Colleagues,
It is with great excitement that I announce that APA (via CODAPAR) has funded a joint effort between Divisions 12/II and 20, in partnership with CoPGTP and PLTC to create a geropsychology resource website. Please see the project abstract below.
There is a severe geropsychology workforce crisis to treat the fastest growing and most complex segment of the population. Access to educational materials and training opportunities for psychologists and trainees about later life is critical now, to ensure a more adequate workforce pipeline. Each of the four major geropsychology organizations in the US (APA Divisions 12/II and 20, Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs, and Psychologists in Long Term Care), has training and professional development resources; not all of this information is easy to locate or access, however, and it is all incomplete. The goal of this project is to bring together the available geropsychology training and professional development resources in one internet clearinghouse website to maximize organizational effectiveness, increase access to geropsychology training, and collaboratively create new tools to increase the effectiveness of existing resources, including the first in a series of geropsychology webinars. *Note that a key piece of this website will be an online version of the Pikes Peak Competencies Assessment Tool.
Representatives from each of these four groups, as well as from CONA (Committee ON Aging within APA) will collaborate to create this very exciting website over the next year. We have a core committee, and are looking for many more interested members of any/all of these groups to participate, as it will be a large undertaking with a moderate budget. Please contact Erin Emery (erin_emery@rush.edu) if you are interested in learning more and/or getting involved.
STUDENTS: We will be looking to hire a project assistant for one year, 4-5 hours per week to aggregate information for the site, write some content, and coordinate site organization. Experience with web design is helpful, but not required (we will have a professional web designer on staff as well). Those interested can send CV, brief statement of interest, and faculty reference contact information to Erin Emery (erin_emery@rush.edu).
Looking forward to bringing the national geropsychology groups together on this exciting project!
President, APA Division 12/II, Society of Clinical Geropsychology
Director of Geriatric and Rehabilitation Psychology
Project and Clinical Director, BRIGHTEN Program
Rush University Medical Center
Assistant Professor, Rush University
Department of Behavioral Sciences
710 S. Paulina St., Suite 431
Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 942-6294
erin_emery@rush.edu
Everything is connected; nothing lasts; you are not alone. - Lewis Richmond
________________________________________________________________
Everything is connected; nothing lasts; you are not alone. -Lewis Richmond
