Who We Are

 

The Foundation of Rehabilitation Psychology (FRP) was founded in 2005 to “enhance health, independence, and quality of life throughout the lifespan…through education and research in the field of Rehabilitation Psychology”. Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 2008, the organization’s mission and vision have evolved over time and are now the following:

MISSION: ADVANCING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DISABILITY AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS

VISION: IMPROVING SOCIETY BY MAKING THE FOUNDATIONAL INSIGHTS OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DISABILITY AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS COMMON KNOWLEDGE

An endowment was initiated in 2005 to support FRP initiatives intended to achieve that mission and vision and now amounts to over $250,000. Current FRP activities include providing a source of financial support for the annual mid-Winter meeting of Division 22, encouraging the growth of the field through financial support to promising students via dissertation and Mid-Winter meeting research awards, and identifying and promoting a series of classic publications which provide the scholarly foundations for our specialty. The Foundation remains actively engaged in fund raising with the goal in mind of increasing the endowment used to support those initiatives.

The Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology has established two special funds that honor two other individuals with notable contributions to Rehabilitation Psychology.

  • The Bernard Brucker Continuing Professional Educational Fund supports the Rehabilitation Psychology annual meeting. Dr. Brucker was a President of Division 22, a founding member of FRP, and a founding member and President of the American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology. He was also an innovative researcher and internationally renowned speaker until his death in 2008. Donations to this fund are dedicated in their entirety to support the midwinter meeting.

  • The Leonard Diller Dissertation Award Fund was created this year following the death of Dr. Leonard Diller. The fund supports recognition of dissertations that reflect the principles of neurorehabilitation as advanced by Dr. Diller. Leonard Diller is widely credited with being a founder of American neurorehabilitation and was a leader among clinicians who did not accept the thinking of the time that impairments following acquired brain injuries were permanent and irremediable. Donations to this fund are dedicated in their entirety to support the Diller Neurorehabilitation Dissertation Award.

Additionally, the Mitchell Rosenthal General Fund provides funds to support the general operations of the Foundation, including support of graduate students, early career psychologists and other activities that advance the future of our specialty. Dr. Rosenthal was a President of Division 22 and a founding member and President of FRP until his death in 2007. He was also a founding member and President of the American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology. He was a world-renowned leader in the field of brain injury rehabilitation as a researcher, writer, and mentor to hundreds of students and colleagues.

SUPPORT THE FOUNDATION

Your contribution to FRP ensures that the foundation’s mission is achieved. Initial donors helped the foundation achieve its first milestone of raising $250,000. Your gift will help the foundation toward its intermediate goal of $500,000, which will in turn allow the foundation to provide more support to the division for research and training.