Greetings and Welcome to the New Year 2017!

As your incoming president, I look forward to a year of community building and collective forward thinking. They say “times are changing” but isn’t that true each and every minute of each and every day. The only thing that is constant is changes.  What is important is how we prepare for and respond to the change. My objective this year is to build a network of committed professionals, ready to be pro-active and responsive to national, state and local events that directly impact our regional Dayton community. Collectively, we can build small communities that are task oriented and poised to respond to local events as they occur. We can also anticipate and prepare for broader issues that directly affect our professional practice and the lives of our constituents. In order to accomplish this, my first aim is to grow our representation on the Board of Directors to be more reflective of the constituents we serve. This diversity includes representation from our Early Career professionals to our retiring long-standing peers, as well as our up and coming Interns, active duty military and VA professionals, and representation across other areas of diversity to include racial, cultural, disability and the LGBT community. Via our Bill Box in the Newsletter and Recent Updates in the DAPA newsletter we will keep you abreast of federal and legislative changes that directly impact the scope of your practice. So look forward to hearing from us; I encourage you to respond to invitations to serve in various capacities as we move forward with a proactive and committed presence in our communities. Peace be unto you and the clients you serve!

Rose Mary Shaw, Psy.D.

By Dennis O’Grady, Psy.D.

Accepting Political Friends

Angry facebooking: The enemy of friendship is belittling criticism, cynicism, and contempt. Zingers: No one can make you angry without your consent.

How to Temper Your Temper

The solution: Small acts of deliberate kindness! This will repair the damage done to your friendship bridges of respectful trust and closeness. Stop one-upping and debating before you lose a friend.

Spreading Anger Manure Around Is A Choice

When you sling manure around, you lose ground and don’t smell so good. Hateful words and anger is the enemy, not your friend.

“You’re important to me!”

What to say to ease strained relations with a friend? Some deep, honest and caring mood attitudes to send to a friend to get out of a rut beginning by using their first name:

1. I hope and pray from now on to leave you feeling better off as a result of knowing me.
2. I’ve decided and vowto stop shoving my viewpoints down your throat.
3. I fearthat I’ve hurt our relationship by trashing your cherished beliefs.
4. I’m truly sorrythat I overreacted and behaved inappropriately.
5. I will make sureyou know that I am interested in and appreciative of you.
6. Is there anything I can doto make things better for you?
7. I need youto know that I trust, respect and care for you.

The Math of Mad:  You must send five positives to one negative to get out of a rut—starting now.

Hope is here: You have the discipline to disagree without being disagreeable through kindness to others and yourself when upset, mad or defensive.

Kindness Is the Key

The solution to any conflict-causing upset is you. Be the first one to demonstrate small acts of deliberate kindness—and to keep it up when no response is forthcoming. Are you behaving as your best self and leaving people feeling better off as a result of knowing you?

Temper Your Temper Temperature:

This discipline of love and acceptance requires:

• You must accept that you are co-responsible for the mood and tone in your friendship home.

• You must be the one to stop slinging manure around simply because you’re all swept up during an anger spree.

• You must deliberately make small gestures of goodwill.

• You must send five positives to one negative to get out of a rut—starting now.

• You must change something about yourself instead of trying to change everyone else or the world.

Pals, Communications and Politics

You get to choose pal or politics. Choose wisely. Choose now to use positive and collaborative communication tools by deliberately making small acts of kindness be the friendship norm.

The Ohio Psychological Association would like to offer our support for all those affected by the shooting in Dayton, El Paso, and Gilroy, during the past few tumultuously violent days. Our Association reflects on the friends and family of those killed and injured, those who witnessed the event or helped in the aftermath, and those affected by the news of this unspeakable loss, particularly and now acutely experienced within our own state. During this time, while we appreciate that anger, fear, and grief are natural responses to these events, we hope that each person may also find some comfort and a safe harbor in the circle of friends, family, and community that surrounds them. As many continue to seek answers for these mass shooting events,noting the influence of hate, racial bias, eschewing diversity, we also are reminded, as psychologists, stereotyping and scapegoating mental illness are not a part of this same understanding. Some resources you may wish to share with your colleagues, friends, and community, courtesy of the American Psychological Association and your OPA Board members: · Managing your distress in the aftermath of a shooting · Helping children manage distress in the aftermath of a shooting · How to talk to children about difficult news and tragedies · How much news coverage is OK for children? · Warning signs of youth violence · Gun Violence: Prediction, Prevention and Policy (an expert panel report) · Talking to children about violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers · APA’s Gun Violence Prevention Efforts OPA stands ready and able to support our Dayton area psychology and mental health colleagues in supporting their community in the tragic aftermath and healing. In the interim, we share our condolences to those killed, injured, grieving, or struggling with these endless and senseless violent acts. Your OPA Board of Directors August 5, 2019 https://ohpsych.org/news/464307/Support-for-Those-Affected-by-Gun-Violence.htm