Leadership, Mentoring, Service,
and How Psychology Can Save
America from Itself
Jeffrey E. Barnett, Psy.D., ABPP
APF Rosalee G. Weiss Lecture for
Outstanding Leaders in Psychology
A View of Psychology
Former APA President, Pat DeLeon, described
Psychology as one of the learned professions.
I view it also as one of the privileged
professions. This provides us with both
opportunities and responsibilities.
Our Responsibilities and Obligations
As Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke stated in his
recent Princeton University commencement
address, citing the Gospel of Luke:
"From everyone to whom much has been given,
much will be required; and from the one to
whom much has been entrusted, even more will
be demanded"
(Luke 12:48, New Revised Standard Version Bible).
Ability to Make a Difference
As Psychologists, we are so fortunate and so
much has been given to us.
Additionally, so much has been entrusted to
us.
With our education, training, and privileged
position in society, we are uniquely positioned
to be able to do great things to impact the lives
of others.
Inspirational Leadership
Effective leaders are role models for others
and lead by example.
“Strong Truths Well-Lived.” Choosing to live
day-in and day-out consistently with the
highest ideals of our profession.
Leadership as a Two-way Street
Effective leaders are inspiring, but they are also
inspired by others.
We are active mentors who seek to inspire and
positively impact those around us.
We do not wait for others to take the initiative.
We see challenges and opportunities, and then
take positive action.
Mentoring as a Calling
Transformational Mentoring (Brad Johnson);
Mentoring as a two-way street.
Meaningful connections.
Transforming and being transformed though
these genuine, caring, committed, and
meaningful relationships.
Secrets of Successful Mentoring
Believing in our mentees, being committed
and loyal to them, and inspiring them to
achieve more than they had believed was
possible.
Being truly invested in their professional and
personal growth, development, and success.
Being open and honest; conveying respect
and caring. Able to create a safe holding
environment in which to take risks,
experiment, and flourish.
Psychology and Service
Advancing our profession through service.
Active participation in the profession of
psychology.
Being a leader and not sitting back and
waiting (hoping) for others to do this for us.
The future of the profession is in our hands.
Two Important Types of Service
Two Important Types of Service Essential for
Us to Participate In:
• Service to the profession (local, state, and
national professional association
involvement and service).
• Advocacy work to advance and support our
profession and to ensure that the needs of
those we serve are adequately met.
Benefits of Service to the Profession
We are provided the opportunity to improve and
advance the profession that gives us so much.
We are provided with connections with
colleagues and enriching relationships that
combat professional isolation.
We are offered opportunities to develop
leadership skills and to do meaningful work.
Benefits of Advocacy
Essential to the survival and vitality of our
profession (and our livelihoods!).
Essential to the public we serve to ensure they
have unfettered access to needed care.
Who is advocating for psychology,
psychologists, the public we serve? A
contemporary example: The Applied Behavior
Analysts.
Leadership, Advocacy, and Service
Rabbi Hillel is quoted as saying:
“If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?
And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And
if not now, when?”
Thus, we must advocate for ourselves as well as
for others, we cannot wait for others to step up
and do this important work, and we must each
take action now, and on an ongoing basis.
Does American Need Saving?
America, Land of Independence.
• Who is influencing our decision-making and
is it truly independent?
• Impact on lifestyle and health.
•Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in
the world we are all or near the bottom on all
major indicators of health and wellbeing.
Leading Causes of Death in the U.S.
Heart disease: 597,689
Cancer: 574,743
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 138,080
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 129,476
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 120,859
Alzheimer's disease: 83,494
Diabetes: 69,071
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis:
50,476
Influenza and Pneumonia: 50,097
Intentional self-harm (suicide): 38,364 (CDC, 2011)
Top Causes of Death in the U.S.
The first 2 - heart disease and cancer -accounted for almost 50% of 2,468,435 deaths in
2010. (CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2013, 62, 152).
It is estimated that behavioral (lifestyle) and
mental health related factors account for
between 60% and 80% of the causes of health
difficulties in the United States today.
Actual Causes of Death in the U.S.
