NYSAN NEWSLETTER January 2024 Volume 7, Issue 1 | | | New York State Association of Neuropsychology Advancing the Practice of Neuropsychology in New York State
| | | INSIDE THIS ISSUE - President's Message
- NYSAN at INS!
- Important CE Updates
- Mentorship Program
- Committee Updates
| | | Newsletter Editors Daniela Montalto Becca Martin Elisa Livanos | | Board of Directors Daniela Montalto, Ph.D. President Brittany Bascetta, Ph.D. Secretary
Elisa Livanos, Ph.D., ABPP Treasurer
Board Members
Cindy Breitman, PhD, ABPP Heather Henkell, PhD Shahal Rozenblatt, PhD Laura Philips, PsyD, ABPdN Sarah Powell, PhD, ABPP-CN Jami Halpern, PsyD | | |
Daniela Montalto Ph.D. President | I feel tremendous honor to represent and lead our organization in 2024. In stepping into the role of president of the New York State Association of Neuropsychologists (NYSAN), I am particularly thankful for the tireless efforts and accomplishments of our past president, Dr. Cindy Breitman. Under Dr. Breitman’s passionate leadership, NYSAN has grown in presence and impact. As part of Dr. Breitman’s legacy, NYSAN now offers programming with CE credits for workshops and webinars, access to videos on pertinent neuropsychology topics, a mentorship program for members pursuing board certification, access to pertinent and evidence-based information through social media, and continued opportunity for community engagements. Dr. Breitman has also closely collaborated with our legislative committee on integral legislation and policy efforts. Additionally, I value the great contributions of other past presidents, prior executive team members, and the past and current chairs and committee members of NYSAN. In particular, I acknowledge the NYSAN executive leadership who rotated off the board this year, including: - Gianna Locascio, PsyD, ABPP
- Becca Martin, PhD, ABPP-CN
- Amanda Hahn-Ketter, PsyD, ABPP
There is a great deal of work that goes on behind the scenes and our organization’s current successes are largely due to the dedicated hours and effort of these individuals. Thank you for sharing your time, talent, and dedication. NYSAN has benefited greatly from your commitment and leadership. We are fortunate that you will continue on as members in various capacities and part of our NYSAN community. It is also with admiration and gratitude that I introduce and stand alongside our new executive members of the NYSAN Board of Directors: - Cindy Breitman, PhD, ABPP (Former NYSAN President)
- Elisa Livanos, PhD, ABPP (Treasurer)
- Brittany Bascetta, PhD (Secretary)
- Heather Henkell, PhD
- Shahal Rozenblatt, PhD
- Laura Philips, PsyD, ABPdN
- Sarah Powell, PhD, ABPP-CN
- Jami Halpern, PsyD
Notably, these individuals serve both on our executive team and as active members across our five committee pillars. I look forward to sharing this tenure on the board with you. I also express my sincere gratitude to our membership, as it takes the influence of many to make an impact; together, we have the potential to continuously improve the field of neuropsychology, the lives of the children and adults we work with, and the policy and legislation that govern our scope. I also recognize that we have been living through and are currently in challenging times, leaving us concerned and worried about our future and the future of the generations to come. War, unprecedented illness, and the impact of climate change, are only a few of the many stressors that weigh on our shoulders and spirits, as we attempt to continue to focus on ways to help our clients and their families. My hope is that as an organization we can continue to support the mission of advocacy, increasing awareness and outreach, professional support and communication, and education and training, while we also take care of one another. In looking ahead, I am excited to be at NYSAN’s helm over the next two years. As I enter this first year in my role as president, my plan is to listen to your ambitions and also your concerns, to continue to build and empower your voices, and to recognize the areas in our field that need attention and effort. As a member of NYSAN, stay involved and take action. - Please update your membership, so remain active with us.
- Actively recruit your fellow non-member neuropsychologists to also join our organization.
- We have a place on a NYSAN committee for you. Join our current committees or suggest starting a new committee for our organization. We can integrate fresh perspectives with seasoned guidance to drive our efforts forward.
- Consider additional financial contributions to our organization to help to fund our lobbying efforts, training opportunities, and programming .
- Stay up to date on issues that are being addressed by NYSAN and other organizations. Read the committee updates in this newsletter to learn of the progress they have made in successfully impacting legislation, thinking innovatively, and training early career members and students.
- Come spend time with us in February 2024 at INS! I hope to have the opportunity to meet you at the various events our CASM Committee has organized at INS in New York City this year, please review the announcements made on the listserv.
