Practice assessment

[Ollie123]

Not sure if anyone else is following this, but thought I would share just in case.

Was just posted via an unofficial channel (listserv) that folks are moving forward and have hired a firm to file a class action lawsuit against APA and the practice directorate regarding clinical psychologists being misled into believing they had to pay the practice fee in order to maintain membership in APA. I haven't been able to find any official confirmation yet but thought I'd share.

This could be big...APA could be in serious trouble in terms of its tax exemption status, and the APAPO could potentially be out millions of dollars if they are required to pay back individuals who were misled, which would put a serious damper on their ability to advocate in the coming years. As I've said before I have very mixed feelings on the issue...still sorting out what outcome I am actually hoping for in all this.

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[edieb]

A class action lawsuit is such a bad, bad idea. the practice directorate is psychology's main voice in protecting our turf and expanding our scope of practice. I bet the social workers and LPCs are just waiting to acquire testing rights after his class action lawsuit begins!!

psychologists already don't give enough money in terms of advocacy, so, in a sense, i see why the apapo felt the need to "mislead" people into giving money for the practice assessment. we should be grateful they are so zealous in advocating for psychology.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

We'll be cutting off our nose to spite our face...all while the lawyers blow through money. I wish the individuals could be held accountable instead of the entire APA.

 

[Ollie123]

We'll be cutting off our nose to spite our face...all while the lawyers blow through money. I wish the individuals could be held accountable instead of the entire APA.

This is more or less the direction I am leaning in as well. While I believe some punishment needs to be exerted I worry about the downstream effects this may have. At the same time, I'm unaware of any other recourse individuals might have. I suspect if APAPO and APA had shown greater remorse and/or held the individuals involved responsible this would likely have gone away. Instead, Nordal simply sent an email essentially saying "You should give us money anyways". My hope is that perhaps under threat of suit we will finally see some shuffling, mumbled apologies, and perhaps some individuals stepping down or being asked to resign. In the end, I actually think that would probably be a far better outcome than this turning into a major ordeal, an additional financial burden for those organizations mounting a defense, even in the absence of being found at fault, and additional bad publicity that might inspire even more people to leave the organization or refuse to pay the assessment fee than would have if this had been handled in a more appropriate fashion.

A class action lawsuit is such a bad, bad idea. the practice directorate is psychology's main voice in protecting our turf and expanding our scope of practice. I bet the social workers and LPCs are just waiting to acquire testing rights after his class action lawsuit begins!!

psychologists already don't give enough money in terms of advocacy, so, in a sense, i see why the apapo felt the need to "mislead" people into giving money for the practice assessment. we should be grateful they are so zealous in advocating for psychology.

I'm somewhat with you, though a bit disturbed by the last statement and wondering if I'm understanding you correctly. Are you seriously arguing that because a number of members disagree with particular goals of APAPO and do not wish to support them, that this justifies what amounts to coercing funds from fellow psychologists, and possibly tax fraud? I would have to disagree wholeheartedly with that. While I'm all for increased advocacy, I can hardly find fault with individuals who believe APAPO is disparately pushing for some issues over others and don't feel it best represents their personal interests. I'm trying not to get into specifics for fear of this turning into an RxP thread, but really I think that is what is driving this debate - a suspected (but not known, given that despite numerous requests they won't release the numbers) disproportionate number of funds being funneled into that segment of APAPO's advocacy and members (practitioners too mind you - not just academics) who feel that money would be better spent advocating for other practice-related issues. I'm somewhere in the middle on the issue as I've stated before, but I do believe psychologists should have a right to decide for themselves if that is an issue they want to support, and that decision shouldn't jeopardize their membership in a (supposedly) non-political professional organization.

 

[Ollie123]

Update:
Just received word that a class action lawsuit against APA has officially began and is now public (i.e. press releases have been made). Only plaintiff named in the article was Ellen Levine, though I'm sure there are many more involved. They are being represented byTycko & Zavareei. They are seeking statutory damages, exemplary damages, punitive damages, and attorney's fees.

Still have mixed feelings about this.

 

[edieb]

Update:
Just received word that a class action lawsuit against APA has officially began and is now public (i.e. press releases have been made). Only plaintiff named in the article was Ellen Levine, though I'm sure there are many more involved. They are being represented byTycko & Zavareei. They are seeking statutory damages, exemplary damages, punitive damages, and attorney's fees.

error

 

[Ollie123]

Maybe?...article says she is from California though.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

My guess is that they meant Dr. Elaine LeVine, who is an active voice in the psychology world.

 

[edieb]

My guess is that they meant Dr. Elaine LeVine, who is an active voice in the psychology world.

No, it's not Elaine LeVine. I am currently enrolled in the post-doctoral master's program at New Mexico State in psychopharm in which she teaches. She is very pro APA and wouldn't do this. Matter of fact, she was talking about flying to Oregon this year to testify for their RxP bill

 

[erg923]

No, it's not Elaine LeVine. I am currently enrolled in the post-doctoral master's program at New Mexico State in psychopharm in which she teaches. She is very pro APA and wouldn't do this. Matter of fact, she was talking about flying to Oregon this year to testify for their RxP bill

Interesting. Whats the program like? What city is NM state in?

One question I have always had is....if you do the masters in psychpopharm and then move or end up living in a state where you cant prescribe, then how do you incorporate it into your actual practice? PCPs send you patients for med recommendations? Given that the majority of psych meds in this country are prescribed by PCPs, don't most already take the liberty of prescribing psych med themselves?

 

[cheeze]

can someone post a link? I cant find the report...

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Interesting. Whats the program like? What city is NM state in?

One question I have always had is....if you do the masters in psychpopharm and then move or end up living in a state where you cant prescribe, then how do you incorporate it into your actual practice? PCPs send you patients for med recommendations? Given that the majority of psych meds in this country are prescribed by PCPs, don't most already take the liberty of prescribing psych med themselves?

Without the ability to actually prescribe in non-RxP states, I'd imagine that making recommendations to your clients' physicians would be the main form of incorporating the education into your practice, yes.

In terms of PCPs prescribing psych meds--in my experience, most are generally ok with giving anti-depressants, anxiolytics, and ADHD treatments. For anything beyond that (e.g., anti-psychotics, mood stabilizers), they tend to refer to a psychiatrist.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

here are links to more information:

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/10/25/31323.htm

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/10/25/Psych.pdf

 

[edieb]

Interesting. Whats the program like? What city is NM state in?

One question I have always had is....if you do the masters in psychpopharm and then move or end up living in a state where you cant prescribe, then how do you incorporate it into your actual practice? PCPs send you patients for med recommendations? Given that the majority of psych meds in this country are prescribed by PCPs, don't most already take the liberty of prescribing psych med themselves?

New Mexico State is in Las Cruces, about 2-3 hours from Albuquerque. Classes are in-person and taught my varioius Ph.D.s and M.D.s We are now starting dissection which is very interesting.

To be honest, I don't know what you do if you live in a state that doesn't have RxP. Most of the people in the cohort are from Oregon and Wisconsin, where RxP bills are closing in on passage.

I definitely would not do this just to make recommendations to M.D.s on what to prescribe. The classes are expensive and very time consuming, so if I am going to do this, I want to be able to bill for my services rather than helping M.D.s become rich through my toil