The American Psychological Association’s annual convention will be a virtual event, taking place August 12 through 14. APA 2021 features more than 50 prominent voices from across disciplines speaking on the power of psychology and will offer continuing education sessions and workshops. 

PAR is proud to once again be a sponsor of the APA annual convention, as well as an exhibitor. We invite you to stop by our virtual booth.  

• Receive a special APA discount code good for 15% off any PAR product purchase when you visit us during booth hours! (Booth hours are 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., 2 to 3 p.m., and 5 to 6 p.m. each day of the convention.) 

• Also during booth hours, PAR staff will be present and will be happy to answer your questions about our products.  

• Stop by the virtual booth any time during the conference to get more information about our products.  

We look forward to meeting you at APA 2021!  There is still time, register today! 

 

 

Earlier this month, the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP) of the American Psychological Association (APA) gave out the very first R. Bob Smith III, PhD, Excellence in Assessment Award.

The award, named after PAR’s Executive Chairman and Founder, R. Bob Smith III, PhD, will be given annually during APA’s national convention to an individual, group, or organization that has advanced the field of scientific assessment in individual psychological functioning, mental health, learning, or social and intellectual development. The award is unique in that recipients will be asked to present a workshop at the APA national convention designed to instruct practitioners in the use of a cutting-edge psychological assessment product or procedure or on a topic clinically relevant to psychological assessment.

This year, the award was given to Thomas Achenbach, PhD. Dr. Achenbach’s wife, Leslie Rescorla, accepted the award on his behalf.

PAR is proud to announce that our Executive Chairman and Founder, R. Bob Smith III, PhD, has been honored by the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP), a division of the American Psychological Association (APA). SCCAP has named a new award after Dr. Smith to recognize his efforts in supporting and producing evidence-based psychological assessment measures and procedures. In a further honor, the award will be presented annually at the APA national convention, beginning at this year’s convention, Aug. 8–11 in Chicago.

The Bob Smith III, PhD Psychological Assessment Award will be given each year to an individual, a group, or an organization that has advanced the field of scientific assessment in individual psychological functioning, mental health, learning, or social and intellectual development.

Another unique feature of this award is that recipients will have the opportunity to present a workshop at the APA national convention designed to instruct practitioners in the use of a cutting-edge psychological assessment product or procedure, or on a topic clinically relevant to psychological assessment.

To ensure the award will continue in perpetuity, SCCAP, industry colleagues, and friends of Dr. Smith have created and funded an endowment. If you would like to support the Bob Smith III, PhD Psychological Assessment Award and its contribution to society, please consider a tax-deductible donation. For more information on how to contribute, please contact PAR Customer Support or call 1.800.331.8378.

PAR is incredibly proud of Bob and his accomplishments and is grateful for this recognition of his body of work in the field.

Are you heading to Denver for the 2016 APA Convention? Make sure to stop by the PAR booth to say hi! We will have samples of new products on hand, so be sure to ask about our latest releases! Also, be sure to pick up a complimentary clipboard while you are at the booth.

Many PAR authors will be participating in sessions at APA, so take this opportunity to learn from the psychologists who created some of your favorite assessments. Here are just a few sessions we think you will enjoy. Check your program guide for locations.

Session 1044: Continuing Education Workshop #107: Advances in Addressing Violence—Assessment, Attachment, and Treatment
Thursday, August 4
8:00 AM to 3:50 PM
Lisa A. Firestone, coauthor of the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts™ (FAST™) and Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent™ (FASI™), Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts™ (FAVT™), and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts™-Adolescent

