September 2022 | Newsletter Updates
SPA Town Hall | Call for Proposals | Online Trainings | Grants | Scholarships | ISSTD Training | Content Advisory Committee | Member Feedback | Community Events & News | Job Postings
SPA Town Hall
As stated in the recently released Statement of Action: Roe v. Wade, SPA Board Members and staff will be hosting a Town Hall to discuss updates from the Fall 2022 SPA Board meeting as well as give our members room to bring up any questions, comments, or concerns to the SPA leadership.
Join us on Wednesday, September 21, 2022
4:30 - 6:00 pm ET
Call for Proposals
It's not too late to submit your proposal for the 2023 SPA Convention in Austin, TX! SPA is planning an in-person event with a small virtual option for some of the educational content.
Types of Convention Programming
- Symposia
- Case Discussion
- Roundtable Discussion
- Individual Paper
- Individual Poster
- Flash Talk
Call for Proposals Deadline: October 10, 2022
Online Trainings
Register for Upcoming Events and Earn Continuing Education Credits.
September 16 | Clinical and Forensic Assessment of Psychological Trauma | 7 CE Credits
Presented by: Dr. Barton Evans & Dr. Ali Khadivi
Goals and Objectives
- Participants will understand that phenomenology and diagnosis PTSD and related diagnoses.
- Participants will learn how to conduct evidence-based diagnostic interviews of PT.
- Participants will learn to select from a variety personality assessment instruments to evaluate the effects of trauma including trauma-specific scales and trauma-specific instruments with sufficient empirical basis to be accepted in Court.
- Participants will know how to use assessment of PT in clinical and forensic settings for developing competent reports.
- Participants will learn how to defend their opinions and their test instruments in court, including how to assess for malingering of trauma effects, given the unique literature on trauma and malingering.
- Participants will learn to use particular PTSD assessment strategies with combat veterans and individuals in criminal matters.
September 19 | The MacCAT-CA, ECST-R, and CAST-MR in Competency to Stand Trial Evaluations | 1 CE Credit
Presented by: Dr. Mary Elizabeth Wood & Dr. Jaime Anderson
Goals and Objectives
- Describe at least two standardized instruments to assess competency to stand trial.
- Identify at least two limitations of standardized instruments in assessing competency.
- Discuss the literature on admissibility of these instruments in court.
September 21 | Legal Admissibility of the Rorschach and R-PAS: A Review of Research | 1 CE Credit
Presented by: Dr. Gregory Meyer & Dr. Benjamin Rubin
Goals and Objectives
- Participants will be able to identify at least 3 strengths and limitations of R-PAS in the legal context
- Participants will be able to describe appropriate forensic application of R-PAS
September 27 | Practical, Not Pathological: Understanding Cultural Mistrust in Testing | 3.5 CE Credits
Presented by: Jennifer Laney, Dr. Margo Townley, and Dr. Karissa Spurgeon
Goals and Objectives
- Participants will be able to describe the ongoing and historical oppression of Black Americans at a systems level.
- Participants will be able to explain the social justice imperative for addressing cultural mistrust throughout the assessment process and how failure to do so contributes to the ongoing marginalization and oppression of BIPOC clients.Participants will be able to discuss different ways that cultural mistrust can impact psychological testing.
- Participants will be able to explain the social justice imperative for addressing cultural mistrust throughout the assessment process and how failure to do so contributes to the ongoing marginalization and oppression of BIPOC clients.
- Participants will be able demonstrate an understanding of how cultural mistrust impacted test scores using deidentified case examples.
- Participants will be able to integrate cultural mistrust, when appropriate, into their reports, and differentiate between adaptive and pathological behaviors.
- Participants will be able to critique previous findings and diagnoses through the lens of cultural mistrust.
The Society for Personality Assessment (SPA) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. SPA maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Student Research Grants
SPA will be accepting grant applications now through October 17, 2022. APPLY TODAY!
Student Research Grant
The Society for Personality Assessment (SPA) will be making grants to support all types of student research in the area of personality assessment. These awards of up to $500 dollars are open to undergraduate or graduate students in psychology or related fields. Although not required at time of application, to receive the grant, the student must hold an active student membership for the 2023 calendar year. It is expected that the findings of this research will be presented at a forthcoming Annual Convention of SPA.
