Robert McGrath for APA President

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A Teacher: I have been teaching psychology for over 20 years at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and currently serve as the Director of the Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology and the M.S Program in Clinical Psychopharmacology.

A Scientist: My research program, primarily in measurement and applied assessment and professional issues in pharmacotherapy, has resulted in over 100 publications and presentations.

A Clinician: As a licensed psychologist (New York) I continue to supervise graduate students in assessment and psychotherapy

An Advocate for the best in us. I have been an effective advocate for prescriptive authority and for rigor in professional guidelines in pharmacotherapy, for both clinical assessment and basing assessment on good methodology.

An Active Community Member: Currently I’m a member of Div. 8, 12, 55, and past-president of 55. Recent projects include involvement in developing practice and training guidelines for pharmacotherapy, proficiencies in psychopharmacology and assessment, and membership in the Div. 12 Committee on Science and Practice. In my free time, I am very involved in environmental and quality-of-life issues in my town.

WHAT I BELIEVE
We can become better advocates for ourselves and for society. Psychologists have a great deal to offer concerning social policy. We should increase our involvement in identifying solutions for social problems. However, these solutions will have little effect without greater involvement in the political system. Advocacy is also the key to maintaining the economic viability of psychology as a profession, and to increased federal support for psychological research.

APA can become a more integral part of psychologists’ professional lives. Opportunities for more hands-on experiences include more distributed training in advocacy, greater emphasis on involving psychologists in the organization, and more collaboration with other organizations.

Empirically based methods are the future of psychology. As scientists however we must critically evaluate the arguments made in the name of empiricism to avoid rigidity. We are just beginning to evaluate how to best disseminate demonstrably valid methods in psychology, and APA can lead the way.

Psychology must re-establish its reputation for ethical rigor. The Ethics Code has become both a statement of moral principles and a legally binding document. The Code must be revised so that the former purpose is not sacrificed to the latter.