Fort Worth Area Psychological Association
N E W S L E T T E R
September 2006
President’s Message
Greetings to all! I hope you are all rested after the summer of endurance. Although your
executive committee took a break in July, we have returned with renewed vigor to realize
some of our goals. Of course, the year has much yet to offer us, and I want to renew my
invitation to all help with new ideas, volunteering for committee membership, or other ways
to get involved. After all, it is all or our association. And it's through all of our efforts that
changes are made. So come help us plan and execute these changes.
Constitution and By-Laws Revision
passed with a vote of 11 for and 0 against.
Please see the changes on the link on www.fwapa.org.
Dr. Mimi Wright, our Past-President
has gathered
the names of several willing
candidates for executive office. You should have gotten a ballot by email and/or mail.
If not, please contact me at earl.johnson2@charter.net
Dr. Cheryl Fuller, our President-Elect, arranged a cooperative presentation with
the Fort Worth Psychiatric Association held at Joe T. Garcia’s with Dr. Gary Malone
discussing “An Analyst Looks at the Da Vinci Code.” The turn out was good, and it
was a good venue for meeting our psychiatric brothers and sisters.
She has also
arranged for Dr. Peter Kowalski to give a CE workshop on new Psychotropic
Medications on 10 November 2006 at the Mental Health Association.
(Announcements will be sent to the membership closer to that date.) Finally, she
invites the membership to Fine Line: Mental Health/Mental Illness at the Fort Worth
Museum of Science and History on the date of the Fall Social Party.
Dr. Steve Karten, our Treasurer, has planned for our fall social event. (You should
have received a flyer by mail; see announcement below.) We plan to invite our local
representatives to initiate cooperative efforts and gain more input in legislative issues
concerning our profession. If you have a personal relationship with a representative,
please ask him or her to join us in our social celebration. Dr. Karten would like to
renew his invitation to any of you wishing to receive disaster-relief training
specifically for mental health providers by the Chisholm Trail Chapter of the
American Red Cross. Please call Joelle at: 817 988 9945.
Dr. Dana Turnbull, our Secretary, has done an outstanding job of organizing the
recent vote on Constitution and By-Law modifications. She’ll be traveling to Hawaii
soon. She is also in the (never-ending) process of updating our membership list.
Robert Franklin, our webmaster, has tirelessly updated our website. He is
attempting to set up internet version of membership information that is password
protected, and will update application form to reflect the ability of membership to
update their own information. Please email me at earl.johnson2@charter.net if you
have any suggestions for improvements.
Dr. Mary Lynn Crowe has generously agreed to serve as chair of the Public
Relations Committee. I have several ideas for her, and I encourage you to email me at
earl.johnson2@charter.net with your suggestions.
Collin County Psychological Association, our sister Local Area Society (LAS)
to the east, invited me to speak at their latest meeting. Dr. Sarah Spreda, CCPA
president, and my colleague at Senior Connections, hosted a warm and generous event
in which I gave a 1.5 hour continuing education program on Neuropsychological
Assessment in Nursing Homes, including ethics. It was delightful to meet our eastern
colleagues. One of my goals this year was to increase our cooperative efforts with our
sister LASs and join our minds, hands, and mouths in furthering our interests,
especially politically.
Dallas Psychological Association, under the leadership of Drs. Tim Branaman,
president & Jennifer Hartman, PhD, president-elect has invited us to join them in
a hospitality suite at the upcoming Texas Psychosocial Association meeting in Dallas.
We will be joined by Collin County Psychological Association, presided by the
aforementioned Dr. Spreda. I hope you'll help us show our commitment by joining us
in welcoming TPA members from around Texas. Thanks to Sherry Riesman of TPA
for coordinating this joining.
Our current board consists of Drs. Mimi Wright (Past-president), Cheryl Fuller (President-
elect), Stephen Karten (Treasurer), Dana Turnbull (Secretary), and me. This year hopes to
expand on the past successes. In short, our board plans to:
Enhance our influence in legislative issues pertaining to psychologists
Continue supporting the Science Fair
Establish and strengthen our Disaster Relief Committee (chaired by Stephen Karten,
PhD) as consultants in the Fort Worth Area
Continue updating our website
Continue modernizing our membership application process
Update and invigorate our Speaker’s Bureau
Continue Charitable giving
Let me invite anyone interested in becoming more involved with FWAPA’s programs and
decisions to join us for our monthly Executive Committee Board Meetings. I’ll announce
them to the membership by email monthly. One of my goals is to strengthen our collective
energy to accomplish more in our service to the community.
