The OP Review November 2005 - Ohio Psychological Association

REVIEW 

OHIO PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 

REVIEW STAFF: Michael O. Ranney, MPA, Executive Director Katie Crabtree Thomas, BA, Managing Editor Kenneth Drude, PhD, Editor

Ohio Psychological Association 

Board of Directors 

Executive Committee 

President - Carol L. Johnson, PhD 

Past President - Gerald J. Strauss, PhD 

President-Elect - David L. Hayes, PhD, ABPP 

Finance Officer - Vanessa K. Jensen, PsyD 

APA Representative - David L. Hayes, PhD, ABPP 

(through 12/31/05) 

Suzanne S. LeSure, PhD (as of 1/1/06) 

Standing Committee Directors & 

Regional Representatives 

James J. Brush, PhD 

Colin H. Christensen, PhD 

Kenneth P. Drude, PhD 

Catherine A. Gaw, PsyD 

Kathleen D. Glaus, PhD 

Catherine Golden, BA 

Kathleen A. Mack, PsyD 

Cathy L. McDaniels Wilson, PhD 

Alice H. Randolph, EdD 

Richard F. Reckman, PhD 

Randall J. Snyder, PhD 

Gerald J. Strauss, PhD 

Craig S. Travis, PhD 

Functional Committee Directors/Ad 

Hoc/Task Forces/Liaisons/Affiliates 

Kathleen Ashton, PhD 

Gregory Brigham, PhD 

Tina L. Brown, PsyD 

Jim R. Broyles, PhD 

Terry R. Imar, MA 

Kurt W. Jensen, PsyD 

Lynn S. Rapin, PhD 

Helen D. Rodebaugh, PhD 

Sandra L. Shullman, PhD 

Mary Ann Teitelbaum, PhD 

President’s Club Members 

2005-2006 

David L. Hayes, PhD, ABPP 

Vanessa K. Jensen, PsyD 

Carol L. Johnson, PhD 

Alice H. Randolph, EdD 

Suzanne S. Ruff, PhD 

Richard C. Rynearson, PhD 

Daniel W. Sanders, PhD 

Sandra L. Shullman, PhD 

Gerald J. Strauss, PhD 

Leon D. Vandecreek, PhD 

Jane Z. Woodrow, PhD 

Sustaining Members 

2005-2006 

Anthony M. Alfano, PhD 

Kevin D. Arnold, PhD, ABPP 

Kathryn I. Boniface, EdD 

James J. Brush, PhD 

Robert F. Dallara, Jr., PhD 

Sue B. Davis, PsyD 

Kenneth A. DeLuca, PhD 

David S. Doane, PhD 

Kenneth P. Drude, PhD 

Barbara L. Fordyce, PhD 

Wayne J. Graves, PhD 

Terry R. Imar, MA 

Thomas C. Kalin, PhD 

Harvey Kayne, PhD 

Phyllis R. Kuehnl-Walters, PhD 

Carroll E. Lahniers, PhD 

Kurt M. Malkoff, PhD 

James M. Medling, PhD 

Mary Anne Orcutt, PhD 

Richard F. Reckman, PhD 

Thomas P. Swales, PhD 

David J. Tennenbaum, PhD 

Jeffrey R. Wilbert, PhD 

Willie S. Williams, PhD 

Abraham W. Wolf, PhD 

Jerry L. Zimmerman, PhD 

Stanley M. Zupnick, PhD 

The Foundation for Psychology 

in Ohio Donors 

(For the period September 1, 

2005 – October 14, 2005) 

Damon Asbury, PhD 

Cheryl Beach, PhD 

Donald Bechtold, PhD 

Dana Beezley-Smith, PhD 

Jane Bonifas, PhD 

Lynda Brodine, MA 

Mark Brown, PhD 

Tina Brown, PsyD 

James Brush, PhD 

Ann Carden, PhD 

Herbert Caron, PhD 

Bobbie Celeste, PhD 

Colin Christensen, PhD 

Sheryl Cohen, PhD 

Christine Dacey, PhD 

Kenneth DeLuca, PhD 

Linda DeWitte, PhD 

Galit Dori, PhD 

Paul Entner, PhD 

Jennifer Fabrizio, PhD 

Jerome Gabis, PsyD 

Catherine Gaw, PsyD 

Nancy Gay, PhD 

Kathleen Glaus, PhD 

Catherine Golden, BA 

Wayne Graves, PhD 

Regina Gunsett, PhD 

David Hayes, PhD 

Jean-Maurice Hernandez, PhD 

Ivonne Hobfoll, PhD 

Donna Jackson, PhD 

Adam Jacobs, PhD 

Vanessa Jensen, PsyD 

Carol Johnson, PhD 

Edward J. Karras, MA 

Harold Kelso, PhD 

Jennifer F. Kelly, PhD 

Ming Lai, PhD 

Suzanne LeSure, PhD 

Carolee Lesyk, PhD 

Ronald F. Levant, EdD 

Kathryn Levesconte, PsyD 

Mary Lewis, PhD 

Patricia A. Loucka, PhD 

Kathleen Mack, PsyD 

Kurt Malkoff, PhD 

Daniel Materna, PsyD 

Dennis Jerome Meers, PhD 

Laura Meers, PhD 

Diana Miller, PsyD 

Joel Mowrey, PhD 

Mary Ann Mulcahey, PhD 

Jennifer O’Donnell, PsyD 

Christine Orr, PhD 

Anne Passino, PhD 

Marian Patterson, PhD 

Michael Ranney, MPA 

Lynn Rapin, PhD 

Jeanette Reuter, PhD 

Margaret Richards Mosher, PhD 

Sylvia Rimm, PhD 

Paul Robinson, PhD 

Ruth Ann Roehrig, PhD 

John Rudisill, PhD 

Lynne Rustad, PhD 

Richard Rynearson, PhD 

Abbas Sadeghian, PhD 

Diana Santantonio, EdS 

Lou Sauer, PhD 

Gerald Schneider, MEd 

Laurel Schauer, PhD 

Donald Scott, PhD 

Pat Semmelman, PhD 

Jeffrey Sherrill PhD 

Robert Silverberg, PhD 

Randall Snyder, PhD 

Susan Jasbeck Steinberg, PhD 

Myron Bud Stern, PhD 

Gerald Strauss, PhD 

Thomas Swales, PhD 

Jan Swartzentruber, PhD 

Janice Swecker, PhD 

Linda S. Trent, MS 

H. Owen Ward, Jr., PhD 

Cynthia White, PsyD 

Jeffrey Wilbert, PhD 

Gary Wolfgang, PhD 

Kent Young, PhD 

2005 Political Action Committee Donors 

(For the period January 1, 2005 – 

October 14, 2005) 

PAC Champions (Minimum $600 

donation) 

Carol Johnson, PhD 

PAC Leaders (Minimum $300 donation) 

John Corrigan, PhD 

Howard Fradkin, PhD 

David Hayes, PhD 

Kurt Malkoff, PhD 

James Medling, PhD 

Frances Strickland, PhD 

Ted Strickland, PhD 

Continued on page 3 > 

OPA REVIEW 2

Ohio Psychological Association 

PAC Advocates (Minimum 

$120 donation) 

Gregory Brigham, PhD 

Jack Brunner, PhD 

Bobbie Celeste, PhD 

William Gorga, PhD 

Jane Hamilton 

Terry Imar, MA 

Robert Kaplan, PhD 

Nancy Kiracofe, PhD 

Phyllis Kuehnl-Walters, PhD 

William McFarren, EdD 

Stana Paulauskas, PhD 

Mary Ramey, PsyD 

Alice Randolph, EdD 

Michael Ranney, MPA 

Janet Stedman, PhD 

Gerald Strauss, PhD 

Thomas Swales, PhD 

Mary Ann Teitelbaum, PhD 

Leon VandeCreek, PhD 

Marianne Wohl, PhD 

PAC Supporters (Minimum 

$60 donation) 

Azaria Akashi, PhD 

Paul Becker, PhD 

Maria Blake, PhD 

Jane Bonifas, PhD 

James Brush, PhD 

Elizabeth Dreben, PhD 

Paul Entner, PhD 

Doug Grossman McKee, PhD 

William House, PhD 

Monica Jackson, PhD 

Richard Jackson, PhD 

Thomas J. Kelbley, PhD 

Timothy Khol, PhD 

Jill Klingler, PhD 

Sara Finn Kriger, PhD 

Daniel Kuna, PhD 

Gregg Martin, PhD 

Beth McCreary, PhD 

Leslie Netland, PsyD 

Jennifer O’Donnell, PsyD 

Mary Ann Orcutt, PhD 

Stanley Palumbo, PhD 

Diane Peters, PsyD 

Brad Potts, PhD 

Kathleen Ryan, PhD 

Mark Rye, PhD 

Diana Santantonio, EdS 

John Showalter, PhD 

Glen Strobel, PhD 

Glenn Swimmer, PhD 

David Tennebaum, PhD 

Julia Torres 

Steven VanAuken, PhD 

Mitchell Wax, PhD 

Donald Welti, PhD 

James Werth, PhD 

Jaime Willis 

Joan Wilson, PhD 

Kent Young, PhD 

PAC Boosters (Minimum 

$25 donation) 

