It is a genuine honor to be given the opportunity to serve as the 2011 President of the Society of Clinical Psychology. Division 12 has always been my APA home, and I have belonged since shortly after I graduated from the clinical program at the University of Hawaii in 1979. My primary mentors were Leonard Ullmann and Tony Marsella, and both encouraged all clinical students to become actively involved with the Division and with the American Psychological Association.

When I defended my master’s thesis, Len and I took a one-hour walk around the beautiful Manoa campus so he could formally welcome me to the “community of scholars.” Part of our conversation involved what it meant to be a psychologist and the importance of service to the profession.

 

I am writing this column immediately after chairing the annual board meeting held in Ft. Lauderdale January 6-7. You have an active and engaged board that includes President Elect Gayle Beck, Past President Marvin Goldfried, Secretary John Linton, Treasurer David Rudd, and eight Section Representatives: Brian Carpenter, David Tolin, Elaine Burke, Guillermo Bernal, Marc Hillbrand, Barry Hong, Norman Abeles, and Brian Hall.  Our four Council Representatives also attended and participated: Larry Beutler, Richard Sinn, Deborah King and Irving Weiner. It is extremely gratifying to work with such distinguished colleagues.

 

The Board met to discuss a variety of issues including an aging membership, declining membership (about 5% per year), the loss of a Council seat, and the need to begin preparing the reaccreditation application for the Committee for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology (CRSPPP). 

The Board provides oversight for the Society’s publication committee, and I’m especially proud of the Division’s publication record. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice is one of the premier journals in the field with an enviable citation index; The Clinical Psychologist is one of the few professional publications I actually read cover to cover; and the Hogrefe/Division 12 book series on Advances in Psychotherapy: Evidence Based Practice now has over 20 volumes in print and there are at least a dozen more in the pipeline. I was especially pleased to learn the Wiley makes Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice available at low or no cost to 435 libraries in developing countries. 

 

My presidential theme will be “Clinical Psychology Across Borders and Boundaries.” It will allow me to share my interest in international psychology with my clinical colleagues. I also hope to use future columns to discuss the professional school movement, the internship crisis and the ways in which the training of clinical psychologists will be affected by some of the profound transformations that are occurring in education.

I recently retired (early) from the University of Missouri School of Medicine to take a position as Associate Dean for Management and International Programs in the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University. After three decades training medical students and residents, it is gratifying to be actively involved in training the next generation of clinical psychologists.

 

Please free to contact me to discuss Society business anytime. I can most easily be reached via email at dwedding@alliant.edu. I look forward to working with you in the coming year.