This is an ambitious plan. I encourage any with creative insight and energy to make
suggestions, join a committee, and attend meetings. And I want to compliment you for being
a member of our group of psychologists. Together we are stronger and wiser. I encourage all
of you to join the Texas Psychological Association in order to represent our interests and
protect our profession at the state level.
Thank you for your support!
R. Earl Johnson, PhD
President, FWAPA
===============================================================
ACTION ALERT!!!
Note: For your convenience, I’ll continue to post current and previous action alerts until each
matter is settled. (The ones from past newsletters will be in a special “archive” section at the
bottom of the newsletter.) I strongly encourage you to take a few minutes to respond to these
issues. We are stronger when we act together.
Medicare Cuts Proposed!
Dear Colleagues,
As an APA Federal Advocacy Coordinator for Texas I am writing to ask you to help
prevent cuts to Medicare Reimbursement for psychologists. There are two
unrelated actions proposed or in the works by the Centers for Medicaid and
Medicare Services (CMS) that could result in a 15% reduction in reimbursement to
Psychologists and certain other health care professionals by 2010.
The most critical of these came about as part of the CMS "5-year review" and is
a proposal to revamp how that agency reimburses for work relative value units
(RVUs) and their methodology for calculating practice expense RVUs under the
Medicare physician fee schedule. The effect would be to increase the
reimbursement for physicians who perform evaluation and management (E/M)
services. To do this in a budget-neutral way, CMS proposes to reduce the work
RVUs for all services, including psychologists, by 10%.
There is already a projected 5.1% reduction in the 2007 conversion factor of the
Medicare payment formula due to the "sustainable growth rate." APA,
specifically the Practice Directorate, has been successful in blocking these
scheduled cuts in the past and plans to do so again this year.
You can help by contacting your legislators ASAP and asking them to delay the
"5-year review"cuts in medicare. APA makes this very easy to do. By clicking
on the Capwiz link below, you can instantly send an e-mail with this information
to your legislator. You do not even need to be a member of APA to do this. You
can ask colleagues and family members to do this as well, and they can make
changes to the message to reflect their relationship to the issue. Click here
or paste the address in your browser:
Alternatively, I have included a sample letter below that you can use to send
through the mail.
I urge you to act on this today! You can make a difference!
Thanks!
Ollie J. Seay, Ph.D.
Federal Advocacy Coordinator
Sample Letter
Dear Representative/Senator ____________:
I am writing as a constituent and psychologist to urge you to request the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay severe Medicare payment
cuts that will take place on January 1, 2007. CMS recently proposed these
drastic payment cuts as part of the "5-year review" notice (see 71 Federal
Register 37170).
These cuts are in addition to the Medicare formula 5.1% provider payment cut
scheduled for 2007. Taken together, psychologists who provide Medicare services
will face reimbursement cuts of as much as 15% by 2010. As a result, many
psychologists will have to cut back on the services they provide to Medicare
patients or leave Medicare all together. This is wrong and will only hurt
patient access to psychological services in the Medicare program.
Psychologists are dedicated to serving the needs of our elderly and disabled,
but they should not face reimbursement reductions that prevent them from
providing services to our most vulnerable citizens. I urge you and all members
of Congress to delay implementation of the 5-year review rule and require CMS to
reexamine the impact that this payment cut will have on Medicare patient access
to services.
Thank you for considering my views on this most important issue.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Dr. Mimi Wright’s clarion call…
Legislative awareness and relationships with our legislators is vitally important in order
to be able to educate them concerning mental health and professional practice issues.
All legislators are important! Those who determine most issues that affect psychologists sit
on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the House Public Health
Committee. Senator Jane Nelson of Grapevine (represents parts of Denton and Tarrant) is
Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Representative Vicki Truitt from
Southlake is a quite powerful member of the House Public Health Committee. Bill Zedler of
Arlington is fairly new on the House public Health Committee.
Other Representatives in our FW area include Lon Burnam, Marc Veasey, and Anna
Mowery. Representative Rob Orr is from Burleson and represents District 58 which also
includes Bosque Co. where I live.
Senator Kim Brimer represents parts of Tarrant County. Senator Chris Harris represents parts
of Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant Counties. Senator Kip Averitt represents Bosque, Coryell,
Ellis Falls, Hill, Hood, Johnson, McLennan, Navarro and Somervell Counties (I live in
Bosque Co. and I think Dean lives in Johnson Co.)