David Aronson, PhD 

Kathleen Baird, PhD 

Kathleen Bonie, PhD 

Elaine Bruckner, PhD 

Ellen Casper, PhD 

Janet Clark, PhD 

Kenneth DeLuca, PhD 

Kenneth Drude, PhD 

Andrew Lee Hinkle, PhD 

Thomas Hyatt, PsyD 

Adam Jacobs, PhD 

Vanessa Jensen, PsyD 

Ila Johnson, PhD 

Ronan Kisch, PhD 

Nadya Klinetob 

George Knox, PhD 

Beth Lawton, PhD 

Kathleen Mack, PsyD 

Pamela Maxfield, PhD 

Sharon McNamee, PhD 

Sandra McPherson, PhD 

Marc Miller, PhD 

Douglas Moore, PhD 

Robert Moore, MA 

Julie Owens, PhD 

Carole Putt, PhD 

Mary Rath 

Richard Reckman, PhD 

Kathleen Ritchey, PhD 

Paul Robinson, PhD 

Richard Schiller, PhD 

Amnon Shai, PhD 

Jeff Sherrill, PhD 

Jean Simmons, PhD 

Randall Snyder, PhD 

David Weaver, PhD 

Cynthia White, PsyD 

Michael Witter, PsyD 

Priscilla Wood, PsyD 

Jane Woodrow, PhD 

PAC Members (Minimum 

$10 donation) 

Barbara Ainsworth-Porter, PhD 

Edward Amicucci, PhD 

Robert Barcus, PhD 

Cheryl Beach, PhD 

Eric Berko, PhD 

Elaine Berman, EdD 

Terry Gale Blanken 

Alan Boerger, PhD 

Julie Brennan 

Mark Brown, PhD 

Thomas Brown, PhD 

Kenneth Browner, PsyD 

Colin Christensen, PhD 

Renaee Clites, PsyD 

Anne Croskey 

Sheryl Cohen, PhD 

Nancy Davidson, PhD 

David Deal, PhD 

Linda DeWitte, PhD 

Geriann Dillender, PsyD 

Susan Dorski, PhD 

Jennifer Fabrizio, PhD 

Eve Fisher Whitmore, PhD 

Bonnie Fraser, PhD 

Andrew Garrison, PhD 

James Davidson, PhD 

Jerome Gabis, PsyD 

Nancy Gay, PhD 

Richard George, PhD 

Wayne Graves, PhD 

Mary Lynn Griswold, EdD 

Regina Gunsett, PhD 

Bonney Harnish, MS 

Thomas Heiskell, PhD 

James Helmuth, PhD 

Diane Herbert, PsyD 

Pamela Highlen, PhD 

Ivonne Hobfoll, PhD 

Stevan Hobfoll, PhD 

C. Wesley Jackson, PhD 

Donna Jackson, PhD 

Harold Kelso, PhD 

Leslie Kern, PhD 

Paul Kochanowski, PsyD 

Susan Kuhner, PhD 

Ming Lai, PhD 

George Lester, PsyD 

Suzanne LeSure, PhD 

Carolee Lesyk, PhD 

Kathryn Levesconte, PsyD 

John Lowenfeld, PhD 

Jayne Malpede, PhD 

Marjorie McKelvey Isaacs, PsyD 

Dennis Jerome Meers, PhD 

Laura Meers, PhD 

Diana Miller, PsyD 

Carolyn Sue Morgan 

Joel Mowrey, PhD 

Christopher Mruk, PhD 

Mary Ann Mulcahey, PhD 

Thaddeus O’Brien, PhD 

Richard Odor, PhD 

Christine Orr, PhD 

J. Robert Padberg, PhD 

Marian Patterson, PhD 

L. Tyrone Payne, PhD 

Geoffrey Putt, PsyD 

Mary Rath 

Sharon Rose Rega, PhD 

Margaret Richards Mosher, PhD 

Christina Rideout, PhD 

Sylvia Rimm, PhD 

Karen Robie, PhD 

David Rodgers, PhD 

Ruth Ann Roehrig, PhD 

Michelle Rone-DePolo, PsyD 

John Rudisill, PhD 

Thomas Ruf, PhD 

Lou Sauer, PhD 

Laurel Schauer, PhD 

Thomas Schweinberg, PsyD 

Donald Scott, PhD 

Pat Semmelman, PhD 

Joseph Shannon, PhD 

Natasha Slesnick, PhD 

Jeanne Spadafora, PhD 

Jeffrey Smalldon, PhD 

Susan Jasbeck Steinberg, PhD 

Michael Stern, PsyD 

Bobby Stinson, PsyD 

Janice Swecker, PhD 

Mary Talen, PhD 

Kimberly Tate, PsyD 

Marty Traver, PhD 

David Turner, PhD 

H. Owen Ward, PhD 

Linda Whittington-Clark, PhD 

Jeffrey Wilbert, PhD 

Mildred Wilcoxson, PhD 

Gary Wolfgang, PhD 

James Yokley, PhD 

Ohio Psychological 

Association 

400 East Town Street, Suite 200 

Columbus, OH 43215 

(614) 224-0034 

(800) 783-1983 

(614) 224-2059 fax 

Michael O. Ranney, 

MPA, Executive Director 

Katie Crabtree Thomas, 

BA, Managing Editor 

Kenneth P. Drude, 

PhD, Editor 

Staff 

Michael O. Ranney, MPA 

Executive Director 

Denise Brenner, BA 

Director of Operations 

and Member Services 

Bobbie L. Celeste, PhD 

Director of Professional Affairs 

Katie Crabtree Thomas, BA 

Director of Communications 

and Education 

Beth Wherley, BA 

Director of Mandatory 

Continuing Education 

Articles in The Ohio Psychologist 

Review represent the opinions of 

the writers and do not necessarily 

represent the opinion of governance, 

member or the staff of OPA. 

Acceptance of advertising does 

not imply endorsement by OPA. 

JUNE 2005 3

Goodbye Suite G20! 

OPA is moving on up…to the second floor 

of 400 East Town Street! 

Left to right: Among the construction is Katie Crabtree Thomas, director of communications and education, in her office. OPA–MCE Director Beth 

Wherley in her new office space. OPA Director of Operations and Member Services Denise Brenner shows off her office. Michael Ranney, executive 

director, puts the finishing touches on his space. 

B 

y 

the time you read this article 

(fingers crossed), OPA’s Central 

Office will have moved from its 

location at Suite G-20 to Suite 200. The 

move was set to take place November 7. 

OPA’s headquarters have been at Suite 

G-20 for 17 years. OPA is the last original 

remaining tenant at the building, after the 

former School for the Deaf was turned into 

office space. With OPA’s lease expiring on 

November 1 and an option to renew, the 

staff set out on a search to look at office 

space. After months of looking at spaces 

that would need heavy renovations or 

where parking was an issue, a decision 

was made to stay at the current location 

and move to the second floor, which 

offered more space and a view of the 

Topiary Garden. 

Construction began in early August and 

was completed by late October. 

The new space contains six offices and 

a conference room large enough to hold 

OPA Board of Directors meetings and 

small workshops. So please be patient and 

pardon our dust during this transition, and 

don’t forget to mark your address books 

with OPA’s new address: 

400 East Town Street #200 

Columbus, Ohio 43215 

Phone and fax numbers will remain 

the same. 

OPA’s new conference room will allow the association to host board 

meetings and workshops. 

A view of the OPA suite from the hallway. 

NOVEMBER 2005 4

SOPP Faculty, Students, 

Provide Mental Health 

Assistance for 

Katrina Victims 

W 

right State University’s School of Professional 

Psychology faculty and students are helping on 

two fronts to assist Hurricane Katrina victims 

relocated to the Dayton region. 

More than 60 students and staff have volunteered to help the 

Red Cross in Dayton and Cincinnati assist relocated individuals 

and families from the Gulf Coast with screening for mental 

health issues. Graduate students will work under the supervision 

of faculty to provide assistance to displaced individuals 

and families. 

A second project involves the SOPP Ellis Human Development 

Institute in downtown Dayton. The professional staff and 

students are partnering with the Red Cross to provide mental 

health services at low or no cost for individuals who will need 

ongoing and long-term assistance. 

“The Katrina victims will work with one or more of our Ellis 

programs, which include the general practice clinic, male 

responsibility program, assessment service, preventing abuse in 

the home, the mental health and deafness program and the 

Center for Child and Adolescent Violence Prevention,” said La 

Pearl Logan Winfrey, PhD, professor of psychology and associate 

dean for clinical training and psychological services at SOPP. 

Dr. Winfrey added that “the primary goals of the Ellis Institute 

involve training future psychologists while providing assistance 

to community residents with mental health needs to help these 

individuals in their recovery process.” 

For more details on these programs, contact Dr. Winfrey 

at lapearllogan.winfrey@wright.edu or (937) 775-3470. 

OPA Calendar of Events 

November 7, 2005: 

OPA Office Move 


Interpreting HIPPA’s Security Rule, Vernon 

Manor Hotel, Cincinnati 


OPA Board of Directors Meeting 

November 24-25, 2005: 

OPA Offices Closed for Thanksgiving 

December 17, 2005: 

OPA Board of Directors Meeting 

December 24-January 1: 

OPA Central Office Closed 

Happy a safe and happy Thanksgiving 

from the OPA Central Office Staff! 

