The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABA International) is a nonprofit professional membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

Since 1974, the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABA International) has been the primary professional organization for members interested in the philosophy, science, application, and teaching of behavior analysis.
ABA International provides many services to its membership and the field, including:

    * Events that promote dissemination of the science and provide continuing education opportunities for practitioners;
    * Job placement services that facilitate employment for behavior analysts;
    * Journals that provide a forum to disseminate relevant information and research results;
    * Support of the dissemination of behavior analysis in specific regions and for special interests; and
    * Resources available for purchase on the ABA International on-line store.

ABAI is the leading international association dedicated to developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice. Join more than 5,000 of your peers in the organization that provides a forum for global education and exchange of ideas among professionals in behavior analysis. Use the links across the top to learn more and apply for membership with ABAI.

As an ABAI member you’ll benefit from:

    * New and insightful information in ABAI’s publications – our flagship journal, The Behavior Analyst*, and the membership newsletter, Inside Behavior Analysis
    * Reduced registration fees for the annual convention and specialized meetings
    * Involvement opportunities in ABAI’s committee work and Special Interest Groups
    * A network of peers with whom to share challenges and solutions
    * 24/7 access to ABAI’s on-line Membership Directory
    * Representation for the interests of behavior analysts in government policy making
    * Opportunities to support the involvement of students in behavior analysis
 

Get an up close and personal look to the organization by visiting its official website http://www.abainternational.org.

The Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC) is an academic society that promotes rigorous research directed toward understanding the nature, function, and underlying mechanisms of consciousness.
The ASSC includes members working in the fields of cognitive science, medicine, neuroscience, philosophy, and other relevant disciplines in the sciences and humanities.

Membership
 

There are three categories of membership. Please note the minimal requirements for membership in each of the categories when submitting your application.

    * Student Member - The applicant is a student currently enrolled in a degree in an accredited program. The applicant’s research interests and major project matches with the general research areas promoted by the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness. In addition to the member benefits below, student members are eligible for various ASSC programs and scholarships, including student activities at annual meetings and such.
    * Regular Member - without voting privileges - The applicant has a degree from an accredited University and an interest in the promotion or pursuit of the scientific study of consciousness as defined by the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness.
    * Full-Voting Member - The applicant has a graduate degree in a relevant discipline and at least two articles published in internationally recognised peer reviewed journals or the equivalent in scholarly output particular to the applicant’s discipline. These articles should relate to the scientific, clinical, or philosophical study of consciousness. In addition, members meeting these criteria will be entitled to vote on official ASSC matters such as Board elections and other issues presented to the membership as they arise.

Get to know more the organization by visiting their official website at http://www.theassc.org/.

Those women who wish to get pregnant should avoid getting obese.

She added the key message is to lose weight, prior to conception, and focus on pre-conception health issues.
Recently Luke was awarded the 2009 Scientific Program Prize Paper for her presentation on maternal obesity research at the 2009 American Society of Reproductive Medicine international meeting in Atlanta.
More than 5,000 experts from around the world attended the meeting, which featured nearly 900 abstracts.
Only two were selected as program prize papers.
As part of the research, Luke’s team looked at the effect increasing body mass index had on a woman’s ability to become pregnant using assisted reproductive technology and how obesity affects pregnancy outcomes. They compared outcomes to women with normal body mass index
(BMI of 18.5-24.9). Women were classified as overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9), Class 1 obesity (30-34.9), Class 2 (35-39.9) and Class 3 (40 or greater).

Among her important findings were:

* Women at Class 3 obesity were 35 percent less likely to become pregnant; Class 2 resulted in a 28 percent less chance; 9 percent for Class 1; and 3 percent for overweight women.
* Of the obese women who were able to become pregnant, the odds of stillbirth were increased more than twofold.
* Among live births, the odds of premature birth significantly parallelled increasing obesity: from 16 percent for overweight women to 34 percent for women at Class 3.
Moreover, Luke said those who are thinking about starting a family, must get into the best physical shape possible.
Luke added controlling the factors such as drinking alcohol and smoking can also keep women fit during pregnancy.

