THE PROFESSIONAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE AMERICAN BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY Volume 12, Issue 2, June 2007

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Editor: Arthur MacNeill Horton, Jr., Ed.D. ABPP (CL), ABN, ABPP (BP)

5903 Lone Oak Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20814    

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EDITORIAL BOARD

John Blase, PhD, ABN, Southfield, MI
Richard A. Berg, Ph.D., ABN, Wilmington, NC
Shane S. Bush, Ph.D., ABN, ABPP(R), Port Washington, NY
Thomas (Tim) Bennett, Ph.D., ABN, ABPP (RP), Colorado State University, CO
Barry M. Crown, Ph.D., ABN, Florida International University, FL
Lawrence Cohen, Esq. Ph.D., Independent Practice of Law, Phoenix, A
Dana S. DeBoskey, Ph.D., ABN, Floyd Rehabilitation Center, Rome, GA
Robert W. Elliott, Ph.D., ABPP (CN), ABN, Manhattan Beach, CA
Kay Fitzhugh-Bell, Ph.D., ABN, Indiana University Medical Center, IA
Richard N. Gaines, Ph.D., ABN, Novato, CA
David E. Hartman, Ph.D., ABN, Chicago, IL
Christy L. Jones, Ph.D. ABN, Coastal Neuropsychology Services, Wilmington, NC
Charles J. Long, Ph.D., ABN, University of Memphis, TN
John Meyers, Psy.D. ABN, Sioux City, IA
Robert J. McCaffrey, Ph.D., ABN, SUNY at Albany
Patricia A, Pimental. Psy.D. ABN, Neurobehavioral Medicine Consultants, Carol Stream, IL
Kenneth Podell, Ph.D., ABN, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI
J. Randall Price, Ph.D., ABN, Richardson, TX
Dorrie Rapp, Ph.D., ABN, ABPP (RP), White River Junction, VT
Michael J. Raymond, Ph.D., ABN, John Heinz Institute, PA
Cecil R. Reynolds, Ph.D., ABN, ABPP (SP), Texas A&M University, TX
Scott W. Sautter, Ph.D., ABN, Hampton Roads Neuropsychology, Virginia Beach, Va.
Robert Sbordone, Ph.D., ABPP (CN), ABN, Fountain Valley, CA
Bradley Sewick, Ph.D., ABN, Southfield, MI
Tony L. Strickland, Ph.D., ABN, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and UCLA School of Medicine, CA

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EDITORIAL/ABN NEWSLETTER: October 2007

The Professional Neuropsychologist provides communication from the ABN Board to the ABN membership. ABN Diplomates able to submit brief articles for possible publication in the newsletter. As per a decision of the ABN Board of Directors, The Professional Neuropsychologist will no longer be mailed out to members but will become solely an internet publication, available to be downloaded from the ABN Website (WWW.ABN.NET.  Comments, articles for publication in The Professional Neuropsychologist or suggestions should be addressed to the Editor, The Professional Neuropsychologist, Arthur MacNeill Horton, Jr., Ed.D. ABPP (CL), ABN, ABPP (BP), 5903 Lone Oak Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814 or telephone home-(301) 530-3417, or work-(410) 823-6408, ext. 20,  or e-mail  Dr. Horton at "drmachorton@hotmail.com". Also, if you have not already done so, please send your e-mail address to Richard Berg, Ph.D., ABN, the ABN Website Manager. You can e-mail him at raberg1@yahoo.com.

ABN President’s Column: FALL 2007

The Division 40 Executive Committee has now voted unanimously to seek formal approval of the revised definition of a neuropsychologist through the APA governance process. Therefore, Division 40 has not yet posted the revised definition of a neuropsychologist because they need to meet at APA in August 2007 to discuss the steps involved in the governance approval process and map out a coordinated series of steps towards that goal. I have been advised to expect the revised definition to be posted for public comment later this year, sometime after the APA convention.

