Maine Psychologist Today

APA President and CEO Condemn Violence at the Capitol 
Psychology is of immense value in a time of tragedy and trauma in America 

Dear APA Members, 

The recent storming of the U.S. Capitol has shocked our nation and the world. After 200 years of peaceful transfers of power between political parties, we were assaulted with images of rioters desecrating one of our greatest symbols of democracy. Regardless of our political views, we can agree that hate and violence toward each other are never acceptable.  

Read Full Letter
 

Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines 

Now that there are authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, accurate vaccine information is critical. Refer to these CDC Facts for accurate information:
COVID Vaccine Facts
Things to Know About the Pandemic

MePA Receives PSYPACT Grant from the APA 

The APA has awarded MePA a $3,500 grant to promote the passage of PSYPACT legislation in Maine. PSYPACT is an interstate compact created by the ASPPB to promote the practice of telepsychology and/or temporary face-to-face practice between states. To date, fourteen states have enacted PSYPACT legislation.  

Telepsychology has increased during the pandemic, demonstrating a great need in our communities for telehealth technology. The compact increases access to care, facilitates continuity of care when a client relocates or travels, certifies psychologists meet appropriate standards, promotes cooperation between states, and offers better consumer protection across state lines. 

This is the first time MePA has proposed PSYPACT legislation. Our lobbyist Robert Howe has drafted and submitted the bill to the Maine legislature. MePA will be looking for support from our membership to advocate for the passage of PSYPACT. If you have any questions, or would like to be involved, please email Amy Safford at asafford@mepa.org 

An Alarming Order: Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping 
Dr. Doug Kimmel: Letter to the Editor at the Ellsworth American 

Dear Editor: 

On Sept. 22, the U.S. President issued an executive order that caused me considerable alarm about our democracy. It is titled: “Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping.” I never anticipated that the U.S. government could actually prohibit the teaching of ideas it dislikes, or instruct “political appointees” within each government agency to enforce compliance with the government’s determination of correct information about racial issues based on social science.  

Read Full Article

Making Room at the Table: Trans/Nonbinary Pipeline to Counseling Psychology 
New resource developed by the Division 17 Special Task Group 

The Resource for Incorporating Trans and Gender Diverse Issues into Counseling Psychology Curricula is intended to aid counseling psychology educators in making their curricula more inclusive of concerns pertaining to transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse (TNG) populations.

TNG-affirming literature relevant to counseling psychology coursework 

Please direct any inquiries related to this resource to Mallaigh McGinley (they/them; mallaigh.mcginley001@umb.edu). 

Medicare Reimbursement Rate Updates 
Stephen R. Gillaspy, PhD, Senior Director, Health Care Financing 

Here is a link to our latest HUB post regarding Medicare changes for 2021. The post contains information on the 2021 Medicare conversion factor as well as several other important updates. 

The new federal legislation signed into law in late December 2020 directly impacts the 2021 Medicare conversion factor and reimbursement rates. Although this action does not completely reverse the 2021 reimbursement reductions for many services, it does diminish the drastic Medicare payment reductions originally scheduled to begin this month. 

We greatly appreciate all the advocacy efforts of our members and state psychological associations that lead to the December federal legislation. APA will continue to engage in advocacy efforts to address the Medicare conversion factor issue.  

FORBES: Federal Court Orders UnitedHealth To Fix 67,000 Behavioral Health Denials 
Posted Nov. 4, 2020 

The behavioral health division of UnitedHealth Group can no longer use its own “overly restrictive guidelines” to deny mental health and substance use treatment, a federal judge ordered Tuesday. The company must replace them with independent rules that will lead the nation’s largest insurer to pay for more treatment and pave the way for more challenges to health insurers’ ability to set their own guidelines for what treatment is medically necessary. 

Read Full Article

Suicide or Self-Directed Violence (SDV) Resources
Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research 

The field of Suicidology has long struggled with the lack of a universally agreed upon definition for suicide and associated terms. Though our center’s focus is Veteran suicide prevention and postvention, our clinical team has also created tools more generally helpful for providers. These include: 

• Self-Directed Violence Classification system nomenclature 

• Therapeutic Risk Management of the Suicidal Patient 

• How to Talk to a Child about a Suicide Attempt in Your Family 

Along with the virtual versions and training above, free print versions are also publicly available here. 

Neuropsychology Clinics and Virtual Exams 

After several months of a pandemic, mask wearing, hand sanitizer, and maintaining a social distance is like second nature for most people. The need for those measures is not lost on Margaret Lanca, Ph.D, director of adult neuropsychology and psychological testing and training at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) outside Boston. She developed a method of careful observation while keeping both patient and clinician safe. With computers, monitors, and cameras, clinicians can guide patients through an evaluation from a separate room while maintaining a visual connection with that patient. As neuropsychology is typically a hands-on discipline, this (approach) was a way [More] 

The post Massachusetts clinic has virtual take on neuropsychology exams first appeared on New England Psychologist 

Mental Health Resource Referrals for Communities and Law Enforcement  

On January 12, 2021, Dr. Deb Baeder, the state’s chief forensic psychologist, and Tom Connors, Supervisor of DHHS Intensive Case Managers (ICMs), presented to 100 participants the details of a resource for law enforcement for making mental health referrals to Intensive Case Managers or ICMs, whose function is to connect clients with appropriate resources.   