The American Psychiatric Association is a medical specialty society recognized world-wide.
Its over 38,000 U.S. and international member physicians work together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorder, including mental retardation and substance-related disorders. It is the voice and conscience of modern psychiatry.
Its vision is a society that has available, accessible quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment.

Members

The APA is an organization composed primarily of medical specialists who are qualified, or in the process of becoming qualified, as psychiatrists. The basic eligibility requirement is completion of a residency program in psychiatry accredited by the Residency Review
Committee for Psychiatry of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPS(C)), or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Applicants for membership must also hold a valid medical license (with the exception of medical students and residents) and provide one reference who is an APA member.

Vision

The American Psychiatric Association is an organization of psychiatrists working together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorders, including mental retardation and substance-related disorders. It is the voice and conscience of modern psychiatry. Its vision is a society that has available, accessible quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment.
 

Mission

The mission of the American Psychiatric Association is to promote the highest quality care for individuals with mental disorders (including mental retardation and substance-related disorders) and their families;promote psychiatric education and research; advance and represent the profession of psychiatry; and serve the professional needs of its membership.

Get to know more about the organization by visiting their official website http://www.psych.org.

The American Association of Community Psychiatrists (AACP) has been working since 1984 as the only national organization that solely represents community psychiatrists.
The AACP had developed guidelines for practice adopted by the American Psychiatric Association.
The AACP had developed a model community psychiatry training curriculum for psychiatric residents.
The AACP promotes community psychiatry issues to the APA, the Mental Health Task Force of JCAHO, the National Community Mental Health Care Council, and other national organizations.

The mission of the AACP is to encourage, equip, and empower community and public psychiatrists to develop and implement policies and high-quality practices that promote individual, family and community resilience and recovery.
It does so through four key activities:

1.Advocating for and partnering to implement resiliency and recovery-oriented services and continuously improving systems for the people we serve, especially children, elderly, and other underrepresented groups.
2.Ceating and sustaining a network of collegiality and support for community and public sector psychiatrists, many of whom work in challenging and nontraditional service settings.
3.Developing and disseminating a foundation of knowledge relevant to community psychiatric practice and community health care based on effective clinical practice and relevant humanitarian and social values.
4.Actively advocating to influence a wide array of health and social welfare policies across all levels of government and service systems, including delivery system design, reimbursement, research, and treatment guideline policies.

The official website of the organization is http://www.comm.psych.pitt.edu/.

The American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry (AAPDP) is a forum for physician psychoanalysts and psychodynamic psychiatrists to exchange ideas, find a voice within the American Psychoanalytic Association (APA) to advocate psycho dynamic understanding in the evaluation and treatment of patients, and take a leadership role in promoting the importance of psycho dynamic training in residency and medical education. Founded in 1956, the AAPDP is an affiliate organization of the APA.
The organisation publishes a Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry.

Mission
 

The American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry is an organization of psychiatrists interested in the application of psycho dynamic psychotherapy in clinical practice and in understanding emotional aspects of culture and art.
The aims of The American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry are:
•To provide a forum for the expression of ideas, concepts, and research in psycho dynamic psychiatry and psychoanalysis.
To constitute a forum for expression of and inquiry into the phenomena of individual motivation and social behavior.
•To encourage and support research in psycho dynamic psychiatry and psychoanalysis.
•To advance the development of psycho dynamic psychiatry and psychoanalysis in all other aspects.
•To develop communication among psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, and their colleagues in other disciplines in science and in the humanities.
 

Learn more about the organization by visiting their website http://aapdp.org/.

The Academy advocates for Board Certification of Counselling Psychologists by ABCoP as a vital professional peer review process that promotes the highest standards of professional practice within the specialization of Counselling Psychology.
The Academy provides information and advocates to advance the interests of Board Certified Counselling Psychologists to the public, professional organizations, universities, health care organizations; national and state legislative and judicial bodies; state licensure boards, and registries of health care providers. The Academy sponsors professional continuing education (CE) for psychologists who are pursuing their Board Certification from ABCoP and CE for ABCoP Board Certified Counselling Psychologists. The Academy also confers awards to recognize outstanding contributions to the specialty of Counselling Psychology.

