Originally published: . Volume 14, No. 3. Source pages: 15.
10 Years Ago … What The Psychology Times was reporting on in March 2013
Groups watching LPA gives dissenting opinion BA Commission Report Goes to Louisiana
Senate
The Behavior Analysts Licensure and Regulation Study Commission submitted its final report to President of the Louisiana Senate for a February 1 deadline. The report contains recommendations for the licensure and regulation of behavior analysts, including scope of practice, definitions of three levels of practitioners, and the decision for a merged board arrangement with the Licensed Professional Counselors. The final report also included a dissenting opinion from the Louisiana Psychological Association.
Psychologist Designed Teacher
Assessment Program Moves into Full
Swing Across State
by Suzanne Booth, MA, Psychology Times Intern
The value-added assessment portion of Louisiana’s teacher evaluation system developed by school psychologist and LSU professor, Dr. George Noell and colleagues, is taking full effect across Louisiana this year. The program, derived from the earlier Value-Added Teacher Preparation Program Assessment Model, began in 2003 when Noell and colleagues created a complex, nested, multivariate evaluation design. The purpose was to examine how teacher performance as indexed by student academic gains was related to teacher preparation.
Members from Behavioral Health
Step Up for Violence Prevention
Professionals from various behavioral health groups have formed a coalition to promote safety in Louisiana by strengthening early identification of those at risk of violence. The group, named the Louisiana Coalition for Violence Prevention, includes members of the psychology and behavioral health community, a cross section of leaders from school psychology, counseling, and social work.
Steering group member Dr. John Simoneaux told the Times, “Recognizing that it is our responsibility, we want mental health professionals in Louisiana to ensure that we are trained in scientifically sound techniques for identifying and intervening with potentially dangerous individuals.” N.O. Psychologist’s Research Key U.S. Senator Coburn Takes Science’s
Flag to Social Security Administration
The U.S. Senator known for confronting government waste
and inefficiency, Oklahoma’s Dr. Tom Coburn, took up the banner for psychological science recently when he challenged the Social Security Administration’s anti-scientific approach to detecting malingering in its disability claims.
Senator Coburn had help in understanding the science behind these complex issues from New Orleans clinical and neuropsychologist, Dr. Michael Chafetz.
Chafetz and his colleagues have been studying malingering in disability claimants and publishing research in the area since 2006, some-thing that the Social Security Administration (SSA) does not do for itself.
Dr. Tucker’s Program Finds New
Home at Bossier Sherriff Facility
Psychologist Dr. Susan Tucker and her nationally recognized treatment program survived the state cutbacks, despite the closing of Forcht Wade Correctional Center in Keithville, Louisiana, this past July. “It took a while,” Dr. Tucker explained to the Times, “but the entire staff moved to the new facility.” The staff and their innovative programs relocated to the Bossier Sherriff’s Office, Medium Correctional Facility, located between Benton and Plain Dealing, LA.
Dr. Thomason First in LA To Use
Data-Referenced EEG Technology
Making national headlines in NY Times, Huffington Post and Fox News is a company that provides an objective, physiologically based measure using EEG results and norms to help doctors and nurses choose the right medications for their patients. The Times spoke with Dr. David Thomason, a medical prescriber practicing in Monroe, Louisiana, who is part of the network of providers trying out this new technology, and the only person listed in Louisiana by the company, CNS Response, Inc.
Dr. Phil Griffin Grabs Top
Votes In LSBEP Election
Dr. Phil Griffin received the top number of votes in the LSBEP election that closed on January 25, 2013. Griffin won the top spot by capturing 81 of the 166 total votes cast by licensed psychologists in the state, or about 49 percent of those voting. Also hoping to serve on the board, which would be for a second term if appointed, is Dr. Joe Comaty, a medical psychologist who recently retired from the state Office of Behavioral Health. Comaty received 46 votes, or 28 percent of the vote. Dr. Lynn Schechter, a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge, received 39 votes or 23 percent.
Dr. Steele Appointed to Marriage and Family Therapy Advisory Committee In December Governor Jindal announced two appointments to
the Advisory Committee for Marriage and Family Therapy including Dr. Kathryn “Kathy” Steele, of Metairie. Dr. Steele is an Assistant Professor in Psychology and Counseling at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and serves as the Director of Clinical Practice at NOBTS.
Dr. Robert Marier, Director of the state medical board at commission meeting. (Photo by M. Dooley)
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.