2017 Candidates Statement
President-Elect
Michael J. Constantino, Ph.D.
Dr. Michael Constantino
I, Michael Constantino, am honored to be nominated for President-Elect of the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy. My engagement in Division 29 began on the Student Development Committee, and I have subsequently served as Chair of the Continuing Education Committee, Early Career Domain Representative to the Board, Chair of the Research Committee, and Contributing Editor to Psychotherapy Bulletin. I also serve on the Editorial Board of Psychotherapy. I owe the Division and its leaders a huge debt of gratitude for the positive influence they have had on my career development. I “cut my professional teeth,” so to speak, in Division 29, which has served me well within APA and other sister organizations (such as my recent term as President of the North American Society for Psychotherapy Research [NASPR]). The Division has also honored me with the 2007 APF/Division 29 Early Career Award, and has awarded my colleagues and me the Charles J. Gelso Psychotherapy Research Grant, the Norine Johnson Psychotherapy Research Grant, and the 2013 Distinguished Publication of Psychotherapy Research Award. With appreciation and humility, I hope to “give back” to the organization and its constituents in the important role of President-Elect.
I am a Professor at the University of Massachusetts where I direct my Psychotherapy Research Lab, teach psychotherapy courses, supervise clinicians, and see patients. Across these roles, I am committed to integrating rigorous science with quality practice and training. Such commitment is exemplified by my scholarship, devotion to mentorship/teaching, and substantive involvement in Division 29, the Society for Psychotherapy Research, and the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration. My primary scientific contributions include (1) investigating patient, therapist, and dyadic characteristics/processes that influence psychosocial treatments, (2) developing/testing therapeutic interventions that address pantheoretical principles of clinical change, (3) conducting effectiveness research in naturalistic settings, and (4) examining how basic social psychological constructs apply to clinical situations. I have published both theoretical and empirical works, and I have received extramural funding for my research (including from NIH, PCORI, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).
If elected, I would approach this position much like I did my NASPR presidency. First, I would strive to uphold the tradition of successful Division 29 leadership. Second, I would attempt to simultaneously fortify strengths (and it is obvious that Division 29 is already strong) and start new initiatives. Prime examples of maintaining strength include, preserving and promoting healthy collegial exchange at professional meetings and between like organizations, and supporting the development of future generations of psychotherapy practitioners, researchers, and educators.
New initiatives would include developing work groups to translate cutting edge research findings to create newer psychotherapy training molds, fostering online and convention-based professional development mentoring on topics like practice-research network involvement/development and navigating NIH funding priorities, and creating a web-based brown bag series on psychotherapy science translation/dissemination, including a safe place to tout “disruptive innovations” that extend the reach of psychosocial services. My hope is that such endeavors, and others, will foster Division 29’s vital voice in psychotherapy theory, research, practice, and training.
Changming Duan, Ph.D.
Dr. Changming Duan
I can’t tell you how humbled I felt when being nominated to run for the president of our society. I never see myself as a leader, but always strive to be an instrumental and involved team player. I take pride and comfort in being helpful to others on my team or in my communities. The cultural values I learned while growing up in China have led to my belief that an effective leader first has to be a servant to his or her community.
I came to North America over 30 years ago for graduate school, and received a doctoral degree in counseling psychology and social psychology from University of Maryland. But I did not return home after graduation as planned because of the political unrest in China at that time. Instead, I started my professional career at University of Missouri, Columbia, at its counseling center and in its academic department, and then joined counseling psychology faculty at University of Missouri, Kansas City. Currently I am a professor of counseling psychology and the Director of Training for our doctoral program at the University of Kansas.
I have worked in various service roles within APA, including those of Council member, commissioner on the Commission of Accreditation, and SAP’s program chair for APA Conventions. I also have been active in promoting the advancement of psychotherapy by establishing US-China collaborative training programs (The success of these programs is directly linked to those involved psychotherapy practitioners and schoars from the U.S.!) and by conducting psychotherapy process and outcome studies in China (We established the first China-U.S. research and training center in counseling psychology).