Cause
Tobacco
Poor Diet and Physical Inactivity
400,000
Alcohol Consumption
Microbial Agents
Toxic Agents
Motor Vehicle Crashes
Incidents Involving Firearms
29,000
Sexual Behaviors
Illicit Use of Drugs
1990
400,000
300,000
2000
435,000
100,000
90,000
60,000
25,000
35,000
85,000
75,000
55,000
43,000
30,000
20,000
20,000
17,000
Conclusions:
“These analyses show that smoking remains the
leading cause of mortality. However, poor diet
and physical inactivity may soon overtake
tobacco as the leading cause of death. These
findings, along with escalating health care costs
and aging population, argue persuasively that
the need to establish a more preventive
orientation in the US health care and public
health systems has become more urgent” (JAMA,
2004; p. 1238).
Childhood Obesity
Obesity has been linked with serious illnesses
during childhood and an increased risk of
developing conditions, such as type-2 diabetes,
asthma and breathing difficulties during sleep,
bone, joint, and muscle problems; and emotional,
behavioral, and academic problems.
(2007 National Survey of Children's Health)
There has been a four-fold increase in the
number of children and teenagers admitted to
hospital for obesity-related conditions in the last
decade.
America’s Health
Americans under age 50 die earlier and live in
poorer health than their counterparts in other
developed countries. American men ranked last
in life expectancy among the 17 wealthiest
countries, and American women ranked second
to last.
All this, despite spending more on “health care”
per capital than in any other nation.
America’s Health (cont.)
The United States had the second-highest death
rate from the most common form of heart
disease, the kind that causes heart attacks, and
the second-highest death rate from lung disease,
a legacy of high smoking rates in past decades.
American adults also have the highest diabetes
rates. The United States has the highest infant
mortality rate among these countries.
(Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, 2013)
America’s Health (cont.)
Americans lose more years of life before age 50
to alcohol and drug abuse than people in any of
the other countries studied.
Americans also had the lowest probability over
all of surviving to the age of 50.
The U.S. ranked near and at the bottom in almost
every heath indicator (Institute of Medicine and the National
Research Council, 2013)
Amenable Mortality
Amenable mortality remains an important
contributor to premature mortality in 16 highincome countries, accounting for 24% of deaths
under age 75. Amenable mortality continues to
fall across high-income nations although the
USA is lagging increasingly behind other highincome countries. In 2007, amenable mortality in
the US was almost twice that in France, which
had the lowest levels. (Nolte, 2013; RAND Europe).
Healthcare Spending
Healthcare in US will consume a fifth of GDP by
2020. Spending on healthcare will consume
19.8% ($4.6 trillion) of the total US economy in
2020, predict government actuaries at the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(Roehr, 2011; BMJ).
Direct mental health spending has remained
roughly 1% of the economy since 1986, while
total health spending climbed from about 10% of
GDP in 1986 to nearly 17% in 2009 (Rampell,
2013, NY Times).
More on Amenable Mortality
A new study says there are five things killing
Ontario residents more than seven years earlier.
These bad lifestyle choices include:
Smoking, Drinking Alcohol, Poor Diet, Lack of
Physical Activity, and Stress.
Researchers found 60 per cent of all deaths in
Ontario can be blamed on those five unhealthy
habits.
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/04/02/ontario-unhealthylifestyle-choices.html)
Conclusions and Recommendations
Our nation needs to change from an expensive
and ineffective disease management system to a
health promotion system. Psychologists and
organized psychology can play key roles in this
change.
So much of what is needed is what we have to
offer. As researchers, educators, and clinicians,
we are ideally positioned to take the lead in this
effort. And, as the data presented hopefully
demonstrates, this is a dire situation and the time
for action is now.
Conclusions (cont.)
Perhaps all this seems quite daunting. But, I have
one additional quote to share with you that I hope
is relevant.
Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that
ever has.”
So, I am hopeful that psychology’s inspirational
leaders will in fact lead the way toward a much
healthier America.
Jeffrey E. Barnett, Psy.D., ABPP
jbarnett@loyola.edu