“TAKE ONE FRESH AND TENDER KISS”
Pat DeLeon, Ph.D.
January 17, 2026
The Centennial APA President: On New Year’s Day, Jack Wiggins – the American Psychological Association’s Centennial President – celebrated his Centennial birthday. Twenty admirers gathered for a virtual birthday party on Zoom, to share tributes and remembrances, toasting and roasting throughout. The festivities culminated in heartfelt singing of “Happy Birthday.” An inspirational visionary, Jack shaped the agenda and direction of independent practice and the APA. He was remembered as a mentor, colleague, teacher, role model, friend, and travel companion.
Leading up to the event, at Alan Entin’s suggestion, dozens of psychologists sent birthday cards, emails, and photographs to Jack’s son, Grant, which he collected into an album, titled “Celebrating Jack Wiggins at 100: Psychology Pays Tribute.” The book offers a glimpse into the history of Jack’s contributions in many areas of independent practice. Many of the book’s contributors earned Karl Heiser awards, an honor that Jack helped to establish, to recognize psychologists for their advocacy for their profession. Of note, Jack’s wife Alice designed the award’s beautiful commemorative pin. Robust for 100, Jack rose to the occasion, and thanked all for their kind words and remembrances as they celebrated his birthday. “Jack, we congratulate you and thank you for all you have done for psychology and psychologists!” opined Alan.
The Society for Prescribing Psychologists (Division 55): Jack, along with Former APA President Ron Fox, was instrumental in the establishment of Division 55, serving as its first President in 2001. Reflecting the Division’s broad appeal and its relevance to ongoing changes occurring within our nation’s health care environment, a review of the Division’s elected and Honorary Fellows includes an impressive number of former APA Presidents – Don Bersoff, James Bray, Ron Fox, Debra Kawahara, Jennifer Kelly, Ron Levant, Tony Puente. Bob Resnick, and naturally Jack and myself. The 1992 report to Council from the ad hoc Task Force on Psychopharmacology, chaired by the late-Michael Smyer, foresaw this likelihood, concluding: “Practitioners, with combined training in psychopharmacology and psychosocial treatments, could be viewed as a new form of health care professional, expected to bring to health care delivery the best of both psychological and pharmacological knowledge. Further, the proposed new providers had the potential to dramatically improve patient care and make important new advances in treatment.”
Former Division 55 President Lynette Pujol: “The Society for Prescribing Psychology had a productive 2025 as several long-term projects came to fruition and we celebrated 25 years of the Division. One of these long-term projects, led by Derek Phillips, was establishing The American Board of Psychopharmacological Psychology (ABRxP). The inaugural board held their first two exams mid-December. The rest of the inaugural board are preparing to take the exam early this year and we will then open it to all-comers. David Shearer and Bret Moore led the writing of the APA Guidelines for Psychologists’ Involvement in Pharmacological Issues that was approved by the APA Council in August 2025. These ethical principles are relevant for all psychologists, not just those with prescriptive authority. They serve as a guide for answering questions about medications that are often asked by our patients.
“We loved celebrating the 25th year of the Division as we looked back to those pioneers who established the Division. All those who prescribe or consult are indebted to early founders who used their considerable skills and resources to move RxP forward. With an estimated 300 colleagues already possessing prescriptive authority, recent research shows a discernable positive difference in access to care for underserved populations because of prescriptive authority. The capable Bethe Lonning, whose work is a primary reason Iowa has a prescriptive authority law, has taken over the helm for 2026. She is the Director of Professional Affairs for the Iowa Psychological Association, as well as our current President. She has already assembled a Task Force, led by Judi Steinman, to renew our specialty petition in APA. Keep your eye out for multiple state initiatives and an exciting announcement about CE opportunities through Division 55.”
Reflections Over the Years by Those Possessing Prescriptive Authority: Ray Folen reflecting upon his years as Chief Psychologist at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii: “April 26, 2016. In the last ten years, I have written 3,178 prescriptions (most of them for medications with Black Box warnings) and Mike Kellar has written 5,780. No adverse events.” The late Floyd Jennings, who is perhaps the first psychologist to formally prescribe: “July 14, 2016. The year was 1988 – now 28 years ago – and I had been appointed as Chief, Behavioral Health Services at the PHS/IHS Santa Fe Service Unit, in Santa Fe, NM. Limited, dependent prescriptive privileges were granted to me by the Medical Director, i.e. a limited formulary excluding scheduled drugs, and dependent upon his supervision. I had the support of the IHS Albuquerque area psychiatrist with whom I spoke regarding every case; review and support was granted by the NM Psychological Assn. ethics committee. Slightly less than two years later I was to leave that post – by which time, after being invited to speak before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, thousands of letters of complaint had been sent to the Medical Director of IHS by psychiatrists across the nation, though over three hundred patients had been seen, with no adverse effects (and with enormous support from the physicians working in IHS). Note that in the years subsequent, there has been no nimiety of psychiatric physicians seeking to work or even volunteer in those pueblos of the Albuquerque area!
