Special Section

(Photo: University Communications)

Susan McDaniel, the Dr. Laurie Sands Distinguished Professor of Families and Health and associate chair of the Department of Family Medicine, was elected the 2016 president of the American Psychological Association, the largest professional organization representing psychology in the United States.

A family psychologist, she has spent much of her career working to expand integrative care at UR Medicine. As director of the Institute for the Family, she oversees faculty and fellows working in epilepsy, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, family medicine, geriatrics, and surgery. Residents in those areas learn to address mental health issues as they treat their patients’ physical ailments, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, infertility, and others.

Over the course of 2015, McDaniel has been laying the groundwork for initiatives that she plans to undertake as APA president. Her main focus will be furthering the integration of psychology into areas of health care, eliminating the distinction between mental and physical care.