It is hard to believe that my two-year term as President of ABPP has come to an end. It has been a busy, productive and satisfying time for me personally and professionally. I have so many to thank. Our Executive Officer, Dr. Cox, is a beacon of steady guidance and sage advice. He has the lay of the land of psychology in North America, keeps ABPP active in decision-making circles, and has good relationships with all the important players. Nancy McDonald, our Associate Executive Officer, offers wise counsel and is our organizational memory. She is our ‘go-to’ for all things ABPP. Our talented and dedicated central office staff (Lanette Melville, Diane Butcher and Kathy Holland) work tirelessly to keep our little engine moving forward; they are ever gracious and eager to help. Thank you! And to our Executive Committee and Trustees; you have made my time as president so much easier and more fun! We have truly accomplished a lot! And finally, to all the Specialty Board Presidents, with whom I was privileged to speak quarterly, thank you for your commitment to ABPP and for understanding that it takes a village. We must continue to work together to make board certification the accepted and expected final step of training in health service psychology.
Two years ago, when I began my term as President of ABPP, I identified several aims. And last year, I added a few more. Now, at the end of my term, I would like to quickly review those aims as I pass the role and responsibilities over to Dr. Day.
1. Information-Technology (IT)
Although it has taken us quite a few years to get our IT house in order, we have achieved that goal! In 2022, we entered a multi-year contract with Cerebral Consulting. Under the leadership of Dr. Rob Davis, we have a far improved process for all aspects of our workflow, most of which has been automated. We have had very positive feedback from our specialty boards; much of their IT is now covered under the ABPP contract as a cost savings to them. Although there are still some tweaks to be worked out, there is far less stress for our central office staff and for our specialists. Thanks to Rob Davis for his hard work, rapid responses and his deep understanding of the complexity that is ABPP. Kudos to you, Rob! Good thing you don’t need to sleep!
2. Diversity
Dr. Sharon Bowman is our Chair of Diversity, having taken over from Dr. Joel Frost, and I have enjoyed working with her this year. With her support, I reached out to the five Ethnic Psychological Associations to invite them to work with us to encourage Board Certification among their constituents. One outcome of that effort is that Dr. Bowman and a colleague will be presenting about ABPP board certification at next year’s Association of Black Psychologists conference in an effort to forge a closer partnership with them.
We now have complete workforce data about our specialists. Dr. Bowman will use that data to describe ABPP specialists in detail, which will, in turn, help us focus our marketing, recruitment and strategic efforts. We will be able to provide information to each Specialty Board about the composition of their specialists. This will help them encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds so they might mentor those applicants through the board certification process. Stay tuned for that analysis in a future edition of On Board.
3. Marketing
Our marketing committee has been busy organizing webinars, through CONCEPT, the TRUST and ABPP, providing CEs to our specialists, often for free. See a list of CONCEPT webinars and and other CE opportunities. Beginning in 2024, you will receive a link to a free Ethics webinar upon payment of attestation fees.
4. Psychologists in Public Service (PPS)
We have continued to forge relationships with the Department of Defense, Bureau of Prisons and VA systems, thereby raising ABPP’s profile. Our Psychologists in Public Service Committee is providing ‘warm handoffs’ for any Psychologist in public service who expresses an interest in exploring Board Certification in a specific specialty. We also now have a document available to all candidates that describes our privacy and HIPAA compliance practices to address barriers to PS submission at the VA and other institutions.
5. Re-imagining The Specialist
Our publication, previously known as ‘The Specialist’ has been re-imagined. It has a new name, ‘On Board with Professional Psychology’, a new look, and a new editor. Dr. Alex Khaddouma took over the reins in the summer of 2023 and published the first edition of ‘On Board’ in the early fall. You can find it here. Stay tuned for the next issue early in 2024. Please take the time to read it and share the link with all your contacts, especially those outside of ABPP.
Under Dr. Khaddouma’s leadership, the communications committee continues to consider options for our social media presence; this goal will move forward into next year.
6. Supporting our central office employees
Full health/medical benefits were provided for all Central Office staff this year. This is part of an ongoing effort to support our staff and has been well received. Of course, this has financial implications for ABPP (see below), but it is the right move as our organization grows and matures.
7. Financial Implications
Related to some of our ‘wins’ (funding IT and Benefits), we have had to make some adjustments that affect both our Board of Trustees (BOT) (one virtual meeting/year) and our SBs (6K stipends transitioned to needs-based). This decision was made for a period of two years and will be reviewed at the next BOT meeting in the context of budget realities at that time.
All leaders hope to leave their organization in a better place than they found it. Continuous improvement is the goal. I firmly believe that Dr. Pietz handed me an organization that was in a better place than when she found it and I hope that I have done the same for Dr. Day. It has been my honor to lead this organization for the past two years and I look forward to supporting Dr. Day as he begins his Presidential term.
Brenda J. Spiegler, PhD, CPsych, ABPP
Board Certified in Clinical Neuropsychology
Board Certified Subspecialist in Pediatric Neuropsychology
Past President of the American Board of Professional Psychology
Correspondence: bspiegler9@gmail.com