Originally published: . Volume 1, No. 9. Source pages: 1, 4.
Two appointments have been made to the LSBEP, and a reappointment cancelled, according to Boards and Commissions Director, Ms. Sarah Olcott, in a phone conversation with the Times last week.
Dr. Tony Young was appointed in March and Dr. John Simoneaux was appointed in late April. The Governor’s office had also announced the reappointment of Dr. Dammers, but since then he has re-resigned, according to Ms. Olcott.
Dr. Young is from Ruston and an associate professor at Louisiana Tech. Dr. Simoneaux is from Pineville, and is in private practice with an emphasis on forensic assessment.
Ms. Gail Lowe, LPA executive director, noted that Dr. Young would be filling Dr. Ally’s term, which ends June 2012. And she explained that Dr. Simoneaux will replace Dr. Dammers, a term to be completed June 2013. Ms. Lowe also said that in speaking with Ms. Olcott, the third of three openings will be filled from the list of names submitted by LPA to the Governor’s office last December. The third and pending appointment will be for a full five-year term, replacing Dr. Rovaris whose service ends this June.
Dr. Dammers was reappointed to the board in March, after having resigned in September 2009. According to the press release he had been nominated by LPA. However, he was not on the list provided by LPA from the November ’09 election.
This reappointment came as a surprise to some, including executive directors of both LPA and LSBEP. His reappointment also concerned some psychologists who expected to have a balanced board once all appointments had been made for 2010. The board has been composed of those with the medical psychologist designation. Dr. Dammers’ reappointment would mean that a majority on the board would still be MPs, even though MPs are no longer required to be licensed under the LSBEP.
Grassroots, an organization that addresses a variety of concerns for the psychological community, sent a request to the governor asking for an additional consideration of Dr. Dammers’ reappointment. In a communication to Grassroots’ legal council about this matter and future appointments, the Governor’s representative indicated that in order to simplify issues and avoid distractions, future appointments would come from the list of names provided by LPA.
Dr. Young is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice, teaching, and research. He trains doctoral students in counseling psychology. He commented on his nomination form, writing “In Louisiana our profession is in a crisis with the movement of medical psychologists to the medical board. The first goal would be to see that the board is stabilized and comprises psychologists who are experienced in the field. The second goal would be to protect the people of Louisiana from practitioners who are impaired, unqualified, or incompetent to practice psychology.”
Dr. Simoneaux is a counseling psychologist who works in private practice with an emphasis on forensic assessment. He also teaches through his business, Professional Training Resources. He noted on his nomination that, “…psychology in this state is facing extraordinary challenges in the near future. While protecting the public interests, the Board would ideally be perceived as being fair and judicious. I would like to try to improve communications between the Board and psychologists through more frequent newsletters, C.E. offerings, etc. I want psychologists to not fear the Board, but recognize it can be a tool to protect the public and advance the profession.”
Dr. Mike Chafetz (left) speaks with new appointee to the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, Dr. Tony Young from Ruston, at the LPA annual meeting. Dr. Penelope Dralle from New Orleans enjoys the discussion after the vote on bylaws.
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