As your president, it is important to me to know that our organization is representing your interests and enabling you to participate and share your diverse views. Please contact me directly at danielamontalto.nysan@gmail.com with ideas and suggestions for how we can continue to make progress. In closing, although I know a transition takes time and a learning curve, our new executive board is ready. Dr. Breitman and her executive team has left us in a good place and, together, I am eager to continue to move NYSAN ahead in 2024. | | | NYSAN AT INS! We are very excited that INS will be in NYC again this year! As in 2019, we have organized several events for our members in conjunction with the New York Neuropsychology Group (NYNG) and we really hope to see you there! More detailed information will be sent to members this week and keep an eye on our social media accounts for updates! - Joint table with NYNG in the lobby at the Marriott hotel offering fun treats and brochures with upcoming events.
- Locals lounge (Belasco Room, 5th floor) open for the entire conference
- Mentoring series for students in the lounge:
- Thursday: Interview, training, and getting involved in NY
- Friday: Ask the Neuropsychologist: Training and career paths
- Social event Thursday from 7 to 9 pm at The Brazen Tavern
| | | IMPORTANT CE UPDATES Diversity Requirement - in progress There is a bill proposed that will include a diversity requirement within the 36 hour CE credits. It also includes a provision to automatically include the American Psychological Association, its divisions, and its affiliates as approved providers. This bill passed the senate and was referred to the High Education Committee. It did not pass the Assembly and was referred back to the Higher Education Committee. Click here for more information and to follow this bill's progress.
Provider CE List | | | | | NYSAN Biannual Committee Updates It was a busy time on NYSAN during the last six months of 2023. As you read on, you will discover the impressive work our NYSAN committees have accomplished on our behalf. | | | | | Since our last update, CASM hosted several informative and well attended webinars. We hosted a private practice panel in September with several of our colleagues. Dr. McPherson spoke about the role of neuropsychology in the assessment of competencies for older workers, Dr. Zimmerman spoke about sleep and neuropsychological function, and Dr. Stimmel discussed MS in regards to what neuropsychologists should know. We are planning a three part series related to forensic work after INS. We remind all members to visit the NYSAN website to view past webinars that can be viewed as home studies. All past webinars are eligible for 1 CE credit following successful completion of the program evaluation and a passing score on the post-test. CASM is planning to be present at INS including having a table at the hotel, sponsoring a gathering room for locals to spend time, and a social event all in conjunction with NYNG. Please stay tuned for more information about this! As well, we have worked on increasing our social media outreach including on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram (@nysan_ig). Please request to be a group member on LinkedIn if you haven't already! Cindy Breitman spearheaded the creation of a series of outreach videos and has assembled a team of our fellow members to create the script, record the videos and/or to edit the videos. To date, videos on What is a Neuropsychologist, Neuropsychology for Older Adults, and When Should a Psychiatrist Refer to Neuropsychology are posted here on our website for distribution by our members to the public and other professionals. Videos for pediatrics and neurologists are in the works. If interested in assisting with this effort, please contact Cindy.
As always, we encourage NYSAN members to visit the NYSAN website regularly and update their profile. Each member is provided with a profile page that can be personalized. The NYSAN website also has a list of public and professional resources, a list of member benefits, and a list of documents pertaining to clinical practice, forms for private practices, educational videos, and more.
Committee Co-Chairs:
Becca Martin Jami Halpern
Committee Members:
Brittany Bascetta Cindy Breitman
Carolyn Certilman Gennaro DiCarlo (website admin)
Eltonnelle James (student) Amanda Hahn-Ketter
Elisa Livanos (CE Chair) Paul Mattis
Rachel Schecter (student) Bill Tsang
Jessica Wasserman (student) Emily Errera (student) Contact Jami Halpern or Rebecca Martin for more information or to volunteer. Have an interesting and fun article that you want to share on the NYSAN social media pages? Forward the article to CASM!
| | | Professional Affairs & Information Committee (PAIC)
The PAIC’s mission is to advocate for neuropsychologists in New York State and work with members to remedy insurance problems encountered by NYSAN members, as well as address other issues that affect the practice of clinical neuropsychology. We encourage our members to contact us about any difficulties obtaining insurance payments for services provided to themselves or their patients in addition to issues that are impeding their practices.
The PAIC is continuing to address the following issues impacting the practice of our members: - Working with state and national organizations to: (1) achieve parity for mental health treatment, and (2) ensure that clinical neuropsychological services are paid as medical benefits rather than as behavioral health benefits.
- Addressing problems relating to network adequacy (both for private insurance companies and No Fault and Workers’ Compensation).
- Providing information to educate insurance companies, legislators, and the general public about the specialty of clinical neuropsychology.
