FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2007 Contact: Andrew Boucher
Phone: 202-783-7663
Email: andrew@nationalregister.org

MINNESOTA STATE-LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

June 13, 2007, Washington, D.C. - The National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (National Register) Board of Directors today announced the winner of its new award for early career psychologists. Diann Ackard, Ph.D., of Golden Valley, Minnesota, has been named winner of the 2007 Judy E. Hall, Ph.D. Award. The award is named for the National Register's current executive officer, Judy E. Hall, Ph.D., and recognizes excellence in a nationally credentialed psychologist with less than ten years of postdoctoral experience. Dr. Hall is presenting the early career psychologist award to Dr. Ackard in August at the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention in San Francisco, CA.

According to Dr. Hall, "Dr. Ackard epitomizes the future for credentialed psychologists. She is passionate about helping people, both through her private practice and extensive consumer outreach. We are particularly impressed with the amount of time she has devoted to speaking to adolescents about eating disorders and sexual abuse."

Dr. Ackard received her Ph.D. in psychology in December of 1998 from the University of Cincinnati and currently operates a private practice in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Dr. Ackard specializes in treating eating disorders, mood and anxiety disturbances, and traumatic experiences. Dr. Ackard has been credentialed by the National Register since 2002.

Dr. Ackard said she plans to use the funds from the award “to develop an e-book free to the public to provide an introduction to psychotherapy, guidelines for selecting a therapist who is competent and a good-fit, and understanding of expectations of treatment, on behalf of the patient as well as the psychologist. This book would not only enhance my practice, but that of many others, and most importantly, the patient experience of psychotherapy.”

About The National Register

The National Register is the largest credentialing organization for psychologists. The independent, non-profit organization was created in 1974 with the help of the American Psychological Association and the American Board of Professional Psychology. Today, the National Register is the leading source of information on nationally credentialed psychologists in health care. Psychologists who are awarded national registrant status have achieved the highest educational and professional standards in health care. Early career psychologists can accumulate the necessary credentials during their training so that when they apply for a license to practice, they also are ready to become registrants of the National Register. It is the only independent, credentialing body with a national level standard for verifying education and training qualifications, licensing, and ethical standards with more than 12,000 doctoral level psychologists in its database. The National Register is relied upon by the health care industry, state and provincial licensing boards, and consumers. National Register also provides this valuable information to consumers as a free referral service to top quality psychologists at www.findapsychologist.org.

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