people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP [Children’s Health Insurance Program], particularly those with the highest health care needs.”  Applicants are encouraged to include new models of workforce development and deployment that efficiently support their service delivery model proposal, along with enhanced infrastructure to support more cost-effective, system-wide functioning. Individual grant awards will range from approximately $1 million to $30 million for a three-year period.  Funding will be directed to innovators who can deploy care improvement models within six months of the grant award through new or expanded efforts to serve new populations of patients, in conjunction (where possible) with other public and private sector partners.  Applications are open to providers, payers, local government, public-private partnerships, and multi-payer collaboratives.  Each project will be monitored for measurable improvements in quality of care and savings generated.

Potential applicants must submit a letter of intent by December 19, 2011, with applications due by January 27, 2012.  The anticipated award date is March 30, 2012.

To learn more about the Health Care Innovation Challenge and information about the application process, please read the Funding Opportunity Announcement.

To read an overview of the Health Care Innovation Challenge, including important deadlines, please read the Fact Sheet (PDF).

D-KEFS for sale

Delis-Kaplan Executive Functions System (D-KEFS) Complete Kit Box, as advertised in  Psych Corp catalogue.  Never used.  $330.00 plus shipping.  Please contact: Stanley Butts, Phone number 816-561-5556, Address:  800 W. 47th Street, Suite 514, Kansas City, MO 64112. 

Vote 10 for MOPA!

Dear fellow psychologists,

If you are also a member of APA, you should have ready received or will receive in the mail shortly your apportionmnet ballot from APA.  As I've mentioned in previous emails, by allotting all 10 of your votes to MOPA, you will give MOPA the greatest voice possible on APA's Council of Representatives.  If you've ever asked yourself what actions you can take that will have a direct impact on your daily practice, this is one of those actions. As we've seen with the BCBS KC rate cuts, at times we need APA to fight on our behalf. Also, a majority of MOPA's budget comes directly from CAPP grants which have recently been threatened. By voting all 10 votes to MOPA you will help sway budgetary decisions like this in the future and MOPA will be in a better position to remain financially solvent in order to serve our members better. 

VOTE 10 for MOPA!!!