Rodney L. Lowman, PhD

Q3: How can APA best lead the discipline of psychology to address the needs of an increasingly diverse and global society?

Without losing sight of the work still needed to advance the traditional categories (e.g., race, sex, age, sexual orientation) of diversity, we need to globalize our understanding of multiculturalism and to expand psychological service delivery for a broader context. My recent edited book "Internationalizing Multiculturalism: Expanding Professional Competencies in a Globalized World" (APA, 2013) identified in detail how diversity and multiculturalism can benefit from globalization. APA can lead by expanding our training models, revising practice guidelines and advancing licensure laws to assist psychologists in applying psychology in the new context of an increasingly interconnected world without boundaries.

Q4: What do you see as the most significant challenges and the greatest opportunities for doctoral-level psychologists in the context of the Affordable Care Act?

The Affordable Care Act expands coverage to more middle- and low-income individuals, emphasizes quality of care and treatment outcomes, and prioritizes early intervention and integrated care. Psychologists need to take their rightful place as full partners in their respective areas of competence. Additionally, non-health-care psychologists are positioned to contribute to building effective interdisciplinary health-care teams and organizations and in creating evidence-based organizations that are so essential to the new health-care delivery system. APA needs strong advocacy to ensure that we are not viewed as tangential to the changes created by these new models.