CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
School Psychology: For Those Who Want Great Challenge and Reward One issue that school psychologists face is that they provide many services for many individuals, and individuals in this field often report experiencing many work-related stresses. They are under great pressure to provide adequate care for their students, and given the shortage of those working in the field, they often have limited support. It is, to say the least, a challenging position. But, through their work, the lives of many are improved. Indeed, many children are profoundly impacted by school psychologists. The school psychologist helps during times of crisis, during difficult developmental periods, during periods of academic challenge, and so on. Although there are certainly tangible rewards for effectively assisting with such situations2, perhaps the greatest reward is knowing, at the end of the day, that whatever you did, it made a child’s life better … that you made a child smile. And, I think we can all agree that there are few things more satisfying than seeing a big, toothy smile on a child’s face. 2
The average annual salary of school psychologists is nothing to sneeze at … for example.
Additional Resources and Further Reading Division 16 of the American Psychological Association, School Psychology. https://www.apa.org/about/division/div16 National Association for School Psychologists (NASP). https://www.nasponline.org/ Bray, M. A., & Kehle, T. J. (Eds.). (2013). The Oxford handbook of school psychology. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195369809.001.0001 Kelly, K. K., Garbacz, S. A., & Albers, C. A. (2020). Theories of school psychology: Critical perspectives. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351064941
Reference Fagan, T. K., & Wise, P. S. (2007). School psychology: Past, present, and future. NASP Publications.
Ethan A. McMahan, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Western Oregon University where he teaches courses in research methods, advanced research methods, and positive psychology. He is passionate about undergraduate education in psychology and has served Psi Chi members in several ways over the last few years, including as a faculty advisor, Psi Chi Western Region Steering Committee Member, Grants Chair, and most recently, as the Western Regional VicePresident of Psi Chi. His research interests focus on hedonic and eudaimonic approaches to well-being, folk conceptions of happiness, and the relationship between nature and human well-being. His recent work examines how exposure to immersive simulations of natural environments impact concurrent emotional state and, more broadly, how regular contact with natural environments may be one route by which individuals achieve optimal feeling and functioning. He has published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, the Journal of Happiness Studies, Personality and Individual Differences, and Ecopsychology, among other publications. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and holds a PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Wyoming.
2021 Distinguished Members of Psi Chi
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ongratulations to Dr. Melba J. T. Vasquez and Dr. John C. Norcross for their selection as the 2021 Distinguished Members of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology! Drs. Vasquez and Norcross were chosen by Psi Chi’s Board of Directors in recognition for their international contributions to psychology and
Melba J. T. Vasquez, PhD
Dr. Melba Vasquez is in independent practice in Austin, Texas. She served as President of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2011) and is the first Latina and Woman of Color of 120 presidencies of APA to serve in that role. Her special presidential initiatives included examination of psychology’s contributions to the grand challenges in society, including immigration, discrimination, and educational disparities. Dr. Vasquez also served a term on the APA Board of Directors. She is a former president of the Texas Psychological Association and of APA Divisions 35 and 17, and a cofounder of Division 45. She is a Fellow of 11 Divisions of the APA and holds the Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). She currently serves as APA’s 2021 Parliamentarian and served in the same role in 2020. She is a member of the APA Needs, Assessment, Slating and Campaigns Committee (NASCC), and on the Board of Trustees of the American Psychological Foundation. She is a coauthor of eight books and about 100 book chapters and journal articles. She has served on numerous editorial boards. She has been honored with over 50 awards for distinguished professional contributions, career service, leadership, advocacy, and mentorship.
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EYE ON PSI CHI SPRING 2021
Psi Chi in the areas of research, service, and teaching. This is truly the highest award available in our organization. In Psi Chi’s 91-year history, it has only been bestowed upon 42 individuals. Other Psi Chi Distinguished Members include Drs. Albert Bandura, Elizabeth Loftus, B. F. Skinner, and more. View the complete list at www.psichi.org/?Dist_Members
John C. Norcross, PhD, ABPP
An internationally recognized expert on behavior change and psychotherapy, John C. Norcross, PhD, ABPP, is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Psychology at the University of Scranton, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University, and a board-certified clinical psychologist. Author of more than 400 scholarly publications, Dr. Norcross has cowritten or edited 22 books and published Changeology and Changing for Good (with Prochaska & DiClemente). Dr. Norcross has been elected president of the APA Division of Clinical Psychology, the APA Division of Psychotherapy, the International Society of Clinical Psychology, and the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration. Dr. Norcross edited the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session and served as a clinical and research consultant to a number of organizations. A Fellow of 10 professional associations, he has been honored with APA’s Distinguished Career Contributions to Education & Training Award, the Pennsylvania Professor of the Year, and the Rosalee Weiss Award. He has been featured in media interviews and national television and has conducted workshops and lectures in 40 countries. An engaging teacher and clinician, he is a longtime contributor to Psi Chi writing for the Eye and speaking at regional conventions.
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