“Dance For Your Spirit” 

NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEMBERS 

MEETING OF THE OHIO 

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 

The Board of Directors of the Ohio Psychological Association 

(OPA) has called a special meeting of the members of OPA 

for Saturday, December 17, 2005 at 10 a.m. at the OPA 

Central Office, 400 East Town Street, Suite 200, Columbus, 

Ohio. The purpose of the meeting is to elect two members of 

the board of electors: 

Mary Miller Lewis, PhD, Public Interest Committee Chair 

Mary D. Morgillo, PhD, Toledo Area Professional 

Psychologists Representative 

CORRECTION 

Dr. Christina Rideout was misidentified in the last issue 

of the OP Review. Dr. Rideout is a member of the OPA 

Diversity Committee. 

A new social event, “Dance For Your Spirit,” was added 

to OPA’s Third Annual “Union of Psychology & 

Spirituality Retreat” September 9 and 10 at Mohican 

State Park. Under the guise of Dr. Robin Arthur and her 

husband Mr. Douglas Arthur, participants learned how to 

salsa dance and tango. If you are interested in learning 

more about OPA’s Spirituality Retreat, please contact 

Katie Crabtree Thomas, director of communications and 

education, at kcrabtree@ohpsych.org. 


Ohio Psychologists Respond to Hurricanes 

By Kurt Jensen, PsyD, Disaster Response Network Coordinator 

I 

n recent weeks, hundreds of Ohio psychologists and 

mental health professionals have responded in the 

aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Included in 

this group were dozens of OPA psychologists who provided 

consultation, assessment and counseling services–both locally 

and nationally–to assist victims of these disasters. Many of 

these volunteers were mobilized through OPA’s Chapter of 

APA’s Disaster Response Network (DRN), working with the 

American Red Cross to provide support to those hardest hit by 

the hurricanes. 

Dr. Michael Dwyer, a professor at Baldwin-Wallace College 

(B-W) in Berea, was one OPA member who responded in a 

prompt and focused manner following Hurricane Katrina’s strike 

in New Orleans. Dr. Dwyer helped organize a planning 

committee at B-W, comprised of a team of students, teachers 

and staff charged with developing a strategic, multi-level 

response. He coordinated the development of a Web site that 

served as the information and coordination center for B-W’s 

relief activities. The college has sent teams of 20 students to 

the disaster site, raised thousands of dollars through student 

and private donors and “adopted” a small town of 1,200 

outside of Gulfport, Mississippi. 

At least three previous OPA presidents–Drs. James Brush, 

Ken Drude and Donald Freedheim–also worked at the local 

level to assist Hurricane survivors. Dr. Brush worked for two 

days in Cincinnati where they took in hundreds of evacuees, 

coordinated relief services and linked families with the agencies 

that could help with housing, financial and other immediate 

needs. Dr. Drude helped families arriving at the Dayton Red 

Cross Chapter, working with family service workers to hook 

up families with resources that could provide housing, food, 

clothing and healthcare services. Dr. Freedheim worked with 

the Cleveland chapter where he assisted in setting up a 

shelter for displaced families from areas hardest hit by 

Hurricane Katrina. 

Three OPA members, including myself, were among the many 

psychologists deployed to major cities along the Gulf coast. 

Shortly after Katrina’s strike, Dr. Jim Broyles traveled to Baton 

Rouge, Louisiana, where he worked for several days in a shelter 

for evacuees. Dr. Todd Finnerty helped in several shelters at 

about the same time, primarily in Gulfport and Biloxi, 

Mississippi. There, he assisted Red Cross personnel as they 

transitioned from primarily school-based shelters to larger, 

community-based centers. As occurred in many shelters 

along the coast, Dr. Finnerty met many visiting celebrities 

including Andy Garcia, Daisy Fuentes, Gloria Estefan and 

Tommy Lasorda. 

I worked primarily at a shelter in Bayou LaBatre, Alabama, 

housed in a convention center just outside of Mobile. Although 

initially, residents had greatest need for food, shelter and 

clothing, additional needs and concerns soon surfaced. 

Psychosocial and stress-related issues were ever-present, and 

“psychological first aid” was provided to residents and staff 

alike. Linking the shelter inhabitants with local, state and 

national relief agencies was a continual process, and many 

local volunteers provided much-needed assistance. As many 

of my colleagues reported, the opportunity to help survivors 

of the Hurricane and to work in concert with so many highly 

trained professionals was a richly rewarding experience. 

Opportunities to work in areas crippled by Hurricanes Katrina 

and Rita continue, as the communities devastated by these 

storms are expected to need aid for months, if not years, to 

come. To learn more about how you can volunteer, please 

contact me through OPA or call your local Red Cross chapter 

for additional information. For resources and online links 

related to managing traumatic stress and developing resilience, 

check out APA’s postings at www.APAHelpCenter.org. 


Meet Your 2005-06 OPAGS Executive Council 

summer from a deployment in Iraq where she served as a 

nurse. She is presently deployed in Egypt. Nicole became interested 

in advocacy while working as an intern for Ohio Senator Ray 

Miller. Her e-mail adress is nicole6wade@yahoo.com 

CHAIR: 

Katie Golden, this year's OPAGS chair, is a third year child 

clinical psychology student at Ohio University. She is currently 

on traineeship in Logan working with the Youth Experiencing 

Success (Y.E.S.S.) Program, a school-based mental health 

program for children with disruptive behavior problems. She 

also is finishing her thesis, which is an examination of the 

positive illusory bias in low-achieving college students and 

college students with ADHD. Feel free to contact her at 

cg193203@ohiou.edu. 

CHAIR-ELECT: 

The chair-elect for this year is Krystin Davis, a second year 

clinical psychology student at Xavier University. Krystin is 

currently completing a practicum placement at NorthKey 

Community Care, a pediatric psychiatric hospital in Northern 

Kentucky. In addition, she works in Xavier’s Academic 

Advising Office guiding undecided freshmen toward a major. 

COMMUNICATIONS/MEMBERSHIP: 

Courtney (Martin) VanArsdalen, OPAGS membership chair, 

is a third year clinical/health psychology student at The Ohio 

State University. She has recently begun a practicum in 

neuropsychology at the Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Clinic, 

where she will work with an adult population with a variety of 

physical and mental health conditions. She is working on her 

thesis, which is an examination of the differences between men 

and women in progression of cognitive decline during HIV 

infection. If you have questions about OPAGS membership 

and/or becoming a student representative for your school's 

program, please contact her at martin.1217@osu.edu. 

ADVOCACY CO-CHAIRS: 

Jane Ward Hamilton, co-chair of the advocacy committee, is 

a graduate student in clinical psychology at Xavier University. 

Her area of focus is gero-psychology. She has been active in 

OPAGS since 2001, beginning as a campus representative 

before joining the board. Jane is also the regional advocacy 

coordinator for the APAGS advocacy coordinating team. She 

is currently working on her dissertation, which is a cluster 

analysis of MMPI-2 and MCMI-III data in a college student 

population. Her e-mail is jwardh@yahoo.com. 

Nicole Kinney is a student at Capital University in the adult 

degree program and is majoring in community psychology. 

She is a member of the U.S. Army Reserves and returned last 

CONTINUING ED CO-CHAIRS: 

Erica Lennon is a second year clinical psychology student at 

Xavier University. Originally from North Carolina, she is still 

adjusting to the intense winters up north. While still engaged 

in classes, she is employed at NorthKey Community Care, an 

inpatient psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, and is 

also an instructor for an undergraduate general exprimental 

psychology lab at Xavier. She has begun work on her dissertation, 

which is an examination of the sexual double standard in gay men 

and lesbians. Feel free to contact her at lennone@xavier.edu. 

Tracey A. M. King is a second year PsyD student at Xavier 

University. Her specialty track is geropsychology and her main 

interest is in anxiety disorders, especially tricotillimania. You can 

contact her at traceyking_97@hotmail.com 

DIVERSITY: 

PJ Adams is a fourth year PhD candidate in counseling psychology 

at The Ohio State University. He is currently doing vocational 

counseling with Career Connection at OSU. PJ's main research 

interests are related to multicultural issues, such as biracial 

identity development. Please feel free to contact him at 

adams.482@osu.edu. 

ACADEMIC/RESEARCH: 

Lindsay Orchowski is the chair of the research committee for 

OPAGS, and is a third year doctoral student in clinical psychology 

at Ohio University. She is a member of the Laboratory for the 

Study and Prevention of Sexual Assault, and is involved in the 

development and evaluation of sexual assault risk reduction 

programming. She also serves as co-chair of the Graduate 

Student Representative Committee. As co-founder of the Ohio 

University Counselor-in-Residence Program (2005) and current 

Counselor-in-Residence, Lindsay works with staff from Counseling 

and Psychological Services and the Department of Residence 

Life to provide after-hours counseling in the residence halls, 

assist with crisis care, provide consultation services to Residence 

Life Staff and assist with the development of outreach 

programming. She can be contacted at lo305903@ohio.edu. 

MENTORING PROGRAM REPRESENTATIVE 

Holly McCartney Chalk, the mentoring program representative 

(and past OPAGS chair), is a fourth year counseling psychology 

student at The Ohio State University and is currently completing 

her dissertation on coping with chronic illness. She proposed the 

OPAGS mentoring program to connect gradaute students with 

OPA psychologists for advice and guidance. If you are interested 

in participating or would like more information, feel free 

to contact her at chalk.12@osu.edu. 


