[DIV28M] ACTION ITEM: Psychologists working in addictions need your action!

ADVOCACY REQUEST!

 

PSYCHOLOGISTS WORKING IN ADDICTION NEED YOUR ACTION

 

 

TO:      All licensed psychologists

            All students preparing to be licensed psychologists

 

 

Psychologists who work in the area of addictions treatment and training need your help.  Specifically we need you to alert appropriate stakeholders to sign a petition to alert the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association (APA) to a problem that needs attention: The certificate for the Recognition of Proficiency in the Psychological Treatment of Alcohol and Other Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders needs reinstatement.  To sign go to http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/reopening/ .

 

Background

 

APA formally recognized Division 50, now known as the Society of Addiction Psychology (SOAP), in 1993.  The division serves the needs of the field and psychologists who work in the area of addictions treatment, research, and training.  Together with Division 28 (Psychopharmacology & Substance Abuse), many psychologists worked for years to establish a Proficiency in the Psychological Treatment of Alcohol and Other Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders.  The Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology (CRSPPP) formally recognized the proficiency in 1993.  Thereafter, the College of Professional Psychology within APA began to offer a certificate of recognition for the proficiency to licensed psychologists successfully demonstrating their knowledge and experience.  To gain a certificate, an applicant needed to demonstrate stature as a licensed psychologist in any state, relevant experience, passing an exam, and maintenance of regular continuing education in the area of addictive behaviors.

 

The proficiency itself has been renewed on two occasions and stands through 2015. The proficiency and its need are not in doubt.  Instead, what is at stake is the availability of the certificate of recognition.  This is a useful tool for practitioner credibility within the marketplace and with official stakeholders such as insurance providers.  It also provides psychologists with a means to have a credential developed and maintained by psychologists, appropriate to our level and field of preparation, for work in this area.  This is in marked contrast to psychologists needing to see credentials from non-doctoral and non-psychological organizations, a situation that is now in place since the retirement of the certificate by APAin January of 2011.

 

 

This decision to retire the certificate took place more than two years ago, without input from Division 50 board.  Since our discovery of this decision, we have engaged on numerous occasions with APA staff in person and in writing.  The goal of these communications has been to determine how and who made the decision, the basis of the decision, how this affects psychologists already holding the certificate, and opportunities to reverse the decision.

 

What we discovered in this process is that the decision derived from financial concerns.  Licensed psychologists were not signing up in sufficient numbers to support the effort needed to sustain the certificate financially.  The effort to maintain an offering includes such things as staff time to address inquiries, create and manage advertising, manage records related to continuing education and certificate status, and managing processes around the offering of an exam, including maintenance of the exam as valid.

 

What is important is that the division still maintains the proficiency.  The proficiency itself is still recognized by APA and several states as a valid and useful credential.  APA's College of Professional Psychology also is continuing to maintain certificate renewals for individuals who already have it.  Additionally, however, the current state of affairs remains that there is no ability for new practitioners to get the certificate through APA. 

This creates a barrier to new and seasoned practitioners in the field who seek such a credential for the current and future marketplace.  This is both unfair within our profession and creates credibility problems for those who do not have the certificate relative to those who do have it.

 

This is also happening at a time when discussions of the need for a national credential are taking place both for clinical and even training in this area.  This has been evidenced by discussions and public presentations at national meetings of addictions counselors (NADAAC) and organizations focused on addictions training at all levels of preparation (INCASE).  These organizations also seek and are prepared to push for legislation to have their states require credentials to teach and practice in addictions, irrespective of any other license they may have.

 

Action Requested

 

In light of these changes to healthcare reform, particularly related to mental health and addiction parity, opportunities to provide addictions services will increase.  And so psychologists need to put their best foot forward and be prepared to meet this need.

 

To this end, we ask you to sign our petition to the APA Board of Directors to: 

 

1.  Immediately reinstate the certificate for the recognition of the Proficiency in the Psychological Treatment of Alcohol and Other Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders;

 

2.  Work collaboratively with the Society of Addiction Psychology (Division 50) to develop a long-term plan to maintain the utility of the certificate for licensed psychologists;

 

3.  Work collaborative with all current and future licensed psychologists to insure access to an appropriate credential for psychologists in addiction so that they are not at risk for having their teaching, training, and clinical work inappropriately impinged upon by standards of other professional groups;

 

4.  Work collaboratively with the APA Council to insure no certificate for proficiency is retired without discussion by all stakeholders.

 

 

To sign, please go to:  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/reopening/ .

 

Signers must be licensed psychologists or students who plan to seek licensure as a psychologist.

 

For more information, please send us any questions or communications through the link at the petition site.

 

We thank you for your attention. 

 

- The Division 50 Board

 

P.S.

If you would like an article to publish in a newsletter in your local about this matter, please contact me.

I am happy to make one available to you to help you get the word out on this issue.

 

Nancy A. Piotrowski, Ph.D.

Core Faculty, General Psychology & Lead, Addiction Psychology

Harold Abel School of Social and BehavioralSciences

Department of Psychology, College of Professional Studies, Capella University

 

Federal Advocacy Coordinator, Division 50, American Psychological Association

Past President, Napa Solano Psychological Association 

Website Chair, San Francisco Psychological Association

 

3450 Geary Boulevard, Suite #107

San Francisco, CA  94118

Phone & FAX by request

 

Email:              napiotrowski@yahoo.com

ALT Email:       PiotrowskiConsultation@gmail.com

Skype:             napiotrowski

 

 

 "Not all those who wander are lost..." -J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954.