Brouhaha brewing over nonaccredited programs in California It’s all about turf and finances,” charges official of “approved” psychology program that isn’t “accredited”

— March 1, 1999

A legislative proposal to limit the practice of psychology in California to graduates of regionally approved schools will be opposed by the 21 state-approved graduate schools. “There will be a fight,” promised Al Ross, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Ryokan College, a state-approved, but not regionally accredited, psychology graduate school in Los Angeles. “It’s all […]

Psychotherapy and religion: Do they mix and blend?
— January 1, 1999

A Tibetan Buddhist monk, who is a practicing psychologist in Los Angeles, travels this month to New York City’s Beth Israel Hospital to train nurses in meditation and other Eastern spiritual techniques to help ease their patients’ mental pain of suffering and death. The monk, Losang Rabgyay, Ph.D., said he has developed a 15-hour training […]

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A significant breakthrough: Psychology finally gains share of GME funds
— November 1, 1998

Language contained in the last two federal budgets represents major breakthroughs in recognizing psychology as a full-fledged partner in the treatment of hospitalized patients for the first time. The key to winning that recognition is contained in both the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the $500 billion budget deal enacted Oct. 20 to fund […]

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Psychology Told to Put ‘House in Order’ Before Seeking Prescription Rights
— July 1, 1998

Until psychology gets its house in order, there is little reason to discuss prescribing privileges, reacted a Hawaii legislator recently after psychologists squared off rambunctiously in the State House in Honolulu. The defeat of prescription privileges in Hawaii occurred only weeks before a seven-member subcommittee in California killed prescription privileges by a 1-4 vote in […]

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IRA Distribution Rules Are Complex; Pay Close Heed As You Near Retirement
— May 1, 1998

Many professionals, in looking toward their retirement years, puzzle over how to plan for their mandatory IRA distributions; they ask us to explain the rules “in plain English.” Readers should realize, however, that these rules are technical and extremely complex. Any “plain English” summary will not be reliable as a guide to actually making all […]

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Brave new world lurks around corner as human genome project gathers momentum
— January 1, 1999

Those psychologists who winced two years ago when NIMH Director Steven Hyman, M.D., announced in a press release (see National Psychologist, November/December 1996, p.3) that “anxiety disorders, like other mental illnesses, reflect dysfunctions within the brain,” have reason to cry out with pain these days. Few days go by without data about the relationship between […]

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Case Rates: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
— July 1, 1998

Despite dramatic decreases in the cost of mental health treatment during the last several years, many managed care companies are using a new payment method that most psychologists believe will cut into their income even more. The switch from fee-for-service reimbursement to ” case rates” has been growing steadily in some locations, such as California […]

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Whether Psychiatry Is Up to ‘Dirty Tricks’ Is Question In Proposed State Parity Laws
— May 1, 1998

Washington–Psychologists run the risk of being the “bad guys” if they overtly attempt to kill proposed state parity laws limited to Severe Mental Illness (SMI) diagnoses, several state psychological association leaders were told here recently. Still, Ronald E. Bachman, an actuary at Coopers & Lybrand in Atlanta, told the state leaders there are dangers involved […]

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The Judge Who Directs Nation’s First Mental Health Court
— January 1, 1998

Fort Lauderdale, FL — The wonder is why it took so long to acknowledge that letting mentally ill persons roam the streets or linger in wretched jail cells or institutionalizing them without providing appropriate treatment has been ineffective. Finally, mercifully, Broward County, FL has taken the plight of a segment of mentally ill persons […]

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