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AP-LS Monthly E-News

Welcome to the March 2023

American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) Newsletter

 

Our monthly newsletter provides information about activities, upcoming events, and resources to connect the psychology-law community.

 

AP-LS aspires to excel as a valuable, effective, and influential organization advancing the science of psychology-law and the translation of psychology-law knowledge into practice and policy. 

President’s Column

Now that I’ve hit the mid-way point in my presidency, I thought the time was right for a President’s Column. So let’s start with the basics: our association is stronger than ever. We have an incredibly active membership at every level of training – from undergraduates to well-established professionals. Our journals (both our official journal, LHB, and our unofficial second journal, PPPL) have never been more impactful. Our upcoming conference has an impressive set of plenary presentations, symposia, and most importantly, ample opportunities for connecting. And the early numbers on conference registration point to a very strong turnout. In other words, AP-LS is running smoothly. Admittedly, we’ve been having some adjustment challenges to the loss of our long-time administrator (Kathy Gaskey) and the switch to a professional management company, but those adjustments are being worked out, and shouldn’t be noticeable to the vast majority of members. And when the dust settles on this transition, we’ll be stronger and better organized than ever. Which brings me to the question of what sort of “presidential initiative” I should be working on.


My predecessors have developed and carried out many impressive and thoughtful initiatives, such as efforts to increase the diversity of our membership (e.g., through developing and nurturing our impressive BRIDGE Committee and the many activities they sponsor), increasing the representation of attorneys in our membership (i.e., growing the L in AP-LS), impacting the communities we visit, and expanding the “inner circle” of the organization leadership by bringing in new faces to serve on committees and task forces. There have also been many efforts behind the scenes that have not necessarily stemmed from any specific Presidential Initiatives. Nonetheless, in recent years we’ve taken many steps to increase the resources we make available to both students and members (e.g., increasing our funding for student support grants, developing the ECP and REID grants), ease the transition from student to early career professional, make conference attendance more accessible for new parents and those with physical impediments, and to expand the services (and attention) we provide for our many members who work in applied settings. The latter development has become increasingly important, and one that is personally important to me as someone who divides their time (and interests) between academia and applied practice. One visible example of this increased attention to practitioners is the addition of CE credits for a large portion of the conference programming – included in the cost of registration (not just for pre-conference workshops, which we have always offered and continue to provide this year). For a number of logistical reasons we can’t provide CE credits for every paper presentation, but we are providing CE credits for virtually all symposia, invited addresses and plenary sessions so attendees should be able to get as many as 15 CE credits over the 2.5 conference days simply by attending talks that they may have attended anyway. Why are we doing this? To encourage our applied members to attend the annual meeting and keep their connection with the organization, and to see that the organization serves us all, not just the researchers who apply for the grants and get most of the awards. 


So, what should our next steps be? I think the answer is growth. Not in membership numbers, though that might happen too, but in our scope and impact. In truth, this has been a personal mission of mine for most of my career, in part because many of my own interests haven’t always fit squarely into the mainstream topics that fill most of our journal pages and conference presentations. My early research focused on capacity to make treatment decisions and evolved into studying physician-assisted suicide. More recently, I’ve been involved in work surrounding immigration court, both in a clinical capacity (conducting asylum evaluations) and research (studying asylum-relevant issues in undocumented migrants). So not surprisingly, this is where I see the opportunities for growth in our association: bringing our skills as researchers and clinicians to legal issues that have traditionally garnered relatively little attention. Some examples? Immigration law is an easy starting point. How often are psychological evaluations used in asylum or deportation proceedings?  Are they helpful in increasing fairness of these proceedings, or impacting outcomes more generally (since “fairness” is an inherently challenging metric)? Are there better or worse approaches to conducting these types of evaluations? Is telephonic/video testimony (which has always been more common in Immigration court, even before the pandemic) less impactful? How do Immigration Court judges view expert testimony? These same questions could be applied to a range of other topics, including child custody evaluations, personal injury evaluations, and the capacity to make treatment or financial decisions (or guardianship more broadly). They are common legal issues that have a central role for psychology but are virtually absent from our journals and conferences, yet represent a large portion of the work that many forensic clinical psychologists engage in. And while these “clinical” examples are the ones that come first to mind (I am a clinician, after all), equally important novel and/or understudied questions exist for our non-clinical researchers. I’ll talk more about this in my Presidential Address, but in the meantime I would encourage you all – especially our younger members who are trying to carve out a niche for themselves in what might sometimes feel like a crowded field, to think about how you can expand your own personal range, whether that’s in research, consultation or clinical activities.

 

So there it is – a preview of my Presidential Initiative and a quick snapshot of our organization’s overall health. We’ve bounced back from the challenges of the pandemic and are at full strength. I hope to catch up with many of you at the annual meeting in Philadelphia next month, and for those of you I don’t know, please feel free to introduce yourself. I’m always happy to meet new people and make new friends. 


