Beth N. Rom-Rymer, PhD, Elected to National Register of Health Service Psychologists Board of Directors

At its December meeting, the National Register Board of Directors elected Beth N. Rom-Rymer, PhD, of Chicago, IL, to a four-year term beginning January 1, 2019.

In response to her election, Dr. Rom-Rymer said, “I am so very pleased and honored to be elected to the Board of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists.  The National Register is an outstanding organization that is devoted to promoting and creating professional opportunities for psychologists.  I am particularly excited about the many new strategic partnerships that the Register is creating with state psychological associations, public mental health organizations, and other public institutions and organizations that foster professional and community growth.”

Sarah F. Shelton, PsyD, Chair of the National Register’s Nominating Committee, commented on the selection process. “This year we received an overwhelming number of applications from many highly qualified individuals. The Board congratulates the three newly elected members. They were chosen not only for their impressive accomplishments and contributions to the field of psychology but also because of the unique skill sets and talents they will each bring to the composition of the Board. The Board of Directors looks forward to collaborating with these newly elected members in order to optimally serve the organization.”

Beth N. Rom-Rymer, PhD, serves as a member of the Board of Directors of APA; incoming Chair (2019) of the APA Council Leadership Team; and the President and co-founder of the Illinois Association of Prescribing Psychologists. Dr. Rom-Rymer has been adjunct lecturer at The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry; a guest lecturer at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science; a lecturer at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology; and a guest lecturer at Chicago’s Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. She has chaired and served several governance positions on multiple Caucuses of APA Council, including Education and Training, Public Interest, Healthcare/Health Science, and Women’s. Dr. Rom-Rymer was a 6-year member of the APA Finance Committee; served as President of the APA Division of Pharmacotherapy (55) and the APA Division of Trauma (56), in addition to other governance roles in those Divisions.

Dr. Rom-Rymer has served two terms as the President of the Illinois Psychological Association and spearheaded the successful IPA’s prescriptive authority legislative movement. She continues to lead the implementation of the prescriptive authority legislation in Illinois while consulting with states throughout the country on similar legislative initiatives. Dr. Rom-Rymer is a co-founder of Refuge House in Tallahassee, Florida, a shelter for women and children, that celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018. Dr. Rom-Rymer works as a clinician in Chicago and as a forensic expert witness in civil litigation in her national consulting practice. Dr. Rom-Rymer was recently awarded the Chicago Social Impact Leader Award from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Throughout her 40+ year career, she has worked to create training and practice opportunities for prescribing and non-prescribing psychologists in public service venues. She was awarded the National Register’s 2016 Alfred M. Wellner, PhD, Lifetime Achievement Award; the Karl F. Heiser APA Presidential Award for Advocacy (2015); the APA Presidential Citation for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Professional Psychology (2015), among many other awards.

Dr. Rom-Rymer has been credentialed by the National Register since 1998.

About the National Register of Health Service Psychologists

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is the largest credentialing organization for psychologists. Established in 1974, the independent nonprofit organization is dedicated to improving healthcare by identifying psychologists who meet specific credentialing standards to consumers, healthcare organizations, and regulatory bodies. For more information, visit www.nationalregister.org

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For more information about this announcement, contact the National Register at 202.783.7663.