The Register Report, Spring 2007 The Executive Officer's Desk Moving Forward and Getting Results: Educating Consumers and Promoting Registrants on www.findapsychologist.org by: Judy E. Hall, Ph.D. Return to Table of Contents

We built and launched www.findapsychologist.org in August 2006 to reach out to and educate consumers, and ultimately increase referrals to Registrants. We have created a site that arms consumers with critical information and a way to search for professionals who meet the standards of a national credentialing process for psychologists. The site contains practice and contact information on our 12,000 Registrants, as well as articles and other information on psychological issues, links to self-help groups, and a rich assortment of credible websites for consumers to learn more about their specific concerns. If you have not visited the site, we encourage you to do so.

Even though we spent a considerable amount of time assembling the resources and building the site, promoting the site to consumers is a much more daunting task. Our efforts of the past six months taught me a lot about how psychology does - and does not - succeed in promoting its unique and valuable services to consumers. I was initially overwhelmed by the possible avenues of outreach - TV, print, radio, and web - and hundreds of major markets in the US alone! The National Register, like most of the credible psychological organizations in the US, is a nonprofit organization with limited resources for a broad consumer outreach campaign. So we started small.

The first step was to maximize our Internet/search engine exposure. We successfully incorporated tags and relevant keywords to make the site more visible to search engine users. For example, type “find a psychologist” into the Google browser and you will see www.findapsychologist.org as the third listing. However, we needed other, more active avenues of exposure.

We hired a Washington, DC public relations firm to work with National Register staff and our new public Board member, Janet Dewar, who has considerable experience in marketing and business development. We decided that the most efficient way to reach out to consumers was through print, radio, and television.

ISSUES DRIVE MEDIA INTEREST IN PSYCHOLOGY

Our public relations firm started by contacting hundreds of media outlets. Many of these television and radio stations were very interested in the psychological aspects of news stories, and invited me to participate in their broadcasts. The preparation for these appearances is quite time consuming, but I am very excited about the opportunity to promote Registrants and www.findapsychologist.org directly to consumers.

Some of the topics I have been asked to discuss include:

• The Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
• Psychological Aspects of the Anniversary of 9/11
• Bullying and School Violence
• Stress
• Depression
• Depression in the Elderly
• Holiday Depression
• Job Loss
• New Year’s Resolutions
• Psychologists as a Member of the Fitness Team
• Marital and other Relationships
• Problem Gambling
• Patient Advocacy for Seniors
• Military Deployment

Consumers can access video/audio files from several of the interviews on www.findapsychologist.org. In preparing for those interviews and publications we researched what other credible health care websites provided in terms of information and linked to those documents. In addition, we described for the consumer how best to search for a Registrant who has expertise in various areas.

We are also pleased with our print exposure. Consumer Reports on Health (March 2007) and Family Circle (January 2007) are two high profile examples of print publicity we generated for www.findapsychologist.org. We have also written articles for a number of publications which reach many different audiences. Our press releases have stirred interest in this new web site and in using the National Register as a resource on health issues.

At the same time we continue to evolve the site to be more consumer-friendly. As I am interviewed on these various topics, NR staff creates pages on the site with related links and resources. We post articles authored for consumers by National Register Board members, including John Norcross, Ph.D. on New Years’ Resolutions, Rosalind Dorlen, Psy.D. on Postpartum Depression and Carl Settles, Ph.D. on the impact of Military Deployment. Throughout the year we will continue to post articles contributed by board members and Registrants. continued

 

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