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New Jersey Psychological Association

Annual Report

2023

CONTENTS

01. Introduction

02. A Message From Our President

03. Priorities for 2023 and Beyond

04. Financial Picture

05. Membership Has Its Perks!

06. Looking Forward to 2024

07. Strategic Plan Year 1 Goals

08. New Jersey Legislation

09. The NJPA Foundation

10. Community Service Project Grant Final Reports

11. Acknowledgements

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

INTRODUCTION Sara Tedrick Parikh, PhD NJPA Executive Director

As we prepare to wrap up 2023, I invite you to renew your NJPA membership, if you have not already, and also to make a donation to the NJPA Foundation and NJP-PAC! This has been a year of stabilizing and rebuilding. Our advocacy efforts have included telehealth and VCCs (see updates on following pages), as well as many issues related to insurance, licensure, and PSYPACT. Your Director of Professional Affairs, Dr. Susan McGroarty, has not only offered support and direction to individual members, but also kept me, COLA, and the NJPA board informed of urgent and developing issues. Dr. McGroarty has also interfaced with APA and our Government Affairs Agent, Jon Bombardieri, to respond to, and often get ahead of, developing issues. Special thanks to our colleagues on COLA who have been instrumental for advocacy issues, as well as to our 2023 President, Dr. Briana Cox, who took the lead on a Medicaid payment issue that is nearing resolution. We also had a strong year of CE programming, including two hybrid conferences, a live Wellness event, and numerous virtual programs, including a March, free-for-members, opioid program with over 300 attendees! CoCEA and Central Office staff worked closely to ensure that NJPA members would have the programs they needed to fulfill their licensure requirements, and we also offered a free 1-2 CE homestudy program for members in May and June. CoCEA is already planning many exciting programs for 2024, with plans to expand virtual programming, as well as introducing more live programming over the next year. CoCEA has prioritized making the free-for-members CE program something that will be highly attractive, such as 2023's opioid program. They are also working to develop a CE program that will allow members to reliably meet all their CE requirements (including new PSYPACT requirements) through NJPA. This year, we brought on our first intern, Connor Neuhaus, who has helped with many time-consuming aspects of processing NJPA and affiliate CE proposals, attendance, and certificates, freeing up other staff to be more available to membership on other issues. Thank you so much to our CoCEA volunteers, staff (especially Kaleigh White, who manages events and CE programs, and Christine Gurriere, who manages journals, newsletters, Friday Updates, flyers, and program booklets), and presenters, many of whom are also NJPA members. In late 2023, we brought on our first Director of Operations, Dr. Amy Chapman. Dr. Chapman brings experience in many kinds of member-driven and educational nonprofits, and she will oversee the growth of our Membership and CE programs. She handled many of the logistics of our recent move to a new suite, which will save approximately 25% of our rent while still meeting our needs and providing the same building benefits as our previous space. She is eager to expand our outreach to students, early career psychologists, and academics, as well as to support and collaborate with our affiliates. We also continued to support NJPA pillars of governance and membership. In our recently held 2024 board elections, members elected two members-at-large, Dr. Marilyn Lyga and Dr. Kelly Moore, and a treasurer, Dr. Anastasia Bullock. In February, I will have the pleasure of attending APA's Practice, State, and Leadership Conference with DPA Dr. McGroarty; 2024 President, Dr. Marc Gironda; Diversity Delegate, Dr. Phyllis Bolling; ECP Delegate, Dr. Anastasia Bullock, and Student Delegate, Mary Cargill Isaac. I am eager to see how our delegation can use what we learn to invest in our association and membership. NJPA has had a difficult few years, but we are stabilizing and growing. I have learned and grown so much in my 10 months as Executive Director, and Dr. Chapman has already built strong relations with several committees and the board. I am eager to see what 2024 brings us, and I hope you are there to see it! None of these things could happen without the support of you. Membership dues are by far the largest part of NJPA’s revenue, and the majority of our CE attendees are also members. Our association work is also primarily member-driven; although I am continually impressed by how dedicated our staff are to the mission of NJPA, we could not do more than basic administration without the time and talents of member volunteers. I believe in the work we do and in our potential to have an even greater impact as we gain greater stability and engagement. We can be more, together, in 2024!

