Committed to the Mission: Dr. Joseph E. Comaty on Volunteering with ASPPB
On sustained volunteering commitment, examination integrity, and the ASPPB community.
For Joseph E. Comaty, MS, PhD, MSCP, MP, ABPP, ABRxP, service with the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards® (ASPPB) grew naturally from his longstanding commitment to psychology regulation. His appointment to the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists in 2006 introduced him to ASPPB, where he found a collegial, professional, and deeply committed community that inspired him to remain engaged after his board service concluded in 2011.
Dr. Comaty continued his involvement as an individual ASPPB member and was selected to serve on the Model Act and Regulations Committee (MARC), contributing to the committee through 2017. That same year, he took the chairmanship of the Psychopharmacology Examination for Psychologists® (PEP) Examination Development Committee (PEP EDC), a role he continues to hold.
His ASPPB service has since grown to include the Committee on Exam Coordination (CEC), the Certification Appeals Committee (CAC), the Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC), and the Bylaws Revision Task Force (BRTF). In 2023, he returned to MARC, where he continues to serve as both a sitting member and consultant.
Service Across Committees
MARC reviews and updates ASPPB’s Model Act, Regulations, and Code of Conduct on an ongoing basis, helping ensure the foundational documents guiding psychology regulation across member jurisdictions remain current, consistent, and responsive to the field’s evolving needs. “I love that committee,” he says, reflecting on nine years of service across more than a decade of continuous engagement with ASPPB.
When ASPPB assumed responsibility for the PEP, Dr. Comaty stepped forward to help lead the examination development process. Working with ASPPB staff, he helped establish both a Job Task Analysis Committee and an Examination Development Committee, bringing together the expertise needed to guide the examination through development and ongoing refinement.
The PEP EDC has since revised the examination, introduced two forms of the examination, and launched a sample examination to provide candidates with hands-on experience before sitting for the formal examination.
As the work continues, “We aim to keep the exam current, viable, and legally defensible,” Dr. Comaty underscored.
The committee conducted another job task analysis over the summer to revise the test blueprint and update the examination, supporting ASPPB’s commitment to maintaining the PEP as a rigorous and fair measure of competency for psychologists seeking prescriptive authority.
Through his service on the Certification Appeals Committee, Dr. Comaty reviews appeals from applicants who have received adverse outcomes from the Mobility Committee, considering whether ASPPB policies and procedures were followed and whether a denial should be upheld or overturned.
“I don’t think people realize how many volunteers it takes to sustain the efforts that ASPPB undertakes,” Dr. Comaty says, adding that the examination program is one example. “It could approach 100 people or more that encompass all those committees —just to support the PEP examination,” before considering the full range of additional committees through which ASPPB serves its 66 member jurisdictions. “And then you’ve got all the various committees that people volunteer for,” he says. “It’s an immense undertaking.”
In Dr. Comaty’s experience, that level of engagement is sustained by both the quality of the volunteers and the culture they create together. “The volunteers are really top-notch clinicians, scientists, regulators, legal experts,” he noted. “I have never met a group of people who are so knowledgeable in their particular areas and make such a tremendous contribution to the work.”
The collaborative dynamic found among volunteers is equally meaningful to him.
“Every committee I’ve been on, and all the people that I’ve met have become fast friends, and we work together as a group for a common cause. Everybody is on the same page, and it’s a very pleasant experience, and I can’t say that about having been on committees within other organizations.”
An Invitation to the Next Generation of Volunteers
For those considering involvement with ASPPB, Dr. Comaty’s message is direct. “Don’t be afraid to do it,” he says, particularly to early career psychologists who may feel constrained by competing demands. “Consider running for a seat on your jurisdictional board, get to know ASPPB and the people that are in it. There are many opportunities and calls go out every year.”
He believes the presence of new voices is essential to helping the organization remain current, responsive, and prepared to meet the needs of the communities it serves.
“I think that it would be tremendous to have a continued pipeline of early career people coming into the organization to keep everything fresh and up to date and to give new ideas,” he says.
Nearly two decades after his first ASPPB meeting, Dr. Comaty’s engagement continues with the same sense of purpose that first drew him to the organization. For those who follow a similar path, his assessment is simple: “I think that volunteers will find a very welcoming group of individuals.”
To learn more about those who graciously contribute to ASPPB as volunteers, visit: ASPPB Stories
