The APA Council of Representatives held a hybrid meeting during the APA convention in August, 2022.
A critical action was to adopt the APA Racial Equity Action Planopens in new window outlining next steps to operationalize the commitments made in the association’s 2021 apology for its role in contributing to racism. Council approved the plan by a vote of 149-8, with 2 abstentions.
The plan is divided into five broad sections: Knowledge Production; Health; APA/Workforce; Training of Psychologists; and Education. Each section lays out priority actions and concludes with a summary of social impact and innovation. As chair of the Child, Adolescent and Family Caucus, I led a group of Council Representatives to meet with Dr. Maysa Akbar, chief diversity officer, to request that APA center early development/childhood in this work going forward.
In a related vein, Council accepted the Health Equity Task Force report (vote of 161-2), affirming that psychology must take concrete steps to expose and mitigate the impacts of systemic and structural factors that affect physical and mental health. The task force report lays out a roadmap for actions by APA, psychologists, and others to address health inequities in education and training, research, publications, and professional practice. Specific to increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of the psychology workforce, the task force calls for creating outreach and recruitment programs aiding communities of color, implementing more flexible training programs to support students with multiple life demands, and promoting culturally relevant methods and principles for health equity research in all psychology programs. The full report is available on APA's websiteopens in new window.
Council passed (161-7, 1 abstention) The Resolution on the Imposition of Death as a Penalty for Persons Aged 18 Through 20, Also Known as the Late Adolescent Class to limit the application of the death penalty based on scientific research indicating that adolescent brains continue to develop well beyond age 18 (the current constitutional limit), and that people’s ability to exert good judgment in times of heightened arousal is not realized fully until sometime after the age of 20. Importantly, the resolution does not imply that full brain maturity is reached at 21 in all cases; rather, the current science can firmly support this age range. Further, the resolution does not support the death penalty. The resolution may be accessed on APA's websiteopens in new window.
Council passed the Resolution on Psychology’s Role in Addressing the Impact of, and Change Required with Police Use of Excessive Force Against People of Color and Other Marginalized Communities in the United States (165-1, 2 abstentions). This resolution seeks to expand training programs to include de-escalation techniques, build stronger relations with mental health service agencies, minimize targeting of people of lower socioeconomic status and encourage officers to restrict when they use force. In so doing, it elevates psychology’s potential to contribute to the dismantling of racism and the promotion of racial equity. The resolution is available on APA's websiteopens in new window.
Council passed a motion (166-2, 1 abstention) designating the third week of April be proclaimed Psychology Week, an annual celebration of psychology that includes “Psychology Day,” recognized by the United Nations community and certain other institutions. APA will share information about Psychology Week with the psychology community and broader audiences leading up to and during that week. APA will also provide information and tools/visuals that other organizations can use to join the celebration.
Council approved a series of motions to add a graduate student member seat to selected APA boards and committees. In accordance with the APA bylaws, the amendment to the bylaws will be forwarded to the APA membership for a vote in November 2022. If approved by the APA membership, an additional seat dedicated to a graduate student will be added to the boards. The membership board will not add an additional seat and instead will allocate an existing seat to a graduate student. If the bylaw changes are approved by the APA membership, beginning in 2025, graduate students would be seated on selected boards and committees included in the bylaws changes.
Finally, APA Council adopted as APA policy (158-1, 6 abstentions) The Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Women with Serious Mental Illness and approved December 31, 2032, as the expiration date. These practice guidelines serve to guide professional behaviors and decisions of psychologists who work with women with SMI (and intersectionality) and provide a “culturally responsive, trauma-informed approach to clinical engagement” with a focus on offering equity of access and outcomes.
All APA members are able to access the Council of Representatives agenda bookopens in new windowlogin requiredlogin required (and those of all boards and committees). Finally, this will be my last newsletter column regarding the Council of Representatives. It has been a great honor and privilege to serve as your representative for the last six years! I believe that Council is more nimble, caucuses are quite active, and division interests are being well served. Our interests will continue to be well represented by our incoming Council representative, Dr. Cindy Miller-Perrin!