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

Briana Cox, PsyD

In my final presidential message to the membership, I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone at NJPA who has dedicated their efforts to make NJPA stronger as an organization and more powerful in our advocacy efforts this year. I’d like to highlight some of the more important changes that have been made to the association and thank the people who made those changes happen. I am honored to have been a part of the work that has been accomplished at NJPA in 2023. First, I want to thank the Central Office staff for weathering the many changes and transitions that NJPA has endured over the past two years. Our Senior Communications Manager, Christine Gurriere, who has been with NJPA longer than I have been a psychologist, has been nothing short of a miracle worker these last several months. She truly is the glue that holds it all together and we would be lost without her. Thank you, Christine. Thank you to Kaleigh White, who has done incredible work coordinating our continuing education programming, including our hybrid events, so that our members can continue to have multiple opportunities to access crucial CE content. And special thanks to NJPA’s first ever intern, Connor Neuhaus, who has provided much needed support through these transitions. The most monumental change that occurred in 2023 was the hiring of our new executive director. In February, we welcomed Dr. Sara Tedrick Parikh as NJPA’s new Executive Director. I want to thank Dr. Tedrick Parikh for choosing us. We are most fortunate to have an Executive Director who shares our education, training, and values, and cares so deeply about the practice of psychology and the people we serve. This Fall, we welcomed Dr. Amy Chapman as our new Director of Operations. The Director of Operations position was created out of a Central Office restructuring plan envisioned by Past-President, Dr. Peter DeNigris to address growing membership and continuing education needs. Dr. Chapman comes to NJPA from the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she served as Director. Dr. Chapman brings an expertise in non-profit administration, event planning and coordination, continuing education development, and grant management, among other incredibly valuable skills. I am delighted to welcome her to NJPA. Thanks to all who made this restructuring possible, including our Executive Board and our Personnel Committee. If you have enjoyed NJPA continuing education programs this year, please join me in thanking our CoCEA leaders and Programming Chairs, Dr. Alexandra Miller Clark, Dr. Phyllis Lakin, Dr. Sharon Ryan Montgomery, and Dr. Marcy Pasternak. Special thanks to Past-Chairs, Dr. Mark Lowenthal and incoming NJPA President, Dr. Marc Gironda, who have been a force behind this important committee for many years. NJPA continues to assess how the association can best meet the needs of our Early Career Psychologists and believes that ECP representation is essential to meeting the association’s goals. As such, the Executive Board holds a voting position open for an Early Career chair to sit on the Executive Board. This position is currently vacant. I know that there are many challenges for ECPs, who are, by definition, beginning their careers. NJPA is dedicated to ensuring ECP access to leadership and accommodating whatever needs may arise. If you have graduated in the last ten years and would like to have a voice on behalf of your ECP colleagues, please consider joining our Board. ECP leaders have made significant contributions to NJPA this year. I must thank Dr. Stacie Shivers for her work on COCEA and Dr. Christopher King and Dr. Anastasia Bullock for their work on COLA. Finally, I want to thank the NJPA Executive Board for their dedication to the organization. I particularly want to thank Past-President, Dr. Peter DeNigris, for his vision and mentorship. Thank you to our parliamentarian, Dr. Bonnie Markham for ensuring that NJPA stays true to its mission and goals with the highest of ethical standards. Thank you to PastPresident, Dr. Daniel Lee, who has remained available to fill-in whenever NJPA needed volunteers to get important business finished, despite the conclusion of his past-presidential term last year. Thanks to Dr. Dan DaSilva and Dr. Elio Arrechea, who are leaving the board this year after many years of service to the association. You will both be missed. I also want to thank Past-President, Dr. Lucy Sant’Anna Takagi, for her friendship and mentorship. No matter how busy her own schedule was, Dr. Takagi generously gave her time to provide important institutional knowledge and support. Thank you all for a productive and prosperous 2023!

