The Public Policy Committee (PPC) is pleased to share some of our recent advocacy work. First, our committee has disseminated two statements of support. The first resulted from a collaboration between the PPC and members of APA Division 18 (Psychologists in Public Service) and APA Division 19 (Society for Military Psychology). This statement, “Psychology Organizations Applaud U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs Move to Add Non-Binary Gender Option on Medical Records”, highlighted the VA’s expansion of care to recognize non-binary veterans. Our collaboration with Divisions 18 and 19 was beneficial in strengthening cross-divisional work in APA and enhancing the coordination of advocacy among divisions. We know that this is a priority for our division and for APA and look forward to more opportunities to engage in cross-divisional advocacy.
Our second disseminated statement, “LGBTQ+ Psychology Group Applauds Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals”, focused on President Biden’s June 15, 2022 Executive Order on this topic. In our statement, we highlighted the importance of improving protections and expansions of rights for LGBTQ+ people, particularly at this time when legislative attacks are occurring in multiple parts of the country.
Members of the PPC also delivered a presentation at the APA Annual Convention in Minneapolis on the topic of engaging in advocacy as a psychologist.
Many thanks to Christina Patterson, Kim Skerven, Sergio Dominguez, and Katy Trotta for putting this session together. The skill-building session was grounded in our need to engage in advocacy as psychologists and taught specific skills including advocating as a graduate student, delivering effective verbal presentations to stakeholders, and creating influential written advocacy materials grounded in psychological science.
The PPC will continue this critical work as we move into upcoming legislative sessions around the country. We appreciate the support of APA and Division 44. Our division’s current president, Christina Patterson, PhD, identified advocacy as one of their key issues for their presidential year. The PPC will continue to collaborate with other divisions in APA and to be a leading voice in prioritizing advocacy efforts. If you are interested in participating in this challenging, influential, and meaningful work, please consider joining the PPC.