A recently published database tracking pharmaceutical company donations to not-for-profit associations provides data indicating that industry funding provides significant revenue to patient advocacy groups. Other data suggest that this funding might be intended to create informal lobbying groups that can act on behalf of drug manufacturers. While drug company promotional activities are not newsworthy, the absence of mental health associations from the list of funded groups raises questions about the influence of mental health advocacy.

The American Psychological Association’s Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) is currently seeking members to serve on a Task Force to Develop a Blueprint for APA Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Health Service Psychology. Completed nomination materials should be sent no later than May 11, 2018.

This scholarship, funded by contributions from Cesar Gonzalez, PhD, ABPP, NLPA, ABPP-F and the National Register provides recipients with $1,500 towards the completion of ABPP board certification. Applications are due May 1, 2018.

APA’s Council of Representatives has recently approved a Clinical Practice Guideline for the treatment of PTSD. Arguments for and against the use of clinical practice guidelines have been extensively—even ferociously—debated in psychology. Some point to accrued evidence supporting the use of specific therapies, others fear a devolution to prescriptive, mechanized treatments. Whether pro or con, discussions of guidelines must take into consideration the fact that regardless of the modality employed, effect sizes for mental health interventions are not terribly convincing to begin with. In this column, I’ll examine the new guideline and some of the assumptions underlying it.

National Register signed the Mental Health Liaison Group’s letter supporting the passage of H.R. 2345, The National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2017. 

National Register signed the Mental Health Liaison Group’s letter to Veterans Affairs requesting more information on their next steps for implementing the recommendations made from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) new report.