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

PRIORITIES FOR 2023 AND BEYOND 2023 was a busy and productive year for NJPA! 2023 marked the beginning of NJPA's five-year Strategic Plan (2023-2027), and the work of the association this year aligns well in support of that plan. Advocacy remains a top priority, and this year graduate students have been successfully recruited to support NJPA’s advocacy efforts. Anchored by successful Spring and Fall Conferences, NJPA’s Continuing Education offerings remain well-attended and well-received.

Membership Engagement

Advocacy

In order to better support and engage members, NJPA launched the new YourMembership association management platform and website in the first quarter of 2023. NJPA is beginning to analyze membership retention rates, with further research to better tailor membership tiers to best suit the needs of the association and the evolving field of psychology. NJPA has also been targeting membership engagement and recruitment to grow and elevate NJPAGS, as well as a leadership pipeline. Through a pilot program developed by the Retirement Committee, members have supported 11 NJPAGS members by paying for their 2024 NJPA dues.

2023 saw several important lines of advocacy work for NJPA. The RxP task force worked diligently to better determine whether NJPA should pursue advocacy for RxP legislation, yielding a report and specific objectives. The primary outcome is to ensure that membership is well-educated on RxP and related issues pertaining to it, so that leadership and membership can determine whether RxP advocacy should be an NJPA priority. Additionally, two of NJPA’s legislative priorities have made significant progress. NJPA has been advocating for the Virtual Credit Card legislation, which requires health insurance carriers to reimburse healthcare providers using check or electronic funds transfer, eliminating fees associated with using a virtual credit card. The bill has passed the General Assembly and Senate Commerce Committee as of December 8, 2023, and now heads to the Senate for their consideration. The other significant legislative priority has been advocacy for telehealth parity, which revises reimbursement payments for providers using telemedicine and telehealth and makes payment parity permanent. Senator Gopal and Assemblyman Conaway, who introduced the telehealth legislation, hope to have bill signed into law before the end of the year.

Operations 2023 brought several positive changes to Central Office. In February, NJPA welcomed Dr. Sara Tedrick Parikh as Executive Director. Dr. Tedrick Parikh provides strong leadership and stability for the association, managing the day-to-day running of the association, as well as strategic planning and extensive advocacy work. In September, NJPA hired two staff members for newly created roles: Dr. Amy Chapman began serving as Director of Operations, and Connor Neuhaus began an internship with NJPA. Connor provides considerable support for Continuing Education administration, Fall Conference, and outreach to prospective members. Amy’s role is to increase member recruitment and retention, planning long-term for CE, and to support the work of NJPA’s Foundation. Amy also provided great support during the move of Central Office, which occurred in November. NJPA moved suites within the same building, and the new suite provides Central Office staff with the space that they need at considerable savings for the association.

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

OUR FINANCIAL PICTURE As a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of psychology as a science, as a profession, and as a means of promoting health and human welfare in an atmosphere that supports the diversity of its members and the society at large, we recognize the importance of transparency and accountability in our financial operations. As we navigate the complexities of the financial landscape, we remain focused on our members' best interests. In the face of a dynamic and evolving economic landscape, NJPA has remained steadfast in pursuing its mission while adapting to challenges and opportunities alike. We extend our gratitude to all those who have contributed toward NJPA's success—our members, volunteers, and staff.

Revenue*

Membership Dues Homestudy Courses Spring/Fall Conference Live Webinars Advertising

Spring/Fall Conference 10.1%

Advertising 3.4%

Homestudy Courses 6.7%

Membership Dues 75.1%

Central Office Staffing Central Office Programming Fixed Operating Expenses Advocacy Advocacy 5.6%

Expenses*

Central Office Staffing 34.6%

Fixed Operating Expenses 49.1%

Central Office 8.3%

*Year-to-Date (Jan 1 - November 30, 2023)

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

Membership Has Its Perks! At NJPA, our success and growth have always been grounded in the unwavering support and dedication of our valued members. Each member is an indispensable thread in the tapestry of our organization, and their commitment has consistently fueled our drive to excel. We believe our strength lies in unity, and the sense of belonging our members bring to the table is the cornerstone of our achievements. We reflect on the profound impact our members make, the countless volunteer hours they serve, the collegial culture they nurture, and acknowledging the invaluable role they play in shaping the vibrant and thriving community that defines NJPA. We appreciate each and every one of our members!

