As I reflect on the first three months of my Presidential year for IPA, I could not be more impressed by the energy and growth I have observed among our members and leaders. This association’s Executive Council Members, Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs, Committee Members, and Liaisons commit countless hours of volunteered time to IPA in addition to their active work and home lives. Additionally, IPA is fortunate to have devoted individuals serving in contracted positions (i.e., Executive Director, Director of Professional Affairs, Lobbyist, Training Director, Bookkeeper) who consistently exceed expectations in fulfilling their responsibilities to serve IPA members and to support the Executive Council. I appreciate this opportunity to highlight only a few of the many initiatives and accomplishments of these outstanding psychologists and professionals.

IPA’s Executive Council (EC) consists of 12 members who conduct the foundational business of the association through six Council meetings per year and numerous additional communications. I have been honored and grateful to serve with this group of thoughtful and committed psychologists whose overarching goal is to promote the needs and desires of membership and, ultimately, the individuals we serve. Each EC member dedicates seemingly tireless energy to their efforts to ensure IPA is serving its membership as effectively as possible. This amazing group of individuals deserves a wealth of gratitude for their volunteered time and leadership.

The Iowa Psychological Association is pleased to announce that we have again been awarded a Small State Operational Grant from APA services in the amount of $10,000 to help fund our lobbyist services. The grant will be used to go toward offsetting the lobbyist expense to help support IPA’s 2022 legislative agenda:

1. Continue to advocate for parity in telehealth for services provided by psychologists.

I was a nontraditional student at my undergraduate and graduate schools. In fact, I sought out psychology to answer specific personal questions as well as questions that I’d encountered in my work as a Franciscan nun. To summarize the content of my wondering mind I’d say at a personal level I wanted to know the following: a) who am I? b) why am I here? c) where do I go after I’m no longer here? From my work with young women in Cameroon I wanted to find out how to heal invisible wounds that manifest as struggles in interpersonal relationships especially in communal living situations. At the time I was thinking that most people can do okay within their families but if you have to interact with others who don’t know you the way family does, you need more.

School was extremely hard because every class that wasn’t directly responding to one or the other of these questions was like torture to me. Additionally, I’m a sensitive action-oriented individual who likes to get things done the easiest way possible and with high efficiency. I like seeing things done and assessing outcomes and making changes. I don’t know how true this happens in real life but I’m fiercely dedicated to this way of living which leaves makes me not so fun to be around if you don’t like change or take your time to digest life before you move on. I’d love to be that way naturally but it’s not my default but I’m making progress as I gain more wisdom with time. Challenges with graduate school and a desire to know myself better led me to seek out my first therapist.

January is often a time of reflection, prioritization, and rededication to what brings the most value and meaning to our lives. We all have finite time, energy, and resources, and we know the importance of being intentional about how we expend those. Throughout the year, it is easy to get caught up in a multitude of tasks, engagements, and responsibilities, some of which may drain rather than replenish us. This January, I am recommitting to tasks, activities, organizations, and relationships that match my personal values and bring joy and meaning to my life, and I invite you to do the same. 

Being a member of IPA and serving in a leadership role in this organization are excellent ways to develop community, gain leadership and advocacy experience, serve others, and advance the psychological wellbeing of the people of Iowa. I will acknowledge that, although I have been a member of IPA for more than 15 years, it was not until I joined leadership that I really began developing relationships with other IPA members. By serving as co-chair of the Membership Committee, I have had the pleasure of getting to know so many of our fabulous members who are doing amazing work throughout the state. I am so grateful for that opportunity!

Dear IPA Members,

I hope you each are enjoying the last days of 2021 and hoping that 2022 is a safe and happy one for you, bringing you many blessings and much joy.

This blog first appeared on the PSYowa blog, a public education blog that can be shared on social media or emailed to friends and family. The link for the public post is found here. 

Holidays are often sources of joy, connection, and celebration for people all over the world. However, we sometimes forget that they can also be reminders of painful losses and loneliness. Even before the pandemic the holidays were often sources of stress for many of us. With the pandemic impacting all of our lives in many ways, holidays haven’t looked like they used to. We have had to connect with loved ones through nursing homes and hospital windows, we’ve had to Facetime friends and family when we normally would’ve joined in person, and many of us have lost friends and family members who have been an important part of our holidays. For some, the holidays will continue to be very different this year. Dealing with this ongoing disruption in the traditions we hold dear can lead to struggles with our well-being and our mental health. 

Today's blog post is a submission from one of IPA's student members. Student membership is an important part of IPA. If you'd like to mentor a student member, please contact Alissa Doobay. You can also visit the website for donation to sponsor a student here. 