“From those turbulent beginnings, and due both to vision and persistence, psychologists have been given authority to exercise prescriptive privileges in Iowa, Illinois, New Mexico and Louisiana, as well as in the Public Health Service [thanks to Division Fellow Kevin McGuinness], the U.S. military and Guam. A cursory look at the NM Board of Psychologist Examiners website reveals forty names of persons with active certification as prescribing psychologists. Though by no means thorough, an internet search turns up approximately eleven who are in PHS/IHS, state or federal agencies or mental health facilities. Many psychologists having national prominence in this area have now completed careers in federal services in the almost 30 years since those days in PHS/IHS. We have indeed ‘come a long way!’
“Yet there is much to be done. For example, in Texas alone, 185 of the 254 counties have no psychiatrist. Nurse practitioners have been quite successful in extending their scope of practice to include prescriptive privileges – in many venues. In fact, the future of primary care may well transfer to nurse practitioners, with the increasing specialization of medicine and the decreased number of young persons seeking careers in medicine, where reimbursement rates are far less than in high technology. Yet, in Texas, and in many other states, the likelihood of expanding the scope of practice for psychology is not great. I argue that is far more likely to occur when the basis is need (rather than greed). Wouldn’t it be interesting if there were many programs to train psychologists to prescribe – at no cost to the person – in return for a two-year commitment to work in an underserved area? Wouldn’t it be exciting if there were a national recognition of the absolute necessity to increase the array of health resources in now underserved areas – of which psychology could be a part? I shall not live to see it, but I can dream, can’t I?”
In my personal judgment, one of Jack’s most significant contributions to the field of professional psychology was his successful request of then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi that the VA initiate a post-doctoral training program. When the Secretary asked for his rationale, the discussion quickly turned to PTSD which numerous Vietnam War Veterans were experiencing. “Additional specialized training is necessary” resulted in the Secretary immediately approving Jack’s visionary request. Shortly thereafter, under CEO Ray Fowler’s leadership, APA began to formally accredit post-doctoral training programs.
A Truly Visionary Treatise: Former APA President Alan Kazdin recently published Mental Health Interventions in Everyday Life highlighting the harsh reality “the majority of individuals in need of mental health services receive no treatment, none. This is true in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.” Alan describes a variety of well-known barriers, including the lack of sufficient services, limited or no insurance coverage, stigma associated with seeking mental health services, etc. And yet, he proposes that there are many practices and activities that can reduce the symptoms of mental illness and improve overall mental health, well-being, and quality of life. For example, physical activity and exercise, contact with nature, fostering social relationships, and yoga. Alan’s focus is on interventions available in everyday life that have been shown in research to have a positive impact on mental health and which reduce psychological problems.
Now more than ever before, we collectively recognize the interrelation of psychological and physical health. Individuals with physical health problems are at greater risk for developing mental health problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, suicide) than are individuals without good physical health. And individuals with mental health problems (e.g., loneliness and prolonged stress) are much more likely, subsequently, to show a physical disease and die sooner than their peers without mental health problems. Being the classic academic, Alan passionately stresses that what we know from research is important. He constantly asks the readership: What evidence do we have that would support the strategies discussed?
“Psychological processes include how we feel (emotions), think (cognitions), process the environment (perceptions), and act (behaviors). Problems emerge when one or more of these interrelated domains begin to interfere with our functioning in every-day life and continue or are enduring.” “Overall, the weight of the evidence suggests mind-body interventions can have an impact on psychiatric symptoms, with extensive evidence on depression and anxiety but other domains as well…. As with physical activity and exercise, there are key benefits in physical health.” Intriguing questions: How can we capitalize upon the unprecedent advances occurring within the technological fields, including the use of digital apps? What are our constantly changing intervention options? What have other nations learned that we might want to consider?
Our colleague concludes with specific recommendations and proposed next steps. First, select a narrow focus – on one disorder or problem domain perhaps. Build on existing models. And always ensure that identifiable measures are available and in place. Although there is remarkable work going on and at many levels, there remains a huge treatment gap and health disparities in the care of mental health problems. “The treatment gap remains staggering.… The majority of people in need of mental health services receive no treatment. We are not sufficiently reducing mental health problems or directing those in need to treatment options. The challenge is to decide what we ought to do now…. The next step – to show that we can make a difference, if only moving the proverbial needle a little to ensure that more people in need are actually served – is critical.” “Memories are made of this” (Dean Martin, Memories Are Made of This). Aloha,
Pat DeLeon, former APA President – Division 29 – January, 2026