2009: Nadine Kaslow
Presidential Initiatives: 2009-2010
Nadine J. Kaslow, PhD, ABPP
One of the most rewarding aspects of serving as President of Division 29 is the opportunity to partner with many wonderful colleagues on the board, in the larger governance community, and with members of the Division 29 family in moving forward some key presidential initiatives. My initiatives reflect both my own passions, as well as the directions of the other members of the division’s governance. I believe these initiatives are most likely to have lasting impact if they are shared activities and I am grateful to everyone who has participated in our initiatives this year.
My presidential initiatives for Division 29 for 2009 are as follows:
Building Community – There are a number of key was in which we have prioritized building community this year. First and foremost, we have made dramatic improvements in our website, with more exciting changes to come in this expanded information and networking portal (http://www.divisionofpsychotherapy.org/). Second, we have placed the Psychotherapy Bulletin on-line even before the print version is available and we have notified our members when this publication is available to them. Third, our lunch with the Psychotherapy Masters at APA Convention was once again a big hit for not only the students and early career psychologists in attendance, but also the master psychotherapists. Fourth, we our honoring our long time and outstanding editor of Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training with the creation and naming of the Charles J. Gelso Psychotherapy Research Grant, which each year will provide a small sum of financial support to a psychotherapy process and/or outcome researcher. Finally, we have made a number of changes to enhance the infrastructure of our governance, including creating an orientation manual for new members, clarifying the roles and responsibilities of our domain representatives, updating our bylaws significantly (which will soon go to a vote of the membership), and revising our policies and procedures. All of these changes have resulted in more positive and open communication among the members of the governance group.
Diversity
In 2007, the Division 29 board prioritized diversity on the board by adding a Diversity Domain and two board members associated with the Diversity Domain. This year, our board has continued this emphasis on building an inclusive community by being very committed to seriously grappling with the theme of diversity as it plays out in board dynamics, divisional priorities, and our membership. Further, I am very excited about co-editing with Jennifer Kelly, PhD (Division 29 Domain Representative for Practice), an upcoming special issue of Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice that is focused on the ways in which the diversity status of the psychotherapist (race/ethnicity, country of origin, sexual orientation, ability status, religious affiliation, class, gender, language, etc) informs the psychotherapeutic process. We invited seasoned psychotherapists who can speak personally as well as professionally about the ways in which their identity influences the therapeutic relationship and treatment process. While there is considerable literature regarding the diversity status of the client/patient, a dearth of attention has been paid these factors in the psychotherapist and how these variables might impact the psychotherapeutic encounter with clients/patients with both similar and different demographic backgrounds as the psychotherapist. The authors were asked to use a combination of self-disclosure, attention to the relevant literature, and case examples in their articles. We invited them to describe their own diversity status, comment on key clinical issues raised for them as therapists given their diversity status, attend to the key clinical issues raised for their clients/patients given the therapist’s diversity status, and delineate effective strategies for addressing their diversity status and its impact on the treatment. This special issue will appear in 2010.
Psychotherapy Supervision
The final initiative focuses on psychotherapy supervision. At the 2009 annual convention of the APA, we had a presidential symposium addressing different theoretical perspectives on the process of psychotherapy supervision. And, I am delighted to report that Eugene Farber, PhD (Division 29 Chair of the Education and Training Committee) and I have in press a special issue in Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training that addresses the ways in which different approaches to psychotherapy supervision inform the development of psychotherapy competencies in trainees. The authors, well-respected clinical supervisors and psychotherapists, were asked to address the essential components of the psychotherapy competency within their theoretical framework. Then, they were asked to speak to the foundational and functional competencies that are most salient for informing the psychotherapy competency from a particular theoretical viewpoint. The last topic that the authors were invited to comment on was their psychotherapy supervision approach given their particular theoretical orientation. I look forward to seeing these papers in print in 2010.
Please feel free to contact me at nkaslow@emory.edu to share your thoughts about these initiatives.