Session 1305: Beyond the “Replication Crisis”—Diverse Considerations for Psychology's Future
Thursday, August 4
2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 4018: Integrating Science and Practice—Beneficial Theory–Detrimental Theory
Sunday, August 7
8:00 AM to 9:50 AM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 3357: Lee Gurel Lecture: Public Misunderstandings of Psychological Science and Their Implications for Teaching
Saturday, August 6
4:00 PM to 4:50 PM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 2022: Understanding and Reducing Cognitive Biases
Friday, August 5
8:00 AM to 9:50 AM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 1143: The DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorder: Rationale and Research
Thursday, August 4
11:00 AM to 11:50 AM
Leslie C. Morey, author of the Personality Assessment Inventory™ (PAI®) and the Personality Assessment Inventory™–Adolescent (PAI®-A)

Session 1243: Sophisticated Simplicity—The Art of Writing Reader-Friendly Assessment Reports
Thursday, August 4
1:00 PM to 2:50 PM
Cecil R. Reynolds, author of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales™, Second Edition (RIAS™-2), the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™), the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™), and more

Session 1262: Mental Health and Well-Being–II
Thursday, August 4
2:00 PM to 2:50 PM
William M. Reynolds, author of the Reynolds Child Depression Scale™–2nd Edition (RCDS™-2) and Reynolds Child Depression Scale™–2nd Edition: Short Form (RCDS™-2:SF), the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, 2nd Ed. (RADS-2™) and Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, 2nd Ed. Short Form (RADS-2™:SF), and more

Adele Eskeles Gottfried, PhD, author of the Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI), will be presenting a paper at the 2014 APA Annual Conference in Washington, DC this week. Entitled, “From Parental Stimulation of Children’s Curiosity to Science Motivation and Achievement,” Gottfried’s longitudinal research shows that when parents encourage their young children’s curiosity, those children have higher academic intrinsic motivation in science subjects and higher science achievement across childhood through adolescence. Overall, the importance of academic intrinsic motivation for children’s subsequent academic competence is demonstrated. This study is part of Gottfried’s ongoing research on longitudinal aspects of parental stimulation’s role in children’s academic intrinsic motivation, and it highlights the importance of the CAIMI in being able to delineate these findings.

Gottfried’s presentation will be part of the “Role of Others in Promoting Students’ Motivation, Learning, and Well-Being” session on Sunday, August 10, at 1:00 p.m. in Convention Center Room 115. Please confirm dates and times in your convention program when you get to APA—and be sure to stop by the PAR booth (#438) as well!

With smart phones becoming ubiquitous, many researchers are finding that mobile apps are becoming an important part of research. But citing a mobile app can be tricky – after all, it does not fit into the guidelines for traditional software and it is not the same as a printed product. Here are a few things you should know when citing a mobile app:

• Instead of an author, and app has a rights holder. The rights holder may be an individual, but it may also be a group or a company.


• Use the publication date of the version you used, even if previous or updated versions are available.


• If you are only using an entry, article, reference, or portion of the app, that can be noted just as you would in a print reference. That information simply goes at the beginning of the reference.


• List how you accessed the app – whether you downloaded it from the Apple Store, Google Play, or another Web site.


• Don’t put a period at the end of the Web address.

Here are some examples:

Rightsholder, A. B. (year). Title of App (Version 1) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://webaddress.com

Article Title. (year). In Title of App (Version 1) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://webaddress.com

The CPT code numbers that mental health professionals use for billing psychotherapy services to insurance carriers will change on January 1, 2013. In addition to the code changes, Medicare reimbursement rates will also be revised. The AMA will publish the new codes and rates later this fall.

The American Psychological Association’s Practice Central Web site outlines some of the anticipated changes, which include:

1.  Outpatient and inpatient psychotherapy codes will be replaced by a single set of codes that can be used in both settings.
2.  The new psychotherapy codes will have specified times rather than ranges:

• 30 minutes, not 20-30 minutes


• 45 minutes, not 45-50 minutes


• 60 minutes, not 75-80 minutes

3.  The single psychiatric diagnostic evaluation code will be replaced by two codes: one for a diagnostic evaluation and the other for a diagnostic evaluation with medical services.

