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Terrie L. Price, PhD, president of the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists and Social Workers (AASCIPSW), is director of Family Services at the Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City in Missouri. Recently she made herself available for an interview with Action.
How long have you been a member of AASCIPSW? What roles have you played there before becoming president?
I’ve been a member 10 years and have previously served as Chairperson of the Clinical Practice Committee, and Member at Large and Vice President of the Board.
How did you come to be involved in SCI care?
My area of clinical focus is neuropsychology. Given that about 50% of individuals with SCI have had head trauma, I became involved for assessment purposes. The largest portion of my clinical practice has been subacute care of outpatient and inpatients in rehabilitation. As a member of the rehab team, my role expanded into counseling around living well with a disability.
What has your practice taught you about SCI? What has it taught you about persons with SCI?
SCI is a complex condition with many secondary and tertiary sequelae. I have come to appreciate the importance of specialty knowledge for professionals serving individuals with SCI. SCI has lifespan considerations and that can be aided by lifetime partnering between the individual and their care providers.
I have learned the importance of knowing the person. Making plans and goals for the future begins with the individual’s history, values, interests and needs. SCI is just one of many considerations brought to the task of building a good life.
How do you view the interface between AASCIPSW and people with SCI? Is there an interface? Can there be more of one?
The mission of AASCIPSW is to provide and promote education and standards in SCI psychosocial care that have been demonstrated empirically as foundational to better rehabilitation outcomes and quality of life. We interface by reaching out to mental health providers and working with individuals with SCI to ensure that they have the specialty knowledge necessary to provide the highest quality of care. Our networking is phenomenal and allows professionals rapid access to others’ experience and expertise, as well as referral and reference sources as meets the needs of their clients. As members, we all interface directly with individuals with SCI using the tools and knowledge base we have obtained. Our Association and membership have written articles for Action and many other publications directly reaching individuals with SCI. I think the future will include expanded interfacing as we build a broader coalition.
Do you have an agenda for AASCIPSW as president?
My overarching goal is to strengthen the organization by making it be of optimal value to our members. The path includes ensuring the best conference in SCI psychosocial care, a strong journal for research, clinical skill building and theoretical perspectives. At this point, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of building a consortium of organizations and advocacy groups to ensure quality of care, quality of life and public policy advocacy. We have begun the process by cementing our relationship with United Spinal, working alongside PVA and working more collaboratively with our sister professional Associations, APS & AASCIN. We have to build on this foundation to reach our goals.
What are your expectations for this summer’s conference in Orlando?
The conference program is quite impressive and the facility will be like nothing we have experienced before. I expect with the change in grant structure that fewer members will attend and that is regrettable. We are exploring every opportunity to provide the best conference at the most affordable rate. I expect that those attending will appreciate that our Association is changing and becoming stronger through collaboration with allies and dedication to our primary mission.