To find out more, go to www.senate.state.tx.us and www.house.state.tx.us.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Fort Worth Area P
sychological
Association
and
Texas Psychological Association
Invite you to the
Fall Social
Event:
Group Tour of the “Fine Line: Mental
Health/Mental Illness” Exhibit and a Dinner
Reception Afterway for Discussion and
Networking
When:
Saturday, October 14, 2006
5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where:
Fort Worth Science and History Museum
1501 Montgomery Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
2201 N. Commerce Street
Fort Worth, Texas
RSVP:
Please contact Steve Karten at
or 817 870 2499
Friday Discussion Group
Greetings, colleagues,
The anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina and the September 11 attacks are upon us. How do they
effect your clients, your practice, your world view? Join our discussion at the monthly FWAPA
discussion group
DATE: Friday, September 8, 2006
TIME: 5:00 to 6:30 pm
PLACE: The Pegasus Restaurant
2443 Forest Park Blvd, Fort Worth 76110
817-922-0808
Hope to see you there.
Gail Brothers Braun, PhD
The FWAPA Discussion Group is a monthly forum to discuss topics related to the practice of
psychology, e.g., specific cases (therapy, testing, or consultative), ethical matters, business/practice
issues, general philosophical issues or world events that effect our work. It is a time for relaxed
collegial interaction at the end of the work week, with a loose structure to guide the discussion. There
is no fee, and no obligation to order food or drink. You can arrive late and/or leave early, and it's okay
to just sit and listen.
Disaster Relief Still Needed
A small group of Hurricane Katrina evacuees meets for group therapy at Arlington Villa
Nursing Center at 5 pm each Wednesday. I have noticed that their PTSD symptoms are really
starting to come out. Additionally, the insurance roadblocks they universally face are
exacerbating their emotional state. I have put together the list of hardy individuals who
attended Dr.Gail Brother-Braun’s training last year into an email group for announcements
such as this. If you would like to be part of this important group who offers free or low-cost
service to the community during emergencies and ongoing crises, please contact me at
earl.johnson2@charter.net or on my cell at 817 846 8466.
Loanne Chiu, PhD will be part of the panel on cultural diversity at the TPA convention in Dallas. It
will be Saturday Nov 18 from 1 - 3.30 PM. There will be 4 people presenting and there is a proposal
on the table to make this an ethics seminar, which I think is appropriate.
She recently embarked on a "pilgrimage tour" to Vienna to visit Sigmund Freud Haus/office and the
cafe where he wrote.
ADVERTISEMENTS
Note: After hearing the clamber of the masses, we are adding this new section. Our policy
will be evolving as unanticipated requests and problems inevitably pop up. For now, in my
esteemed capacity as Grand Pooh-Bah, I offer the following rules by fiat:
Rules: Any advertisements will be considered if they (1) are related to the practice of
psychology; (2) are ethical and believable; (3) pass the common sense test of something that
should be advertised at the sellers expense; (4) all advertisements must be submitted by email
or U.S. Postal Service; (5) communications should have the precise wording you wish to
advertise (please keep it simple and to the point), as I will just copy and paste it to the
newsletter, (6) disputes will be decided by vote of the executive committee, and (7)
advertisements will be held over for the next newsletter, but deleted thereafter unless a
renewed request is submitted. All decisions are final. (But you can engage me in a spirited
debate if you want.)
7 June 2006 Central Arlington office space with opportunity for referrals available
with downsizing established doctoral level LPC Marriage and Family therapist
and forensic clinical psychologist. Contact Anthea Stroman R.N. at 817
860-8810 for appointment if interested
10 June 2006 Practicum Sites Needed! If you have need of and a desire to train a volunteer
practicum student, Argosy University has several PsyD students who need practicum
experience. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Mark W.
Matthews directly. Email: mmatthews@argosyu.edu or Phone: 214-459-2221
10 June 2006 Looking for someone to share office space with an established psychologist.
Terms negotiable. Call 817-877-0033 for details.
5 April 2006 I have a 3-year-old, barely used credit card swipe machine that I'd like to sell. If
anyone is interested, they can call or email me: Linda Hurley, 817-282-5000,
info@DrLindaKHurley.com. Thanks.
15 April 2006 For Sale: Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC) Kit with scoring
protocols and nylon carrying case. Used twice. $300 817-870-2499.
26 April 2006 Janice Wentworth is available for transcribing psychological and medical
reports. She takes dictation from tape. She has a college degree, does excellent work and is
extremely reliable. Her charges are quite reasonable, $ 3.25 a page. Contact information:
Tel (817) 595-5994. She lives in North Richland Hills but is quite flexible about picking up
the work. She has worked for Loanne Chiu, Ph.D., who enthusiastically recommends her.
Her phone number is 817-335-5300.
04 October 2006 Child Psychologist needs part time office space, preferrably in the NE
Tarrant County area. Beginning in January, 2007, I will need 1-2 afternoons and/or evenings
per week. If you or someone you know has space available, please call Linda Hurley at 817-
282-5000 or email info@DrLindaKHurley.com.