An Ethical Dilemma 

By Mary Ann Orcutt, PhD, OPA Ethics Committee Member 

Below is a real-life situation that a psychologist has found 

him/herself in. What would you do Judge for yourself what 

parts are ethical/unethical, and whether the psychology law 

allowed for his/her behavior before reading ahead. 

A psychologist treats a man and his 3-year-old son in 

assisting the son to cope with the mother’s mental illness, 

dealing with the son’s general 

adjustment to their visitation and 

promoting a relationship between the 

mother and her son. The father is the 

residential parent, although the mother 

also has full parental rights. 

Treatment of the son and the father 

continues for one year, including some 

contact with the paternal grandmother. 

The parents are embroiled in a 

domestic relations dispute over 

custody and visitation. The 

psychologist develops suspicions that 

the child is at risk of abuse, including 

possible sexual abuse, while under the 

care of the mother and the mother’s family. 

1) The psychologist faxes a statement to county family 

services relating suspicions, such as the risk of possible 

abuse, and by whom. 

2) The psychologist, two months later, faxes another statement 

to the same agency restating concerns about the welfare of 

the child when in the custody of the mother and her family. 

3) Six months later, the psychologist faxes a third statement to 

the same agency stating she has continued concerns about 

the son, and that the child has made statements that have 

alarmed the psychologist. 

4) The first two letters also were faxed to the father and the 

father’s attorney. The psychologist knew that there was 

pending litigation relative to parental visitation/custody. 

5) The psychologist testified as a treating psychologist that 

visitation between the child and the mother should be under 

supervision. 

What is ethical/unethical, legal, illegal regarding what the 

psychologist did 

Numbers 1-3 are appropriate, ethical, legal and necessary, 

as it was reporting suspected abuse to the proper authorities 

in the county. 

Number 4 blurred the psychologist’s role between being a 

treating psychologist and being a forensic evaluator providing 

visitation recommendations to the father’s attorney, and was 

therefore unethical and illegal in Ohio. 

Number 5: Formal testimony was given without sufficient 

information about the mother or the residents in her home. 

The psychologist based the opinion only on observations 

of the child and interviews with paternal family members. 

The psychologist had never met the mother or any member 

of her household. The formal testimony reflected a lack of 

fundamental or reasonable level of knowledge and 

understanding of the legal and professional standards of 

care that govern the participation 

of psychological experts in 

legal proceedings. Unethical 

and illegal under psychology 

law in Ohio. 

So what happened 

This case was reported to the 

State Board of Psychology. 

The psychologist was found to be 

in violation of: 1) being negligent 

in the practice of psychology, as the 

psychologists’ professional practice 

clearly fell below the standards of 

acceptable practice, and hurt the 

welfare of the client, and 2) practicing in an area of psychology 

for which the person is clearly untrained or incompetent. The 

psychologist did not limit him/herself to the specialty areas in 

which s/he had specific training and competence. 

In addition, the psychologist was issued a reprimand by 

the State Board. The psychologist had to take additional 

continuing education regarding psychological services to 

family and children in the context of parenting, visitation 

and custody, which was over and above the required amount 

to maintain a license. 

The consent agreement with the Board is a public record, and 

the following people received written notice of the reprimand: 

1) the Association of State and Provincial Psychology 

Boards (ASPPB) 

2) Ohio licensees receiving any newsletter issued by 

the Board 

3) individuals/organizations who have requested formal 

notification of Board actions 

4) the Healthcare Integrity Protection Data Bank 

5) the psychologist’s social security number is released 

to the ASPPB Disciplinary Data Bank and other 

organizations that are legally required to request it 

for tracking and monitoring purposes. 

All of the notification in the last bullet point can be 

extremely damaging if one wishes to stay on managed care 

panels, hospital staffs, transfer one’s license from one state to 

another and obtain future malpractice insurance, thus that is 

most painful part of the reprimand. 



HIPAA – Secure at last! 

A Review of the Practice Organization’s Compliance Workbook 

By Charles Cooper, PhD, North Carolina Psychological Association 

Professional Affairs Director 

B 

y the time you read this, the 

compliance deadline for the 

HIPAA Security Rule will be 

behind you, like a channel buoy just past 

to starboard. Mixing metaphors with 

abandon—you will either be reading this 

with that smug sense of having completed 

all your homework, or with that attitude 

you typically adopt when you come to 

class with a light backpack, homework 

incomplete. In the interest of 

transparency, my typical attitude is 

one of blame. I generally blame 

someone else. In this case, Congress. 

Though blame, by and large, 

works for me, in this case it has 

only slowed me down. And as the 

Sole Security Officer (the S.S.O.) of 

my practice, that has not been a 

good thing. The HIPAA Security 

Rule itself is quite complex, more so 

in my view than the Privacy Rule. 

(Ironically, though, the action steps 

required for compliance are actually 

rather simple—with proper technical 

assistance.) And I had been waiting 

for the APA Practice Organization’s 

“compliance product” to ease the 

process. The product was put up on 

the Practice Organization’s 

Web site on April 12 and was 

definitely worth the wait, and 

not only for the excuse its release 

date provided. 

The Workbook 

The Workbook resides exclusively 

in online form, which can be reached 

through the APA Practice Organization’s 

Web site at www.apapractice.org. For APA 

members who pay the practice assessment, 

the cost is $99; for non-practiceassessment 

APA members, $139.; for nonmembers, 

$159. The time saved in using 

the Workbook will be a number of hours 

at least, and this alone justifies its price. 

As a bonus, the successful completion of 

its associated online exam earns four 

continuing education credits. 

The Workbook begins with a crisp 

overview of the Security Rule, laying out 

concepts essential to understanding the 

structure and content of the rule. For those 

who have taken the “101” courses or read 

the Practice Organization’s Primer, also 

available from its Web site, this material 

will be a comprehensive review. For those 

approaching compliance for the first time, 

it will serve as a sufficient conceptual map 

for your Security Rule implementation. 

After it sets out the concept-base, the 

Workbook gives a “Process Overview” that 

outlines the step-wise progression for 

compliance with each standard and 

implementation specification of the rule. 

Specifically, the workbook provides a stepby-step 

path for: 

• Evaluating security risks in your 

particular practice (the risk analysis) 

• Deciding how to respond to those risks 

by checking-off sets of options 

• Documenting all decisions and 

their rationales 

• Creating customized policies and 

procedures that flow from the options 

you selected 

As the authors’ note, completion of the 

component sections does take considerable 

time. However, the product of this invested 

time is a printable document that serves as 

the record of your compliance efforts. It 

spares you any additional time in 

creation of a paper trail to certify 

that the HIPAA required activities 

were completed. 

Contents 

The Workbook’s operational section 

has four principle headings: 

• Assigning a Security Officer 

• Securing Your Office 

• Securing Your Computer 

• Securing Your Workforce and 

Administrative Policies. 

Each of these sections includes 

brief descriptions of “standards” and 

“implementation specifications” 

(IS)—the real guts of the rule. The 

workbook then proceeds to walk 

you through a separate risk analysis 

for each standard and/or IS. The 

risk analysis is facilitated by the 

posing of a set of key questions 

that, while not exhaustive, generally 

cover the territory of the standard. 

Your responses to the questions 

identify not only threats, but also 

the adequacy of measures you have already 

taken. Your answers, recorded in text 

boxes, lead directly to the “Compliance 

Options” section, which offers standard 

check-off alternatives (and space for 

customized solutions) for risk abatement. 

These check-offs cleverly link to the final 

policies and procedures document, saving 

hours of word processing. 

Following from the “Compliance Options” 

is a section titled, “Sample Documentation” 

that guides you through documenting 

your rationale for compliance decisions. 


This section is particularly helpful for 

“addressable specifications,” which you 

may choose not to implement but must 

explain why. And, especially for small 

practices, there is serviceable suggested 

language that can be cut and pasted into 

your own final documentation. 

After completing the (many) iterations 

of risk analysis/option 

selection/documentation for each 

standard and implementation 

specification, you will be tired. 

However, relief comes in reviewing the 

draft policies and procedures document 

which has been compiled automatically 

in the workbook’s background as you 

have been laboring on the earlier 

sections. This does need to be edited 

before being downloaded in a printable 

and electronically storable PDF format. 

As such it is your principal 

documentation for compliance. 

The Workbook also has a score of other 

labor saving features, including a set 

of compliance resources such as business 

associate contracts, Security Rule 

documents (e.g., security logs and 

reporting forms), technical resource 

guides for securing computers, and 

sample emergency operations and 

disaster recovery plans. 

Summing up 

Compliance with the Security Rule is 

like Edison’s take on invention. It’s 99 

percent perspiration, and that’s especially 

so if you have a trusted computer 

consultant to answer the pesky questions 

unique to your practice. The best thing 

about the Practice Organization’s 

Workbook is that it nearly eliminates the 

need for that inspiration part. Having 

struggled for months to understand and 

eventually to teach HIPAA Security, it 

was a great relief for me to realize, as I 

perspired through the workbook’s online 

exercises, that I did not have to continue 

any more of that squirrel cage activity of 

trying to figure out just exactly how to 

organize my compliance task. That was 

all done for me by the structure of the 

Workbook—especially its step-wise risk 

analyses and its compliance options 

for each standard. I could now just 

relax and mindlessly follow the path 

they laid out. 

