Article archive / April 1, 2016
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 4. Source pages: 16, 17.
Conference May 20–21 in New Orleans Integrated Approaches Featured at LPA
At their annual convention this May, the Continuing Education Committee of the Louisiana Psychological Association will host a distinguished group of psychologists who educate and practice in the developing field of integrated health care.
“Epigenetics is the new ‘buzzword’ in areas of psychology and science, and appears to be a revolution in the understanding of how life works,” said Dr. Gail Gillespie, Chair of the Education Committee for the Louisiana Psychological Association (LPA).
“The term epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence,” she explained. “Epigenetic change can be influenced by such factors as environment, nutrition, and lifestyle. New research is continuously uncovering how environmental factors switch genes on or off,” she said, “which affects how cells read genes, and the resulting connection to a variety of human disorders and fatal diseases.”
Gillespie is involved in one of the newest movements in this area called Energy Psychology. “The connection between epigenetics and psychology is most clearly revealed in new ‘energy psychology’ methods,” she said, “which are a collection of novel psychological interventions that balance, restore, and enhance functioning through the stimulation of specific meridian points on the body.”
One of the techniques she uses and teaches her patients is a tapping method for acupressure points. “Among other mechanisms, the parasym- pathetic nervous system is activated,” with this technique, Gillespie said, “which results in a deep calming effect – likened to systematic desensitization…” but more efficient and effective. This is just one of many new tools in this mind-body area.
Gillespie said she is delighted for LPA to host Dr. Gerald LaHoste, biopsychologist and professor at University of New Orleans, who will give a keynote address on “Epigenetic Foundations in Health,” May 20.
LaHoste will be followed by a distinguished panel of experts representing an array of health service contexts, Gillespie noted. Included will be Mary Lou Kelley, PhD, Professor and Director of Pediatric Psychology Service at Baton Rouge Clinic; Sarah Moody– Thomas, PhD, Professor at the LSU School of Public Health and director of the Community Health Program; and Deborah Palmer–Seal, PhD, licensed psychologist with the Health & Education Alliance of Louisiana.
Christoph Leonhard, PhD, Chair at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier University, will also speak on the panel, and discuss the Health Services Psychology training model from the American Psychological Association (APA).
In direct responses to the behavioral health care mandates under Obama Care, APA adopted a new accreditation system in February 2015, which takes affect in January 2017, and brings some key changes, Dr. Leonhard said.
The Affordable Care Act brings the integration of behavioral health into all health, including primary care, he explained. “While psychologists aren't necessarily going to be providing this care,” he said, “this mandate presents a huge opportunity for psychologists to play a much larger role in providing services in integrated health care settings. In these settings, psychologists will assess, treat, and/or consult on mental health and behavioral disorders for patients not commonly seen in traditional psychological service settings …”
This includes chronic medical problems such as obesity, substance use disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and others, he explained. “… we are training students to become 'health service psychologists,’” he said. “This term is intended generically to refer to psychological service providers, whether they be clinical psychologists, school psychologists, or counseling psychologists.”
Another way the training standards are different is the emphasis on the “working in interprofessional care settings,” he said.
“There is much psychologists already know about seizing opportunities as health service psychologists in interprofessional care settings,” Leonhard said. “Our skills in being team players with other allied health professionals as we collaborate to prevent, assess, and improve health conditions will be particularly helpful.”
“All allied health professions share a commitment to evidence-based practice but often as psychologists we are particularly well trained to assess health and mental health conditions in a reliable and valid way and to document the positive synergistic effect the addition of behavioral health care services can make to the management of many of the disorders that make up the bulk of the disease burden nation wide,” Dr. Leonhard said.
“Finally, supervision and consultation competencies have been upgraded and are now co-equal with other mandatory competencies, such as assessment, intervention, and diversity competencies,” he said.
Dr. Leonhard does see certain challenges. “It is up to us to show that as health service psychologists we are interested in doing this work, that we have specific competencies uniquely qualifying us, and that health outcomes benefit from including us in interprofessional health care teams.”
He also said that it is up to psychologists to move from their typical cottage industry type work and evolve to a new role in the interprofessional settings of the future.
The Chicago School at Xavier was set up from the beginning to train health service psychologists, Dr. Leonhard noted, and to implement these new APA standards and competencies.
The one they added was teaching. The model is the “ … Community Engaged Scholar- Practitioner model,” he said, and the department has a “… special emphasis on serving the diverse population of New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Delta South region.”
The LPA Convention is scheduled to be held May 20–21 in New Orleans.
Xavier researcher Efehi Edomwonyi (L) speaks with Dr. Christoph Leonhard at the recent SEPA conference. Dr. Leonhard is Chair at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier. He will speak on new the “Health Services Psychologist” training model at the May conference of the Louisiana Psychological Assn to be held in New Orleans. Dr. Gail Gillespie (R) at a previous workshop. She is Chair of Continuing Education for the Louisiana Psychological Association and a practitioner in “Energy Psychology.” Dr. Lacey Seymour, LPA president, is in background.
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