Those interested to know more about the organization can just visit their official website at http://www.aacop.net/.

There are now more reasons why people should avoid drinking liquor heavily.
A recent study has shown that binge drinking weakens the body’s ability to fight off infection for at least 24 hours afterwards.
Based on the study made by medical experts they discovered that acute alcohol exposure prevents the body from producing certain key-inflammatory cytokines.
Pro-inflammatory cytokines are signalling molecules that launch the inflammatory response to infection.

Better avoid heavy drinking now since it could weaken the body’s immune system.

The researchers noted that the "The time frame during which the risk of infection is increased might be at least 24 hours.
The team of experts revealed a persistent effect of ethanol on cells is indicated, such that inhibition of the response of some cytokines occurs even after the ethanol is cleared.
With this new discovery, it is now high time for binge drinkers to stop their habit or go slow in drinking.
Life is precious it should not be wasted by heavy drinking.

The Canadian Psychological Association was organized in 1939 and incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act, Part II, in May 1950.
Its objectives and mission are: To improve the health and welfare of all Canadians; to promote excellence and innovation in psychological research, education, and practice; to promote the advancement, development, dissemination, and application of psychological knowledge; and to provide high-quality services to members.

The official website of the group is http://www.cpa.ca/.

The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) is the alliance of state, provincial, and territorial agencies responsible for the licensure and certification of psychologists throughout the United States and Canada.
ASPPB was formed in 1961 to serve psychology boards in the two countries. Much of the impetus for its founding related to mobility for practitioners. By consensus, the first step was to create and maintain a standardized written Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). ASPPB has done so since 1965.

Today, in addition to creating the EPPP, ASPPB coordinates cooperative efforts of boards, facilitates communication among boards, maintains a Disciplinary Data Bank, issues a Certificate of Professional Qualification in Psychology (CPQ), advocates for the advancement of mobility by encouraging board acceptance of the CPQ and the ASPPB Agreement of Reciprocity (AOR), maintains a Credentials Verification Program (CVP), and provides a Score Transfer Service. ASPPB acts as a voice for those responsible for the regulation of the practice of psychology.
ASPPB has drafted a Model Act, Model Regulations, a Code of Conduct, and guidelines for the use and/or adoption by state and provincial psychology boards.
ASPPB also generates a number of publications to aid psychology students in preparing for licensure, as well as publications for practitioners. Several of ASPPB’s publications have proven to be of great interest to individuals preparing to practice psychology, to
licensed psychologists, and to academic and private institutions. Two of ASPPB’s most popular publications are Items from Previous Examinations, and Psychology Exam Scores by Doctoral Program (Previously: Educational Reporting Service).

 ASPPB Vision Statement:
 

 ASPPB is the international leader and knowledge resource in the regulation and credentialing of psychologists.

 In order to reach this vision, they commit their efforts to the following four activities:

       1. Offering exemplary examination and credentialing programs.
       2. Providing state of the art programs and services to all our stakeholders.
       3. Serving as the source for the most current and accurate information about the regulation of psychologists.
       4. Advocating for the critical consumer protection perspective in the on-going development of the profession.

Annual and Midyear Meetings
 

ASPPB hosts two membership meetings each year: the Midyear Meeting, normally held in April and an Annual Meeting, normally held in October.
These meetings take place at different venues each year. The meetings feature speakers who are experts in professional regulatory law, testing, issues facing regulatory boards, and administrative matters. The meetings are designed to offer educational and interactive
sessions for psychology board members, administrators, and attorneys engaged in regulating the profession.
The Annual and Midyear Meetings provide an opportunity to gain continuing education credits. ASPPB is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education (CE) credits for psychologists.
The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP).
ASPPB creates and maintains the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). The EPPP is used by 59 agencies in assessing entry-level knowledge to practice. ASPPB has an ongoing research and development program to ensure that the EPPP is valid and legally defensible.

For more information and queries their website is http://www.asppb.net.