ABN has developed a multiple choice exam that will be administered to all current ABN diplomates for purposes of standardization.  The initial pool of over 250 questions has been administered to several ABN diplomates and the process of eliminating items that fall outside of the extreme ranges is now well underway.  We will offer this exam to any and all ABN diplomates attending the 2007 NAN convention in Phoenix for normative purposes.  Arrangements will also be made to administer the exam to those who are not able to attend NAN.  The multiple choice exam will be an additional requirement for all new ABN applicants and will be taken along with the newly revised clinical vignettes so that the ABN exam process will assess both a body of knowledge within the field along with clinical diagnostic abilities.  ABN believes that this two pronged approach during the application process will provide valuable information concerning both knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge.  The newly developed multiple choice exam and the revised vignettes will replace the general knowledge oral exam leaving two hours; one for ethics and one for work style.  Of course, the clinical work samples will continue to be the most important and the most challenging part of the ABN application process.

Work on the new ABN website has been slow but will surely come to a completion in the next several weeks.  The new web site will be much more user friendly and will include the ability to collect dues and other fees online.

There are several other developing issues of interest to all ABN members that need to be further along before announced to the general membership.  I am sure that these items will be reported by the incoming president, Bradley Sewick, Ph.D., who will assume his office in November at the NAN meeting.

This is my final letter to the ABN membership as president of the organization.  I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for giving me the honor of representing ABN for the past two years.  I want to also express my thanks and gratitude to all of the members of the ABN board who provide hours of volunteered time so that ABN can be the excellent organization is has always been.  I would encourage any member of ABN who would like to serve in a leadership capacity to make known their desire.  The future of ABN is dependent on those members who are willing to provide much needed service through participation on the board and with the various ABN committees.   

Sincerely John Blase Ph.D., ABN
President, ABN

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REMINDERS FOR NAN CONVENTION-November 2007, Scottsdale Arizona

Tuesday 13th

     NAN Dinner, 7:30-10:00pm

Wednesday 14th

    Golf, 10:00 am

    Meeting with CCPN, 5:00-6:30 pm

    Multiple Choice Exam, 8:00pm-10:00pm

Thursday 15th

    ABN Board Meeting, 4:00-6:0 pm

    ABN Examiner Training, 6:00-8:00pm

    Multiple Choice Exam, 8:00-10:00pm

Friday 16th

    ABN CE Breakfast, 7:00-9:00 am

    Oral Exams, 9:00-12:00 pm

    ABN General Meeting, 12:00-1:00pm

    ABN Workshop, 1:30-3:30 pm

    Meeting with ABPdN (tentative) 5:00-6:00pm

    ABN Board Dinner, 7:30-10:00 pm

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(BELOW IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE ABN MARCH, 2007 MIDYEAR MEETING MINUTES PREPARED BY THE NEWSLETTER STAFF-A COMPLETE COPY OF THE MINUTES IS AVAILABLE FROM THE ABN SECRETARY, Scott Sautter, PhD, ABN, any and all errors are solely the responsibility of the Newsletter staff and not Dr. Sautter.

D          R          A           F           T

BOARD OF DIRECTOR’S MEETING

American Board of Professional Neuropsychology

March 2007

Redondo Beach, CA

1.    Call to order: Dr. Blase @ Time:  9:30 am

Members are directed to recluse themselves if there is a perceived conflict of interest with any particular agenda item or discussion

Members attending included Richard A. Berg, Ken Podell, Barry Crown, John J. Blase, Joan Mayfield, Pat Pimental, John Meyers, Tom McLaren, Mike Scherneck, Michael Raymond, Cecil Reynolds, Bradley Sewick, Mac Horton, Christy Jones, and Scott Sautter.

2.    Approval of minutes from previous ABN Board meeting (October 27, 2006, San Antonio, TX).

Minutes approved.

3.    Executive Officer’s Reports:

a.    Treasurer – Dr. Meyers

Discussed income, expenses, assets, savings, number of members, members active, members inactive and dues paid.  Discussion of active search of members listed but had not paid dues.