In the process, I was surprised by 

several dangers posed by the Workbook’s 

risk analysis sections that I had not 

previously entertained. I can guarantee 

you will discover some angles you had 

not anticipated. 

And perspiration Even just cutting, 

pasting, and lightly editing the suggested 

language into the little text boxes that 

eventually become your PDF 

documentation file for the 18 standards 

and 34 implementation specifications is 

a lot of work. But to repeat, outside of 

the process steps and documentation 

requirements, the actual action steps to 

secure EPHI are neither complicated, 

expensive, nor terribly time consuming. 

Reprinted from “The North Carolina 

Psychologist” (May-June 2005) with 

permission from the North Carolina 

Psychological Association and Dr. 

Charles Cooper. Copyright 2005 NCPA. 


When Can a Psychologist Turn Over a Deceased Patient’s 

Records to the Executor of the Patient’s Estate 

By Stephanie D. Champ, JD, Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP 

W 

ith all of the confusion 

surrounding who can 

access and what exactly 

can be accessed from a patient’s files, 

psychologists can sometimes feel trapped. 

It seems that no matter what you do as a 

service provider, someone is always upset 

by the disclosure, or non-disclosure as the 

case may be, of a patient’s records. 

However, the Ohio legislature has made 

the determination of to whom you can 

disclose somewhat easier. For instance, 

the short answer to the question asked in 

the title of this article is “whenever and in 

the same manner you would turn over 

records at the request of the patient.” 

A recent article that appeared in the 

Pennsylvania Psychologist analyzed 

Pennsylvania law and determined that “a 

strong argument can be made that the 

control over the release of a deceased 

client’s [records] . . . can be exercised by 

the executor of the client’s estate.” In 

Ohio, there is no need to make a “strong 

argument” as the issue is specifically 

addressed by Ohio’s statutes governing 

access to medical records. Ohio Revised 

Code (“O.R.C.”) § 3710.74(A)(11) provides 

that a deceased patient’s executor or 

administrator is a “patient’s personal 

representative” entitled to access medical 

records exactly as the patient would be. 

In fact, a refusal to turn over records to 

the executor or administrator could 

subject a psychologist to a civil action to 

enforce the executor’s or administrator’s 

right to review the records. O.R.C. § 

3701.74(C). 

You should be careful to ensure, 

however, that the person requesting the 

records is actually the appointed executor 

or administrator of the deceased client’s 

estate. Such a person would have formal 

documents from the probate court where 

the deceased patient resided appointing 

them as executor or administrator. In 

some instances, there may be no such 

authorized person because the patient has 

no estate to administer formally. The 

definition of “patient’s personal 

representative” also includes the “person 

responsible for the patient’s estate if it is 

not to be probated.” In such a situation, 

who that person is will depend on the 

patient’s circumstances at the time of his 

or her death. You should not assume that 

a surviving spouse or child is the “person 

responsible.” When in doubt, contact 

your own legal counsel. 

As with any records request, the request 

from the executor or administrator must 

be in writing. O.R.C. § 3710.74(B). 

Moreover, the same right to charge for 

copying of the records, within the limits 

set out in O.R.C. § 3701.741(B), or under a 

negotiated contract pursuant to O.R.C. § 

3701.741(E), exists as well. Note that if 

the executor or administrator needs the 

records to support a claim for certain 

social security benefits, the records must 

be produced at no charge. O.R.C. § 

3701.741(C)(5). 

1 Effective December 21, 2004, the 

statutes governing access to medical 

records were amended to add the 

following to the definition of “patient’s 

personal representative” [formerly just 

“patient’s representative”] (1) a minor 

patient’s parent or guardian or other 

person acting in loco parentis; (2) a 

court-appointed guardian; and (3) 

persons acting pursuant to a durable 

power of attorney for health care. 

What Are Psychological Associations Doing with Technology 

By Kenneth Drude, PhD, OPA Communications & Technology Chair, 

and Stephanie Parnes, OPA Student Intern 

The OPA Communications & Technology Committee conducted a survey of state, provincial and territorial psychological associations 

in the United States and Canada during mid—2005. A three-page questionnaire with 16 items was sent via e-mail on a listserv for the 

executive directors of those associations by the OPA executive director. A total of 23 out of 60 forms were returned and tabulated. 

Association Technology Capabilities 

Respondents to the survey were asked to rate their capabilities in six different areas (hardware, software, staff expertise, Internet 

access, Web site and staff access to technology related training) using the terms “excellent,” “good,” ”fair” and “poor.” Median ratings 

were calculated for each of the six areas. As seen in Table 1, associations overall rated most of their technological capabilities as good 

to excellent. 

Table 1-Median Technology Capability Ratings 

Rating Hardware Software Experience Internet Web site CE 

Excellent 3 48% 35% 30% 61% 26% 4% 

Good 2 48% 52% 57% 35% 52% 35% 

Fair 1 0% 9% 13% 4% 22% 39% 

Poor 0 4% 4% 0% 0% 0% 22% 

2.4 2.2 2.2 2.6 2.6 1.2 


Internet access was rated the highest (excellent) and staff access to technology continuing education the lowest (fair). Average 

ratings for software, staff expertise and Web site capabilities were rated good. Hardware capabilities were rated midway between 

excellent and good. 

Although all associations have Web sites, comments on the survey indicated that several associations are in process of upgrading 

their Web sites to increase their capabilities (e.g. adding member only sections and staff having more ability to manage their Web site). 

A number of associations reported using their Web sites for members to renew membership, register for educational events, post 

association publications, provide access to membership directories and post recent news. Several associations commented on 

the significant potential benefits to association members in expanding the capabilities of their Web sites in terms of rapid and 

efficient communication. 

In addition to using Web sites to communicate with members, associations are using electronic mail (e-mail). Forty-three percent of 

the associations offer members the option of receiving the association’s publications and information electronically. In those associations 

that offer electronic distribution as an option, the percentages of members who choose to use it range from 20-85 percent. 

A median average of 85 percent of association members have provided e-mail to their association. It is unclear, however, to what 

extent these e-mail addresses are regularly used to communicate with members (e.g. how many members are on association mail lists to 

receive regular e-mailings). 

Three associations offer electronic or e-memberships that typically are graduate or undergraduate psychology students who receive 

only electronic association mailings. 

One of the survey questions asked about the extent to which associations use electronic communications and distribute meeting 

materials to association board members. A quarter of the associations surveyed require board members to have electronic 

communication capability. Half of the associations distribute board materials electronically. A fifth only distribute paper copies 

of board materials at the board meetings. A little more than half (58 percent) use both electronic and paper copies of materials for 

board meetings. 

Technology Priorities 

Association priorities for improving association technological capabilities and helping association members to become more aware 

and proficient in using technology are presented in Table 2 below: 

Table 2-Association Technology Priorities 

Improving Association Increasing Member 

Priority Technology Capabilities Technology Capabilities 

High 44% 22% 

Mid 30% 48% 

Low 26% 30% 

Nearly three fourths of the associations considered improving 

their technological capabilities to be either a high (44 percent) or a 

mid-level (30 percent) priority. About two-thirds rated helping 

association members to become more aware and proficient in the 

use of technology as either a high (22 percent) or mid-level (48 

percent) priority. 

Association resources devoted to developing and promoting 

technology are generally limited. Only two out of 24 (8 percent) 

associations (Ohio and Kentucky) have committees with a purpose 

of educating members about the use of technology in psychology. 

A few association executive directors reported that they or other 

association staff spend some time on educating or training in this 

area. Some reasons for this appear to be limited available staff 

time, finances, other higher association priorities, lack of expressed 

interest by association members and, apparently in some states, 

the inability for psychologists to obtain licensing board approval 

for mandatory continuing education credit for technology related 

training. Associations that viewed this as a high priority typically 

had members expressing an interest in technology and reported 

recognizing this as a legitimate function of their association for 

educating psychologists that would improve their members 

practices, improve efficiency in communications with members 

and others, could save staff time and association finances and 

even attract new members. 

OPA REVIEW 13 

Educational Activities 

A third of the associations reported to have presented or 

sponsored educational presentations, workshops or published 

articles in the past 12 months related to technology. These 

included workshops or presentations about such topics as HIPAA 

compliance, using specific software (e.g. Outlook, Word, 

PowerPoint), computer system maintenance, using Web sites (e.g. 

APA Portal, association Web site) and articles about technology 

“tips,” e-mailing attachments, basics about using personal 

computers and handheld computers, and Internet resources for 

psychologists. 

Thirty-eight percent of the associations indicated that they are 

planning educational activities related to technology during the 

next 12 months. These were similar to those reported for the past 

12 months and included workshops and presentations about 

designing a Web site, using specific software programs and 

HIPAA compliance. One innovative state (Idaho) plans to jointly 

sponsor with a state counseling association a program about using 

FrontPage (a computer program for building Web sites). 

Two associations referred to the inability of their members to 

receive mandatory continuing education (MCE) for technology 

related educational activities. Although it is unclear if this is due 

to an explicit prohibition by regulatory boards, it may be an 

inhibiting factor for psychologists pursing such training. 

Continued on page 14 >

A couple of associations (Connecticut and Ohio) offer computer 

software discounts to their members. Several give their members 

discounts for use of online registration for educational events or 

online courses. 

