August 2024 Equity & Advocacy Bulletin

August 2024 | ANA Equity & Advocacy Bulletin by Julia Chen, PhD

Dear ANA Community,
Please see the August 2024 Equity & Advocacy Bulletin below. Find more information about our current members, their backgrounds, and positions here.

In Solidarity

The ANA Advocacy Committee stands in solidarity with the individuals, families, and communities affected by the recent deaths by police shooting of Victoria Lee in Fort Lee, NJ and Easter Leafa in Anchorage, AK. In both cases, a police response to a mental health crisis ended in the death of these two young AAPI individuals. The events stand as a sobering reminder of the continued inefficacies of police response to mental health needs, and its impact on AAPI communities. We encourage the ANA community to continue staying informed about justice and advocacy opportunities on this issue (e.g., https://stopaapihate.org/2024/08/23/easterleafa/)

WEBINARS:

Cultural SIG & Brain Injury SIG Webinar: Friday September 13, 2024 @ 9pm IST (12pm US Eastern). Title: Worldwide Brain Injury Update: Exploring Cultural Dimensions in Neuropsychology- Part 1. Register here.

Divisions 22 and 40 CE Webinar: Ethical Considerations for the 21st Century Neuropsychologist: Ethical considerations for conducting culturally responsive assessments; Michelle R. Madore, Ph.D.; 3 CE CREDITS AWARDED; Webinar Is Offered On Demand here.

NYSAN Self Study Webinar: Psychological Evaluations for Individuals Seeking Asylum in the United States: Rewards, Challenges, and Impact of the Assessment Process. Register here.

AACN Relevance 2050 Initiative’s Student Pathways Subcommittee Q&A webinar series “Increasing Access and Reducing Barriers in the Field of Neuropsychology.” This series of four Q&A sessions will take place throughout this fall, and we invite trainees at all stages and training program leaders to attend and ask questions. These webinars are designed to be interactive, and will be recorded and posted on the N2N website, https://new2neuropsych.org/. Upcoming sessions to look out for: 

Part 2: During Training: Gaining Experience and Filling the Gaps

  • Date: September 17 at 7 PM EST
  • Webinar Link: tiny.utk.edu/AACNWebinar2
  • Speakers: Lynette Abrams-Silva, PhD, ABPP-CN, Savana Naini, PsyD, and Taryn Gordon, MS, MA
  • This second webinar is focused on increasing access to training experiences in Clinical Neuropsychology for trainees.

Part 3: Board Certification: Where to Begin?

Part 4: Evaluation of Applications: Inclusivity and Equity; Speakers: Kathleen L Fuchs, PhD, and Luis D. Medina, PhD; Date: TBD in November

ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES and LEGISLATION TO TRACK

ACCESS in Mental Health Act (H.R. 7924). This bill, which APA helped draft, will help reduce mental healthcare provider shortages by increasing access to graduate degrees in mental health fields, including psychology, at all types of minority-serving institutions. This bill aims at: 1) Providing grants to Minority-Serving Institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Asian American, Native Alaskan, and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, and Hispanic Serving Institutions, to create, expand, or improve graduate programs in mental health fields such as psychology, counseling, social work, psychiatry, school mental health, substance use disorder prevention and treatment, and more. 2) Providing grants of $10,000 per year to students attending these graduate programs to help cover the cost of attendance. Learn more about advocacy opportunities related to this bill: https://www.votervoice.net/APAAdvocacy/Campaigns/114446/Respond

AAPCHO Celebrates Bicameral Introduction of the Health Equity and Accountability Act: Health Equity and Accountability Act (HEAA) is comprehensive and broadly-supported legislation addressing health inequities affecting communities that are underserved and marginalized, including Asian Americans (AAs), Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (NH/PIs), across the nation’s health care system. Learn more about HEAA here.

APA Policy Statement on Immigrant Health: View the statement here, which in brief “…condemns policies that harm immigrants and their families, including forced family separation. It calls for federal and state funding for research to better understand immigrants’ health needs, including research on topics such as the evaluation of training and the effects of trauma. It calls for implementing community-based initiatives that strive to improve immigrants’ health and wellness.”

ADVOCACY LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

AACN Relevance 2050 Student Pathways Subcommittee (SPS) is recruiting for new members.  The AACN Relevance 2050 SPS was established in 2015 and aims to increase recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented backgrounds into the field of neuropsychology. They aim to support students throughout their training and on the path to board certification. To apply please email the subcommittee co-chairs (jennifer.peraza@dhha.org and libbydesruisseaux@gmail.com with: 1) A brief (less than 500 words) statement of interest explaining why you would like to join SPS including relevant experience you bring to support the aim to promote recruitment and retention of underrepresented students (please identify specific work group(s) of possible interest), 2) Your CV.

In Solidarity,

Julia Chen on behalf of the ANA Advocacy Committee

————-

Chair: Julia Chen, PhD

Members: Jay Patel, PhD; Sofia Lesica, MA, Ananya Ruth Samuel, MA, Aya Haneda, MA, Alison Chung, MSc

Email: advocacy@the-ana.org

Website: https://www.the-ana.org/advocacy-committee

Our committee will be sending out regular bulletins highlighting recent events and advocacy efforts that we have been tracking. You can also find our updated resources as well as past Equity Bulletins on the ANA website. Feel free to email us at advocacy@the-ana.org with ideas/suggestions for future bulletins.