I asked myself “what can I do to be helpful if elected as the president for SAP?” The answer is simple: serving its members and promoting psychotherapy advancement. Being fully committed to SAP’s mission, I will immerse myself in learning from and with SAP members and pursue our collective interests in psychotherapy practice, research and training and in service to our communities and society. My plan will include working to 1) strengthen member engagement to make SAP an increasingly welcoming, supportive, and attractive professional home for our members; 2) build upon previous and current SAP presidents’ initiatives in furthering SAP’s international visibility and efforts both in helping SAP members to make connections abroad for professional exchange and in increasing the size of SAP’s non-APA international affiliate membership to SAP; 3) support members’ interest in integrating diversity and social justice into psychotherapy science and practice by initiating, promoting and facilitating projects in this area; and 4) build for the future by increasing membership and member engagement among CEPs and students through mentoring. Our early career professionals and students have so much to offer to enrich our experience and enhance SAP’s contributions to human health for future generations.
I deeply appreciate your taking time to read my statement.
Early Career Domain Representative
Leigh A. Carter, Psy.D.
Dr. Leigh Carter
It is an honor to be considered to serve as the Division 29 Early Career Domain Representative. In addition to the ever-changing landscape of our field, I believe early career psychologists (ECPs) face unique challenges, and I am excited about the possibility to provide voice and representation for ECPs within the Society.
As the future of this profession, we hold a vital role in supporting and advancing the field of psychotherapy, and yet, many professional organizatio
ns face the ongoing challenge of encouraging membership and active participation among ECPs. Therefore, I am dedicated to building on the work the Society has already begun in fostering ECP participation through ongoing promotion and support of the Society’s mentorship program and publication opportunities for ECP members. I also believe that increasing interconnectedness provides a greater a sense of community and shared resources among the Society’s ECPs located across the country. This would include expanding the Society’s virtual and in-person opportunities for ECPs to continue fostering this sense of community. Beginning in graduate school and now as an ECP I have benefitted from the resources and support of professional organizations including the Society, and am deeply committed to further enhancing what the Society can offer for its ECPs.
In addition to personal experience, my enthusiasm for serving as Early Career Domain Representative stems from my interests in self-care and professional development for psychologists and trainees. I have presented and co-authored a book and several articles on this topic. I have previously served as membership chair and liaison to the ECP Committee of the Maryland Psychological Association for Graduate Students, as the graduate student liaison within the APA Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance, and served on the Society’s selection committee for the Student Development Committee. I am currently a staff psychologist at Towson University Counseling Center.
Joshua Swift, Ph.D.
Dr. Joshua Swift
It is an honor to have been nominated for the Early Career Domain Representative position. I am currently an Assistant Professor at Idaho State University and a licensed psychologist. I received my Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University, completed an internship at SUNY Upstate Medical University, and held a previous faculty position at the University of Alaska Anchorage. My first experiences with the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (SAP) came when I was a graduate student – in 2008 I attended SAP’s social hour to receive one of the student awards. Since then, I have been an active participant in SAP, having served on the Early Career Committee, the Education and Training Committee, and as chair for the Research Committee. First as a graduate student, and now as an early career psychologist, I have always felt welcomed and valued within SAP. In serving as the representative for the Early Career Domain, I hope to be able to pass my positive experiences on to others. If elected, I plan to reach out to existing early career SAP members to see how they believe SAP can best serve them. I also hope to help these early career members become more involved in SAP’s various committees and activities and maintain a place within SAP for networking and mentoring. Finally, I plan to reach out to early career individuals across the globe who are not currently members of SAP, share with them the exciting things happening in Society, and invite them to join us.
Science and Scholarship Domain Representative
Andrés Consoli, Ph.D.
Dr. Andrés Consoli
My name is Andrés Consoli, Ph.D., and I am running for the position of Domain Representative in Science and Scholarship of the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, Division 29 of the American Psychological Association. It would be my pleasure and privilege to serve Division 29 in this capacity. If I were to be elected to this position, I would work collaboratively with our Society’s leadership to advance the scientific foundations of psychotherapy and to support and promote innovative, socially responsible and responsive psychotherapy endeavors through the Society’s scholarships.
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). I am also a visiting professor at the Universidad del Valle in Guatemala and a licensed psychologist in California. Prior to joining UCSB, I was a faculty member at San Francisco State University for 17 years where I trained master’s level practitioners. My previous leadership positions include the presidencies of the National Latina/o Psychological Association, the Interamerican Society of Psychology, and the Western Association of Counselor Educators and Supervisors. My professional and research interests involve transnational collaborations, program evaluation and community based participatory action research, multicultural supervision, psychotherapy integration and training, systematic treatment selection, ethics and values in psychotherapy, access and utilization of mental health services within a social justice framework, and the development of a bilingual (English/Spanish) academic and mental health workforce.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about my candidacy or qualifications. I can be reached at aconsoli@education.ucsb.edu. I thank you very much for considering voting for me. ¡Muchas gracias!
