Biography:

I am Professor of Psychology and Social and Behavioral Health and Director of the Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program and Life Skills Center at Virginia Commonwealth University. I came to VCU as Chair of the Psychology Department in 1985. Previously, I held academic positions at Penn State University and Southern Illinois University and received my doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Michigan State University. I am a licensed psychologist, an ABPP in Counseling Psychology and a registered sport psychologist of the Sports Medicine Division of the United States Olympic Committee. I am a Fellow in APA Divisions 17, 27 and 47, APS and the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) as well as past President of the Society of Community Research and Action (Division 27). In 2007, I received the Lifetime Achievement award for “Prevention” (Division 17) and am the Distinguished Alumni in the College of Education at Michigan State University this year. I have received grants from NIMH, National Cancer Institute, Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Olympic Committee, U.S. Diving, and Athletic Footwear Association.

My goals and beliefs:

1. The Society, as am I, is committed to social justice, although it is not clear to everyone what it means or how to do it.  For me, it means that we work at a systems-or community-level to advocate and initiate change rather than continuing to “blame the victim” (see Ryan, 1971).  We must choose systems-level targets, while simultaneously strengthening individuals (see Danish & Forneris in the Handbook of Counseling Psychology, 4^th Edition).

2. The Society needs to build on the excellent start we have made in making counseling psychology an international enterprise.

3. Counseling Psychology is particularly well suited to take advantage of the number of doctoral programs housed in Schools of Education and become more active in developing and evaluating programs in the schools to ensure that students are able to succeed in life. This will require teaching social and emotional skills as well as academic skills.

4. The Society needs to become much more involved in health care and reducing health disparities around the world. Our strengths in health promotion and disease prevention should enable us to be able to make a unique contribution.

5. Finally, a population in dire need of attention is our returning veterans.  The number of returning veterans and their needs far outweigh available resources.  Counseling psychology is ideally positioned to help returning veterans who are having difficulty transitioning from the combat zone to their families, workplaces and communities.

If elected, I hope to continue the activist work of Bill Parham, Linda Forrest and others to expand the reach of the Society throughout APA and in the communities in which we live.

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