Spring-Summer Update 2017
August 2, 2017
Hello everyone!
Welcome to the first presidential newsletter for 2017. It was an honor to be elected as BCPA’s president for this year because local area societies are uniquely poised to address the needs of psychologists while interfacing with larger organizations (e.g., TPA). However, BCPA is only as strong as its community, and we recently sent out a survey to assess our community’s needs and desires. [Results summarized for members]
Based on these survey results and the core mission of BCPA, we set out a few broad priorities for 2017, including improving our website, solidifying CE offerings, advocating on behalf of psychologists, and improving BCPA’s engagement with the broader San Antonio community. We’ve been working on accomplishing some of these goals, and share a few updates below. As always, please share your feedback with us, as it helps us improve BCPA.
I look forward to a great 2017 together!
David Andrés González, Ph.D.
BCPA President
WEBSITE
A website has been in the works for some time, and we are happy to announce its launch. In addition to a streamlined design that works across multiple platforms and devices, it allows us to provide regular updates, streamlined payment, and an easy format for updating membership. In an effort to facilitate professional connections and help community members find BCPA members for psychological services, we revamped the member directory. Members can make aspects of their profile public and customize the information made publicly available. As with any new product, there is bound to be an adjustment period, and we welcome any and all feedback regarding the new site. Please peruse the site, update your member profile, and let us know what you think!
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/CONTINUING EDUCATION
One of the biggest requests in our member survey was that we provide CEs related to ethics and diversity. We listened to your requests and organized a CE event (May 19) that fulfills requirements for both ethics and diversity. We are considering interfacing with other community organizations to maximize our engagement and reach while reducing costs and providing more CEs throughout the year. We are proud to announce that our first partnership is with Methodist Healthcare Ministries, who co-sponsored our most recent event.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Community involvement has been integrated into many of our other initiatives, including our website update and CEs. Furthermore, we had our winter social in January, which was a big success.
We have also been pursuing collaboration with other mental health orginizations, such as the Bexar County Psychiatric Society. We attended a recent event that they hosted and are in touch to consider collaborative offerings. We have also organized volunteering opportunities, including a recent event at the San Antonio Food Bank.
EARLY CAREER UPDATE
Stacy Ogbeide will be creating a new early career spotlight that highlights early career psychologists in our community. If you have any interest in being profiled, or know an early-career psychologist worthy of being profiled, please send us an e-mail.
ADVOCACY
Texas has a legislative session every two years, and there are several proposed bills that may impact the practice of psychology. In concert with the Texas Psychological Association, we organized a local meeting in April to inform San Antonio psychologists. We also helped coordinate a trip to the Capitol on one of TPA’s legislative days. BCPA members met with San Antonio senators and representatives to share their thoughts regarding laws that will impact their practice. For regular legislative updates (including the special session just called by the governer), please visit TPA’s website: http://www.texaspsyc.org/?TPAAdvocacy