There’s a lot happening in the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy. We had another spectacular quarter. Here are some of the highlights.

Psychotherapy had another great year in 2016. We recently heard that we actually brought in more income than budgeted. Dr. Mark Hilsenroth and his team continue to strengthen the journal making it a leader in the field. Thank you Mark, all the Associate Editors, reviewers, authors, and of course Steph Pollock and her team at APA Journals.

The Society and some current and recent members of our Board received much deserved recognition. Our immediate Past-President Dr. Armand Cerbone received the Raymond D. Fowler Award for Outstanding Contributions to APA. Dr. Jean Carter received the Dr. Rosalee G. Weiss Award for being and Outstanding Leader in Psychology. And, the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy received an award from the American Psychological Foundation in recognition of the Division’s generous gift to the Campaign to Transform the Future.

Drs. Rod Goodyear and Changming Duan were our program chairs (working with Dr. Fred Leong—International Domain) for the World Congress of Psychotherapy. The Society had five symposia on the program. Our presenters did a great job. We also expanded our relationships with representatives of societies from Guatemala, Argentina, Russia, and other countries as well as with the World Council of Psychotherapy and the North American Council of Psychotherapy. I am looking forward to the growth of these relationships.

We also are continuing our work with Oriental Insight. Recently, they requested a list of texts they could consider translating into Chinese. We look forward to helping them develop ideas for training and standards for mental health professionals in China.

And, what a convention we just completed. From posters to presentations to social hours, Dr. Gary Howell (Program Chair) and so many of our members, along with Tracey Martin, helped make the convention a success. Thank you all.

However, in keeping with one of the themes of The Psychotherapy Bulletin this year, the convention was not without its “Difficult Dialogues.” Currently, there is a major question in front of Psychology. That is, whether individuals with a Master’s Degree in Psychology should be able to have a license to practice. This of course is a topic that engenders strong feelings from people on both sides of the issue. I was invited to be a discussant at a symposium on Sunday morning (which, given the time and day, was surprisingly well attended) where the results of a recent APA Summit on the topic were presented. I was impressed by the detail and healthy tone of the presentation and discussion that followed. I expect that there will be many more discussions and debates about the pros and cons. The process of having such a discussion is important. I invite you to join in those discussions continuing the thoughtful and respectful tone I noticed and appreciated, in the symposium I attended. For former APA President Pat DeLeon’s thoughts on the topic and the convention in general, please see this issue’s Washington Scene.

All in all, I am so pleased to be part of The Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy and hope you are too. If you want to be more involved please contact me at drz@jzphd.com. I will connect you with the right people. Whether you are a student, faculty member, or clinician we welcome your participation and contributions.

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Jeffrey Zimmerman, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. Jeff Zimmerman has been in private practice since 1981 when he started in solo practice and then co-founded what he and his partners grew into a large multi-site interdisciplinary group practice, before returning 22 years later to solo practice. He is also a co-founder of The Practice Institute and the 2017 President of The Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, Division 29 of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Zimmerman is a co-editor (with Drs. Walfish and Barnett) of The Handbook of Private Practice: Keys to Success for Mental Health Practitioners (2017, Oxford University Press). He also has co-authored a total of 5 other books on either practice or divorce. He is Editor of Practice Innovations, the journal of Division 42, Independent Practice, American Psychological Association and was a guest editor for The Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session.