Monitor on Psychology - May 2012 - (Page 13)

Good Governance Project moves into its next phase APA’s Good Governance Project (GGP) marked a milestone in February when the association’s Council of Representatives received the team’s report of its assessment and approved moving forward with the next phase of the project: developing specific proposals to address the needs identified. GGP, which grew out of APA’s Strategic Plan, seeks to maximize organizational effectiveness by assuring that APA’s governance practices, processes and structures are optimized and aligned with what is needed to thrive in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex environment. The GGP team, chaired by Sandy Shullman, PhD, was given the task of soliciting input from stakeholders to fully understand the current status of APA governance. The assessment identified seven major areas for change: Strengthening APA’s strategic focus: Align efforts and initiatives of APA governance with the strategic plan. Enhancing communications: Improve effective communication to and from members and among APA’s organizational elements. Assessing structure and representation: Determine appropriate structure(s) and relationships of governance, including how member segments are represented and where/how representation is needed. Reviewing governance processes and functions: Review how the council and other governance bodies operate, the kinds of issues they focus on, and the processes they use both to carry out the business of governance and to communicate efficiently between and among elements of governance. Clarifying roles and accountability: Identify the appropriate roles, responsibilities and relationships of key governance components (the council, board of directors, boards and committees), and explore how accountability for fulfilling those roles might be assessed and defined to maximize effectiveness. Determine who is engaged in governance and how: Suggest ways for members to join governance and clarify the distinctions among voice, vote and engagement. This includes maximizing engagement of all communities to ensure aligning the strategic plan with the future of psychology. Understanding APA culture: Identify potential changes to APA’s governance culture needed to achieve an optimal governance system. The GGP team recommended to council that the seven areas not be tackled all at once, but that the first step should be changes that are process-focused rather than structural: strategic alignment; role clarification and accountability; governance process and function. Based on the council feedback, the team is exploring solutions to these issues, such as better use of technology, streamlining the council’s agenda, triaging issues to focus on more important ones, increasing the speed of decision-making, defining roles of governance elements and aligning the council’s work with APA’s strategic plan. If you would like to comment on the work of the GGP, contact Nancy Gordon Moore, PhD, MBA, executive director of governance affairs (nmoore@apa.org). For more information, including a copy of the GGP report and the technology backgrounder, go to the GGP section of APA’s website at www.apa.org/about/governance/good-governance. —L. KAPLINSKI M AY 2 0 1 2 • M O N I T O R O N P S Y C H O L O G Y APA publishes third edition of seminal ADHD book for kids When Patricia Quinn, MD, and Judy Stern first published “Putting on the Brakes: Understanding and Taking Control of Your ADD or ADHD” (Magination Press) 20 years ago, there were no nonfiction books for children that addressed attention issues in a straightforward way. Now Amazon has its own ADHD section, yet “Putting on the Brakes” remains the go-to resource for doctors and parents worldwide. The book has sold more than 150,000 copies and has been translated into 10 languages. A fully updated third edition will be published this year. The idea for the book was a natural for Quinn, a developmental pediatrician in Washington, D.C., and Stern, a teacher and educational consultant in Rockville, Md. “I learned early on that parents don’t know how to talk to their children about ADHD, so I started talking to the children themselves,” says Quinn. Their goal for “Putting on the Brakes” was to give children the words and concepts to communicate their needs and to show readers that there was nothing “wrong” with them. “We’ve found that kids think they might be ‘dumb,’ or they may get called lazy by adults who don’t always understand their issues,” says Stern. “We tried to deal with their feelings and reassure them, as well as give them good coping skills.” The third edition includes an expanded and updated section on medication and addresses new treatments, such as meditation, yoga and “green space” therapy in which children spend time outdoors. “The anniversary edition can remind people of what a valuable resource it was when they were children, and lets them know it’s still here,” says Quinn. “It’s been redone and repackaged for a new generation, so it’s really the most up-to-date book available for kids and their parents.” —E. WOJCIK 13 http://www.apa.org/about/governance/good-governance

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - May 2012

Monitor on Psychology - May 2012
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Math + science + motherhood = a tough combination
The rights of indigenous people take center stage at AAAS meeting
Interdisciplinary programs that are leading the way
Good Governance Project moves into its next phase
APA publishes third edition of seminal ADHD book for kids
Government Relations Update
In Brief
Random Sample
Judicial Notebook
Psychology’s first forays into film
Time Capsule
Questionnaire
Presidential programming
Obesity researchers receive lifetime achievement awards
Top speakers for psychology’s top meeting
Science Watch
Homing in on sickle cell disease
Psychologist Profile
Alone in the ‘hole’
Public Interest
State Leadership Conference ‘12
Perspective on Practice
Education tops council’s agenda
Meet the candidates for APA’s 2014 president
Presidential election guidelines
Division Spotlight
American Psychological Foundation
Support for sexual miniorities
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - May 2012

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