Welcome New Member!

Dr. Berman is only the second certified group therapist in greater Kansas City.  He loves conducting interpersonal groups for men and women who wish to deepen their relationships. Also, he sees individuals for issues like depression, anxiety, career problems, and trauma recovery. His website is www.TalkitOutKC.com

February Update

Below is a message that was sent out to MOPA members as part of a February update:

Dear fellow psychologists,
I hope you all are enjoying the unseasonably mild temperatures right now. I'm writing to give everyone some updates about what MOPA has been doing for you.

• We are arranging a meeting with MO Health Net to discuss 1) including Health and Behavior Codes as CPT codes that psychologists can request reimbursement for, and 2) eliminating the cap on the number of billable hours per month allowed for psychologists under Medicaid.
• HB 1082 (Wells) that would grant LPC's to ability to diagnose psychological disorders still has not been assigned to committee since it was second read on January 5th. One justification LPCs give (and legislators value) is the alleged lack of psychologists in rural areas of Missouri, with this bill granting constituents easier access to services.  Of course our rebuttal is that this would mean lower quality of care and potential harm to those same constituents, but we also provided the bills' sponsor (Rep. Wells) a list of Psychologists who work in his district if one should be needed.
• We continue to monitor HB 1032 (Allen) which grants LPCs the authority to conduct a full investigation into whether an individual is suitable as an adoptive parent. Surprisingly, psychologists are not listed on the bill as a discipline that can also conduct these evaluations. We are working to at the very least add psychologists to those qualified to conduct these evaluations and possibly prevent the bill form passing altogether.  We have received feedback from psychologists who conduct these evaluations and they are complex, require specific training and experience (which we belief LPCs lack) and have significant implications on people's lives. 
• Looming over the legislature this year is the budget and Missouri's anticipated $600 million shortfall.
• We are gearing up for our convention in St. Louis at the Regional Arts Center located in the Delmar Loop on March 23-24.  It will be an exciting event filled with great speakers and lots of other events. Hope to see everyone there. More details can be found by clicking here.
• SAVE THE DATE! Our Legislative Day in Jefferson City is scheduled for Wednesday April 4th. More details will be forthcoming as we near the event, but this is our chance to make the voice of psychology in Missouri heard by our lawmakers.  Please join us to meet with state senators and representatives and make a direct impact on the psychology landscape in our state.

Yours in service,
Richard P. Martielli, Ph.D., ABPP
MOPA President
Website: MOPAPresident.blogspot.com
Twitter: @DrRichMartielli
Facebook Page: Missouri Early Carerr Psychologists

Welcome New Member

Welcome to new member, Chris Kaisher.  Ms. Kaisher is currently in graduate school with an anticipated graduation date of August 2012.  She would like to work in a Christian counseling firm in or around Columbia, MO.  When she begins begin to practice she would like to focus on women's issues, boundaries, depression and anxiety.

Division 53 Survey Results

Div 53  (Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology) conducted a survey of psychologists regarding their perceptions of how our field will change in the next couple of decades. The results can be found here.

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.