PsychNews - Australian Psychological Society

PsychNews
Report from the APS National Office
This regular report provides information on some of the
recent activities and news from the APS National Office.
APS 2012 Better Access study
The APS campaign for permanent reinstatement of
the exceptional circumstances sessions under the
Better Access initiative has continued with the
commencement of a new study to inform APS advocacy.
Data collected in 2011 by the APS provided compelling
evidence that demonstrated the potential impact of the
Better Access funding cuts and contributed to achieving
the successful outcome of temporary reinstatement of
the exceptional circumstances sessions. The APS 2012
study is well underway, with part 1 of the study currently
collecting retrospective data on clients seen last year who
required more than 10 sessions of treatment but were
unable to access these after the session allowance changes
came into effect on 1 November 2011. Online entry of
deidentified client data for part 1 closes at the end of May
2012, so members providing services under Better Access
still have the opportunity to contribute their data.
The second part of the APS study will be open for online
data entry from June 2012 and involves collecting data on
clients seen in 2012 who have needed to access additional
sessions under exceptional circumstances since these
sessions were reinstated on 1 March 2012. The clientrated
Kessler 10 (K10) will be used as the outcome
measure and administered to clients at three time points:
at commencement of treatment; at the end of the 10th
session; and at the end of the final session in the current
episode of treatment where this consists of between 11
and 16 Medicare-funded sessions in this calendar year.
To strengthen the data, the Depression and Anxiety
Stress Scales (DASS21) should also to be administered
wherever possible. Members should therefore administer
the pre-treatment outcome measures on all new clients in
the event that they may go on to require the exceptional
circumstances sessions. For those clients who complete
their treatment in 10 sessions or less, administration of
these outcome measures does not need to continue, but
data may be used in a later analysis. The K10 and the
DASS21 can be downloaded from the APS website. To find
out more about the APS Better Access study or to enter
data, go to www.psychology.org.au/betteraccess.
We hope as many members as possible will participate
in the APS 2012 Better Access study to assist the APS
campaign for the permanent reinstatement of the
exceptional circumstances sessions.
Advocacy with Government Ministers and advisers
Advocacy on behalf of APS members has continued at a
Federal level to ensure new Ministers and their advisers
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are briefed on important psychological matters in their
portfolios. A very successful series of meetings was held
in the lead up to the May Federal Budget, with Ministers
and their advisers demonstrating a strong interest in the
contribution of psychologists and psychological knowledge
to the Australian community. A meeting was held with
the new Minister for Health, Tanya Plibersek, who
was particularly interested to understand more about
psychological interventions and their effectiveness, and
the role of psychologists in managing chronic diseases.
Areas of concern to psychologists which were discussed
in a meeting with the new Minister for Human Services,
Kim Carr, included issues arising from the transition
to the national eHealth system and Medicare billing
matters. A strong interest in supporting psychologists in
private practice was indicated by the new Minister for
Small Business, Homelessness and Housing, Brendan
O’Connor, and meetings with the new Deputy Chief
of Staff and an ‘Ageing’ adviser for the Minister for
Mental Health and Ageing focused on maintenance of
the Better Access initiative and highlighted proposals
for increased access to psychologists in the aged care
sector. The inclusion of psychological knowledge in the
development of new services in the disability sector
was promoted with a key adviser to the Minister for
Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
and Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin. In all
of these important meetings, strong interest was shown
by the Ministers and their advisers in the contribution of
psychology to the Australian community and the concerns
of its practitioners.
Join us at the APS Annual Conference in Perth in
September
The 47th APS Annual Conference will be held from
27 to 30 September 2012 at the Perth Convention
and Exhibition Centre under the theme ‘Psychology
addressing the challenges of the modern age’. An
impressive line-up of keynote and invited speakers has
been assembled, including Professor Dorothy Bishop from
the University of Oxford, Professor Michelle Craske of the
University of California and Professor Michael Eysenck of
the University of London. Keynote and invited addresses
will be complemented by symposia, individual papers
and posters, professional fora, how-to sessions, practical
workshops and peer consultation opportunities across the
various streams of psychology. Plan now to join us at the
Annual Conference in Perth to broaden your knowledge,
expertise and competence, and to accrue a large number
of professional development hours in a stimulating,
collegiate environment.
Professor Lyn Littlefield OAM FAPS
Executive Director
The South Australia Newsletter
News and views for APS Members in South Australia