INFO: Bray candidacy

Dear Colleagues,
 
I am a candidate for President of the American Psychological Association.  I am writing to ask for your #1 vote.  I am running to advance a number of priorities that seek to support and unite practice, science, and public service.  You can find details on my website (www.brayforapa.info).
 
Only a small percentage (around 20%) of people vote in the APA President election and it is critical that you cast your vote to support your interests.  With the HARE voting system it is important to rank order candidates to maximize your vote.  If your #1 or #2 votes are committed, I would certainly welcome your #2 or #3 vote.   
 
You are welcomed to forward this email to other psychologists whom might be interested in my candidacy.  
 
Thanks for your consideration.
Warm regards,
 
James Bray
2009 APA President
See my Web Page at: www.BrayforAPA.Info and www.JamesHBrayPhD.Info
 
 
James H. Bray, Ph.D.
Department of Family & Community Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
3701 Kirby Drive, Suite 600
Houston, TX 77098
(713) 798-7752
jbray@bcm.edu

 
 
James H. Bray, Ph.D. Candidate Statement

I am running for APA President to continue to get things done for YOU and our profession. By electing a president who understands the broad spectrum and diversity of psychology we can advance our great discipline.  Working together as scientists, practitioners, and public policy makers, psychologists can provide society and the world significant assistance to improve the human condition.  Unity within our field is critical.  I have the knowledge, experience and established working relationships with staff, APA governance groups, other organizations and Members of Congress to get things done.
 
Unlike other candidates, there will be no learning curve for me.  I know how to be an effective President and can focus efforts on getting more things accomplished for YOU and our profession.  My track record as the 2009 APA President is clear and compelling—just take a look at the 2009 APA Annual Report <http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/2009-annual.pdf>  (http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/2009-annual.pdf).  We have a strategic plan for APA and as President I will see that we accomplish our goals and objectives.  We do not need a leader who will try to take us in a new direction at this time.
 
In 2009 we began some very important work with the Future of Psychology Practice and Science initiatives and they need to be continued and expanded. Several areas need our immediate attention:  
1. Practice and Economic Viability.  The Future of Psychology Practice Task Force recommended a strong focus on the economic viability of psychologists to protect the current generation of private practitioners who provide assessments and psychotherapy, while continuing to transition to new models of health care and practice.  The continued cuts in reimbursement for psychological services undermine our profession.  This includes:
·  Advocating with government entities and insurers for appropriate reimbursement for services and competitive salaries that are comparable to other doctoral level providers;
·  Changing Medicare rules to include psychologists in the physician definition, as are all other doctoral level health care providers;
·  Including psychologists as independent practitioners and equal partners in Accountable Care Organizations and patent centered medical homes in health care reform;
·  Developing practice models and funding for psychologists in integrated health care systems, community health systems and school-based clinics;
·  Branding our profession so that the public recognizes our unique skills and contributions.
We cannot accomplish this without a strong practice organization— we must develop new methods to fund the APA Practice Organization.
 
2. Science:  The new Congress has taken aim at behavioral and psychological science funding to help balance the budget. This is a veiled attempt to undermine psychological science at a time when understanding the integration of behavior, genetics and neuroscience are at a critical juncture and vital to our national interests.  We cannot allow this and we need strong advocacy from all psychologists to protect the funding for our basic and applied science.  Political advocacy is one of my strengths.  We need to continue to solidify psychological science as a core STEM discipline.  
APA needs to join with other behavioral science groups, like APS, to increase the percentage of the NIH and NSF budgets for psychological science for the benefit of all psychologists.   We need to develop incentives for young scientists to join APA and maintain a psychology identity.  We also need to stop Congress from undue interference with the peer review process and research with children.  
 
3. Education: We need to develop new educational models to train the next generation of practitioners and scientists to be successful in the changing health care and academic environments. We need to address the financial burdens of training and solve the internship and post-doctoral crisis.  See Bray, J. H. (2011). Training for the future of psychology practice. Training & Education in Professional Psychology, 5, 69-72.

4. Women in Leadership: In psychology and other professions women are becoming the majority, yet leadership in these professions does not often reflect this change.  We need to use our psychological science and knowledge to develop methods to support women becoming leaders in their respective fields.  I propose that APA enhance the successful Women in Leadership Institute that was started during my first term on the APA Board of Directors.  We should expand this to professionals in other fields (business, medicine, law) to develop collaborative relationships and facilitate the next generation of women leaders.
 