Yoga For First Responders (YFFR) and Yoga Shield (YS) is programming developed via consultations with fire departments and police departments over the last 6 years by yoga instructor Olivia Mead and her staff at YFFR. It consists of tactical breathing drills and applications, physical drills, integrated cognitive declarations, as well as neuro-reset (mindfulness) exercises, all designed to process stress, build resiliency, and enhance performance related to the culture and job demands of first responders, law enforcement, and military types of work. YFFR has developed curriculum to train “in house” instructors over 6-day initial YFFR and YS approaches and then have internal training of curriculum at a specific police or fire departments, academy and now also military units with a “train the trainers” approach. I am grateful to have signed up for a recent training class and completed the Level 1 and Level 2 training program though Iowa Army Guard and Air Guard initiative in early summer 2021.  

I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my impressions and experiences from this training. I’m including references from some recommended reading by YFFR in addition to a few books I professionally find valuable. Please feel free to contact me with impressions, thoughts, or interest. 

The Iowa Psychological Association (IPA) has been working diligently on your behalf to promote and advocate for the science and practice of psychology in Iowa. In the past year we’ve made significant progress toward many of our key initiatives and we continue to work tirelessly for all licensed psychologists in our state. In this letter we will provide some updates regarding IPA’s recent advocacy work and victories, recognize IPA psychologist leaders, provide updates regarding strategic plan initiatives, and highlight upcoming continuing education opportunities.  

IPA’s advocacy efforts have been in overdrive the past 18 months. IPA’s Advocacy Team includes the State Advocacy Coordinator (Paul Ascheman, PhD), Federal Advocacy Coordinator (JoAnna Romero Cartaya, PhD), IPA Training Director (Matt Cooper, PsyD), and IPA Lobbyist (Amy Campbell). The newest member of the IPA Advocacy Team is Dr. Bethe Lonning, IPA’s Director of Professional Affairs (DPA). Dr. Lonning has done an excellent job in her unique role which includes advocating for the needs of psychologists regarding the professional practice of psychology and serving as a liaison between IPA and professional associations, governmental agencies, Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), private insurance agencies, and other institutions. Dr. Lonning has been a trailblazer during her inaugural year as DPA. She has served as an invaluable resource for many Iowa psychologists regarding issues related to insurance reimbursement, CPT codes, payer credentialing, and Medicare and telehealth guidelines. IPA is also grateful for the support of the Iowa Psychological Foundation who provided a generous grant to help fund the DPA position and Dr. Lonning’s work.  

For more than 25 years, the Iowa Psychological Foundation (IPF) has existed as a non-profit organization to raise funds to benefit psychology in Iowa. IPF is a 501c3, so your donations are tax deductible (unlike IPA, which is not eligible for non-profit status because some of its funds pay a lobbyist). 

In a nutshell, IPF’s 8-member board raises money then gives it away. We hope you will consider donating through the webpage or by supporting the upcoming auction at the Spring Conference. 

What a glorious beginning to another fall season in Iowa! As a transplant to Iowa from California, I never tire of leaves changing, the weather turning colder, a new school year underway, and the football games, homecoming parades, and community events that are come to life in the college community where I live.

Fall is the time of national and state elections that determine much of what will come in the years ahead. The same is true for IPA! I am excited at the beginning of this fall season to have our IPA elections completed and look forward to some new faces on the IPA Executive Council. 

As a Health/Rehabilitation Psychologist in a hospital setting, my role is very different from psychologists practicing in private practice or other settings. On any given day, I may provide psychological services to patients, conduct staff trainings, consult with the healthcare team and provide treatment recommendations, participate in team meetings, train students, engage in scholarly research, and a myriad of other professional activities. No two days are alike in my role, and new and exciting challenges keep me stimulated and engaged. In this blog post, I will provide a “snapshot” of what a typical day may look like in my role as a health/rehabilitation psychologist.

I work at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital on a CARF accredited rehabilitation unit. CARF accreditation stands for Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and ensures that quality of care is being provided and internationally recognized rehabilitation standards are being met. The population on our rehabilitation unit consists of patients with neurologic disorders (e.g., traumatic brain injury, stroke), patients with amputations, traumatic burns, orthopedic injuries, physical deconditioning secondary to various medical conditions (e.g., cancer), spinal cord injury, amputation, and any other medical concern that would require acute rehabilitation. For someone to qualify for acute rehabilitation, they need to meet requirements as outlined by the Centers for Medicaid Services (CMS), and have a medical condition that requires inpatient medical rehabilitation. Patients on our unit participate in at least three hours of therapy per day, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech language pathology. The “core” members of our multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment team consist of physiatrists (i.e., rehabilitation physician), physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, recreational therapists, social workers, care coordinators, intake coordinators, pharmacists, registered dietitians, nurses, health/rehabilitation psychologists, and neuro-psychologists. Other specialties may be consulted including specialty physicians (e.g., neurology, nephrology, cardiology, palliative care), diabetes educators, psychiatrists, Certified Alcohol Drug Counselor (CADC), and chaplains. Each member of the multidisciplinary team addresses patients’ presenting concerns from their own unique lens. All team members are working toward the same overarching goals: increase functionality, quality of life, and assist patients with returning to the community to live independently. 

