It’s never too early to start planning the NYSPA convention.   That’s the advice I received and the advice I’m giving away.  The convention has so many details to arrange: place, times, programs, keynote speakers, hotels, meals, charges. Lucky for me and every president, before and after, our central office staff, Dee, Lori and Sara work tirelessly to set it all up. 

The  convention is where I started my involvement  in NYSPA, meeting  a broad range of colleagues, some new to the profession and others long-established,  attending the wide array of interesting and informative programs and feeling really connected to our profession.  Year after year I found that I’d walk away with important and tangible knowledge that I could use in my practice.  I still remember a terrific hypnosis program, given by Dr. Daniel Araoz, in which the entire room (40 or 50 people) experienced a trance together and then learned how to induce it.  In other years, Dr. Jeff Carmen talked about methods to treat migraine, Dr. Shane Owens brought us up to date on suicide prevention research, and Dr. Peter Kanaris discussed the latest in sex therapy.   Some of these presenters will be back at this year’s convention and I can’t wait to attend. 

My hope for this year’s event   is to provide convention goers with useful information about techniques and target populations to help them develop and enhance   their practice,  gaining the skills and expertise to do that.   I also want members to  expand their understanding  about the political challenges we face and  how to address them.  Whenever possible, we must all be advocates for our field.   Finally, my hope is that those present will take initiate new relationships that  will help more strongly unify  us as an organization.  .  So, if you see a new face, invite the person  to join you, sit next to them and make them feel welcome.  They are tomorrow’s NYSPA leaders.

I’m very excited to announce that we have hired a new Executive Director, Deb Martinez, who is planning to attend the convention.  This will be a great opportunity for her to meet us and for us to welcome her on board.  And for those of you who haven’t already done so, you can meet Dee Fisher-Golden, Sara Wheeler and Lori Cote, people whom you may only know as voices on the phone. 

And I hope you will come up and talk to me, as well.  The best part of convention is reconnecting with colleagues and friends from all over the state.

See you at Convention.

NYSPA President

Herb Gingold, PhD