What practical steps do you need to take now in order to prepare for these changes? According to the American Psychiatric Association, the pharmacologic management code will no longer exist, so it is important for practitioners to start familiarizing themselves with the medical evaluation and management (E/M) codes for medication management. Practitioners should also review any contracts they have with insurers to make sure that the contracts don’t limit them to specific codes in the psychiatry section that may be replaced as of January 1. HIPPA requires that insurers use current CPT codes, so these companies should be updating contracts in the coming months.

For the latest information about these changes and how they may affect your practice, visit the American Psychological Association’s Practice Central Web site or call its Practitioner Helpline at 1.800.374.2723.

PAR is proud to announce that the following 14 PAR authors will be presenting at APA this year. We encourage you attend their sessions and to visit our booth to meet our staff, pick up a complimentary doorhanger, and receive 15% off plus free shipping and handling on all purchases made during APA 2012.

Kevin D. Arnold
2212

Phillip J. Brantley
3293

Lisa Firestone
1174, 3051

Gerard Gioia
2210

Christopher Hopwood
4060

Randy Kamphaus
1150, 2127, 2163, 4104

Alan Kaufman
3211

Mark McMinn
1096, 1307, 2073, 2316, 3099, 3248

Jonathan Mueller
4132

Randal Salekin 
1013, 1141, 4130, 4135

Peter Sheras
 2271, 3047, 4131

Glenn Smith
3073

Robert Stern
2210

Irv Weiner
1066

Want your voice to be heard when the American Psychiatric Association (APA) publishes the upcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)? The organization is now taking comments on its most recent draft and welcomes opinions until June 15, 2012. Simply register to participate in the public commentary period. This will be the third time the draft has been made available for comment and will be the final opportunity for feedback on the text. A final version of the text will be presented to the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association later this year in order to meet a May 2013 publication date.

Interested in reading what is new in the DSM-5? APA provides an ongoing list of the proposed updates.

The World Health Organization (WHO) will be releasing the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) in 2015. If you are interested in participating in the revision, making comments, or reviewing proposals, visit the WHO site to register. Want more information about how the ICD-11 update will affect you? Visit the ICD-11 fact sheet for more information.

What’s in a name? For young veterans and others coping with post-traumatic stress disorder, a name could mean the difference between seeking treatment and suffering alone. Psychiatrists and military officers are now considering the implications of a name change for PTSD in an effort to reduce the stigma associated with this diagnosis. The new name under consideration? Post-traumatic stress injury, or PTSI.

“No 19-year-old kid wants to be told he’s got a disorder,” said General Peter Chiarelli, in a May 5 interview with the Washington Post. Until his retirement in February of this year, Chiarelli was the nation’s second-highest ranking Army officer, and he led the effort to reduce the suicide rate among military personnel. He and other supporters of the name change believe that using the word “injury” instead of “disorder” will reduce the stigma that stops soldiers and others from seeking treatment. According to Chiarelli, “disorder” suggests a pre-existing condition that “makes the person seem weak.” “Injury,” on the other hand, is appropriate because the condition is caused by the experience of specific trauma, according to supporters of the change. Injuries, they point out, can often be healed with treatment.

This issue is coming to a head because the American Psychiatric Association is working on a new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), expected in May 2013. Not everyone is in favor of the name change; one of the major concerns, according to psychologist Sherrie Bourg Carter, is that “altering a diagnostic label may have far-reaching financial implications for health insurers and disability claims. Specifically, some insurers and government agencies may not be willing to reimburse mental health providers for a condition that isn’t considered a disease or disorder” (Psychology Today blog, May 6).

American Psychiatric Association President Dr. John Oldham has suggested that he would be open to considering the name change. “If it turns out that that [the word ‘injury’] could be a less uncomfortable term and would facilitate people who need help getting it, and it didn’t have unintended consequences that we would have to be sure to try to think about, we would certainly be open to thinking about it,” Oldham told PBS NewsHour in a December interview.

What do you think? Would a name change help reduce the stigma associated with post-traumatic stress and encourage people to seek the help they need? PAR wants to hear from you, so leave a comment and join the conversation!