Barry Rosenfeld, Ph.D., A.B.P.P. (Forensic)

President, American Psychology-Law Society
 

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 
Call for Papers on Emerging Issues in Correctional Policy, Research, and Practice
*Extended Deadline*

Guest Editors:  

Ashley B. Batastini, Ph.D. 

University of Memphis 

 

Jennifer Eno Louden, Ph.D. 

The University of Texas at El Paso 

 

Virginia Barber-Rioja, Ph.D. 

Correctional Health Services/NYC Health + Hospitals 

 

Correctional institutions and departments are often slow-moving regarding practice developments, policy reform, and research engagement. Long-standing issues such as prison over-crowding, limited financial resources, geographical remoteness, low staff recruitment and retention, safety and  security constraints, and traditional administrative values that favor punishment over rehabilitation can stifle the implementation of more innovative and progressive efforts.

 

However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing calls from advocacy groups, politicians, and the general public have placed pressures on correctional systems to explore alternative solutions that balance crime reduction with humane care and commonsense policies. As jails and prisons continue to serve as major mental health providers, innovations specific to psychological interventions are especially relevant. 

 

This special section will highlight emerging issues and inventive trends in correctional psychology research and practice that can inform policy decisions and reform efforts. Original quantitative and/or qualitative research is strongly encouraged; however, empirically grounded systematic reviews or policy/practice recommendations will also be considered. Manuscripts focused on all areas of corrections are welcome, but topics of particular interest include: 

  • Technological advances that improve access to and delivery of correctional practices or policy implementation
  • Integrating social justice principles in assessment and intervention for clients in correctional settings
  • Mental and behavioral health responses to COVID-19 in correctional settings
  • Creative approaches to addressing and reducing the jail-based competency crisis
  • Validation of novel and feasible suicide and violence risk instruments with correctional samples
  • Medication-assisted treatment and other innovative substance use interventions
  • Adaptation or development of evidence-based assessment or interventions for underserved and understudied populations (e.g., people with neurodevelopmental disorders, women and non-binary people, LGBTQIA+ persons, people of color, etc.)
  • Unique methodological or statistical approaches to conducting correctional research or evaluating the effectiveness of new policies  

For general inquiries, prospective contributors may contact Dr. Ashley Batastini (Ashley.batastini@memphis.edu).

 

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s online submission portal in accordance with specified formatting guidelines. Once in the portal, there will be a drop-down option to designate your submission for consideration in this special section. The deadline for submissions is March 15, 2023.
 

APA Update: APA Council Meeting February 23-25, 2023

Council approved the consent agenda, which included adoption of the APA Principles for Quality Undergraduate Education in Psychology and the extension of the Specialty Guidelines in Forensic Psychology. The extension of the specialty guidelines is especially relevant for many of our members and will allow for the APA Ethics Committee to finish its work revising the APA Ethics Code before the specialty guidelines expire, as the revised code could inform revisions to the specialty guidelines. 

 

Council members remembered APA members who died since we last met. Your Council representatives along with a representative from Division 42 rose to remember Kento Yasuhara.

 

The proposal for a new Committee for the Advancement of General Applied Psychology passed, with 91.1% of the Council voting to establish committee. This new group will provide a home within APA for activities designed to advance applied psychological science and research outside of the direct delivery of mental health services. The committee will provide new opportunities for APLS members to get involved in APA. As the Chair of the Caucus on General Applied Psychology and Psychologists, your representative Margaret Bull Kovera worked with the movers of this proposal to educate other Council members on the unaddressed needs that could be addressed by creating this new governance structure within APA. Close to 95% of Council voted to support the new applied general psychology committee's request to perform an annual self-assessment and establish liaison relationships across APA governance. 

 

Council discussed and voted on a resolution on Confidentiality and Reproductive Health, which was approved with a vote of 96.7% in favor. The resolution emphasizes the importance of confidentiality within the psychology profession and addresses when psychologists are faced with ethical conflicts with law.

 

Council overwhelmingly (97%) voted to approve a report on an offer of apology to First Peoples in the United States.

 

97% of Council voted to approve educational guidelines for equitable and respectful treatment of students in graduate psychology training programs. 

 

Council voted on whether to create an exception to Keesey’s procedures so that new business items can be added to Council agenda with a 50%+1 vote rather than a 2/3 vote in favor, when any objections had been raised to adding the item.  This proposal was rejected by 70% of Council after extensive discussion.  

 

It is now possible for new business items to be discussed at the plenary meeting prior to the official start of Council business – 67.1% of Council voted in favor of this new practice. 

 

There was a discussion about a motion to remove the requirement for the Council Leadership Team (CLT), and Boards and committees that have reviewed a new business item to provide an opinion on the item before it is considered in final form. After some discussion, 57% of Council voted to postpone a vote on this motion until the August meeting when the Council will receive a report on an evaluation of the effectiveness of the CLT. 

