Letter from PRA Chair, Lisa Razzano

As we approach the end of another year together, we find ourselves with an opportunity to look back on where we’ve been and look forward to the road that lies ahead. 2012 has been a year of advancement and transformation for PRA. Over the past two months I have had the pleasure of seeing many of you at annual chapter events in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, as well as the Georgia APSE meeting. These chapter and industry events demonstrate the strength of our membership, the quality of our workforce, and the commitment of our field to promote and advance recovery. It has been an exciting time for me to learn about the needs of chapters and to reconnect with many of you in person. As a result, it has increased my own resolve for what PRA can accomplish in 2013 and beyond with support from our superlative team at our management company, Coulter.

The year has brought with it new opportunities to advance PRA within the field of mental health. We continue to be a leader in education and training for the workforce, with a growing number of CPRPs, as well as individuals receiving certificates in children’s mental health from PRA programs. The 2012 PRA Annual Conference in Minneapolis offered our membership and the field at-large an opportunity to engage in state-of-the-science psychiatric rehabilitation education and training. Our continued thanks go out to the Minnesota Chapter for their hard work and dedication to making the 2012 conference a success. As we look forward to Atlanta in 2013, the PRA Annual Conference will continue to be the premier opportunity for education and training in psychiatric rehabilitation. Now is the time to start planning your time in Atlanta to participate in the best training available for the workforce. This year the conference will continue to feature new elements, including opportunities to interact with leaders in the field at “Expert Encounter” events. And of course, if you have been thinking about a CPRP, the conference is an excellent opportunity to attend a CPRP preparation course and obtain CEs toward the certification. (Conference details are located on pages 2 & 3.)

Another highlight of the year was our partnership with the National Council on Behavioral Healthcare and Mental Health America to coordinate a strong presence for mental health advocacy on Capitol Hill in late June. In the coming year, we look forward to partnering once again with other mental health advocates and stakeholders for Capitol Hill Day, and I challenge us to have the largest representation of PRA members in the history of our association. We will share information about the event to members in the New Year, so be ready to mark your calendars! Given the recent election, it will be critical for us to follow developments in health care and mental health policy.

PRA has also entered into partnership with the American Psychological Association (APA) in publishing Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal (PRJ). PRJ will be part of the APA publishing library, increasing visibility of the journal within the field of mental health, as well as further promoting principles of psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery. It also continues to be the official journal of PRA and a PRA membership benefit. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we thank Drs. Kim Mueser and Judith Cook for their leadership as editors of the journal, as well as all of the reviewers. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Boston University Center on Psychiatric Rehabilitation for decades of leadership in publishing PRJ, particularly the journal’s Managing Editor, Kathy Furlong-Norman. Kathy’s unwavering commitment to the quality of the journal is a credit to our field and we are grateful for her continued support and service to the PRJ and PRA.

As we look forward to 2013, I hope you will continue to support all of our friends and colleagues affected by Hurricane Sandy, especially those hardest hit on the east coast in New Jersey and New York. May we also support our returning veterans and individuals on active duty who continue deployment throughout the world and the families from whom they are separated. Regardless of where we live, there are always opportunities to affect positive change in the lives of individuals in need. As PRA members, we do it every day – with psychiatric rehabilitation.