Lt. Governor, Dr. Scott O. Lilienfeld to Speak at 70th La Psych Assn Convention

Lt. Governor William (Billy) Nungesser will deliver the welcome for the 70th Annual Convention of the Louisiana Psychological Association, and highlight Louisiana’s critical needs, launching this year’s theme for “Psychology: Essential Partner for Solving Critical Problems.” Nationally recognized speaker, Emory Professor Dr. Scott O. Lilienfeld, will continue the theme with “Being the Essential Partner: Understanding and Overcoming Skepticism about Scientific Psychology.”

The two-day conference will be held May 18 and 19 at the Sheraton, 4 Galleria Boulevard, in Metairie, and host an array of national and local presenters, scientific poster and laboratory presentations, and experiential groups, building on the theme of psychology’s unique perspectives and contributions.

Lt. Governor Nungesser has been called one of the state’s top CEOs, for his ground-up business development, and his can do approach to crises like Katrina and Deepwater Horizon.

Dr. Lilienfeld is recipient of the James McKeen Cattell Award for Lifetime Contributions to Applied Psychological Science, Association for Psychological Science (APS). His work has been cited over 21,295 times. He delivered the Award Address, “Psychology’s Public Image Problem: Why Many Laypersons and Politicians Don’t View Our Field as Scientific,” at APS.

Lilienfeld is also a researcher and test author in areas of psychopathy, and will also present, “The Multifaceted Nature of Psychopathy,” during the breakout sessions.

Also highlighted this year is neuropsychologist David Schwartz, PhD, from the Concussion Institute in Atlanta, who will present, “Advances in the Assessment and Management of General and Sports–Related Concussion Injuries.” Dr. Schwartz is an engaging speaker who is known for his entertaining delivery and broad information, noted the conference organizers.

Dr. Schwartz will also present the plenary session for Saturday, the cross-cutting topic, “New Technologies for Assessment and Behavior Change.”
April Foreman, PhD, licensed psychologist and Suicide Prevention Coordinator for Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System will present “Suicide Risk Assessment.” Foreman is Suicide Prevention Lead for Veterans Integrated Service Network 16, and on the Executive Committee for the Board of the American Association of Suicidology.
Dr. Foreman is known for her work at the intersection of technology, social media, and mental health.

In a special Zoom presentation, Canadian psychologist, and expert in nutritional mental health, Bonnie Kaplan, PhD, will present “Nutritional Mental Health.”

Kaplan is Professor Emerita in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and an expert in the field of nutritional mental health, including topics such as inflammation and mental health, the microbiome and mental health, oxidative stress and mental health, mitochondria and mental health and nutrienttreatment research.

Denise Newman, PhD, will chair a panel with Drs. Alvin Burstein, Dana Labat, and Sandra Loucks, on the “Heart of Change in Psychotherapy,” and panelists will address, “Technical and Ethical Aspirations in Psychotherapy within a Developmental Framework: Navigating Challenging Dynamics in the Therapeutic Relationship,” and address both the theoretical aspects and the technical navigation of the therapeutic relationship as the focus of psychotherapeutic treatment. Dr. Newman is chair of the LPA Psychotherapy Interest Area Committee.

“Ethical Issues and Health Disparity,” will be presented by co-chairs ValaRay Irvin, PhD and Chris Leonhard, PhD, APPB. Along with panelists they will address the intersection between social determinants of health research, and access to quality mental healthcare and health disparities. Irvin and Leonhard will frame issues in the context of the role of ethical principles, codes of conduct, and related policies and laws in the amelioration of disparities.

Alan Coulter, PhD, and Courtland Chaney, PhD, will present a cross specialty presentation on “Opportunities for Organization Development
Interventions in Schools: The Interface of Two Specialties.” Presenters will review the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), organizational development theory, and blend into a discussion for intervening at the individual, group and organizational level in school systems.

Members of the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists and staff will present an interactive session on “Laws, Rules & Ethics Update.” They will cover demographic characteristics of licensees, where to locate information regarding current laws, rules and opinions pertaining to psychologists, characteristics of the current Rule-making, and common complaints received by the LSBEP and related ethical violations.

Tiffany Jennings, PsyD, will present “Highlights on Rural Health: Utilizing Telehealth to Increase Access to Care, Support, and Peer Consultation.” Dr. Jennings will cover applications for telehealth and also contraindications, how to set up telehealth, forms and codes, ethics and safety measures.
Jill Hayes, PhD, will lead a round table discussion on “Ethical and Legal Issues for Misdiagnosis,” addressing challenges in correct diagnosis in today’s restrictive insurance environment and complex cases.

A Scientific Poster Session will be held on Friday, chaired by Drs. Ashley Jefferson and Melissa Dufrene. Attendees will enjoy breakfast while they review research findings through poster presentations from psychological science across the state, and speak directly with researchers about their theory, methods, and results.

Breakfast is served again on Saturday at the Science Café on Saturday, chaired by Drs. Scott Smith and Bridget Sonnier-Hillis. Attendees can review findings in psychological science from laboratories around the state, and chat with researchers about how science is rapidly changing in key areas.

The Convention includes an IndustrialOrganizational Psychology MiniConference, organized by the LPA I-O and Consulting Psychology Committee. Attendees will hear topics in four modules. Under Ethical Challenges and Citizen Psychology, RichardFlicker, PhD, will present “Ethical Challenges in I-O Psychology: What would you do?” and Courtland Chaney, PhD, will conduct a session on “An I-O Role for a Citizen Psychologist: The Governor’s Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Policy.”

Under the I-O Psychology Practitioner segment, Jim Stodd, MS, will present, “Why I-O Psychology is Superb Training for Those Who Shape and Manage Compensation Programs.” Barry Vose and William Costelloe, PhD, will present, “Seven Steps to Developing an I-O Career.”

Lunch & Learn will address Ethical Dilemmas. The Scholarly Pursuits and I-O Psychology in Healthcare section will begin with Tyree Mitchell, PhD, “Too Much of a Good Thing? The Diminishing Returns of Leadership on Leadership Emergence.”

“The Influence of Untraditional Interview Questions on Applicant Affective Reactions and Perceptions of Organizational Personality,” will be presented by John-Luke McCord and Brian Doyle.

Jared LeDoux, PhD, will present “Applying I-O Psychology in a Hospital Setting.”

For the closing activities of main conference, professional issues are addressed in a communitywide, experiential learning event, known as Lunch & Learn. Specialty interest area groups will address the problems in “Current Ethical & Moral Challenges in Professional Psychology” on Friday, and “Current Professional Challenges in Specialty Areas of Psychology Practice” on Saturday. This working lunch allows attendees to join with colleagues to discover and analyze key issues for today’s professional psychologists.

Facilitators blend the information into the Saturday wrap-up session, and engage attendees in institution-level, strategic analysis in “70 Years of Psychology Contributions––Are We There Yet? An experiential, strategic– planning exercise. Julie Nelson, PhD, and William Costelloe, PhD, will co-chair.

Early registration is open until May 14.

For more information go to the LPA website at: louisianapsychologicalassociation.org.
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