I am actively engaged with activities to advance our profession outside the walls of my home institution: over the course of my career, I have had over 100 publications, posters, and oral presentations.
I developed and co-chaired the Interdisciplinary Pain Medicine Shared Interest Group (IPM SIG) within the American Academy of Pain Medicine. This group was created to promote interdisciplinary pain care and was the first shared interest group within this physician-dominated organization to be developed and co-chaired by a psychologist. Beyond the SIG, I have provided educational lectures at AAPM's annual meetings and was a part of their Annual Meeting Program Committee for nine years in a row.
I similarly served as a Program Reviewer for the North American Spine Society's (NASS) Annual meeting for multiple years. I was involved with this medical organization's Evidence Based Clinical Guidelines for Multidisciplinary Spine Care and was a co-author of the Medical and Psychological Treatment Section.
Recognizing the importance of Psychologists in the field of pain needing to have a "home" that is based in our primary specialty of Psychology, I created and chaired the Pain Psychology Special Interest Group within the Society for Health Psychology (SfHP, Division 38). I represented SfHP at the Academy of Integrative Pain Medicine Pain Policy Congress and was appointed a Member-at-Large for the Society from 2023-2024.
With a membership of over 150,000 individuals, the American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest professional organization of Psychologists in the world. I have had the honor of being involved with APA at some of the highest levels through leadership roles and committee activities. I was elected to the Board of Professional Affairs in 2023 and served as Vice Chair in 2024. I served as chair of the multidisciplinary panel that developed APA's Clinical Practice Guideline for Psychological and other Non-pharmacological Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Adults, which was published in 2024. As a member of the APA Health and Behavior Advisory Group, I collaborated with APA staff to educate Psychologists about the new Health and Behavior Assessment and Intervention (HBAI) billing codes and assisted with the revision and dissemination of the HBAI Guide, which was created to help clinicians understand how to use the codes in clinical practice. I represented APA at the Alliance to Advance Comprehensive Integrative Pain Management Pain Policy Congress in 2020. In that same year, I joined our APA CEO, Dr. Arthur Evans, and other APA leaders and colleagues at a legislative forum at the Ohio State Capitol to raise awareness of the role that Psychology plays in the evaluation and treatment of pain among state regulators, legislators, and their representatives. The following day, I delivered a continuing education workshop with fellow SfHP members Dr. Dan Bruns and then APA President-elect Dr. Jennifer Kelly. The three of us are co-authors of an APA-sponsored workshop that was designed to educate all psychologists (including those not practicing in clinical health settings) on the role of pain in general health and wellness.
As a Counseling Psychologist, I am also engaged with endeavors through the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP, Division 17). I have served as a Division 17 Program Reviewer for the APA Annual Meeting for more than a decade. I was appointed as an SCP representative to the Interdivisional Healthcare Committee (IHC), a group comprised of representatives from multiple APA Divisions to advance the science and practice of Psychology in healthcare. The IHC helped develop the original health and behavior CPT billing codes that have been used by thousands of clinicians to support their practices. In 2023, I was elected Chair of this prestigious group.
I developed and co-chaired the Interdisciplinary Pain Medicine Shared Interest Group (IPM SIG) within the American Academy of Pain Medicine. This group was created to promote interdisciplinary pain care and was the first shared interest group within this physician-dominated organization to be developed and co-chaired by a psychologist. Beyond the SIG, I have provided educational lectures at AAPM's annual meetings and was a part of their Annual Meeting Program Committee for nine years in a row.
I similarly served as a Program Reviewer for the North American Spine Society's (NASS) Annual meeting for multiple years. I was involved with this medical organization's Evidence Based Clinical Guidelines for Multidisciplinary Spine Care and was a co-author of the Medical and Psychological Treatment Section.
Recognizing the importance of Psychologists in the field of pain needing to have a "home" that is based in our primary specialty of Psychology, I created and chaired the Pain Psychology Special Interest Group within the Society for Health Psychology (SfHP, Division 38). I represented SfHP at the Academy of Integrative Pain Medicine Pain Policy Congress and was appointed a Member-at-Large for the Society from 2023-2024.
With a membership of over 150,000 individuals, the American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest professional organization of Psychologists in the world. I have had the honor of being involved with APA at some of the highest levels through leadership roles and committee activities. I was elected to the Board of Professional Affairs in 2023 and served as Vice Chair in 2024. I served as chair of the multidisciplinary panel that developed APA's Clinical Practice Guideline for Psychological and other Non-pharmacological Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Adults, which was published in 2024. As a member of the APA Health and Behavior Advisory Group, I collaborated with APA staff to educate Psychologists about the new Health and Behavior Assessment and Intervention (HBAI) billing codes and assisted with the revision and dissemination of the HBAI Guide, which was created to help clinicians understand how to use the codes in clinical practice. I represented APA at the Alliance to Advance Comprehensive Integrative Pain Management Pain Policy Congress in 2020. In that same year, I joined our APA CEO, Dr. Arthur Evans, and other APA leaders and colleagues at a legislative forum at the Ohio State Capitol to raise awareness of the role that Psychology plays in the evaluation and treatment of pain among state regulators, legislators, and their representatives. The following day, I delivered a continuing education workshop with fellow SfHP members Dr. Dan Bruns and then APA President-elect Dr. Jennifer Kelly. The three of us are co-authors of an APA-sponsored workshop that was designed to educate all psychologists (including those not practicing in clinical health settings) on the role of pain in general health and wellness.
As a Counseling Psychologist, I am also engaged with endeavors through the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP, Division 17). I have served as a Division 17 Program Reviewer for the APA Annual Meeting for more than a decade. I was appointed as an SCP representative to the Interdivisional Healthcare Committee (IHC), a group comprised of representatives from multiple APA Divisions to advance the science and practice of Psychology in healthcare. The IHC helped develop the original health and behavior CPT billing codes that have been used by thousands of clinicians to support their practices. In 2023, I was elected Chair of this prestigious group.
Presenting on interdisciplinary approaches to pelvic pain with pain physician Jennifer Hah, MD and urogynecologist Marian Acevedo-Alvarez, MD at the 2020 American Academy of Pain Medicine Annual Conference in National Harbor, MD
With Dr. Dan Bruns and past APA President Dr. Jennifer Kelly at the 2020 APA Practice Leadership Conference