About Us

Our Purpose

MAPA is here to advance psychology as a science, as a profession, and as a means of promoting human welfare through organized professional meetings, continuing education activities, affiliations with our state and other psychological associations with similar objectives and aims, and through the building of professional and collegial relationships between and among the Association’s members.

Our Story

MAPA was originally called the Memphis Psychological Association and was founded at a meeting at Memphis State University on January 30, 1976.  Fifty-seven Psychologists attended  this first meeting and elected Sam Morgan, PhD as their President.

The speaker that day was Dr. Jerry Boone, president elect of the Tennessee Psychological Association and the Academic Vice President  of Memphis State University.  He gave information and history about the previous organization which had been called West Tennessee Psychological Association, founded in the early 1960’s, and then discussed the need for the creation of this new organization.  Dr. Michael Lupfer was elected as the second President and at the January 18, 1977 meeting the name was changed to the Memphis Area Psychological Association.  Other Presidents from the past include: Dr. Robert Bloom, Dr. Louis Bueno, Dr. Leon Lebovitz, Dr. Ted May, Dr. Mitt Addington, Dr. Allen Battle, Dr. Howard Jacobson, Dr. Joel Chapman, and Dr. Russ Bolyard.  We welcome anyone who has more information about our organization or our past presidents to provide it to us and we will add it here.

PAST MAPA PRESIDENTS

2025 Gina Prigoff, Ph.D. 
2024 Christopher Ferrand, Psy.D.
2023 Christopher Ferrand, Psy.D.
2022 Eli Reich, Ph.D.
2021 Amy Balentine. Ph.D.
2020 Amy Balentine. Ph.D.
2019 Tucker Johnson, Ph.D.
2018 Amy Balentine, Ph.D.
2017 Chrisann Schiro-Geist, Ph.D.
2016 Joann Raby, Ph.D.
2012, 2014, 2015  Chris Warrington
2013 Glenn Ann Martin, Ph.D.
2010-2011 Janice Pazar, Ph.D.
2009 Dale Kelman, Ph.D.
2007 Paul Leonard, Ph.D.
2006 William R. Gentry, Jr., Ph.D.
2005 Catherine Morton, Ph.D.
2004 Charissa Camp, Ph.D.
2003 David Goldstein, Ph.D.
2002 Deanna Dwen, Ph.D.
2001 Bridget Truman, Ph.D.
2000 Jane Cox, Ph.D.
1999 John McCoy, Ph.D.

Our Board of Directors

Dr. Pam Detrie

Dr. Pam Detrie

President

Pam Detrie, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist who serves as the Director of Student Counseling at Rhodes College.  Pam completed a masters in counseling from Clemson University in 1998 and earned a doctorate in counseling psychology at the University of Memphis in 2002.  Pam’s professional interests are identity development, social skills development, substance use concerns, and working with LGBTIQ+ individuals.
Pam values the importance of joining with individuals in an open and affirming way so they can begin to bring more of their full self into relationship. To be able to provide individuals with support, guidance, and space for transformational change is deeply fulfilling and part of Pam’s life passion.  
Pam also values wellness and the importance of taking care of self.  She believes that to be resilient and stress hardy over time, it is very important to have a sincere commitment to wellness and to life balance.  Pam promotes the importance of wellness by example through exercise, eating well, getting enough sleep, and enjoying “down time” with family and friends. 
Dr. Archandria Owens

Dr. Archandria Owens

President-Elect

Dr. Archandria Owens is a licensed psychologist, founder, and speaker whose work centers collective healing, racial equity, and culturally-rooted mental health care. She leads The Collective Healing Space, a therapy and consultation collective, and HealedGen Haven, a consulting practice supporting Black Americans in the aftermath of racial trauma. Grounded, relational, and deeply called to this work, Dr. Owens blends clinical expertise with lived experience to support both individuals and communities in their healing journeys. 

Dr. Gina L. Prigoff

Dr. Gina L. Prigoff

Past-President

Dr. Gina Prigoff is a licensed psychologist  offering in-person and virtual group therapy for adults and clinical case consultation services for therapists in her East Memphis office.