Susan S. Woodhouse, Ph.D.
Dr. Susan Woodhouse
I am honored to be nominated to run for a second term as the Science and Scholarship Domain Representative. The Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (SAP) has been a key intellectual home for me within APA. I enthusiastically continue to spearhead research-related initiatives for SAP, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue to move forward with these exciting initiatives. I am particularly interested in engaging and supporting early career psychologists and students, who are the future of our organization; as well as in initiatives that provide support for psychotherapy research that promises to move science forward, while being relevant to clinical service in the community.
I am a licensed psychologist and psychotherapy researcher. My research includes a focus on psychotherapy process, the psychotherapy relationship, and research on preventive interventions for families with young children. I am the PI on a $2.1 million NIH-funded study focused on basic science questions relevant to psychotherapy with diverse, low-income, underserved families with young children (and includes an applied component). I am involved in a number of additional research projects and an NIH grant application focused on psychotherapy and prevention work with diverse, low-income, underserved families. I strongly believe that that the work we do on the psychotherapy relationship, process, outcomes, client strengths, and culturally appropriate psychotherapy is important; and that the science of psychotherapy is relevant to the public good. In my own community-based research, I have worked hard to build trust with community stakeholders, engage the community in the research, and bring the results of the research back to the community. I believe those skills translate well to serving as the Science and Scholarship Domain Representative.
I received my doctorate (Counseling Psychology) in 2003 from the University of Maryland, College Park, and I am an Associate Professor at Lehigh University.
Diversity Domain Representative
Astrea Greig, PsyD
Dr. Astrea Greig
I, Astrea Greig PsyD, am a candidate for the open 2017 Diversity Domain Representative position on our division’s Executive Committee. It has been a great pleasure to serve as Chair of the Diversity committee and I look forward to another rewarding experience this year. Through my position of Chair, I have been working with our current Diversity Domain Representatives and others of our division, to coordinate the delivery of informative content to you our members and represent your interests. Working with underserved and diverse populations is my passion and is fulfilled by my serving on diversity related initiatives for our and other divisions of APA and locally at health care centers in Boston. I am an early career psychologist, and am practicing psychotherapy, teaching psychotherapy, and am hoping to improve the access to psychotherapy to many who often do not have access. I understand the importance of the need to highlight how diversity intersects with the research, provision, and practice of psychotherapy. My hope is to bring this interest, experience, and perspective to the Diversity Domain Representative position. Our division has a wonderful history of promoting psychotherapy practice, research, and policy and I hope to continue to serve our division in this manner with the importance of diversity in mind.
Rosemary Phelps, Ph.D.
Dr. Rosemary Phelps
Dr. Rosemary E. Phelps is a professor of Counseling Psychology and the director of the UGA Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) in Psychology Program in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services at the University of Georgia. She served as Department Head from 2006-2012 and was the first African American to hold this position in the Department. Dr. Phelps received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from The Ohio State University, and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is the recipient of the 2010 American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology Award and is an APA Fellow (Society of Counseling Psychology). She has built her 30-year career on teaching, research, and practice related to research on diversity issues and ethnic and racial identity development, examining professional issues for students and faculty of color, and mentoring students. Recently, Dr. Phelps has begun to facilitate research teams focused on the unique and varied experiences of African Americans in both personal and professional domains that affect psychological well-being. Her professional activities have included national and regional leadership positions including chairing the Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee and serving as Program Chair of Division 17 of the American Psychological Association (APA), chairing the Minority Interest Group of the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA), and chairing the SEPA Committee on Equality and Professional Opportunity (CEPO)/PSI CHI Undergraduate Research Program. She is also a 2016-2017 President-Elect nominee of the SEPA. “I am pleased to be nominated for the position of Diversity Domain Representative for the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy. I have spent my career engaged in training counseling psychologists committed to culturally responsive practice and to the advancement of psychotherapy—it would be a privilege to serve the division in this capacity.”
Council Representative (Elect 2)
Jean Carter, Ph.D.