Summary and Conclusions 

Many associations are strapped for staff time and finances to 

more actively promote the use of technology to their members. 

Additionally, a disincentive for obtaining education in technology 

apparently exists in some states in which continuing education 

credits are not given for such topics. 

Given the limited resources in budgets and staff, associations 

might benefit in finding ways to pool efforts and resources with 

other associations—even other mental health professional 

associations – to offer more educational opportunities to 

association members, which could include sponsoring and sharing 

expenses for educational events or programs as well as finding 

Psych Talk 

presenters. Other opportunities for sharing efforts for mutual 

benefit could be explored by the association executive directors. 

Several associations identified that advocating or promoting 

technology use by psychologists was not seen as a high or 

moderate level priority and that members had expressed little 

interest in the area. Given the rapidity that the healthcare field is 

adopting technology and its impact on the practice of psychology, 

psychologists need to become more knowledgeable and skilled in 

using technology in their daily practices. 

Although many psychologists have e-mail addresses and 

frequently have given those to their associations, it is not clear 

to what extent that they are actually using e-mail for 

communications purposes or how often associations are using 

e-mail as a major form of communicating with members. It does 

appear though that associations are moving toward increased use 

of electronic communication with their board members. 

Psych Talk is a new feature to the OP 

Review that lets OPA members share 

information about the presentations they 

have given or recent publications. Please 

submit your 50-100 word blurb to Katie 

Crabtree Thomas, director of 

communications and education, at 

kcrabtree@ohpsych.org. The next 

deadline is February 1, 2006. 

• Paule Steichen Asch, PhD, co-presented 

a paper and a poster at the Joint 

Conference of the American (AEA) and 

Canadian Evaluation Associations in 

Toronto October 24-30, 2005. She also 

chaired some sessions. Her research 

focused on a 12-session wellness 

program that was repeated in two 

consecutive years in six senior lowhousing 

projects. Mostly female single 

African-American women over 60 and 

with compromised health participated 

one year or another and a few attended 

both years. Design included thematic 

sessions, focusing on cardiovascular 

disease healing and a diversity 

perspective. Results pointed to two 

client profiles: Learners were at lower 

health risk and responded to theoretical 

education. Doers were at higher risk, 

enjoyed group work and focused more 

on behavioral techniques. Some sites 

performed better than others. 

Attendance and spirituality were 

significant factors. 

• On October 7, 2005, Kathleen Ashton, 

PhD, presented a talk “Resilience and 

Mind-Body Health: Coping with 

Chronic Illness” to the Myositis 

Association at their convention in 

Cleveland. The talk used the APA Public 

Education Campaign materials on 

“Mind/Body Health: For a Healthy Mind 

and Body, Talk to a Psychologist.” Over 

100 association members attended the 

presentation. Participants discussed 

some of their positive experiences about 

how working with a psychologist has 

helped them to cope with chronic 

illness and were able to have questions 

answered about how to find an 

appropriate psychologist in their area. 

• Peter M. Barach, PhD, from 

Parma Heights, has been invited to give 

two daylong workshops on dissociative 

disorders. The first, “Adult Dissociative 

Disorders in Response to Childhood 

Maltreatment: Diagnosis and 

Treatment,” was presented on October 

17, 2005, at the Midwest Conference 

on Child Sexual Abuse Treatment, in 

Madison, WI. The second, on a similar 

topic, will be given in Ottawa, Ontario, 

Canada on April 21, 2006, under 

sponsorship of the Centre for Treatment 

of Sexual Abuse and Childhood 

Trauma. Dr. Barach recently 

participated in revising treatment 

guidelines for adults with Dissociative 

Identity Disorder, issued by the 

International Society for the Study 

of Dissociation. 

• Thurston Cosner, PhD, was a copresenter 

of a paper titled, “Exploring 

the Implicit Police Work Environment” 

at the International Public Management 

Association Assessment Council 

(IPMAAC) Conference in Seattle, WA. 

The study addressed the paucity of 

research on the police work 

environment. Ninety-five police officers 

from two northeast Ohio departments 

(Euclid, Cleveland Metroparks) were 

administered questionnaires designed to 

measure officers’ perceptions of four 

cultural and 10 social climate 

components of their work environment. 

Results were discussed in terms of 

differing sets of demands emanating 

from cultural and social climate work 

environment features, which define the 

implicit demand complexity of police 

work. Of particular significance was the 

finding that contrary to popular 

thought; police officers of all ranks and 

between both departments appeared to 

have a strong preference for an 

achievement-oriented culture and a low 

preference for power in their 

department’s work environment. 

• Jeanne Albronda Heaton, PhD, along 

with Claudia J. Strauss, published 

“Talking to Eating Disorders: Simple 

Ways to Support Someone with 

Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating, or 

Body Image Issues.” The book summary 

is: When a friend or family member 

shows signs of an eating problem, often 

our first impulse is to charge in and 

give advice, and try to fix what is 

wrong. But these tactics—however well 

intended—can backfire. In this 

compassionate guide, you’ll discover 

ways to tackle the tough topics of body 

image, media messages, physical touch, 

diet, and exercise. There is a special 

section on talking about these issues 

with children. You’ll learn when to get 

professional help, how to handle 

emergencies, and answers to difficult 

questions such as, “Am I too fat” and 

“Is this okay to eat” Dr. Heaton also 

participated in presentations about this 

topic for the American Association of 

University and College Center Directors. 

• Jennifer Swaim, PhD, is the director of 

psycho-oncology research in the 

department of psychiatry and 

behavioral sciences at Akron General 

Medical Center. Her current research 

and presentations include: 

Mood and Cognitive Functioning in 

Ovarian Cancer (current research in 


progress): This research covers a 

longitudinal, repeated measures study 

of the emotional and cognitive 

complications that arise across the 

course of chemotherapy treatment for 

ovarian cancer. 

Psychological Sequalae of Non-Lethal 

Gunshot Incidents, an APA convention 

poster presentation: The relationship of 

physical and mental health outcomes 

to institutional supports (debriefing) 

and psychiatric interventions 

(psychotherapy, psychotropic 

medication), was investigated through 

a retrospective study of 194 officers 

shot while wearing personal protective 

armor. This study used a semistructured 

interview to gather 

quantitative and qualitative 

information on: the nature of the 

critical incident, type of psychological 

support services offered and long term 

physical and mental health 

consequences. Obtained data included 

frequency and severity of sleep 

disturbances, substance use, use of 

psychotropic medication, and diagnosis 

of psychological disorder. Results 

include significant negative 

correlations between the psychological 

interventions and behavioral health 

outcomes (including sleep disturbance, 

alcohol/substance abuse, relationship 

stability, employment disability). 

Additionally, officers offered 

stress management interventions 

were more likely to develop positive 

interpretations of the impact of the 

event on their lives and to engage 

in fewer high risk behaviors. 

The Virtue Ethics Importance Scale 

(VEIS), an APA convention poster 

presentation, assesses individual’s 

beliefs regarding the importance of 

four of the virtue ethics; benevolence, 

integrity, prudence and respect. These 

four ethical constructs have been cited 

in the literature as being of particular 

interest to psychologists. Few general 

instruments exist that assess how 

individuals think about the importance 

of ethical issues as they relate to 

behavior, and none specific to this 

domain have been published or 

referenced in the literature. This 

instrument was developed in response 

to a need for a reliable and valid scale 

in the domain of virtue ethics, and was 

designed with the goal of creating a 

measure to facilitate future 

investigations in the area of virtue 

ethics. The presented research 

represents the data and analyses 

involved in the development, revision 

and validation of an original selfreport 

measure, the Virtue Ethics 

Importance Scale (VEIS). 

From the Shallow End of the Pool 

By Michael Ranney, MPA, OPA Executive Director 

This is the last “From the Shallow End of 

the Pool” article. Not because I’m going 

somewhere, but because the OPA office is. 

We’re moving to the second floor. But why 

change the name of column, and how did 

this journey begin Read on… 

One of the things that made the spring 

and summer fly by was the effort by 

the OPA staff to consider our office 

space options. 

OPA is the last remaining original tenant 

at 400 East Town Street, after the former 

School for the Deaf was renovated into 

office space. Our space on the ground floor 

was the old swimming pool. My office 

happens to be in what was the shallow end 

of the pool, thus the name of my column. 

OPA has lived in suite G-20 for 17 years. 

If walls could talk, they would never shut 

up. In this space, OPA leaders have 

discussed, strategized, considered, debated 

and decided many things that have 

impacted psychology in Ohio. OPA 

historians probably have some tales to tell 

about major events in OPA history that 

have occurred here. Clearly, the “Plan for 

the 90s” was crafted during that time and 

OPA evolved into a more professional 

association that benefits its members in 

significant ways. 

With our lease up on November 1, 2005, 

and with an option to renew for five more 

years, which we needed to exercise by May 

1, we set out to assess our options. We like 

our location, ample parking and the 

beautiful Topiary Park right next door 

to us. On good days, I can walk to the 

Statehouse or to downtown meetings. For 

staff, none of us are more than 15 minutes 

from home. 

We came to appreciate our location more 

as we looked elsewhere. Downtown spaces 

were much more expensive, parking was 

an issue and few came close to the charm 

of our current space. 

Outside of the city was a mixed bag. 

Again, rents were consistently higher, and 

most spaces needed so much work that it 

was hard to envision how we’d fit in. 

