2013 APPIC Awards

 

APPIC Excellence in Training Award:


John C. Linton, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. Linton is Professor, Acting Chair, Director of the Predoctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology, Director of Medical Student Clerkship Training, and Clinical Coordinator of the Trauma Assessment and Recovery Program  at the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, West Virginia University School of Medicine.  He received his PhD from Kent State University, is a licensed psychologist in West Virginia, and board certified in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Health Psychology.

Dr. Linton is a Fellow of 5 divisions of the APA, Academy of Clinical Psychology, American Academy of Clinical Health Psychology, and the West Virginia Psychological Association, and is listed with the National Register of Health Service Providers. He has received numerous honors and awards including the Annual Award for Outstanding Contribution to Health Psychology, the APA Karl F. Heiser Award, the Deans Award for Excellence in Service to the West Virginia University School of Medicine, the William J. Maier Jr. Health Sciences Education Award, the Distinguished Professional Career Award, the Outstanding Contributions and Distinguished Service Award, the Ivan Mensh Award for Teaching, the Nathan Perry Career Service to Health Psychology Award, and the Award for Distinguished Service and Contributions to the American Board of Professional Psychology.

In addition to considerable service at the university and state level, Dr. Linton has served as an APA accreditation site visitor since 1981, has had 5 terms on the APA Council of Representatives, was Chair of the Board of Directors for Psychology Today, and served on the APA Ethics Committee, the APA Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice, the Commission on the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Psychology, the Task Force to Review the Composition of the APA Accreditation Committee, and co-coordinated the APA/Red Cross State Disaster Mental Health.  He also has a long and distinguished service history with the APA Society of Clinical Psychology, Division of Health Psychology, Division of Rehabilitation Psychology, Division of State Association Affairs, American Board of Professional Psychology, Southeastern Psychological Association, Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers, National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, West Virginia Psychological Association, West Virginia Board of Examiners in Psychology, and the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. He has an equally impressive record with pro bono service, teaching, editorial work, and an extensive list of publications and presentations.

From the nomination letters:  “Dr. John Linton is the Renaissance Man of the Education and Training community!  He has managed an exceptional program for 36 years, and is highly regarded for his willingness to share his wisdom and knowledge with others.  Dr. Linton contributes significantly behind the scenes and has served in numerous roles across many professional organizations....always adding levity and humor!  I am grateful for his support and mentoring -- he is truly a class act!” … Through his longstanding involvement in clinical education and training, as well as mentoring scientist-practitioners seeking board certification in clinical health psychology through the ABPP, Dr. Linton has had great influence on the field of clinical health psychology… Dr. Linton’s career exemplifies his commitment to education, clinical practice, professionalism, and scholarship.  He has personal qualities that have contributed to his effectiveness as an educator, clinician, and leader.  These include his kindness, his remarkably wicked and irreverent sense of humor, and his quietly competent manner…. When I came to Charleston to look for housing as an upcoming intern, he cleared his day and personally drove me around to every potential place we found…. John Linton goes so far above and beyond to provide the unique training needs of each of the interns who work with him. He is a thorough and gifted teacher”

APPIC Excellence in Diversity Training Award:

The Alpert Medical School of Brown University Diversity Committee 

The Brown Diversity Committee was formed over a decade ago to assist in recruiting and training individuals who are from diverse backgrounds as well as those who have interest in diversity issues, whether they be in their area of research or working with patients. The program has been effective in recruiting and retaining such individuals.  For instance, over the past two years, 25% of trainees were from diverse ethnic/racial backgrounds.  The Committee is currently co-chaired by Daphne Koinis Mitchell, PhD and Lynn Hernandez, PhD, and Caron Zlotnick, PhD leads the Diversity Mentoring Program.  Drs. Bernie Pinto and Judith DePue both served in the past as formative chairs of the Committee.  Other program faculty members include training staff from various consortium hospitals. It is unusual to have an entire committee for this award, but the innovative ideas, initiative, and overall synergy of the Committee made it difficult to select just one nominee.

The Committee has made significant strides since it began in 2000 in integrating diversity teaching, training and awareness into the Brown Psychiatry and Human Behavior Training Consortium program for psychology residents, fellows and faculty. The Committee is comprised of faculty psychologists from all different tracks (e.g., adult, child, neuropsychology) and also includes trainee (pre and postdoctoral) representatives.  Over the years, the accomplishments of the Committee include: integrating diversity topics that were once part of independent SIGs into the core resident didactic curriculum, developing thriving subcommittees (such as the Diversity Mentoring Program, a mentor-mentee program exclusively devoted to issues of diversity,  and the Faculty Training subcommittee, which has already implemented several new in-house faculty training programs dedicated to issues of diversity) and obtaining external grant funding to contribute to faculty diversity training  (e.g., APA CEMRAT) as well as publications related to the process, progress and accomplishments of the Diversity Committee (such as the development process and outcomes of the Diversity Mentoring Program, a manuscript currently in press in the Behavior Therapist).

