Throughout the United States, there has been a significant need for more mental health professionals from APA’s 54 divisions to lead the way in legislative advocacy regarding mental health policy nationwide. With our current political climate and the increasing amount of school shootings, many Americans feel very stressed and the need to speak to someone, although, they may not have access to these vital services. In August 2017, APA conducted a survey asking about people’s top stressors. They found that the top five stressors for Americans are the future of our nation, money, work, our current political climate, and violence/crime (APA, 2017).
Psychology graduate students from across the country are taking action and getting involved. From educating their local representatives about important mental health legislation, to engaging in social activism, to even leading fellow professionals in advocacy training, graduate students have their eyes on the future. Paul Vespo, recently elected as the APA Div. 16 student leader for the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) works with his fellow graduate student colleagues in New York and shares his advocacy efforts below.
In light of recent national events, school psychology graduate students, practitioners and trainers have stepped up to the plate. The role of a school psychologist has greatly evolved from being the person who administers assessments and collects data to someone who can engage in educational consultation/collaboration, counseling, and crisis preparedness, response, and recovery. Paul Vespo has worked with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) that follows federal public policies/legislative platforms that support students from all walks of life to receive a high-quality public education, enriched with positive learning environments. During the week of Nov. 13-17, 2017, NASP strongly promoted its theme “Power Up! Be a Positive Change” for National School Psychology Awareness Week. Many schools all throughout the country celebrated and engaged in positive school wide activities.
While at Marist College, Paul Vespo engages in leadership activities on a state and national level so that he can advocate for the field. Recently, he accepted a position with APA as Div. 16’s school psychology student leader. Now, he is able to collaborate with other graduate students who are studying different psychology disciplines and not only advocate for the field, but also for psychology as a whole. He also works with other school psychology graduate students and school psychologists for NASP and the New York Association of School Psychologists’ (NYASP) policy development. About a month ago, he contacted all 63 New York State (NYS) senators and 150 NYS assembly members about supporting the licensure bill for NYS school psychologists. Since bullying is still a major problem for students, he is also working as a research consultant with Tom Thelen, one of America’s top anti-bullying speakers, by helping him develop his bullying prevention/intervention program that is being used in schools all throughout the country.
Moving to the west coast, in Portland, Oregon, Roseann Fish Getchell, chair-elect of APAGS, has had a passion for legislative advocacy since her first years in graduate school. While she focused on better understanding graduate student advocacy in her dissertation titled, “Exploring Graduate Student Involvement in Advocacy” she has pursued several interactions with local Oregon legislators to discuss important issues regarding psychologist prescriptive authority, public service student loan forgiveness, and affordable healthcare. She hopes to continue to learn how to advocate for increasing mental health access, especially for the most vulnerable people in our community throughout her professional and personal life.
As we explore graduate students’ efforts in legislative advocacy coast to coast, it is clear that there are many ways graduate student professionals are leading the way for the future of psychology.
About the authors
Paul Vespo is a third-year candidate in the school psychology graduate program at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Prior to this, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a minor in sociology from SUNY Purchase.
Roseann Fish Getchell is a fifth-year candidate in the graduate department of clinical psychology at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, and will earn her PsyD. in August of 2018. She is the APAGS chair-elect and an active member of the Oregon Psychological Association.
References
American Psychological Association (2017). Stress in America: The State of Our Nation. Stress in AmericaTM Survey. https://www.nasponline.org/research-and-policy/advocacy-tools-and-resources/school-psychology-awareness-week-2017/about-the-theme