If NYSAN members have questions or comments that can be addressed by PAIC, please email: Heather Henkell
Committee Chair: Heather Henkell Committee Members: Bridget Amatore Ed Barnoski Cindy Breitman Ingrid Hansen Stephen Honor Brian Lebowitz David McCabe Mark Sandberg Allan Yozawitz
Monthly Meetings: Tuesdays at 8pm | | | Legislative Committee (L-Comm) The decision by NYSAN leadership to re-engage our lobbyist team at Whiteman, Osterman, & Hanna (WOH) resulted in much more productive and informative 2023 legislative session for our organization. Highlights of the initiatives include: Supporting the movement toward prescriptive authority for psychologists in New York State, Supporting PLLC bills, that will allow psychologists to own practices with Physicians, Supporting implementation and continuation of telehealth, Supporting legislation mandating insurance carriers to provide Out of Network coverage and Assignment of Benefits as part of their policies in New York State, Opposing expansion of scope practice for various mental/behavioral health professions (without implementation of appropriate additional educational, experience or training requirements), Opposing the bill that would allow licensing of Master’s level school psychologists in New York State, and Collaborating with legislators on recent bills/legislative concerns regarding reimbursement for assessment of learning disabilities,
In the fall, representatives of NYSAN’s Legislative Committee met with corollary members of NYSPA’s Legislative Committee to coordinate and collaborate on topics and initiatives of shared interest. This was a very productive process and we look forward to efficient shared efforts in the 2024 NYS legislative session. Due to a confluence of several features of the 2024 calendar, the 2024 legislative session will be “short”. As such, we have been given to understand that legislative initiatives that do not already have a high degree of unified support across stakeholders are less likely to pass through legislative committees. While this is “good” for initiatives NYSAN opposes, this means that initiatives that NYSAN is supportive of (e.g., prescription privileges for psychologists) are unlikely to make a great of deal of headway this legislative session. Nevertheless, the NYSAN Legislative Committee will continue to lay ground work and generally persist in efforts that will prepare us for what we hope to be a productive 2025 legislative session.
As always, we welcome input and information from NYSAN membership. Please feel free to reach out to the Legislative committee with questions or comments.
Committee Chair: Chris Morrison
Committee Members: Bridget Amatore Amanda E. Hahn-Ketter MaryKay Pavol Lindsay Plunket Evan Schulze
Student Members: Andrew Fox Aviva Kohn
Meetings: Monthly (twice during legislative) at 8AM on Tuesday mornings. | | |
Since our last report in July 2023, PIPAC has remained committed and involved in supporting current legislation and policy by working alongside the Legislative Committee (LComm). Dr. Lindsay Plunkett has continued to support our advocacy process by attending LComm meetings, providing updates on current legislation, and enlisting focused support on a pertinent Dyslexia Diagnosis insurance bill and the Master’s Level of School Psychology Practitioner bill. We are pending re-initiating efforts on the Prescription Privileges policy until the new legislative period begins and a clearer understanding of next steps are provided by our lobbyist. In the interim, Dr. Katz and our graduate student, Veronica Milito, have focused their effort in updating the literature on current training guidelines in states with approved Prescription Policy legislations. In collaboration with Dr. Plunkett, Drs. Nicole Katz and Amira Hanna have continued to review current pediatric focused legislation and have kept our committee informed of current legislation and bills under consideration pertaining to our field of pediatric neuropsychology. Additionally, Dr. Larry Hess helps keep the committee updated on matters related to pediatric neuropsychology that require advocacy. In addition to our focus on policy, our committee continues to work on improving the visibility and understanding of the role of pediatric neuropsychology in the community and among our peers. As part of PIPAC’s mission to increase access to accurate information on Pediatric Neuropsychology topics, committee members work on workshops and literature to disseminate, both as white papers and as tip and fact sheets for parents and providers. We also have a dedicated focus on issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion. In an effort to meet these areas of our mission, Drs Rebecca Fontanetta, Elizabeth Axel, Paula Labarge Zuffante, and Nicole Katz, along with our Graduate student and Postdoctoral fellow volunteers, have maintained and expanded our outreach on social media through our Facebook page. The goal of these efforts is to increase visibility and understanding of topics related to Pediatric Neuropsychology through monthly posts. Additionally, Drs. Rebecca Fontanetta, Elizabeth Axel, Ava Dorfmann, Sepideh Homayoonfar, and Amira Hanna have began working on a parent series of tip and fact sheets on Commonly Asked Questions that they will disseminate to help increase access to neuropsychological evaluations. The first tip sheet is titled, “How to ask for an IEE,” and is currently being translated in over five languages. Dr. Laura Philips and Lindsay Plunkett, with the support of Drs. Linda