1.    Dues and workshops income 2006        $40,116.00

2.    Expenses 2006                      27,538.89

3.    Current checking account                7,230.05

4.    Current saving account              62,152.07

5.    Interest earned on savings                        674.91

      6.  Total active members             309

      7.  Paid dues 2006                201

      8.  Paid in 2005                 193

b.    Secretary – Dr. Sautter

Minutes distributed from October 2006 for General Business Meeting and Board of Directors Meeting.  Minutes accepted.

c.    President – Dr. Blase

Discussed ABPP and ABPdN interest in joining ABPP and ABPP decision.

1.    ABPdN Liaison to ABN

Interest has remained between these two groups, and will continue.

2.    Florida legislation – update

Florida Board of Psychology has a meeting scheduled for the final vote regarding how to define what groups will be considered Board Certified Neuropsychologists

3.    Division 40 issues

Dr. Yates has reported another Board meeting will take place to work out the wording of the definition of a neuropsychologist, after their survey has been completed.

4.    NAPPP

John Caccavale, NAPPP, provided discussion of the origin of NAPPP and its benefits to members.  Discussion ensued about structure of organization and its mission/intent and other benefits.

d.    President-Elect – Dr. Sewick

Report concerning attendance as ABN representative at the newly formed coalition of neuropsychological associations at INS in Portland.

Interorganizational Steering Committee membership, NAN, Div 40, ABCN, ABN and others to look at the Houston Conference training criteria.  Group will put together a survey to assess those who are neuropsychologists within the last 5 years and see if they met Houston Criteria.  Graduate, Internship and Post-Doctoral training will be reviewed. 

e.    Past President – Dr. Pimental

Outreach to students culminated with a dinner, students were post-doctoral fellows and was reported to be successful with consideration to continue.

Report on new NAN position.

Dr. Pimental to begin Director of Personnel Affairs and Information Committee and began February 1, 2007.

f.    Members at Large – Drs. Crown, McLaren, Podell 

No new report

1.    Dr. McLaren

Suggested reading list for ABN examination.

LUNCH at 12 noon

Return from lunch at 12:45 pm

4.    Executive Director’s Report – Dr. Raymond

New elections required for President, Treasurer, Secretary and 2 Members at Large.  Will send out ballots to the general membership to call for nominations.

Need to elect a Board for ACPN.  Proposed a Standing Committee to fill those spots for the ACPN, Treasurer proposes a line item budget.

Standing committee made up of the last five ABN presidents, representing the interests of the College and address the line item budget and how it will operate.  The Standing Committee will become the Overseers of the College after fulfilling its mission

5.    Committee Reports

     a. Examination Committee – (Dr. Conroy) 

Applications – Numbers and Trends

Six new applications, four in review and one incomplete.

b.    Work Samples Committee – Dr. Sewick

More submissions this year than all last year so far, with two ABPdN members. Sharp drop off 2001 to 2002, and now with an increase over last year.

Anticipated changes in the Div 40 definition and changes in the criteria for Houston conference ought to open more doors for ABN

Work Samples – Review of Progress

2006 total of 6 work samples submitted, 11 were completed, 7 passes, 4 failures.  2007 received 7 work samples, completed 4, 1 failed and 3 are in review.

     c. Oral Exam Committee – Dr. Mayfield

Candidates and arrangement for examiners

Need more examiners; two examinees will be assessed tomorrow.

d.    Awards Committee (Drs. Crown & Horton)

Prestigious award given to Pat Pimental, for Outstanding contributions to the field and ABN, professional, research and mentoring.  This award recognition will also be occur in November at NAN (11/14-17/2007)

e.    Multiple Choice Exam – Drs. Horton & Meyers

Voted two years ago for a exam, with 206 items, board takes the exam, multiple choice, general knowledge, 70% of items must be passed by the board such that the eventual exam will have a cut off of 70% correct.  This will be used to standardize the test.  Then the questions will be weighted from this sample, and so the weighting of the questions will be the same regardless of its version.

