Berks Area Psychological Society About Us History

The Society developed out of informal and casual gatherings
of local psychologists in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Often
these meetings addressed current professional problems on
a local, state, or national level. The need for a formal
organization was sensed by the people who formed the
nucleus for BAPS: Robert Buckalew, Grace Cox, Wilbur
Mathias, Robert Nagle, Emma Poetter, Stanley Smith,
Emalyn Weiss, and Lorenzo Zeugner. Carl Pettinato called for
an organizational meeting in the spring of 1974. The
constitution was adopted September 25, 1974.

In 1975 the Society recognized that the health needs of many
citizens were not being met because the law did not
recognize psychologists as health providers. President
Donald Watkins formed a committee to draft legislation,
known as A Freedom of Choice Bill, requiring insurance
carriers to reimburse policy holders for services whether
those services were provided by a physician or a
psychologist. The committee chaired by Robert Buckalew,
and consisting of Phillip Garrett, LaVern Miller, Stanley
Smith, and Donald Watkins, wrote Senate Bill 320. Senator
Michael O’Pake introduced the bill on February 8, 1977. It
passed the Senate 49-0 and became law in Pennsylvania on
April 18, 1978.
A celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the founding of
BAPS occurred at the May 14, 1999 meeting, during which
time President David O’Connell presented two of the
founding members of the organization, Dr. G. Carl Pettinato
and Dr. Robert J. Buckalew, with plaques recognizing their
roles as founders of the Society.

The society is now in its 30th year and continues to provide
networking, continuing education, and advocacy functions
in the county and state. The organizational structure has
gone through some necessary changes in recent years in
order to function in the most efficient, effective ways. We
have computerized our member information into a database
that keeps track of contact information as well as dues
payments. Thus, it became more practical for the secretary
to be the same person who manages the treasury. Also, we
have more consistently provided food and refreshment at
meetings and we have needed someone to coordinate this
effort, as well as provide other public relation functions such
as contact with speakers and facilitating email
correspondence with members and prospective. Hence, you
will notice a change in executive committee roles below,
with room for additional members to lighten the load.

For the past five years, the executive committee has been
actively discussing and trying out ideas of how to make
organizational membership the most meaningful to
members and provide more of an outreach function in the
community. There are many possibilities for the future of
BAPS, including a web site, a newsletter written by members,
more member participation in PPA initiatives, and creating
different types of networking opportunities for members,
perhaps through email. In order to help BAPS survive and
thrive, serving an important role in the careers of local
psychologists, we need more members to volunteer their
time to assist in organizational functions and lead us in a
meaningful, effective direction for the 21st century. In a time
when the roles of psychologists are changing greatly and
there appears to the public to be less differentiation in
function between psychologists and other professionals, it is
crucial that this organization provides the leadership to
promote the uniqueness of the profession of psychology.