From the nomination letter:  “The Diversity Committee has provided consultation and guidance to all training seminar coordinators to ensure that diversity issues are addressed across all internship and postdoctoral program didactics.  In the past year, Diversity Committee members collaborated … to develop a cross-training workshop on Cultural Issues in Psychotherapy.  The Committee also regularly coordinates faculty training opportunities to enhance cultural competence of training faculty.  The Committee was recently awarded an APA CEMRAT Implementation Grant for Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training in Psychology … Mentors and trainees meet regularly on an individual basis; social events are also coordinated by the Committee … An outgrowth of the mentoring initiative involved developing a mechanism by which ethnic minority post- doctoral trainees and junior faculty can apply for NIH Diversity Supplements that are connected with the research of the training faculty…. The ongoing attention to diversity issues in training program didactics and educational opportunities for faculty have served to create a shared vision of the role of diversity in the Division of Clinical Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry as a whole….  the Diversity Committee has come to be seen as a model within the medical school for enhancing the awareness of diversity issues in training programs in general.”

 

APPIC Committee Service Award:

Sara Sherer, Ph.D.

Dr. Sherer is the training director of the internship and postdoctoral programs at the University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities/Mental Health Service, Childrens Hospital, Los Angeles, and director of behavioral services in the Division of Adolescent Medicine. She has served as chair of the APPIC Membership Committee since 2009. 

From the nomination letters:  “Her high standards within the field of Psychology and professionalism continuously set an example for others … her ability to foster respect and provide support to trainees truly makes her exceptional. She demonstrates compassion, grace, commitment, and professionalism in her role as training director and coordinator of behavioral services at the CHLA/UCEDD.  She is an outstanding mentor and role model. As chair of the APPIC Membership Committee she has tirelessly served APPIC and the field, putting in endless extra hours working to help developing programs and promoting quality internship training.  Sara is consistently humble, willing to work behind the scenes for the betterment of others. She is unfailingly patient and gracious.”

 

APPIC Connie Hercey Distinguished Service Award:

Emil Rodolfa, Ph.D.

Dr. Emil Rodolfa is a Professor of Psychology at Alliant International University’s California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP), Sacramento.  Prior to joining the faculty at CSPP, he was the Director of the University of California, Davis Counseling and Psychological Services.  He worked at UC Davis for 25 years and he was on staff at Humboldt State University Counseling and Psychological Services for 7 years.  He received his Ph.D. in 1981 from Texas A&M University, completed his internship at the University of Iowa and was licensed as a psychologist in 1983. 

Dr. Rodolfa is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and a Fellow of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB). He is the founding editor of Training and Education in Professional Psychology  and is a Past-President of the State of California Board of Psychology (BOP), serving on the BOP for ten years.   Dr. Rodolfa has also served as a President of the ASPPB, a Chair of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC), a Chair of the Council of Chairs of Training Councils (CCTC), and a member of the governing board of the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD).  Currently he is a member of the APA Commission on Accreditation and Chair of the ASPPB Assessment of Competency Task Force.

Dr. Rodolfa received the Distinguished Contributions of Applications of Psychology to Education and Training Award from the APA; the ASPPB Norma Simon Award for distinguished contributions to psychology licensure on a national level; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the AUCCCD; the John D. Black Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Practice of Counseling Psychology from the APA Society of Counseling Psychology; the Educational Advocacy Distinguished Service Award from the APA Board of Educational Affairs; and the Paul Nelson Award from the Council of Chairs of Psychology Training Councils for his distinguished contributions to enhance communication between training councils. His interests include ethical and legal issues, supervision and training, college student mental health and the treatment of anxiety and depression. 

From the nomination letters:  “In addition to all he has done for APPIC and the education and training community, Emil is a positive force for the field of psychology.  Emil is incredibly smart, diplomatic, wise, warm, compassionate, and funny. He is an outstanding leader and an equally outstanding colleague, mentor, role model, and friend.”

 

The Outstanding Contribution Award in Training and Education in Professional Psychology:

 
The TEPP Award recognizes excellence in writing in in the regard to psychology training and education.  Only articles published in the Training and Education in Professional Psychology which present potential significance of empirical and theoretical contributions to psychology training and education, and soundness of the impact on psychology training are considered for the award.
 

Behnke, S. Constitutional claims in the context of mental health training:  Religion, sexual orientation, and tensions  between the first amendment and professional ethics.  Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 6 (4), 189-195.

 

 

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