Dear Reader,
Welcome to On Board with Professional Psychology, the newly-revamped publication of the American Board of Professional Psychology! I am excited you are here.
It is my honor to serve as Editor of this publication, working closely alongside the ABPP Communication Committee and Board of Trustees.
Despite the challenges of serving as a mental health professional in modern times, I still think it is very cool to be board-certified. Board certification is the highest level of professional credentialing within our field, and being boarded signifies a particular commitment to quality, wisdom, and expertise. Being boarded also connects you to an amazing network of dedicated professionals, comprising over 4500 psychologists across 17 specialty areas. Only about 5% of licensed psychologists are board-certified, but our specialists serve as leaders, innovators, and experts within their fields, perpetuating an emphasis on professional competency and high-quality service.
So many interesting things are happening within the field of professional psychology, and our specialists are at the forefront of these endeavors. It excites me to think about the diversity of experience, knowledge, and perspectives within our membership – I hope that On Board can be an effective venue to share these with each other.
It is my aspiration that On Board will serve as a mechanism to:
- foster connection and knowledge-sharing among ABPP specialist communities
- attract more professionals to pursue board certification
- increase connections between specialists and the general public
- appropriately reflect the diversity (in all its forms) of our readership
- highlight the relevance of our work to current events and trends
Our new title, On Board with Professional Psychology, elicits images of seafaring and navigation – both topics being culturally integral to the Hawaiian Islands from which I write. It takes many hands to sail a ship, and your voice is crucial for maintaining an effective, informed, coordinated crew. I hope this venue can help our community of specialists to not only keep the vessel afloat, but to chart and explore new waters together.
In this first issue, you’ll notice the reformatting of our design and aesthetic, as well as introductions to two newly affiliating specialty boards and our many newly-boarded specialists. For future issues, we will feature broader articles on relevant topics that are submitted by our membership, as well as updates from within our organization.
I welcome your ideas, contributions, feedback, suggestions, pitches, and letters. You can reach me at editor@abpp.org. Please contact me if you have ideas about how we can continue to improve On Board. Help us to elevate this publication so that it may guide our journey forward.
Welcome aboard! And bon voyage.
Sincerely,
Alexander Malik Khaddouma, PhD, ABPP
Licensed Psychologist | Board Certified in Couple and Family Psychology
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa