2016 Bulletin

Drorit Gaines, Ph.D. received an academic excellence scholarship to UCLA and completed a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics and Accounting. She received her Ph.D. from Fielding Graduate University in Clinical Psychology with specialization in Clinical Neuropsychology and completed post-doctoral experience in neuropsychology at the Veterans Affairs of Greater Los Angeles and UCLA Longevity Center. She is currently a Principle Investigator at the VA West Los Angeles, a volunteer clinical faculty in the UCLA Department of Pediatrics, and in private clinical practice. Dr. Gaines is the executive producer and host of the first neuropsychology on air universal broadcasting weekly online radio show. Dr. Gaines received the American Psychological Association Early Career Professional Award (2015); Best Abstract, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, and Selected to present at the 2015 Sino-American Conference, Shanghai, China (2015); Sponsorship of young leadership in Neuropsychology, National Academy of Neuropsychology Women in Leadership (2014); Exceptional Contribution Award, Veterans Affairs of greater Los Angeles (2013); and Best Dissertation Abstract, Fielding Graduate University (2012). Dr. Gaines serves as an expert reviewer for several journals and has authored several publications and presentations. She is a Board member of the NAN Foundation and Co-Chair of the Media and Fundraising committees, and a Board member of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association and Chair of Public Education Committee. Bulletin vol. 30 no. 1 | 23 References 1. Anderson, Norman. B. (2012). A new public education effort: Psychology: Science in Action. American Psychological Association. Monitor, Vol 43, No. 8. Retrieved November 20th, 2015 from: http://www.apa.org/ monitor/2012/09/ceo.aspx 2. Psychology: Science in Action Initiative. American Psychological Association. Retrieved November 20th, 2015 from: http://www.apa.org/ practice/programs/campaign/background.aspx 3. NAN Foundation Mission and Vision. National Academy of Neuropsychology. Retrieved January 24th, 2015 from: NANonline.org 4. Public Education Campaign and Disaster Response Network. Activities Report, 2014. Retrieved on November 20th, 2015 from: https://www.apa. org/practice/programs/campaign/pec-report.pdf glad to share their knowledge with the public and communicate directly with the populations they serve. Seven guidelines in effective public education emerged as I continued my experiment on air: 1. The content must be professional and psychoeducational – most importantly by providing access to experts; 2. Although it is necessary to cover a variety of topics in psychology and wellbeing, content should include a focus on the brain and psychology - mechanisms, disorders, and concepts, and how those effect behavior and functioning; 3. Content should address current topics and trends, which are sometimes requested by the group of listeners; 4. Discussions should be styled with a positive, holistic, and motivational approach; 5. Information should be aligned with commonly accepted trends in the field in the event that those are established, or alternatively mention various controversies or limitations; 6. Level of communication should be maintained as simple, clear, and useful/practical; 7. The media platform used should allow for the layman to communicate their interests, on and off air. Responding to layman questions on air often requires emotional validation, basic education, normalization, and boundary setting. A primary goal is to be practical, give clear advice, and provide sources of information. Lengthy discussions on research findings quickly lose the interest and engagement of the listener. An exploratory conversation is often a successful bridge between fear and reality. Boundary setting is important to establish the parameters of online and offline engagement but also bind the conversations to avoid unrelated topics and points of view that do not center on psychological and neuropsychological issues. Politics and policies are rarely comment-resistant; however, it is the human welfare question that discussion should revolve around. In sum, clinical and academic neuropsychologists have significant knowledge that is used every day in various settings to enhance patients' health. Disseminating this knowledge in media platforms makes it more accessible and provides open and direct relationship with the populations we serve. While APA's public education campaign began in 1996, 2 public education in neuropsychology has recently become more prominent as an official mission of the National Academy of Neuropsychology Foundation. Under the leadership of the first and second chairmen, Drs. Ruben Echemendia and Jeff Barth, the NAN Foundation produced valuable projects such as educational videos in the topics of sports concussions and dementia and a children's brain health educational program. Most recently, Dr. Jerid Fisher has been voted the third chairman of the board, currently leading the development of the Foundation website that will become a go-to source of information for the general public about brain health and brain issues. 3 Embracing the recent APA initiative to increase public education and supporting the growing projects of the NAN Foundation are efforts necessary to decrease public confusion and increase treatment accessibility, 4 thereby improving the lives of the people we treat. The NAN Foundation seeks to encourage the participation of NAN members in the activities of the Foundation and we look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas in public education. Please feel free to reach out to us at NANF4Health@ gmail.com.

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