 

96.1% of Council voted to approve a change to the association rules so that all members of the Board of Directors (BoD) will be subject to the same review prior to being slated for election to a BoD seat as had previously been applied only to candidates for members-at-large seat. Your representatives successfully lobbied in advance of the Council meeting to have a felony status question removed from the review process.  

 

88% of Council voted to postpone discussion of changes to simultaneous services election-related rules until its next meeting in August. 

 

Then, 66% of Council voted to create a three-year Council liaison pilot program between Council and selected APA Boards/Committees. 

 

Council then had a thoughtful discussion about the APA Strategic Plan and how APA, guided by psychological science, can address important societal issues in the next 3-5 years. 

 

Council approved Resolution on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Quality Continuing Education and Professional Development, with 93.3% voting in favor of the resolution. 

 

Council (93.7%) postponed until August a vote on a new procedure for improving the diversity impact statement statements that accompany new business items to give the movers more time to refine motion. Jason Cantone has volunteered to assist the movers in this revision process.  

 

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to either of your APA Council Representatives.  

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Margaret Bull Kovera (on behalf of herself and Jason Cantone)

Placeholder for more text coming.
 

AP-LS 2023 Conference

AP-LS is just a few weeks away! We look forward to seeing everyone in Philadelphia, PA. 


The full program for AP-LS 2023 is now posted on the AP-LS website.


Also, moving forward, please note that the Conference Co-Chairs Miko Wilford and Andrea Avila are responsible for conference programming and can be contacted at conference@ap-ls.org.

 

The AP-LS Office handles all other conference-related queries pertaining to, for instance, the Speaker Agreement forms, continuing education (CE) requirements, satellite or social events, etc. They can be contacted at office@ap-ls.org.

 
 

Interested in learning more about becoming a Fellow or Distinguished Member of AP-LS?

If you would like to learn more about becoming a Division 41 APA Fellow or Distinguished Member of AP-LS, then please plan on attending the Fellows meet-and-greet at the AP-LS Conference in Philadelphia.

 

Stop by the hospitality suite anytime between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Please ask at the registration desk for the hospitality suite room number, as it is yet to be assigned. 

 

Visit our website for more information about criteria for becoming a Fellow. 

 

Questions or other inquiries can be directed to the current chair of the AP-LS Fellows Committee, Eve Brank at ebrank2@unl.edu. 
 

New Law and Science Dissertation Grant

In 2020, Arizona State University launched a new Law and Science Dissertation Grant (LSDG) program, funded through the National Science Foundation (SBE #2016661). This competitive program replaces NSF’s successful and longstanding Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (DDRIG) program in Law and Science. The award to ASU provides funding of up to $20,000 apiece to doctoral students in diverse law-and-science disciplines (e.g., anthropology, criminal justice, economics, forensic science, political science, psychology, sociology) to conduct their dissertation research.

 

The next submission deadline is May 15, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. MST. Annual deadlines will be on May 15 and November 15 (or the first business day thereafter if the date falls on a weekend or federal holiday). Please spread the word to any students who might be interested in funding their dissertation research through this grant.


For more information about the LSDG program, please visit (and share) our website.


If you have any questions pertaining to the LSDG program, you may complete the ‘Contact Us’ form included on the website.

 
 

Call for Book Proposals

The American Psychology-Law Society invites proposals for new titles in its book series, which is now published by APA Books. We publish authored and edited volumes on current issues at the intersection of psychology and law. Books are typically a state-of-the-science synthesis of a body of existing research with implications for practice and/or policy.

 

Authors and editors should have a substantial and recent track record of publication and/or practice in psychology or law, and at least one should hold a doctorate in psychology or closely related behavioral science. If you have a proposal for a new book in the series or you would simply like more information, reach out to a member of the editorial team. We would be happy to tell you more.    

 

The editorial board members are:

●     Monica Miller, Division 41 Book Series Editor (mkmiller@unr.edu)

●     Monique Bowen, Division 41 Book Series Associate Editor (mbowen2@antioch.edu)

●     Jemour Maddux, Division 41 Book Series Associate Editor (jm@rule702.com) 
 

Lawrence S. Wrightsman Book Award

The AP-LS Book Award was renamed the Lawrence S. Wrightsman Book Award by the American Psychology-Law Society executive committee in August 2019 based on Dr. Wrightsman’s contribution to the field, specifically through his books, as his psychology and law textbook is frequently used in the education of students in the field of psychology and law.


This year, the committee has selected, in 1st place, "The Behavioral Code: The Hidden Ways the Law Makes us Better… or Worse," written by Adam Fine and Benjamin Van Rooij and published by Beacon Press in 2021; and in 2nd place, "A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice." written by David Sklansky and published by Belknap Press in 2021. The work of the committee is concentrated over a few short months but requires intense reading and consideration. The nominated titles are always very strong, and it is never easy to pick the winners.

 

On the Job or Postdoc Market? AP-LS Job Postings

Check out AP-LS's Job Postings Page for up-to-date information on available psychology-law positions.

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