ICMs have been working in all the county jails and they are now accepting community-based referrals, including ones directly from law enforcement.  The target population is underserved adult clients with mental illness in the community who are at risk of arrest or incarceration.  One of the goals of the program is to lessen multiple police responses involving the same persons and reduce those situations that may lead to arrest or incarceration. 

Email to make a referral: icm.obh@maine.gov 

Intensive case managers and their contact information 

Access presentation 

Questions may be directed to Dr. Baeder (debra.baeder@maine.gov) 

or Mr. Connors (tom.connors@maine.gov). 

Recorded Webinars Now Available for Purchase and CE Credits: 
2 hours (2 CEUs) 
$20 Members 
$40 Non-members 

Visit MePA Continuing Education

MePA is now offering timely webinars you can view from your computer when it’s convenience for you to earn Continuing Education credits. 

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Panel 

Act Matrix Seminar 

Working with the LGBTQA+ Community Across the Lifespan 

MePA Telepsychology Webinar 

After watching, contact Amy Safford at asafford@mepa.org for a short quiz to earn CEUs. 

Weekly Soul 
New Book Release by Fred Craigie, Ph.D. 

Long-time Maine psychologist and MePA member, Fred Craigie, Ph.D., has released a thoughtful and wonderful collection with a touching dedication to deceased Maine psychologist Peter Flournoy, a past president of MePA who died from colorectal cancer in 2004.  

Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful and Peaceful Living  

A collection of 52 spiritually- and psychologically-informed weekly meditations, for both professional and general audiences, that invite readers into an exploration of resilience, integrative health, wellness and thriving. 

Weekly Soul is available in print and e-book (forthcoming) formats. For details, a reading of one of the meditations on the theme of Hope, and ordering information (with option of signed and personally-inscribed print copies), see https://www.goodnessofheart.com/ 

 The book is also available through the Publisher 

And at Amazon, Powell’s and other online merchants. 

History Matters: MePA’s First President Norman Munn, PhD 
By Dr. Ronald Breazeale, PhD 

Legend has it that the psychology faculty at Bowdoin, Bates, Colby and the University of Maine felt there should be a psychological association. After much discussion and debate they came together in 1950 and founded in the Maine Psychological Association. The purpose of the Association as stated in the bylaws "shall be to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health and human welfare". They elected Norman L Munn PhD as their first president. Dr. Munn was from Australia and was the chair of the psychology department of Bowdoin College.  

Dr. Munn had an interesting history. In Australia he had never attended high school, instead choosing to work and pursue bodybuilding at the YMCA. He came to the United States on a YMCA scholarship to Springfield College in Massachusetts where he completed the requirements for a bachelor's degree at Springville. A problem arose when it was discovered that he had not completed high school. After studying his academic record, however, the Dean at Springfield and the principal of Central High School arranged for Munn to be awarded a high school diploma. 

 Munn wanted to pursue graduate training in psychology. After his application was rejected by Clark University, he requested a meeting with Dr. Walter Hunter, the head of the psychology department. After an impassioned plea by Munn, he was admitted on probation. He had very little money to pay for graduate courses but long hours in the gym literally paid off. He took a part-time job at the art school near Clark where he would earn a dollar an hour as a nude model. Munn proved himself at Clark and Hunter asked him to take a position as an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. 

 Before coming to Bowdoin College, Dr.Munn also held a faculty position at Peabody College in Nashville and eventually became head of the psychology department at Vanderbilt. Dr.Munn was a prolific writer and published hundreds of articles in the field of psychology. His books, such as Psychology, were quite successful. While at Bowdoin, he completed another edition of this textbook which eventually was adopted by over 500 colleges across the United States and internationally. 

Munn returned to Australia in 1962 for what he thought would be a visit, but he and his wife decided to stay in Australia where he helped the University of Adelaide create a psychology department. While in Australia he became involved in the protest against the Vietnam War. Over the years, he had the opportunity to meet JB Watson, Helen Keller, Neal Miller and others. Although he was active in the American Psychological Association and was the first president of the Maine Psychological Association, his loves were clearly teaching and writing, his main contribution to the profession. He died in 1993. 

Available Now: Maine Psychological Association 70th Anniversary Publication 
An Unauthorized History of the Maine Psychological Association  
By Ron Breazeale, PhD and Jeff Matranga, PhD  

Members $24.50 (includes shipping and handling) 
Nonmembers $29.50 (includes shipping and handling) 
Order from MePA by: 

• Sending a check to PO Box 82, Saco, Maine 04072 
• Send an email request to Amy Safford at asafford@mepa.org and an electronic invoice will be generated for you to pay online 
• Directly from Amazon $29.95 

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