ARCHIVE I
From the TPA Legislative Alert listserve, here’s an important issue affecting our financial
life:
National Call-in Day opposing S. 1955 this Wednesday, May 3
The full Senate is expected to consider the Health Insurance Marketplace
Modernization and Affordability Act (S. 1955) as early as next week. As you
know from our March 23 alert, if this bill is enacted, it would allow insurers
to offer health plans that are exempt from state consumer protection laws,
including mental health parity, psychology “freedom of choice,” mental health
benefit mandates and mandated offering laws. Without these state requirements
insurers would be able to offer “barebones plans.” The only condition is that
they also offer employers an alternative plan based on the state employee
benefits in one of the five most populous States, which unfortunately could also
be “barebones.” As a result, the benefits in the alternative plan may still be
inadequate.
Please call your Senators to urge them to Vote NO on S. 1955. Our coalition has
organized a national call-in day on Wednesday, May 3, and we are counting on you
to help ensure that your Senators know about the threat that this legislation
poses to critical state mental health protections. The coalition calls the bill
the “Lose Your Health Care Bill.” Even if you are one of the thousands of
psychologists that have already sent letters through our Legislative Action
Center to your Senators, we need you to make these two short follow-up phone
calls to your Senators. If you missed the May 3 call-in date, it is still vital
for you to call your Senators before the vote next week. Thank you in advance
for your efforts.
Action:
Call your Senators on Wednesday, May 3
And urge them to VOTE NO on S. 1955
Option 1: Call the Senate switchboard at 1-800-828-0498. Ask for one of your
Senator’s offices. Urge them to VOTE NO on S. 1955, the "Health Insurance
Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act."
Option 2: In the unlikely event that the Senate switchboard is busy, please
call your Senator’s offices directly. You can look up your Senator’s direct
Grassroots feedback is also extremely important to our advocacy efforts, so we
would very much appreciate it if you would fax (202-336-5797) or e-mail
(hjamgochian@apa.org) us information about any responses that you receive from
your telephone calls.
Message:
I am calling to urge Senator _______ to VOTE NO on S. 1955, Senator Enzi’s
controversial insurance deregulation bill. I am especially concerned about the
bill’s preemption of critical state mental health and other protections. As a
psychologist, I know all too well the stigma and discrimination that have
historically plagued people who suffer from mental health problems. The Senate
should not overturn 30 years of state mental health laws enacted to ensure that
my patients get the care they need. Please ask the Senator to do whatever
he/she can to defeat S. 1955.
Targets:
All Senators
Background:
Our fact sheet on S. 1955:
Mental Health Liaison Group letter opposing S. 1955:
Claims Don’t Meet Reality fact sheet by the National Partnership for Women and
55ClaimsvReality.pdf
American Diabetes Association fact sheet:
5factsheet.pdf
Benefit Protections Lost by State fact sheet by Families USA :
ns-lost.html
List of Organizations opposing S. 1955:
toS1955.pdf
Insurance Journal article about the 39 (now 41) Attorneys General Opposing S.
1955:
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ARCHIVE II
I received the following letter regarding serious threats to the practice of licensed
psychologists. I plan to attend a meeting in April in Austin to coordinate the Local Area
Societies (LAS) in their lobbying efforts. I’ll keep you posted regarding efforts to address
this important matter, and I’ll appreciate your support.
The profession of psychology is under attack.
Every since TSBEP sunset legislation was passed last year, there have been several “attacks”
against your psychologist’s license. The most atrocious one stems from the psychological
associates and their attempt to gain independent practice due to the dissolution of the
psychological associate’s advisory committee. The Texas Psychological Association has
always been steadfast on the premise that the doctoral degree is the entry level into the
practice of psychology. We will not deviate from that position.
We strongly believe this argument by the psychological associates to gain independent
practice should be debated in the state legislature, but they have managed to make this an
issue for the TSBEP. If you can believe this, your state board is currently discussing this
issue and determining who has the authority to determine this issue; the state legislature or the
state regulatory agency.
As a result of this aggressive initiative by the PA’s, the leaders of the Texas Psychological
Association, has called an emergency meeting of the LAS President’s Council. As president
of your local chapter, we are requesting that you come to Austin for a day long meeting to
discuss this issue and other issues that are affecting the profession. We will develop a
strategy on what you can do at your local level to educate your members about these
situations.
The meeting will be held at the Vintage Villas which is a bed and breakfast style resort
overlooking Lake Travis. The meeting will start with a dinner the evening of Sunday, April
9th and will concluded at 3:00 PM the afternoon of Monday, April 10
th
.