Her career spans a variety of professional settings, including hospitals, community mental health clinics, addiction recovery centers, college counseling centers, secondary schools, and for-profit and non-profit organizations. Areas of clinical interest include trauma/abuse, grief/loss, addictions, relationship and attachment disorders, disordered eating and career/life transitions. She is certified in Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR™), Brainspotting™, and the Flash Technique™ for addressing trauma-related issues.

Her earlier career endeavors include executive coaching and leadership development, diversity training, and clinical supervison education. Dr. Prigoff has conducted research on interpersonal dynamics in the workplace, as well as presented seminars on the career planning process at the local, regional, and national levels.  She served on the board of the Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee, currently known as Renewed, and has presented on issues related to eating disorders on local and statewide levels.

She is happily married and a proud mom to three sons, a wonderful daughter-in-law, and several beloved furbabies. She cherishes time spent with her family and friends and enjoys traveling, hiking, gardening, yoga, and exploring artistic hobbies.

Dr. Christopher Ferrand

Dr. Christopher Ferrand

Member-at-Large

Christopher Ferrand, Psy.D., LCP-HSP is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who works for Christ Community Health Services (CCHS) in Memphis, TN. Dr. Ferrand works as a primary care psychologist, working within the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model of behavioral health service delivery. He has worked at CCHS Frayser clinic since October of 2016. In addition to providing patient care, he supervises Behavioral Health Consultants at CCHS Orange Mound and Raleigh clinics, as well as predoctoral interns and practicum students. He also services as Director of Behavioral Health Education, where he manages CCHS’s education program, and is responsible to manage APA approved sponsor status and adherence to APA standards for CE events. The mission for this program is to offer high quality continuing education at an affordable rate to mental health providers in Memphis and surrounding regions.

Dr. Ferrand is most passionate about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), process-based therapy, brief interventions, working with patients experiencing suicidal ideation, and access to care issues (particularly, those who are uninsured, or those with insurance who cannot afford co-pays and/or superbills).

Dr. Amanda Gould

Dr. Amanda Gould

Secretary

Dr. Gould completed her graduate degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in neuropsychology at the Univerity of Memphis, and was awarded her PhD in 2016 after completing an internship at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. She then completed a neuropsychology fellowship in the Neurocognitive Assessment Lab at the University of Virginia. She spent five years at Semmes Murphey Clinic, and since 2024 has been the owner of Mind Matters Memphis Neuropsychology. 

Dr. Bethany Spiller

Dr. Bethany Spiller

Treasurer

Bethany Spiller, is a licensed psychologist and co-owner of Grove Park Psychological Associates. Prior to working full-time at her practice, she was a staff psychologist at the VAMC and an attending in the Psychiatric ER at Regional One. She also served as the clinical director of Focus Eating Disorder Recovery Center. Currently, she sees adults in her practice, offering both individual psychotherapy and group therapy services. Her specialty areas are medical psychology, health psychology, and eating disorder treatment. 

Dr. Amy Murrell

Dr. Amy Murrell

Member-at-Large

Amy R. Murrell, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who is licensed with health service provision in Tennessee (and Texas). She is authorized to practice interjurisdictional telepsychology as well. While she is an affiliate faculty member at the University of Memphis and does occasionally teach courses there, she primarily works as a sole private practitioner at Murrell Psychological Services, LLC. Dr. Murrell provides psychosocial – educational assessment as well as individual, couples, and family therapy from an evidence-based perspective – using a functional contextual philosophy and often using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Dr. Murrell has published approximately 50 peer-reviewed articles or chapters on ACT or closely related topics, has given hundreds of relevant presentations, and she is a Fellow of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, which governs these content areas. In addition, Dr. Murrell has authored, or co-authored, eight books.  She is very excited to serve MAPA in this MaL role. 

Jon-Patric Veal

Jon-Patric Veal

Student Representative

Jon-Patric Veal is a first-year student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. He graduated from the University of Louisiana Lafayette with a Master of Science in Psychology. His research focuses primarily on trauma and racial bias, with particular interest in health outcomes for marginalized populations and how bias impacts treatment outcomes. He is also interested in adapting interventions for underserved populations through a lens of cultural humility. Following his doctoral training, Jon-Patric ultimately hopes to open a cross-discipline practice that serves people of marginalized communities through a lens of cultural humility.