Membership By the Numbers Our membership numbers peaked in 2021, however YTD our membership numbers have dipped 5%. 2,000

8/10

1,500

members participate in the NJ Members Listserv

1,000

69%

500

2019

2020

2021

2022

YTD

of our members open/read our Friday Update messages.

Break down by member type: Licensed 5+ years ECPs Senior Emeritus Students Non-Resident Non-Licensed Post Docs Associate

Students 12.9%

Benefits of Membership

Post Docs 2.6%

FREE Consultations CE Program Discounts Practice Building Assistance Directory Listings

Emeritus 2.8%

Networking Opportunities Exclusive Online Resources

Senior 3.3%

Free Publications Diverse Communities Political Clout

ECPs 10.8%

Exposure to the Public Licensed 5+ years 65.1%

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

LOOKING FORWARD

Throughout 2023, the strength of NJPA has been reflected within our versatility and vision for a sustainable future for both the Association and the field of psychology. The coming year will focus on enhancing our Continuing Education and Membership benefits, which are critical for our continued impact. NJPA’s efforts in these areas, along with additional advocacy and governance policies, will ensure that we are the leading state psychological association working on behalf of our membership while advancing the field of psychology.

Membership Maintain a growing, engaged membership base by delivering value: Maintain annual aggressive, widespread, and diverse retention and recruitment efforts to keep the association relevant, accessible, and supportive of all psychologists in New Jersey. To support these goals, NJPA will initiate a survey in 2024 to better understand the needs and wants of members, and psychologists throughout the state.

Advocacy Advance the science and profession of psychology through state and national relations: NJPA must maintain a presence at both the state and national level to be a strong voice for psychology. Access to quality mental healthcare and health equity advocacy efforts are what keep the profession of psychology in-service and alive. In 2024, NJPA Members will consider whether RxP legislation should be an advocacy priority for the association.

Governance Grow NJPA leadership to keep the association relevant: NJPA must maintain good governance and association management to provide a vision and direction that ensures NJPA is on the right path. Developing a more robust leadership pipeline, particularly from among our students and ECPs, is a priority for NJPA.

Continuing Education Provide continuing education learning opportunities to promote excellence and professional development: Provide a robust continuing education calendar each year for psychologists to fulfill their mandatory CE credits and to contribute to NJPA nondues revenue that is needed to support the association. In Fall 2024, our first 2.5 day convention on “The Future of Psychology” will be offered for expanded CE opportunities and connection-building.

The mission of NJPA continues to be the promotion of psychology as a science and a field, and through the good Governance of the Association, engaged and active Membership, diverse, interesting, and informative Continuing Education, and timely and tireless Advocacy, to fully support all psychologists in New Jersey.

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

STRATEGIC PLAN YEAR 1 GOALS The Leadership Committee, the Executive Director, and the Executive Board have worked diligently throughout 2023 to make forward progress on NJPA’s Five Year Strategic Plan, which runs from 2023-2027. The Strategic Plan has four pillars: Membership; Advocacy; Governance; and Continuing Education. For this first year of the Strategic Plan, NJPA’s quarterly goals were:

Membership

Advocacy

Governance

Continuing Education

The new YourMembership association management platform and website were rolled out in the first quarter of 2023. Research and analysis of other states’ membership structures and benefits is underway in preparation for the Membership Committee Retreat in Q1-Q2 2024. In support of preparing revised membership tiers and benefits, members will be polled for their wants and needs in early 2024. NJPA has been increasing efforts to materialize service (e.g., advocacy and DPA) through Friday Updates and journal articles. Further, visits are scheduled with doctoral programs, internship sites, hospitals, and group practices to build relationships and better understand membership and programming needs.

NJPA will continue to work with our Governmental Affairs Agent at the State level on issues of importance to psychologists throughout New Jersey, such as telehealth parity and virtual credit cards. The goal of determining whether to pursue advocacy in support of RxP legislation continued in earnest in 2023. After significant discussions, it has been determined that the Executive Board will finalize NJPA’s RxP position after receiving recommendations from membership following the 2024 Fall Convention. Significant time has been devoted to considering the creation of an Insurance Committee. This remains in process.

