APA 2009
Richard Althouse, Ph.D.
Psychologists need to be more involved in our criminal justice system!
That was the clear message with which I left the APA annual convention for 2009, held in Toronto, Ontario, August 6th through August 9th, at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. While attendance estimates varied, there was a general sense that it was 5-7 thousand less than in previous years, undoubtedly owing to economic pressures.However, despite the inconvenient physical layout for the convention, it was still attended by numerous thousands.There were many exhibitors, primarily publishers, ample presentations, and poster exhibits from which to choose based on one’s interests.
SAGE Marketing Manager Tina Papatsos and I are at their booth promoting SAGE publications, literature on IACFP, and the journal Criminal Justice and Behavior. Tina and her staff were exceedingly helpful and gracious despite the warm and generally stuffy conditions in the exhibitors’ area.
It was great to be able to meet with various graduate students at their poster sessions, discuss their research, and promote their participation in our association. In this picture, Robin Rainwater (to my left), a Ph.D. candidate at Alliant International University in Fresno, is explaining some of the ironic outcomes of California’s public policy regarding sex offenders as she promoted a need for empirically guided public policy. Hopefully, we will be hearing more from her in the future!
For those interested in correctional and forensic issues, there were a number of informative and thought-provoking workshops, presentations, and poster sessions from which to choose, including Joel Dvoskin (the need to apply psychological science to enhance crime prevention, prison treatment, and post-release parole), Steve Wormith (challenges of offender risk/need assessments), and Martin Seligman (positive psychology), as well as poster sessions sponsored by both Division 18 and Division 41 with many excellent examples of thoughtful research into correctional issues by graduate students from around the country.
The clear conference message for those working in correctional settings was that there is a great need for increased participation of psychologists in criminal justice systems here and abroad, and hopefully there will be many folks working to that end during the coming year!
The 35th annual conference of the Forensic Mental Health Association of California will be held from March 24-26, 2010, at the Embassy Suites in Seaside, CA. The conference will consist of quality presentations relating to forensic mental health and relevant to medical and mental health clinicians, law enforcement, the courts, parole and probation officers and other professionals working with the forensic mentally ill population.
FMHAC invites you to participate in our 2010 conference. This year’s theme, Integrating Disciplines: Affirming Our Core Values, emphasizes the need to work together and to support core activities as budgets are cut. We are seeking proposals that address best practices and legal issues/changes in forensic mental health, highlight innovative programs and discuss other ways to help solve difficult issues in the field. Presentations addressing current concerns, research, treatment and assessment in forensic mental health are also welcome. To download the application, please visit: http://www.fmhac.net/confcfp.html
Correctional Mental Health Seminar July 12-13, 2009 · Seattle
Each summer, NCCHC and an impressive roster of partners host an intensive seminar to help correctional health professionals and administrators address the challenges of providing adequate care to the growing population of inmates with mental illness and substance abuse problems.
Program Schedule http://www.ncchc.org/education/mental/downloads/MH2009_FP.pdf
“Standards for Mental Health Care in Jails, Prisons, and Correctional Agencies” under revision.
The American Association for Correctional Psychology’s (now the International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology) “Standards for Mental Health Care in Jails, Prisons, and Correctional Agencies,” published in the journal Criminal Justice and Behavior (Sage, 2000)(1), are in the process of being revised. The revision committee, chaired by IACFP president Dr. Richard Althouse, includes Dr. Leonard Morgenbesser (New York Department of Correctional Services), Dr. Kelley Ray Polk (private practice, Louisiana) and Patricia Orud, M.S. (NCCHC Certified Professional in Minnesota). The revisions are in the final draft stage, and contain a number of updates that reflect the Association’s international scope, as well as new sections concerning identification, monitoring, and treating mentally ill and suicidal inmates. The final draft will be reviewed by two outside reviewers (Dr. Janet Walsh, Wisconsin Department of Corrections) and Dr. Lorraine Reitzel (Texas) prior to being submitted for publication later this year.
(1) http://cjb.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/27/4/433
Dr. Richard Althouse, president of IACFP, attended and was a presenter at the Kansas City conference He is seen here with a poster reflecting IACFP’s contribution to the Student Poster Contest and the refreshments provided at the Poster reception. Dr. Althouse is on the Advisory Board of MHCC, and was one of three judges of the students’ poster presentations.
For more on the MHCC, visit: http://mhcc.forest.edu/