Since the restarting of the School Psychology graduate program at University of Iowa in Fall 2020, a portion of the first cohort got involved with IPA. Our first spotlight on graduate student members includes Vanessa Chahin, Eric Field, and Gennifer Humphreys, who are all entering their second year in the new program.

What made you want to join IPA?

I could not be more pleased as I review the membership trends that Dr. Alissa Doobay, Co-Chair of the Membership Committee, diligently updated this year to allow continued tracking of the committee’s outcomes. Two trends immediately captured my attention. First, we experienced the greatest one-year increase in the total number of members, primarily driven by the largest one-year increase in full members with advocacy since we began tracking in 2000. Second, we experienced an increase in student members that returned us to our 2019 number, after a significant drop in student membership from 2019 to 2020 that appeared to be associated with the unfortunate cancellation of the 2020 spring conference. Additionally, we celebrated robust retention across all membership categories this year.

The Membership Committee has implemented a number of tactics in line with the committee’s overarching Strategic Plan goals of Connection, Recruitment, and Retention that have assisted in promoting the notable increases in membership numbers. Additionally, a number of initiatives from IPA’s Executive Council and our fabulous committees have been instrumental in promoting connection, recruitment, and retention.

Happy Summer!

This can be a busy time of year, full of transitions for many of us; swimming lessons and summer activities for kids, potentially the first travel many of have done for over a year as we head out on vacation, late nights and early mornings as days with longer sunlight allow time for time in the garden, long walks, and barbeques.

We have all been through at least one of those experiences where you get to the end and look back and say, “I am glad I did that but I would never want to do it again.” Completing the requirements to become a prescribing psychologist (RxP) to licensure has certainly not been one of those experiences. If I had the time, I would do all the training over again as there is so much useful information to learn. From the first day of psychopharmacology class in January of 2017 to the first day I was legally able to write a prescription, which was June 21st, 2021, each milestone along the way has been very enjoyable. There was not a single time I thought, “What the heck have I gotten myself into?”

I attended undergraduate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the 1990s. While trying to build a resume for application to graduate school I worked at the clinic of Dr. Matthew Nessetti, who was one of the early presidents of Division 55 (Society for Prescribing Psychology). It was from his energy and enthusiasm about psychopharmacology and his vision for the future of psychologists being able to practice medicine, that I too became excited for RxP before I ever set foot into graduate school. That is when the chase began. 

The IPA Membership Committee launched the Student Mentorship program in the Fall of 2020. The primary goal of this program is to increase student engagement in IPA early in their doctoral training by building relationships between current members and doctoral students in psychology training programs. An additional goal for this program is to promote professional endeavors of students and interns within the state of Iowa through their increased engagement. All student members of IPA are provided with the opportunity to be connected with a mentor. At present, IPA has 30 student members, and 35 IPA members have volunteered to serve as mentors.

Over the past month, mentors and mentees participating in this program were invited to share about their experiences, both to highlight the benefits, as well as to identify aspects of the program that may need some reworking. Thank you to those of you who responded!

Before beginning graduate school in counseling psychology, I had been actively discerning the psychiatry route versus the psychology path. I have always been fascinated with the biological aspects of mental health, but psychotherapy was (and remains) my first love. When I learned that virtually no psychiatrists still practice psychotherapy (and even fewer practice it as their primary treatment), I knew psychiatry was not the right fit for me. While I grieved being able to integrate prescribing into my practice, I foreclosed on that option and moved on.

While I was early in graduate school, I became aware that New Mexico and Louisiana had granted prescribing authority to psychologists. I am somewhat obsessive when it comes to reading about topics of interest, and I immediately read any article, journal, or book I could find on prescribing psychology (commonly abbreviated RxP). The more I learned, the more interested I became. I even wrote a paper in my Ethics course on the topic, considering the implications for professional identity and ethical practice.

In 2016, after practicing psychology for a little over 5 years I decided to return to graduate school to study Human Factors Engineering. Apart from being a lover of learning and a glutton for punishment, I had begun to realize both the importance of technology in mental health and the deficits in the design of those technologies. Fast forward 5 years and another degree later, I have learned even more about this.

The use of mobile applications to address health and mental health is growing exponentially. According to IQVIA (2017) there are over 300,000 health related mobile applications available and nearly 100 more being added daily. Of the overall number of health apps, more than 10,000 relate to mental health (Torous et al., 2018). Despite the apparent proliferation of mental health applications, 90% of all current mental health app use can be narrowed down to just two apps, Calm and Headspace (Wasil et al., 2020). Some of that may be due to the lack of usability, credibility, and trustworthiness of some of the apps on the market.