One of our major goals in finding a new 

space was getting one where there was 

sufficient space for the Board of Directors 

to meet. Over the years, the Board 

meetings have been an adventure. In my 

tenure as executive director, we moved 

from Board meetings at hotels with sit 

down meals to meetings at senior centers 

with pizza and sodas. The only problem 

was that the senior center was not always 

available so meetings were frequently on 

the move. We tried a meeting at G-20 once 

but it was just too small to accommodate 

the Board and visitors 

As we searched the real estate market in 

Columbus, we discussed our needs with our 

current landlord. He took us upstairs to 

vacant space on the second floor, 

overlooking the Topiary Garden and Town 

Street. It had enough office space to 

accommodate all of our full and parttime/volunteer 

staff and interns and a 

bonus room large enough for the Board 

and smaller workshops. It needed work, 

but we could visualize OPA fitting in there 

quite comfortably. 

So the last two months have been about 

looking at plans, daily visits to the second 

floor, selecting carpet and paint, changing 

the plans, panicking when the wrong 

carpet was delivered, feeling anguish when 

we discovered how uneven the floor was 

and cheering with joy when the contractor 

said he worked late into the night to fix 

the floor! Today, as I write this column, the 

carpet was laid and the ceiling tiles are 

going being placed. It has really taken 

shape nicely. 

If Convention had not been looming in 

our immediate future, we would have 

moved earlier. The move happened 

November 7 after the dust from 

Convention settled and we had time to 

pack up 17 years of memories and stuff. 

By the time you read this, we may still 

be unpacking or trying to figure out where 

things go, so be patient in case things 

don’t go as planned. We may be without 

voicemail and computers for more than a 

day, which means e-mails may not get 

read for a few days. By Thanksgiving, I 

trust we’ll be thankful for our new space 

and be well settled in. 

The only problem is: what shall I call 

my column I won’t be in the shallow end 

of the pool anymore. Any suggestions The 

best suggestion wins a prize! E-mail your 

suggestions to kcrabtree@ohpsych.org. 


How Long Are You at Risk for a Lawsuit from 

Family Members After a Patient Commits Suicide 

By Stephanie D. Champ, JD, Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP 

No matter the situation, a suicide of a 

current or former patient is a tragic event. 

Besides dealing with the loss from a 

professional (and personal) perspective, in 

our seemingly litigious society, you also 

have the additional worry of whether you 

will be the target of blame from the 

patient’s family. For how long after a 

patient commits suicide are you exposed to 

a possible lawsuit by the patient’s family 

The family must file an action within four 

years of the patient’s suicide. Section 

2305.09 of the Ohio Revised Code 

(“O.R.C.”) states: 

An action for any of the following causes 

shall be brought within four years after the 

cause thereof accrued 2 : 

(D) For an injury to the rights of the 

plaintiff not arising on contract nor 

enumerated in sections 1304.35, 2305.10 

to 2305.12, and 2305.14 of the Revised 

Code, none of which are applicable in this 

scenario. 

A claim against a psychologist in this 

instance would be a claim of negligence 

and would fall under the limitations period 

outlined above. 

But wait, you say, is there not a specific 

statute that provides that malpractice 

actions have only a one-year limitations 

period Yes, O.R.C. § 2305.11 says that 

“[a]n action for . . . malpractice other than 

an action upon a medical, dental, 

optometric, or chiropractic claim . . . shall 

be commenced within one year after 

the cause of action accrued.” However, 

despite the language which could indicate 

otherwise, there is no claim for 

psychologist malpractice. 

The Ohio Supreme Court held specifically 

in the case of Thompson v. Community 

Health Centers, [71 Ohio St. 3d 194 (1994).] 

that malpractice actions may only be 

maintained against physicians, attorneys, 

and those additional professionals 

specifically designated by the Ohio General 

Assembly. The court ruled in the Thompson 

case specifically that the shorter limitations 

period of O.R.C. § 2305.11 does not apply 

to licensed social workers, psychologists or 

mental health facilities. Therefore, there is 

no action for psychologist “malpractice” per 

se, but rather a claim for negligence, which 

is governed by § 2305.09(D) cited above. 

Many tort actions (and negligence is a 

tort action) have what is known as a 

“discovery rule,” which can extend the time 

for filing of those types of claims. The 

purpose of a discovery rule is to allow an 

injured person (whether physically or 

economically) to have the limitations 

period tolled, or extended, because the 

court believes justice will be better served 

by doing so; for example, because the 

injury itself or perpetrator of the injury are 

difficult to recognize or identify. However, 

the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Investors 

REIT One v. Jacobs, [46 Ohio St. 3d 176 

(1989),] that in actions for professional 

negligence, the discovery rule does not 

apply. In that case, the court was dealing 

with negligence of accountants, also a 

profession for whom there is no action 

for malpractice and, so, analogous to 

psychologists. 

As with any scenario in which you 

become involved in the court system or 

fear you may, you should seek legal 

counsel immediately. 

1 This article does not address the issue 

of who among, or whether, the patient’s 

family members would have a viable 

cause of action against a psychologist 

in this circumstance. 

2 A cause of action “accrues” when the 

injured person knows or should know 

that he or she has been injured (whether 

physically or economically). 

OPA Members in the News 

Compiled by Katie Crabtree Thomas, OPA Director 

of Communications and Education 

• Bobbie Celeste, PhD, spoke with 

Columbus radio station 93.3 about Tom 

Cruise speaking out against psychiatrists 

and medication. 

• Daniel L. Davis, PhD, was interviewed 

by Seattle News Radio KOMO 1000 

regarding violent kids on June 14. 

• Member Louise Douse, PhD, was 

featured extensively in a “Lantern” 

article about the Younkin Success Center, 

a counseling center on The Ohio State 

University’s campus. Dr. Douce, who is 

director of counseling and consultation 

services, said stress is the No. 1 reason 

students visit the center, and there has 

been a gradual increase in the number of 

students seeking counseling. However, 

Dr. Douce pointed out, “There’s still a lot 

of stigma associated with seeking help,” 

Dr. Douce said. “I think there are still a 

lot of students who think they have to 

handle it themselves.” Despite this fact, 

the center received over 15,000 clinical 

visits in the 2004-05 school year. 

• OPA member Pat James, PhD, offered 

advice to parents of college students 

about independence in a “Columbus 

Dispatch” article titled, “Pack Advice, 

Too.” Dr. James said, “It’s a good idea for 

parents to see this as a new era in their 

own lives…Take a class; join a new 

group. Think about what you want to do 

with your life other than being a parent.” 

• Joyce Kubic, PhD, answered questions 

about adult ADHD to Channel 3 news 

online in Cleveland on July 13. In the 

featured story called, “Adult ADHD: 

Identifying the Problem and learning 

how to live with it,” Dr. Kubic trained 

an adult patient on how the ADHD 

mind works. OPA member Ken DeLuca, 

PhD, diagnosed the patient with a 

series of tasks. 

• David Lowenstein, PhD, has been 

interviewed by a variety of media outlets 

in the past couple of months. Dr. 

Lowenstein was interviewed by 

Westwood One (Infinity Broadcasting) for 

Leeza Gibbon’s nationwide radio show 

“Leeza Live” on a segment called 

“Preparing Your Child for School” on 

August 25. He was also interviewed for 

the “Norwalk Reflector” about childhood 

anxiety. Dr. Lowenstein spoke on Bob 

Connors Show on 610 WTVN in 

Columbus about back to school anxiety, 

and was featured in a Lima News article 


called “Helping Your Child Deal with 

Anxiety.” He also wrote an article called 

“Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten” 

that was published in Parenting 

magazine of New Hampshire; Los 

Angeles Family Magazine; Columbus 

Parents Magazine; and, Savannah and 

Georgia Coastal Family/Parenting 

Magazine. Dr. Lowenstein also discussed 

vacation planning with children and 

how to keep children reading during the 

summer on the Ohio News Network in 

July. He was also on WBNS-TV Channel 

10 of Columbus to speak about 

“Handling the Summer Doldrums.” 

Dr. Lowenstein published an article 

in September in the Livingston Parent 

Journal of Michigan titled, “Calming 

the Kindergarten Jitters.” Lastly, Dr. 

Lowenstein was featured on WBNS 

Channel 10 News in Columbus about an 

incident where a couple locked their 11 

adopted children in cages. The couple 

said the children have serious physical 

and emotional disorders and extreme 

measures were necessary. Dr. Lowenstein 

said confining any child is a bad idea. 

“Everything I’ve read for the last 30 

years doesn’t say when you have special 

needs kids, put them to sleep in cages. 

They’re going to be compliant, but there 

are so many other alternatives.” 

• Jan Morrison, PhD, was quoted in a 

“Columbus Dispatch” article called ”Pals 

Pitch in to Honor Teen” on July 25, 

2005. The article was about friends of a 

17-year-old who died in a car crash 

pitching in to raise money in his honor. 

Dr. Morrison said these activities, “allow 

them to participate in doing something 

for the family, and then they are able to 

release some of their own feelings over 

the loss. It gives them an outlet.” 

• Dr. Paula Hartman-Stein, director of the 

Center for Healthy Aging, has been 

featured extensively in the news about 

her work on how improving spelling 

skills can keep your mind sharp and 

active. Dr. Hartman-Stein spent three 

months studying for a spelling bee, 

and, in the process, noticed her 

cognitive skills sharpened. Her work 

on this subject was covered by the 

“Record Courier” newspaper and 

More magazaine. 