f.    Long Range Planning Committee - Drs. Elliott, Horton,

     Meyers & Reynolds

No new report at this time

g.    Policy & Procedure Committee - Drs. Berg & Mayfield

No report at this time

h.    Marketing Committee - Drs. Crown, Pimental, Raymond, & Reynolds

No further work completed in the branding and marketing, related to the outcome of Division 40 for definition, and the Houston Conference review of the criteria to become a neuropsychologist will have an impact on ABN branding and marketing.

i.    Ethics and Cultural Diversity - Dr. Jones

No new information

6.    Old Business

a.    Added Qualifications - Dr. Jones

1.    Marketing added qualifications to membership.

No new information at this time

b.    ABN & ACPN Websites - Dr. Berg 

Brief history was Dr. Long ran it, then Confluent Forms used proprietary material, and new web designers have moved toward this called Blue Earth.  Put mock up pages to show us what they are doing, which are basically pictures.

 

1.    Update on website revisions

On going process, needs review for content and aesthetics

2.    ABN Listserv

The ABCN and ABN talk was posted.

c.    The Professional Neuropsychologist (Dr. Horton)

The Professional Neuropsychologist has been published.

d.    American College of Professional Neuropsychology (Dr. Raymond)

May 24 – 27 workshop with the American Psychological Society, Mac Horton and Shane Bush will do this again.

7.    New Business

a.    NAPPP Alliance – presentation by Dr. John Caccavale of NAPPP

See above discussion

b.    Drs. Crown & Sewick concerning the ABN brand and marketing strategies.  Recommendations for name and organization structure change.

Discussion of name change, consider tabling the issue for now

c.    Development of the College 

Discussion was made about a call for nominations for the various positions that will have come up. 

1.    By-laws

2.    Election of BOD

3.    Legal requirements

d.    On line or conference call meetings of BOD between meetings in March and at NAN

This suggests conference calls would be helpful.  The NAN meeting could be more substantive than just the hour, have the meeting at NAN scheduled on a Thursday in the afternoon.  This could be a meeting for lunch for one hour and then two more hours to get a three hour meeting completed.

e.    Definition of a neuropsychologist – NAN definition or other?

There was some discussion about whether we should adopt a definition, but consensus was to wait and here what Div 40 and Houston conf review produce

f.     Acceptance of NR criteria and caution all ABN members to avoid listing credentials that do not meet these criteria 

We dropped the credentials of some specialties to conform to what NR considers in order to ensure.  This was to ensure that we were not going to be associated with boards that do not require examination or oral examination.

NR 2006 article lists us and others about what the criteria is for appropriate board certifications, ABPP, ABN, and the Am Bd of Credentials in Substance Abuse.  This is what we need to follow and promote.

g.    Professional Practice paper series 

Discussion about having white papers on the web site and that this should be the Standing Committee for the College of ACPN.

h.    Need to establish committee position to monitor state and provincial policies for recognizing board certified neuropsychologists.  CPQ criteria? Minnesota, Massachusetts,

College of Psychologists in Ontario, Canada

Discussion about monitoring states and agencies about recognizing the ABN.  Will need to monitor any changes in APA Div 40 definition and revisions to the Houston Guidelines.

i.    Multiple choice exam – Saturday morning, March 10, 2007 at 7:30am for all board members for normative purposes.

Discussed

j.    Budget

This has been established, and the Treasurer will provide to the Standing Committee.  Will need records.

k.    Electronic Newsletter

NAPPP and ABPdN put out an electronic newsletter and the board discussed sending a link to the newsletter for comprehensive reviews. 

Create the newsletter in Word and then copy/transfer to a PDF flyer and then send a link to it on the list serv or to the web site.

8.    Good and Welfare

9.    Meeting of the Committee of the Whole

10.    Adjournment: Dr. Blase

Time:      3:10 pm

  

 

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Added Qualifications

      The American Board of Professional Neuropsychology is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications from its orally examined members for Added Qualifications designations.  The goal is to identify those among our membership who’s training; professional experience, continuing education, and ongoing commitment to excellence are specialized in such a way as to lead to subspecialty designations.  This is not a separate Diplomate.  As with the medical boards, the goal is to designate added qualifications. The added qualifications areas mirror recognized subspecialties in clinical neuropsychology.