LaMarca, Daniela Montalto, and our postdoctoral fellows and graduate student members are working on conducting a literature review on Learning Loss in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic and outlining a decision tree for providers to assist with diagnosis and assessment of learning disorders given the pandemic’s impact on student’s education and access to intervention. Dr. Sarah Powell has also taken the leadership role on our committee in periodically sharing updates on the policy and projects PIPAC is focused on and gathering feedback and input from the larger NYSAN community on our initiatives. Our members have continued to be active through our Journal Club under the leadership of Dr. Paula Labarge Zuffante. The JC meets regularly and includes relevant journal articles, text chapters, and audio/video material to help members review historical and current literature. The focus of these past meetings has been on dyslexia. Members have reviewed seminal papers, thoroughly researched the literature on the interventions and remediation programs offered to support dyslexia and the evidence behind these programs, and conferenced on clinical case examples, styles of documentation, and diagnostic impressions. As mentioned throughout the mission areas listed thus far, our committee has also been fortunate to have the support of graduate and postdoctoral level students. Drs. Sara Mandelbaum, Shoshana May, and Amira Hanna have continued to work under the guidance of Dr. Montalto on a student initiative to increase graduate student awareness of neuropsychology by participating on designated NYSAN Committees. We have successfully placed eight students onNYSAN projects with the support of our President, Dr. Cindy Breitman. Additional topics that PIPAC members have continued to focus on include, Pediatric Insurance Issues that are introduced at our meetings under the leadership of Dr. Linda LaMarca. As future goals, PIPAC aims to provide members with an opportunity to discuss complex cases and/or unique neuropsychology profiles, which will likely begin with cases from Drs. Jenni Rosenberg (epilepsy) and Sarah Powell (oncology). We also hope to begin a biannual mentoring opportunity for our committee members with the support of Dr. Stephen Honor, where our senior neuropsychologists will use part of our committee meeting to discuss their tenure in the field of pediatric neuropsychology and tips for success. On the horizon, PIPAC will explore policy efforts in updating sensitive labels used for classification on Individualized Education Programs (IEP). Lastly, PIPAC has continued to grow in membership and welcomed Dr. Sepideh Homayoonfar. We appreciate her interest in our committee and the valuable perspective she brings. I would like to sincerely thank the members of the committee for their ongoing participation and dedication. Please reach out to our committee if you would like to join our initiatives.
Committee Chair: Daniela Montalto Hilary Gomes (Co-Chair) Committee Members: Elizabeth Axel Ava Dorfmann Rebecca Fontanetta Amira Hanna Larry Hess Sepideh Homayoonfar Steve Honor Nicole Katz Linda LaMarca Sarah Mandelbaum (Postdoctoral Fellow) Shoshana May Veronica Milito (Graduate Student) Patricia Pehme (Postdoctoral Fellow) Laura Philips Lindsay Plunkett Sarah Powell Jennifer Rosenberg Shahal Rozenblatt Paula Labarge Zuffante
If you are interested in joining contact Daniela Montalto or Hilary Gomes.
| | | During the second half of 2023 Drs. Schaefer and Bertisch, Co-Chairs of the NYSAN Scholastic Committee, released their book "Working with the Brain in Psychology: Considering Careers in Neuropsychology," published by Routledge. This guide is geared towards high school and college students considering careers in our specialty. Initiatives were made towards marketing with the assistance of member Sophie Schiff. In addition, a "brown-bag" lunchtime educational discussion-based event was held via Zoom in November for undergraduates across New York State; approximately 12 attended this time, mostly from Buffalo and Rochester. Outreach efforts continue with the goal of offering every undergraduate psychology program in NY the opportunity for their students to participate in our events. The format of the Scholastic Committee is open, and any NYSAN member interested in joining events and other initiatives is welcome to participate in individual projects. We also support any NYSAN member who leads an educational event relevant to the mission and goals of this committee. Committee Co-Chairs: Lynn Schaefer Hilary Bertisch Assistance provided by: Sophie Schiff
Come join us in our endeavors by contacting Lynn Schaefer or Hilary Bertisch. | | | Political Action CommitteeCo-Chairs: Bridget Amatore, PhD and Valerie Abel, PsyD The PAC of NYSAN donates money to legislators in New York State to advocate on behalf of the field of neuropsychology and the clients we serve. Collections are continuous throughout the year in anticipation of relevant fundraising events. A well-funded PAC provides access to legislators as issues arise affecting neuropsychology and helps us remain flexible in our support of key bills as important legislation moves through the legislature. A well-funded PAC is vital to NYSAN and its mission. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Valerie Abel or Bridget Amatore.
| | | | | Publishers Oxford Springer Green's Publishing Taylor & Francis | | Legal Counsel Weiss, Zarett, Brofman, Sonnenklar & Levy, P.C. Furniture Raymour & Flanigan | | | |