• James Orlando, PhD, has been 

highlighted in various media outlets 

about sexual offenders. He was quoted 

in the following newspaper articles: 

“Learning From Sex Offenders” from 

“The Canton Repository;” “Japanese TV 

Vists for Close-Up Look at How 

Megan’s Law Operates in U.S.” from 

“The Cleveland Plain Dealer”; “Colored 

Plates Won’t Unmask All Predators” 

from the “Plain Dealer”; “Registered Sex 

Offenders Just Tip of Iceburg” published 

in the South Side News Leader”; and, 

“Suburb Bans Sex Offenders in Parks” 

from the “Plain Dealer.” He was also on 

WAKR with host Ray Horner and 

WCPN radio about the topic of sex 

offenders. Dr. Orlando also was on the 

following television programs about 

sexual offenders: Japanese network, TV 

Asahi; WEWS Channel 5 Cleveland; 

and, WVIZ/PBS. 

• After a 15-year-old Pickerington Central 

football player collapsed from a football 

conditioning session and died, James 

Reardon, PhD, helped coaches deal with 

the boy’s death. He talked to the 

“Columbus Dispatch” about the situation 

on June 25. “When a school and team 

go through something like this, everyone 

second guesses themselves,” he said. 

“Part of the reason they do that is 

because they want to think there is 

something they could have done to 

prevent it.” Dr. Reardon concluded, “It’s 

so devastating because it runs so counter 

Continued on page 18 > 


to what we want to believe: young, 

healthy athletes don’t die.” 

• Craig Travis, PhD, was live on Channel 

10 WBNS in Columbus on September 2 

talking about how time flies. Dr. Travis 

gave time management tips on the 

show. 

• Does laughter help with weight loss 

Steve Wilson, MA, a Columbus area 

psychologist, told the “New Bern Sun 

Journal” that “laughter, if you do it 

often, long enough, intensely enough, 

it’s going to cause many of the same 

physiological changes in the body as 

exercise.” Mr. Wilson is co-founder of 

the World Laughter Tour which is led 

by certified laugh leaders to mix 

laughter and movement to create 

“therapeutic laughter exercises.” 

However, Mr. Wilson says, “Laughter 

itself probably isn’t going to build 

stronger muscles. Laughter itself isn’t 

going to increase stamina.” 

• A “Columbus Dispatch” story titled 

“ADAMH Levy Gets Ballot Spot” about 

a proposed 2.2 million levy that would 

assist the county mental health board 

featured David Weaver, PhD. Dr. 

Weaver said about the situation, “… 

We need an 8.8-mill levy, not a 2.2 

mill levy.” 

Have you been featured in the media 

lately Let us know! Contact Katie 

Crabtree Thomas, Director of 

Communications and Education, at 

kcrabtree@ohpsych.org with the name 

and date of the publication/program you 

appeared in, what you were quoted as 

saying and send a copy of the article, if 

available. 

Members in the News appears in each 

OP Review, March, June and November. 

Deadlines for submitting copy for OPA 

Members in the News are February 1, 

May 1 and October 1, for the respective 

publications. 

Glennon J. Karr 

Attorney at Law 

Legal Services for 

Psychological Practices 

(614) 848-3100 

OPA-MCE 

Survival Tip 

W 

hen 

taking a non-APA or non-OPA 

approved course, you must fill out 

the Single Course Review Form. 

If you don’t have a current one, go to 

http://www.ohpsych.org/MCE/mceforms.htm. 

You must fill it out completely and attach to it: 

a. The certificate of attendance 

b. A full course description 

c. A description of the presenter 

Outside the Columbus area, 

The Toll Free No. is: 

(888) 527-7529 

(KARRLAW) 

Fax: (614) 848-3160 

E-Mail: karrlaw@rrohio.com 

1328 Oakview Drive 

Columbus, OH 43235 

All three things must be included for 

review. 

If you are not an OPA member, you must also include 

$35. Allow 3-4 weeks for review. Please mail the 

completed form to: 

OPA-MCE 

400 East Town Street, #200 

Columbus, Ohio 43215 


Welcome to the following 

new OPA members! 

Approved by electronic vote of the OPA 

Board of Directors on September 7, 2005: 

Sylvester Briggs, PhD (reinstatement) 

Maria D. Carrubba, PhD 

Nepthalim L. Greene, PhD 

Darrell W. Jones, MSW 

Tracey A. King, BA 

Irene B. Kraegel, PsyD 

Julia A. Kramer, PhD (reinstatement) 

Erica S. Lennon, BA 

15 E-students 

Approved by electronic vote of the OPA 

Board of Directors on October 4, 2005: 

Stephanie J. Castle, PhD 

Krystin Davis, BA 

Renee Devlin, MEd 

Jessica E. Donn, PhD (reinstatement) 

Joyce E. Jadwin 

Miran Kuendig 

Ronald Levant, EdD 

John A. Paulus, PhD 

Ronald G. Smith, PhD (reinstatement) 

Earl S. Stump, PhD (reinstatement) 

Abbigail M. Tissot 

5 E-students 

Congratulations to the following new 

OPA Emeritus Members, also approved 

on October 4, 2005: 

James Daniel Barna, PhD, JD 

Judith B. Bergdahl, PhD 

Peter B. Casgrain, PhD 

James R. Davis MEd 

Philip J. Gibeau, PhD 

Lynne E. Hobstetter, PhD 

Ronald N. Lott, MA 

Robert A. Moore, MA 

Richard F. Scherger, MA 

Gerald F. Schneider, MEd 

Helen R. Skogstrom, MS 

John L. Sullivan, PhD 

Patrick White, PhD 

Stephen H. Wilson, MA 


Classified Ads 

Clinical/Counseling Psychologist: 

to work with children/adolescents/adults in a large outpatient private 

practice. Part-time with the opportunity to develop full-time practice. 

Responsibilities include diagnostic assessments of adolescents and adults, 

treatment planning, individual, couple and family therapy and 

participation in program development and marketing. Ph.D.or Psy.D. in 

clinical/counseling psychology from an APA accredited doctoral program. 

APA approved internship. Ohio license required. See our Web site at 

www.westernreservepsych.com for information about our practice. 

Send Resume to: Richard C. Rynearson, Ph.D., Western Reserve 

Psychological Associates, Inc., 4833 Darrow Road, Suite 101, 

Stow, Ohio 44224 

PSYCHOLOGIST 

Licensed psychologist wanted to join a thriving interdisciplinary group 

practice in Northwest Columbus. Salary is productivity based. 

Part-time or full-time. Please fax resume to: Search Committee, Central 

Ohio Behavioral Medicine, Inc., FAX 614-538-1656 

Clinical Psychologist 

with insurance panel memberships to join group practice in Willoughby 

with child and adult psychiatrist and social workers. Fax resume and cover 

letter to Dr. Eileen McGhee at (440) 918-3817 or call (440) 953-8809. 

Office Space for Lease 

Exceptional corner office with fireplace on ground floor of historic building 

conveniently located in Mt. Auburn. Excellent professional services 

included. Join a congenial group of psychologists, psychiatrsists and social 

workers who are independent practitioners. For more information, contact 

April Seymour, Office Manager, Joan H. Thomas, Ph.D. or George 

Colombel, MD, at (513) 381-6611. 

Psychologist/Therapist (full or part-time) 

sought as independent contractor for growing psychological practice in 

Mayfield Village, OH (eastern suburb of Cleveland). We are a group private 

practice offering a warm, collegial environment that values case 

consultation. Practice includes part-time psychiatrist who sees older 

adolescents and adults. Complete billing, insurance filing, and 

administrative services provided within a competitive financial structure. 

Will also consider post-doctoral fellows. Contact: Anna Grossman-McKee, 

Ph.D., via e-mail at agrossma@spectrum-psych.com. 

A special thank you to OPA’s 2005 Convention advertisers, sponsors and exhibitors. 

Your support of Ohio psychology is greatly appreciated! 

AATBS-www.aatbs.com, APA Insurance Trust-www.apait.org, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company-www.bms.com, Engineered Billing Solutions-www.billingease.com, 

Harcourt Assessment/The Psychological Corp.- www.harcourtassessment.com, Janssen Pharmaceutica-www.janssen.com, Lawrence School-www.lawrence.pvt.k12.oh.us, 

Lexi-Comp, Inc.-www.lexi.com, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology-www.mspp.org, The National Psychologist/Ohio Psychology Publications Inc. 

-www.nationalpsychologist.com, Nord Center-www.nordcenter.org,Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction-www.drc.state.oh.us, Ohio Hospital for Child & Adolescent 

Psychiatry, Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Foundation-www.standohio.org, Penelope Price, Inc., Divorce Education for Women-www.divorceeducationforwomen.com, 

Pharmaceutical Research & Manufactures of America (PhRMA)-www.phrma.org, Southern Consortium for Children-www.cbhed.com, VantageMed-www.helper.com, 

Western Reserve Psychological Association www.westernreservepsych.com 

400 East Town Street 

Suite 200 

Columbus, OH 43215-1599 

PRESORTED 

STANDARD 

US POSTAGE 

PAID 

Columbus, OH 

Permit No. 1248

The OP Review November 2005 - Ohio Psychological Association

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?