5. Public Interest: To be successful, we need to address the health disparities in our field and for the public. We need to attract a diverse group of the best and brightest students into our field.   We require more psychologists who are culturally and linguistically competent and to get more minority students we need to start earlier in the educational pipeline-at the high school level.
Member Communication and Retention.  In meetings with hundreds of psychologists I was repeatedly asked why they should continue their membership in APA.  Many members did not realize the ways that APA serves our professional needs.  This is an internal public relations problem.  To continue to be a strong organization, we must improve communication between the Association and you, the member.

How Will We Accomplish These Goals?  
 
We need to work together to support all psychologists through:
1. Advocacy.  Increase our state advocacy to expand and to deal with threats to our scope of practice and federal advocacy to garner additional funding for psychological science, educational programs, and expand practice opportunities.
2. Public Education. Raise our public presence through media, new technologies and social networking to increase community understanding of psychological science (e.g., neuroscience, adult development and aging contributions) and psychological services.  There is no health without mental health.  
3. Build Bridges. Collaborate with other organizations (family medicine, nurses) and trial lawyers to eliminate managed care and create bridges with other organizations to expand funding for psychological science.  Create a mutually beneficial context between practitioners and scientists to support the development and translation of effective interventions into practice.  
 
For more information visit www.BrayforAPA.Info.
 
I thank you for your #1 vote for APA President.  I look forward to welcoming you to the 2013 APA Convention in Honolulu—Aloha.
 

James H. Bray, Ph.D.
Biographical Statement

James H. Bray, Ph.D. (University of Houston, 1980) is Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine and the 2009 APA President.  Dr. Bray was previously on the faculty at Texas Woman's University.  He teaches psychology students, resident physicians, and medical students and directs faculty development. Dr. Bray's NIH funded research focuses on adolescent substance use, divorce, remarriage and stepfamilies.  He is a pioneer in collaborative healthcare and primary care psychology.  He maintains an active clinical practice specializing in children and families and behavioral medicine.  He has been active in APA governance for over 20 years involved in practice, science, education, and state issues.  He is a fellow of 12 APA Divisions (5, 7, 12, 29, 31, 34, 37, 38, 42, 43, 46, 55) and a member of Divisions 21, 30, 32, 50, 53.   
Effective Leader Within Psychology: 2009 APA President, APA Council of Representatives; Chair, APA Rural Health Committee; President, Division of Family Psychology; Chair, Board of Educational Affairs Awards Committee; Chair, Texas PSY-PAC.  
Internationally Recognized Scholar and Researcher: Over 175 publications (Multivariate Analysis of Variance with Scott Maxwell, SAGE; Handbook of Family Psychology with Mark Stanton, Blackwell Publishing).  Editorial board member and reviewer for 13 journals.  
Four NIH grants: Developmental Issues in StepFamilies and Longitudinal Study of Stepfamily Development (two RO1s from National Institute of Child Health and Human Development); Alcohol, Psychosocial Factors and Adolescent Development (two RO1s from National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse); SAMHSA grants on Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT); Linkages Project with Rural Psychologists and Physicians; Two HRSA grants on faculty development in primary care.
Consultant to National Institute of Mental Health Consortium on Families and HIV/AIDS research program and planning committee for annual conference, Role of Families in Preventing and Adapting to HIV/AIDS. NIMH SRCM-D Review Group and ad hoc reviewer MHAI-1 Initial Review Group; National Science Foundation grant reviewer.  
Active in APA governance: Board of Educational Affairs; Primary Care Task Force; State Leadership Organizing Committee; President's Mini-Convention Program Task Forces; Board of Scientific Affairs Observer; Treasurer for Divisions of Child, Youth and Family Services, Population and Environmental, Family, Media, Psychopharmacology; Member at Large, Division of Psychotherapy; Chair of Family Therapy in Independent Practice Task Force, Division of Independent Practice.  
Strong Advocate for All of Psychology: Federal Advocacy Coordinator for Texas and Divisions of Clinical Psychology and Family Psychology; Education Advocacy Network; Public Policy Advocacy Network; Fund-raiser for Association for Advancement of Psychology; Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Child Support and Child Visitation.
Recognized for Achievements: Family Psychologist of the Year, Elected Distinguished Practitioner-National Academies of Practice; APA Education Advocacy Award, Outstanding Educator and Researcher Awards, Association of Medical School Psychologists; Karl F. Heiser Presidential Award for Professional Advocacy; Federal Advocacy Award--APA Practice Directorate; Psychologist of the Year--Houston Psychological Association.  
Recognized by the National Media: Research featured on ABC 20/20; TODAY; Good Morning America; CNN News; USA Today; New York Times; Los Angeles Times; Time Magazine, NPR, and many others.