    The areas of Added Qualifications currently being examined by ABN include:

Child and Adolescent Neuropsychology

Forensic Neuropsychology

Geriatric Neuropsychology

Rehabilitation Neuropsychology 

Those applying for Added Qualifications must demonstrate the following:  Diplomate of ABN via oral examination, membership in good standing in ABN for a minimum of two years, a minimum of three years of documented post-doctoral clinical experience in the area (s) of Added Qualifications expertise, and demonstrated recent and ongoing continued education in the area (s) of Added Qualifications expertise.

    ABN Diplomates who meet these criteria may apply for any number of Added Qualifications designations.  Each application must be submitted separately and will be acted upon separately.   After the application is accepted, an oral exam will be arranged dealing specifically with the Added Qualifications area.  A $250 processing/exam fee must accompany each application for each Added Qualification.  Granting of Added Qualifications is subject to annual review and annual audit of each area of expertise.  There will be a $25 fee assessed annually for each Added Qualification maintained.

For an application, contact the ABN ADDED QUALIFICATION COORDINATOR: Christy Jones, Ph.D.; 1607Doctors Circle; Wilmington, NC  28401 (910) 772-2526, Fax (910) 772-1659.    

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY 19th ANNUAL CONVENTION

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THE FOLLOWING TWO ABN WORKSHOPS WERE OFFERED IN WASHINGTON DC on Thursday, May 25, 2007 before the APS 19th Annual Convention.

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AMERICAN BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY: WORKSHOPS

Workshop Title: NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF DRUG ABUSE, PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING AND SEX ADDICTION

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: To learn about the neuropsychology of drug abuse, pathological gambling and sex addiction. Introductory Level.

DESCRIPTION: Addiction to drug, gambling and sex are major international social problem. This workshop will focus on what is known and unknown regarding the neuropsychology of drug abuse, pathological gambling and sex addiction.  The areas covered will include: the neuropsychological effects of abused drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and alcohol, the functional capacity of persons who abuse drugs and neuropsychological assessment of drug abusers. In addition, the neuropsychology of and characteristics of pathological gamblers and sex addicts will also be covered.

PRESENTOR: Arthur MacNeill Horton, Jr., Ed.D., ABPP, ABN earned his doctoral degree from the University of Virginia and holds Diplomates in Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and in Neuropsychology from the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology (ABN). Dr. Horton’s most recent book is the HANDBOOK OF FORENSIC NEUROPSYCHOLOGY (with Lawrence Hartlage, Springer, 2003).  Dr. Horton is President-elect of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN).  Previously, Dr. Horton worked as a program administrator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Workshop Title: INTRODUCTION TO NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: To learn about neuropsychological assessment.  Introductory Level.

DESCRIPTION: This workshop will focus on various aspects of neuropsychological assessment as an introduction to this area. Clinical neuropsychology is an applied science which is concerned with the relationship between the brain and behavior. It integrates the fields of clinical psychology and behavioral neurology and attempts to evaluated individuals suspected of having focal or diffuse brain dysfunction. Neuropsychological assessment utilizes specialized psychological tests to evaluate a wide variety of cognitive functions and behaviors that are dependent on the structural and functional integrity of the brain.

PRESENTOR: Shane Bush, Ph. D., ABPP, ABN, holds Diplomates in Rehabilitation Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and a Diplomate in Neuropsychology from both the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology (ABN) and the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology (ABPP). Dr. Bush is a Member at Large of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) and former chair of the NAN Education Committee. Dr. Bush has published five books related to ethical and professional issues in psychology and neuropsychology, as well as one text on geriatric neuropsychology. He is in independent practice on Long Island, New York and is a faculty member of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine and the Touro College School of Health Sciences.

OVERALL EXCELLENT RATINGS AND GOOD ATTENDENCE WITH VERY POSITIVE COMMENTS BY WORKSHOP ATTENDEES

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY 20th ANNUAL CONVENTION
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Will be held in Chicago, Illinois, in May of 2008, ABN Workshops are planned.

See www.psychologicalscience.org/convention for details.