Dr. Jean Carter
I am Jean Carter, and I have been nominated for a second term on the APA Council of Representatives–a position of responsibility for governance of both APA and the Society. The Society needs knowledgeable and wise representation at this important time in APA’s history. Council will implement governance changes (from the Good Governance Project); address policies around transparency, conflict of interest and ethics (raised by the Independent Review); and support the stability of APA financially and organizationally in a time of change. The learning curve will be steep and the issues are complex. I believe the Society would be well served by the continuity and experience my second term would offer. My reputation is as a collaborative and steady voice, bringing perspective and experience in challenging situations. In addition to serving APA, Council Representatives serve on the Society’s Board of Directors and have responsibility for the well being of our division. During my presidency of the Society, I initiated the reorganization that brought us the Domain structure of our governance, which was energizing and enlivening. As a member and chair of the Publications Board, I supported the move to APA as the publisher of Psychotherapy and the selection of Mark Hilsenroth as our excellent editor. As your representative on Council and the Executive Board, I will work hard and thoughtfully to best support the needs of the Society, the enterprise of psychotherapy and APA.
Lillian Comas-Diaz, Ph.D
Dr. Lillian Comas-Diaz
It is an honor to be nominated to run for the position of Council Representative. I am a psychotherapist in full time private practice. I also serve as a Clinical Professor at the George Washington University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. As a practitioner–scholar, most of my publications are regarding psychotherapeutic issues. My main professional areas of interest are multicultural and feminist psychotherapies, social justice, international psychology, and psycho-spirituality. I believe in giving psychology away and do so through media presentations in the Spanish language.
I would like can to represent the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy at the APA Council of Representatives. I have extensive experience in APA governance, both as a past director of the APA Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs, as well as a past member of several governance groups. I have been Council Representative for Divisions 12 (Clinical Psychology) and 35 (Women’s Issues). Additionally, I have been president of Division 42, and chair of the APA Committee of International Relations. I am a fellow of our Society and a past member of the Editor Search Committee for Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice Journal. Additionally, I have served as a Consulting Editor for this journal, and currently, I am a member of our Society’s Publication Board.
I will be honored if you vote for me. You will be voting for passion, experience, and commitment to psychotherapy.
Rayna Markin, Ph.D.
Dr. Rayna Markin
The Council of Representatives is charged with the daunting yet critical task of representing, to the best of its ability, not only the APA members, but also the public interest at large, with integrity, due diligence, and compassion. I am honored to be considered for this important position, especially at this crucial time in the APA’s history, when the values of inclusion, transparency, and reliability are critical to the future of the organization. For the past 10 years, I have served as either the Early Career Psychologist (ECP) Chair or the ECP Domain Representative for Division 29. Through these positions, I have learned the importance of working with others toward the common goal of representing ECPs in the Division, and, at the same time, all members. I would welcome the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the Council of Representatives, giving a voice to the many Early Career Psychologists in the APA, and specifically in Division 29, who are the future of the organization, while at the same time keeping the best interest of all members in mind. Division 29 serves a wide array of constituents from educators to clinicians and researchers from diverse backgrounds, theoretical orientations, and career status. As an educator, researcher, and clinician myself, I understand that the future of this Division lies in continuing to build connections between our diverse members, better educating ourselves so that we may more effectively serve the public interest, both nationally and internationally. I hope to advance this vision if elected.
Elizabeth Nutt Williams, Ph.D.
Dr. Elizabeth Nutt Williams
I was honored to be asked to run for Council Representative for Division 29. I believe that the Council of Representatives has been doing an excellent job as the voice of the membership, particularly in the wake of the Hoffman Report. Thus, I take very seriously this nomination and would approach the opportunity to serve on Council as a way to ensure that issues relevant to Division 29 members (ethical and culturally competent psychotherapy practice, research, education, and advocacy) are attended to at all levels of the APA.
In my professional work, I have been a professor of psychology at a public honors college for nearly 20 years. My primary areas of research include psychotherapy process research, feminist multicultural counseling, and qualitative methodology. I have worked with Division 29 governance over the last 10 years, first as the Early Career representative to the Board of Directors in 2005, then as the Membership Domain Representative (2008-2010), and as President of the Division in 2011. I have consistently focused on a few key issues: 1) clarifying our divisional identity, 2) strengthening the link between psychotherapy science and practice, and 3) promoting tangible evidence of our commitment to diversity and multiculturalism.
I am proud to be part of the Division’s history (see Williams, Barnett & Canter, 2013) as well as its bright future. I care deeply about the Division and about our flagship journal Psychotherapy, and I would be honored to be a Council Rep for 29. Thank you for your consideration.
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