Dissertation Grant
The Society for Personality Assessment (SPA) will be making grants to support dissertation research in the area of personality assessment. These awards of up to $800 dollars must have an approved dissertation proposal before applying for the grant. Although not required at time of application, to receive the grant, the student must hold an active student membership for the 2023 calendar year. It is expected that the findings of the dissertation will be presented at a forthcoming Annual Convention of SPA.
2023 SPA Convention Scholarships-
SPA will be accepting scholarship applications for the 2023 SPA Convention now through November 30, 2022!
Student Travel Scholarships:
- Provide complimentary member early-bird rate registration and one night in the hotel.
- International applicants may be awarded an additional travel stipend of up to $400 depending on the stated need and the number of applications received.
Early-Career Travel Scholarships:
- Provide complimentary member early-bird rate registration, one night in the hotel, and up to $150 in reimbursable expenses (travel, additional registration fees, additional hotel expenses, food expenses).
- International applicants may be awarded an additional travel stipend of up to $800 depending on the stated need and the number of applications received.
Diversity Travel Scholarships:
- Provide complimentary member early-bird rate registration, one night in the hotel, and up to $500 in reimbursable expenses (travel, additional registration fees, additional hotel expenses, food expenses).
ISST-D Training
Compounding and Confounding Components in the Assessment, Treatment, and Healing from Complex Trauma and Dissociation
October 22-23, 2022 | 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM US Eastern Time
Plenary Presenters: Dan Shaw, Shekhar Seshadri
Location: Online
We are excited to announce our 2022 Fall Virtual Conference! Join ISSTD for this two-day conference featuring plenary speakers Dan Shaw and Shekhar Seshadri. This event will include a mix of 90 minute and 3 hour workshops in addition to our two plenary presentations that will address the assessment, treatment, and healing from complex trauma and dissociation. Early bird rates run through September 15, 2022. Register early and save!
To view the full schedule of education sessions, click here. Additional education sessions and social events will be added to the schedule in the coming months.
Content Advisory Committee
SPA is seeking for individuals to join our new formed Content Advisory Committee. The committee's goal is to increase SPA's online presence and document personality assessment's impact to the broader world. This committee will assist with identifying and producing content for the SPA Blog, social media, as well as over see the selection process for the Editor of the Exchange. We have extended the deadline and are now accepting applications until September 12, 2022!
Why Should You Apply?
- You will have the ability to network and become more involved with SPA
- You will help bring more knowledge and awareness to the personality and psychological assessment communities
- You will become an integral part of bring back the SPA Exchange
Member Feedback
SPA wants to get feedback from our members! We ask that you complete this short AND anonymous survey. We appreciate your cooperation!
Community Events & News
- Message from APA CEO: View this video from Arthur C. Evans, Jr., PhD, CEO of the American Psychological Association (APA) and APA Services. The issues Dr. Evans discusses will impact all psychologists, and patients and communities outside of Medicare populations. Click here to take action. Issues at stake include:
- Telehealth (access and reimbursement)
- Psychology training and workforce development
- Integrated care
- Digital therapeutics… and more!
- In-person Workshop: The Autumn Seminars of the Finnish Rorschach Association will be hosting two workshops on October 21 and 22, 2022 in Helsinki, Finland. Click here for additional information.
- Introduction to the Comprehensive System Revised (CS-R): Theory & Practice
- Introduction to the CHESSSS 2 Rorschach Coding Program
- Invitation to take Survey: We will ask you to complete an online survey (in English, Dutch, or Italian, it’s up to you!) conducted by Ali Y.E. Akca, PhD candidate at the University of Turin (Italy), in collaboration with Erasmus University of Rotterdam (The Netherlands). The aim of this study is to explore the experiences and opinions of professionals involved in clinical, neuropsychological, forensic, and/or medical(physical) assessment. More specifically, we are asking practitioners to tell us about their experiences and opinions about the profile of their assessed clients. You may participate in this study if you perform psychological or medical assessments in any of the above areas. Your responses will be kept anonymous and confidential. If you have any questions, please contact the principal investigator at aliyunusemre.akca@unito.it. Click Here to complete the survey.
- Call for Papers: Clinical Assessment in the Time of COVID Psychological Assessment is a scholarly journal committed to empirical research relevant to assessments conducted in the broad field of clinical psychology. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted, and will continue to significantly impact, clinical assessment. We invite submissions to a special issue of the journal focused on clinical assessment issues arising from the pandemic. Deadline is September 30, 2022. Click here to submit.