The association is targeting membership engagement and recruitment to grow and elevate NJPAGS, as well as a leadership pipeline. This will continue in 2024 through visits to university doctoral programs and internship sites in Q1-Q2 2024, as well as hosting events on university campuses throughout the year. NJPA’s full slate of nominations, including the President, Executive Director, Director of Professional Affairs, and representatives for Diversity, NJPAGs, and ECPs, were accepted for APA’s Practice and Learning Conference, to be held in February 2024.

Successful Spring and Fall Conferences were the cornerstones of a full year of CE programming, which included live webinars and homestudy programs. Priorities for Continuing Education in 2024 include preparing CoCEA to expand CE offerings to target attendees beyond psychologists and those in private practice. Planning has been underway to include this expanded programming as a highlight of NJPA’s Fall Convention in 2024, a new format for the Fall Conference, to be held in Asbury Park. NJPA has also been identifying areas to improve administrative efficiency, as well as to align fees with staff resources, which are used in CE administration.

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

New Jersey Legislation There have been many changes occurring in New Jersey that affect the profession of psychology and citizens who utilize mental health services. The NJPA Committee on Legislative Affairs (COLA) continues its efforts to keep membership informed and more involved in the process of legislative advocacy. Legislative information and updates can be found in our weekly e-blast, the Friday Update, action alerts, publications, on our Advocacy page on the NJPA website, and on our social media pages.

SUPPORT BILLS

01 02 03

Virtual Credit Cards A bill has been introduced in the New Jersey State Legislature, which would require health insurance carriers to reimburse health care providers using check or electronic funds transfer. Like any other credit card transaction, there is typically a processing fee associated with virtual credit card payments, which can be up to 5% on the underlying charge. This means that whenever an insurance company reimburses a provider, up to 5% is automatically subtracted from that reimbursement payment. Under the proposed legislation, any network agreement between a carrier and a health care provider is prohibited from mandating only one form of payment to the health care provider.

Telehealth Parity

A 1-year extension of current telehealth parity legislation, which revises reimbursement payments for providers using telemedicine and telehealth and making payment parity permanent, is currently making its way through the New Jersey State Legislature. Specifically, under the legislation, a health insurance carrier will be required to provide coverage and payment for healthcare services delivered through telemedicine or telehealth at a provider reimbursement rate that equals the provider reimbursement rate that is applicable when services are delivered through in-person contact and consultation. The sponsors hope to have the legislation signed into law before the end of the year.

Medicaid Reimbursement Rates In May, NJPA was alerted that NJ Medicaid rates were unexpectedly cut for psychologists providing individual therapy through that program. Dr. Briana Cox, Dr. Sara Tedrick Parikh, and Government Affairs Agent Jon Bombardieri reached out to state officials to investigate. After speaking with officials in multiple levels of government, we were advised that the rate cuts were a clerical mistake and would be rectified. Payments soon resumed at the previous rate and a few weeks later, NJPA was delighted to learn that rates were increased.

Support the NJP-PAC! How can you help support our efforts? Please consider donating to the NJP-PAC. The role of NJP-PAC is to support legislators who have demonstrated their interest in, and support of, psychology without regard to party affiliation. NJPPAC solicits funds to be distributed in such a manner as to advance the stature of the profession of psychology in New Jersey. Generous financial contributions are critical in accomplishing our advocacy program. The reality is that without a financial commitment to our NJP-PAC, our ability to sustain support of legislators who promote quality mental healthcare in NJ will become increasingly difficult. We would like to thank our members who have already contributed to NJP-PAC, as well as those members contributing now for the first time. Thank you in advance for your support.

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

The NJPA Foundation The

of NJPA

Thanks to the generosity and support of NJPA Members like you, the NJPA Foundation provides grants to help financially support graduate students training to work with undeserved residents in New Jersey, such as inner-city students, immigrants, LGBTQ, children with Asperger's, and the elderly. Our Community Service Grants provide funding for sites that provide training and services to low income individuals and couples who may not otherwisebe able to access mental health services. We also fund student-initiated research and projects addressing psychological issues that have significant impact on community health. Through the generosity of your individual contributions, we are able to offer awards and scholarships for innovative family, school, and community projects. Dues renewal time is an easy way for members to donate to the Foundation! Help us to continue to support the training of students who are dedicating their careers to making mental health services accessible to all New Jerseyans, especially those who have special needs or are not financially able to afford services.

