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Associations
work to strengthen
membership numbers
(December
2005 Issue)
By Catherine Robertson Souter
In each of the New England states, anywhere from 35% to 50% of
licensed psychologists are also members of their state psychological
associations.
By definition, a psychological association is just that: a group
of psychologists working together toward a common goal or goals.
According to their mission statements, they work to "advance psychology
as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human
welfare" (from the Mass. Psychological Association Mission Statement).
Specifically, that can mean everything from offering continuing
education courses to providing an in-depth look at how the HIPAA
laws will affect a member's practice.
For instance, in N.H., membership includes discounts on continuing
education (CE) courses, admission and ethics credits for ethics
roundtables, a listing on the Web site (searchable by the general
public), opportunities to network and access to the association's
listserv, a forum for psychologists to discuss relevant issues.
Other states offer free CE credits for participating in focus groups
(Maine) or inclusion in a practitioner resource book made available
to hospitals across the state for referral purposes (Vermont).
A major role for state associations is as political advocate. N.H.,
for example, uses professional lobbyists to work with the state
legislature on issues that affect psychologists and other mental
health providers. They also act as advocates with insurance and
managed care issues, both in the legislature and directly with the
insurance industry.
"There is a discussion going on right now about prescriptive authority,"
says Russell Day, MHSA, executive director of the New Hampshire
Psychological Association. "There is a real mixed vote on this even
within the organization. But it is open for discussion and it is
being discussed."
As Sheila Comerford, executive director of the Maine Psychological
Association, points out, state associations are the best way for
an individual practitioner to keep abreast of current events that
may impact their business. When laws change, like the HIPAA laws,
the associations have provided factual information on how that law
will affect day-to-day practice.
"There is a lot happening at the state and federal level that
psychologists, unless they are involved in their state organization,
have no way of knowing about. That is critical in this day and age,"
she says.
In some cases, the laws being proposed can have a dramatic effect
on a psychologist's practice.
"For example," Comerford adds, "last year, the state legislature
had a bill up before it that said that psychologists would no longer
be reimbursed by Medicaid. We fought it and won but afterwards I
got calls from non-members saying, 'I just heard about this. What
happened?'"
"I would rather see them be members and be able to educate their
local legislators on these issues that affect them as small business
people."
Membership numbers have increased in times when there was greater
motivation to get involved. When changes occurred in health insurance,
for instance, more psychologists joined the associations.
"Years ago," says Betty Foy, administrative director for the Connecticut
Psychological Association, "when managed care first came along,
far more people joined to deal with all the issues that were raised."
So, with all that psychological associations have to offer, why
don't more people take advantage of them? That's a question that
the executive directors and membership committees would love to
answer. For some individual psychologists, it may be the additional
cost. For others, joining may seem like one more thing on their
agenda - especially if they will be asked to volunteer time on one
of the committees or to petition legislators.
Across the region, each association has plans to increase membership,
mostly through mailings or telephone campaigns. Vermont has also
presented members with lapel pins to raise awareness of and pride
in the association. Maine has seen some success with a unique approach
- hosting small membership parties throughout the state at individual
members' offices.
"We've made a concerted effort to introduce new members to the
association and it has been fairly successful," says Comerford.
In Maine, nearly 50% of the licensed psychologists are members
- approximately 270 members. "We've seen a steady increase over
the past three to four years," says Comerford.
In N.H., there are currently 300 members, about 50% of the state's
licensed psychologists. Because of a regime change (there was no
executive director for a short time), the numbers had gone down
but they are back to what is considered normal.
In Conn., there are 676 members, about 45% of the state's 1,500
total licensees. They expect to see closer to 700 soon as a result
of a half-price special for new members offered at the annual convention
in October. They have also introduced a reduced fee scale to attract
more early-career psychologists.
Vermont has had an increase in membership over the past year -
from 143 to 218 out of 466 licensed psychologists who are also state
residents, which puts them at 47%.
Of course, these percentages aren't always a true test of how well
an association is doing. As Rosanna Czermak, the executive director
for Vermont, points out, percentage numbers may be affected in the
New England area by the fact that many psychologists have dual or
even triple licenses - but they would probably not join every state
association where they are licensed.
"Still, we know that it's important that we encourage as many in
Vermont as possible to join," says Czermak. "We are very active
legislatively with three bills that we are working on. One on access
to mental health has gone through the House and we are working to
get it through the Senate."
"Our membership hovers at around 2,000 psychologists," says Massachusetts
Psychological Association Board Secretary Elizabeth Pierce, Ph.D.
"There is some change month to month but it's basically about 2,000.
There are approximately 5,000 licensed psychologists in Mass. although
about 4,000 of them actually live in Mass. so there are a number
of people who maintain Mass. licenses that live out of state. There
has been a slight drop in the past couple of years although it is
pretty consistent."
R.I.'s association has close to 200 members, about 35% of the licensed
psychologists.
"The numbers stay really stable," says Jack Hutson, executive director.
"We've probably snuck up a tiny bit because the board has been more
proactive about talking to folks who had not renewed.
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