Committees

The Board is responsible for actively overseeing the activities of SCCPA to ensure that SCCPA is adhering to state and federal laws. The Board has the authority to adopt policies and procedures that are consistent with the Bylaws. These policies and procedures are written into a Policies & Procedures Manual.

CHAIR: MARK BREITHAUPT, PH.D. (Board Liaison; OPEN) --- The primary goal of the C.A.R.E Program is to assist psychologists in reaching out for support anywhere along the continuum from wellness to crisis. It provides services to members as well as newsletter articles about important issues that affect us in our work. This committee is also provides proactive education and support to prevent burnout and enhance professional and personal growth.

CHAIR: OPEN (open, Board Liaison) --- The Disaster Response Committee works with the local Red Cross and the Santa Clara Board of Health Medical Volunteers organization. This committee provides referrals to others in the community regarding resources for emergency situations and keeps us updated about training available for psychologists in disaster response. It also provides specialized training for psychologists willing to respond to disasters who can provide pro bono services to survivors of fires, earthquakes and other disasters.

CHAIR: OPEN --- The diversity committee strives to address various issues of diversity and cultural awareness as they relate to practicing clinicians. We focus on becoming culturally aware and responsive to the concerns our clients, colleagues and ourselves. We also strive to incorporate diversity into all aspects of SCCPA through CEs, community outreach and engagement, recruitment of new members and the development of educational materials. We encourage psychologists, Marriage and Family Therapists, Social Workers, Psychology students and Early Career Psychologists (ECPs) from all walks of life to join SCCPA and contribute their knowledge and experiences.

CHAIR: OPEN (Board Liaison OPEN) --- An ECP is an early career psychologist or post-doc who has received his/her doctorate, or become licensed in the past seven years. The SCCPA ECP Committee will reach out to Early Career Psychologists and develop programs, hold events, and foster opportunities to facilitate early career development. The ECP Committee will provide support to ECPs in their ongoing career development.

CHAIR: LORRAINE WONG, PH.D., ABPP (Board Liaison; Jorge Wong, Ph.D.) --- The Ethics Education Committee provides ethics-related materials and educational opportunities to the SCCPA community and affiliated professionals. Every other year, we host a scholarly workshop on a current Ethics topic which meets the California Board of Psychology's continuing-education requirement for Ethics training. We maintain a list of resources on our website for clinicians who may wish to find information about specific ethical questions. The Ethics Education Committee may answer general questions about ethics; if our members have questions about a specific clinical case, we refer them to the website resource list. CPA members are entitled to free consultation with the CPA Ethics Committee.

CHAIRS: OPEN (Board Liaison; OPEN) --- This committee co-sponsors workshops on legal issues and keeps our association up-to-date on legal matters. It also provides pro bono consultation to a local police department.

CHAIR: JORGE WONG, PH.D. The Local Advocacy Network Representative (formerly GAC) --- is extremely active in representing our interests in the legislative world and building relationships with legislators. Through its liaison with the California Psychological Association (CPA), this committee monitors state legislative issues relating to the practice of psychology and to public mental health interests.

CHAIR: OPEN --- The Membership Committee hosts between 6-8 networking lunches, brunches, and happy hour events, with one possible bigger event in the summer. The Membership Committee is also hoping to organize and host 3-4 lecture series at local hospitals with a panel discussion.

EDITOR: (OPEN). --- The SCCPA Newsletter is now SCCPA NEWS, member articles are published on the SCCPA website. We welcome member submissions, please send to newsletter@sccpa.org.

CHAIR: BARBARA KIRSCH, PH.D. (Board Liaison; Jessica Bryd-Olmstead, Ph.D.) --- The program committee provides high quality, low cost continuing education workshops and community building events for the association’s membership. This committee encourages SCCPA psychologists to present workshops based on their areas of expertise. In 2016, the program committee will strive to offer more informal, fun social and educational events to encourage greater community involvement, networking opportunities, and chances to renew acquaintances.

CHAIR: PAUL MARCILLE, PH.D. (Board Liaison; Paul Marcille, Ph.D.) --- Our mission is to harness the power of psychological science— including the knowledge, skills, and abilities of professional psychologists—to affirm and uphold the human rights of all. We believe that psychologists have an obligation to speak out against abuses of power, violence, and oppression in their many forms, and that psychological associations are well-positioned to facilitate psychologists' ability to do so. We aim to identify and employ strategies for activating the potential of the Santa Clara County Psychological Association for this purpose and so that we may more effectively discharge our duty as outlined in the Preamble to the APA Ethics code, which states: "Psychologists are committed to increasing scientific and professional knowledge…and to the use of such knowledge to improve the condition of individuals, organizations, and society. Psychologists respect and protect civil and human rights...they perform many roles, such as… social interventionist." We will partner with communities directly impacted by violence and aim to uplift the often-silenced voices of those most impacted by violence within and outside of our profession. We are also committed to ongoing learning about how to effectively mobilize the resources of this professional organization to advocate for the health and human rights of all.

STUDENT REP: REBECCA COOK, M.S. --- Educate students about the value of being part of a professional organization, community service, and provide opportunities to engage students in being a part of their local psychology community. Increase student involvement in SCCPA and relevant professional organizations. Create opportunities to inform students about psychology as a profession in a non-academic setting.

(OPEN) --- Technology, Media, and Marketing (TMM) helps SCCPA to have more effective online presence. We engage members and promote SCCPA workshops and events on social media, including Facebook and LinkedIn. We aid members who are not tech-savvy to enter the digital age. Additionally, TMM is intending to add online tutorials for members who struggle with the website.