TPA will cover your
hotel and meal expenses for this meeting in addition to compensating you $200 for your
participation in this meeting.
TPA is keenly aware that several LAS’s allow Psychological Associates to be voting
members of their organization and in some circumstances even allow PA’s to hold office.
The leaders of TPA feel strongly that the profession needs to be unified on this front. I will
be contacting each of you individually over the next couple of weeks to officially invite you
to this meeting and to discuss your LAS’s philosophy and your willingness to take this issue
back to your members.
We appreciate your time and support of TPA in this issue.
Sincerely,
David White, CAE
Executive Director
ARCHIVE III
On 5 February, the TPA issued this Legislative Alert concerning the creation of licensure for
Sex Offender Treatment Providers. It is predicted to be restrictive of our ability to practice,
and warrants your attention. Please go to www.texaspsyc.org for details. If you’re not yet a
member of TPA, please consider joining.
ARCHIVE IV
Dear Colleague,
The Mental Health Association in Texas plays a key role in responding to the mental health
care crisis in Texas. Suicide, homelessness, criminalization, and state custody are the sad
realities currently facing Texas' children, youth, and adults who are unable to access mental
health care. Help must be available when it is needed and sought. This is a quality of life issue
that Texas can win, but we need your help.
Mental health is always a good investment. This year we are committed to raising $5,000 to
help support the efforts of the Mental Health Association in Texas. Your tax deductible gift of
$50, $75, $100 or more will help support alternatives for children, youth, and adults with
mental disorders inappropriately caught in the juvenile and criminal justice systems, suicide
prevention, access to mental health care, creating avenues for families with a parent with
mental illness access needed services and supports, mental health education, and many other
important programs affecting our families, friends, and colleagues across the state.
<BR! >Please make your checks payable to the Mental Health Association in Texas and send
to Jerry R. Grammer, Ph.D. 720 W. 34th St., Suite 100, Austin, Texas 78705. We can make a
difference. Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Blankmeyer, Ph.D.
Tim Branaman, Ph.D.
James Bray, Ph.D.
Paul Burney, Ph.D.
Sam Buser, Ph.D.
Ron Cohorn, Ph.D.
Mary Alice Conroy, Ph.D.
Walt Cubberly, Ph.D.
Donna Davenport, Ph.D.
Patrick J. Ellis, Ph.D.
Wayne Ehrisman, Ph.D.
Alan Fisher, Ph.D.
Richard Fulbright, Ph.D.
Ron Garber, Ph.D.
Mike Gottlieb, Ph.D.
Jerry R. Grammer, Ph.D.
Alan Hopewell, Ph.D.
Ira Iscoe, Ph.D.
Sheila Jenkins, Ph.D.
Joe Kobos, Ph.D.
Patricia Koch, Ph.D.
Alaire Lowry, Ph.D.
Rick McGraw, Ph.D.
Bob McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Bob McPherson, Ph.D.
Catherine Matthews, Ph.D.
Suzanne Mouton-Odum,
Ph.D.
Roberta Nutt, Ph.D.
Lane Ogden, Ph.D.
Dean Paret, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Richeson, Ph.D.
David Rudd, Ph.D.
Stephanie Rude, Ph.D.
Ollie Seay, Ph.D.
Robbie Sharp, Ph.D.
Brian Stagner, Ph.D.
Tom Van Hoose, Ph.D.
Melba Vasquez, Ph.D.
Verlis Setne, Ph.D.
David White, MPA
Connie Wilson, Ph.D.
Jarvis Wright, Ph.D.
Mimi H. Wright, Ph.D.
Dee Yates, Ph.D.
ARCHIVE V
FWAPA Member in the Armed Service
Our own Dr. C. Alan Hopewell has been assigned to Darnall Army Medical Center (just
upgraded this month) at Ft. Hood, Texas, as the first licensed prescribing psychologist
ever to enter active Army duty with prescription privileges. Ft. Hood is the primary
deployment site for the War on Terror, making it one of the very largest military posts in
the world. Since 10 % of the entire active Army is currently stationed at Ft. Hood, the
Psychology service there is responsible for about 10% of the entire active Army force as
well as dependents and civilian personnel. The services are actively involved in treatment
and research on PTSD, and are expecting to expand their brain injury services. I should
be there long enough to see my son, Cadet 2nd LT Joseph Hopewell, graduate from
Texas A&M and the Corps of Cadets; however will then deploy to further service.
1005 Congress Avenue, Suite 410 Austin, TX 78701
(512) 280-4099 (888) 872-3435