10-year Donation History

2022 vs 2023 Comparison

Foundation Donations: 30

(2022) January 1st - November 30th: $17,915

Thousands

(2023) January 1st - November 30th: $10,737

40%

15 10 5

20 13 20 14 20 15 20 16 20 17 20 18 20 19 20 20 20 21 20 22 20 23 *

Help us continue to provide this important funding in support of students training to work with the underserved!

*year-to-date

Graduate Student Initiated Research Awards

Community Service Project Grants

Student Conference Participation Grant & Dissertation Grants

Funds student-initiated research and projects addressing psychological issues that have significant impact on community health. Only with the generosity of individual contributions, are we able to offer awards and scholarships for innovative family, school, and community projects.

We invite applications from programs across the state with the goal of identifying and supporting model programs that provide psychological services to those who cannot afford it and trains doctoral students to work with these underserved populations.

Due to a reduction in donations, the Foundation made the difficult decision to put Dissertation Grant applications and Student Conference Participation Grants on temporary hiatus.

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

The NJPA Foundation Community Service Project Grant Final Reports At the conclusion of the program year, we require a final report from the students detailing their accomplishments with the support of this grant. The students discuss their experiences, including successes and challenges, and summarize their community service work to date, share the impact on the clients served, reflect on their personal/professional development, and convey the importance of their work and its influence on them as psychologists-in-training working with underserved populations. Your support has helped us fund many programs, such as training students to help returning veterans from Iraq, in bullying prevention, and practicums at inner-city high schools. We are doing good work, but we can't do more without your generous support. Please consider donating one hour’s wages or whatever amount you are comfortable with, to help educate the next generation of psychologists and assist them in helping the underserved improve their lives.

Donate Today! Listen below as some of our funded students discuss their positive experiences at our Community Service Project Grant sites: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Clinic at Rutgers University (DBT-RU) Site Director: Shireen Rizvi, PhD Student: Molly Stern

Couples Clinic at Rutgers University Site Director: Karen Skean, PsyD

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023

Felician University; The GRIT Program (Goals Resilience Integrity Tenacity) Site Director: Nouriman Ghahary, PhD Student: Dhruv Maisuria

Tourette Syndrome Specialty Clinic - Rutgers GSAPP Site Director: Shireen Rizvi, PhD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

EXECUTIVE BOARD

President: Briana Cox, PsyD

President-Elect: Marc Gironda, PsyD

Past-President: Peter DeNigris, PsyD

Secretary: Alexandra Miller Clark, PsyD

Interim Treasurer: Daniel Lee, PsyD

Director of Professional Affairs: Susan McGroarty, PhD

Parlimentarian: Bonnie Markham, PhD

APA Council Rep: Rhonda Allen, PhD

Executive Director: Sara Tedrick Parikh, PhD

NJPAGS Chair: Jaclyn Hammond

Affiliate Caucus Chair: Phyllis Bolling, PhD

Member-at-Large Elio Arrechea, PhD

Member-at-Large Daniel DaSilva, PhD

Member-at-Large: Jane Simon, PhD

Member-at-Large: Alex Gil, PsyD

Member-at-Large: Lauren Gerardi, PhD

Member-at-Large: Deirdre Waters, PsyD

Affiliate Organization Representatives: Essex/Union County Association of Psychologists: William MacLaney, PsyD Northeast Counties Association of Psychologists: Norine Mohle, PhD Mercer County Psychological Association: Loraine Washton, PhD Middlesex County Association of Psychologists: TBD Monmouth/Ocean County Psychological Association: TBD Morris County Psychological Association: Sarah Dougherty, PsyD Somerset/Hunterdon/Warren County Psychological Association: TBD South Jersey Psychological Association: Ange Puig, PhD

CONTACT NJPA 354 Eisenhower Parkway Plaza 1, Suite 2325 Livingston, NJ 07039 973-243-9800

NJPA ANNUAL REPORT | 2023