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The authority of APA to represent the science of psychology and the interests of its members comes from the work of professional psychologists who create, teach, advocate, and apply our life-serving science. Most of us became psychologists or want to become psychologists to have an impact on people’s lives and the world. I am running for APA President to raise the voice of professional psychologists, to ensure that our interests are represented and addressed in APA, and to secure a future for those who wish to enter the field. Drawing from the foundation of our unique skills and knowledge, we can help to address a full range of societal issues from improving individual lives to impacting global concerns.

 

These are key issues facing APA:

 

APA must support a psychology profession that is inclusive, and representative of our diverse communities. During a time of uncertainty and great challenge, we need to encourage and build on APA’s vision of collaboration among individuals and groups with varying perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences both within our ranks and the society at large. APA’s commitment to applying our science as a diverse, unified community of scholars, clinicians, educators, and applied practitioners will enable our efforts to address major societal concerns and flourish as a profession.

 

We need to encourage and actively assist those entering the field and ensure that education is accessible and affordable. The cost of education is a major barrier. No one should graduate into the profession burdened by excessive debt.

 

APA must help psychologists thrive. As a profession we are underpaid and underfunded, severely limiting our ability to do our work in our chosen areas. The newly released parity study from the Research Triangle Institute* highlights how low reimbursement rates for behavioral health care impacts insurance network participation and consumer access to care.

 

APA should be more intentional and innovative in addressing reimbursement and funding at the federal level. APA needs to provide more support to SPTAs for advocacy in their jurisdictions. APA should develop models for how psychologists can participate in medical business entities as independent professionals who are properly paid for the work they do.

 

APA must help psychologists address the impact of corporatization on practice. We are seeing the impact of for-profit corporate entities impinging on our ability to work and practice as we choose to best serve our communities. Mega corporations are vertically integrating administrative services and practices. That gives them a competitive advantage and huge influence in the future of the healthcare arena.

 

Investor-owned entities, whether publicly traded or private equity, are entering community markets sometimes buying independent practices. They will make decisions about their business and care in their corporate interests, and not for psychologists or consumers. Psychologists need to understand the implications of choosing to align with these entities and they need strategies to successfully compete in markets infiltrated by these companies.

 

APA’s revision of the Model Licensing Act must consider the interests of the public and of practicing psychologists. This is a key reason I feel compelled to run for the presidency now: APA intends to endorse licensure in health service psychology at the master’s level. The APA community has not given adequate consideration to potential unintended consequences of this major policy change for professional psychologists current and future.

 

Everyone in the APA community needs to learn about these issues and consider the implications of this major policy change. It is essential that the Board of Directors have at least one member who has been closely involved in regulation and the development of the proposed standards for licensing master’s practice to help the APA community to learn about and discuss these concerns, before APA decides how to proceed. I have that experience.

 

APA must address developing issues with interjurisdictional practice. APA should continue to advocate for continued flexibilities at the federal level, and there are unintended consequences arising with the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) that APA can address.

 

APA must address how insurance company tactics impact our ability to practice and whether psychologists will continue to participate in healthcare systems. Beyond underpaying for services, insurance company practices are driving psychologists away from insurance panels. Healthcare practice models are diverging between those who practice within the organized healthcare system and those who chose to work outside of it. If the trend is to work independent of these structures, then psychology may become peripheral to healthcare systems, such that psychological science and psychologists will not be included in the future.

 

APA can assist state provincial and territorial associations (SPTAs) to help students and early career psychologists (ECPs) enter the field of psychology. APA can develop and financially support resources that enable state, provincial and territorial associations (SPTAs) to create and sustain educational programs to assist students and ECPs to pursue further education, navigate licensing, and find work opportunities that meet their goals. These local resources will often be more accessible and relevant to students and ECPs than those provided at the national level. Students and ECPs will connect with their SPTAs, building collaborative relationships in their local professional communities.

 

APA can facilitate efforts to create interest among middle school, high school, and college-aged students about professional psychology as a career. Psychologists need to reach out to students to develop their interest in professional psychology as a career and to support them to access graduate education. APA can develop and support programs to enable SPTAs to do this outreach.

 

All APA members can engage in advocacy and action to improve people’s lives in meaningful ways, sharing what our psychological science has to offer. Most of us are not able to be involved on a grand scale, but we can engage in our local communities, SPTAs, divisions and other organizations to advocate and work for social change.

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APA needs to help psychologists to use developing technologies appropriately. Technology is going to continue to have a huge impact on all realms of psychology. APA needs to support research into how information technology especially artificial intelligence and digital therapeutics can be used to enhance psychological knowledge and services; and the limitations and potential consequences that may arise from its use. In education, how will AI impact how students learn to conceptualize, research, reference and write? In the clinical and applied realms, we must understand how AI can compromise privacy, be inaccurate, and reflect biases that undermine addressing the diverse needs of all. APA must promote psychologists as the developers of digital therapeutics, and our qualifications to prescribe and oversee their usage.

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APA governance should be more transparent to the membership.  I am advocating for greater transparency and involvement of the membership throughout the organization. Over the past several years I have been active in the Council Effectiveness Workgroup project that has sought to improve the ability of the Council to function as the association’s legislative body. In the next three years I would like to see APA commit to greater transparency by making all Council and Board meetings accessible to all members through video conferencing or webcasting. I will also advocate for APA to institute the Council Effectiveness Implementation Oversight Workgroup’s policy portal as the workgroup envisioned it. These two actions will make it possible for members to be informed about policy development and participate in the process.

 

What happens at APA matters to psychological science, our profession, to you and to those who will come after you.

 

I am asking for your #1 vote so that I can help lead us into a successful future. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

The APA Presidential Election is August 1 to September 15, 2024

Vote for the future of professional psychology!

 

Peter Oppenheimer for APA President 2024 Campaign

oppenheimerapa@gmail.com

Phone: 401-305-0434

 

Contributions are appreciated

Zelle: oppenheimerapa@gmail.com

Venmo: @Peter-Oppenheimer-9

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*Mark, T. L., & Parish, W. J. (2024). Behavioral health parity – Pervasive disparities in access to in-network care continue. RTI International. https://dpjh8al9zd3a4.cloudfront.net/publication/behavioral-health-parity-pervasive-disparities-access-network-care-continue/fulltext.pdf