Update from Division 53 Representatives to APA Council

Update from Division 53 Representatives to APA Council

By Mary Louise Cashel, PhD & Timothy Cavell, PhD
SCCAP Representatives to APA Council

By Mary Louise Cashel, PhD & Timothy Cavell, PhD
SCCAP Representatives to APA Council

The APA Council of Representatives met in Minneapolis on August 2-4, 2022.  We voted to adopt as policy the following resolutions:

• Resolution on the Imposition of Death as a Penalty for Persons Aged 18 Through 20, Also Known as the Late Adolescent Class. This resolution expressly calls upon the courts and the state and federal legislative bodies of the United States to ban the application of death as a criminal penalty for convicted defendants under 21 years of age.
• 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. Among many other initiatives, this resolution advocates for police officer training, collaboration with mental health agencies as partners, and urges Congress to establish and incentivize states through federal funding mechanisms to implement a federal standard that will substantially limit the authorized use of force and will require accurate reporting by law enforcement agencies when it occurs.

Council also approved sending to general members a proposed change in APA’s By-Laws so that one graduate student member will be added to the following boards and committee:  Membership Board, Board of Convention Affairs, Policy and Planning Board, Board of Educational Affairs, Board of Professional Affairs, Board of Scientific Affairs, and the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest. Inclusion of graduate student members in APA governance is consistent with the association’s efforts to promote Equity and Diversity more broadly. These proposed changes to the By-Laws will go out for a formal vote by the APA membership later this year. 

Council voted to postpone an item titled, Guidelines for Equitable and Respectful Treatment of Graduate Students in Psychology Training. Council members sought to move this item to a future meeting of Council and recommended further review by additional key stakeholder groups. We anticipate revisiting this item at our next meeting in February of 2023. We anticipate that meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. using a hybrid format.

We are pleased to note that Mary Louise Cashel, one of your SCCAP Council Representatives, is on the Council ballot for the Committee on Rural Health. SCCAP member (and a member of APA’s Council), Dr. Mary Ann McCabe, is on the upcoming ballot for APA Board of Directors. The general APA membership has the opportunity to vote for Board of Director candidates at the same time as they participate in the election for APA’s President-Elect. Ballots were sent out in September 2022.

We also note that Dr. Cashel, along with Division 16 (School Psychology) representative, Dr. Lea Theodore, spearheaded an initiative involving APA’s Center for Psychology in the Schools and Education. This innovative collaboration led to the development of a website for parents considering homeschooling their children. The site, which is now live, offers reviews of effective practices and other important considerations for parents.

Tim Cavell, our other SCCAP Council Representative, is the Board of Education Affairs liaison to the Working Group to Recommend an Appropriate Master’s Title and Scope in Health Service Psychology (HSP) that was established by the APA’s Board of Professional Affairs (BPA). This working group was tasked to develop recommendations on the appropriate title and scope of practice for those who attain a terminal master’s degree in HSP. Recommendations initiated by this group will not constitute APA policy and will not be subject to formal review in accordance with association rules. Rather its recommendations will be forwarded to the BPA and may serve to inform activities and initiatives relevant to doctoral and master’s level programs and practice. This working group has been meeting regularly to address the following tasks:

• Develop specific recommendations or options for an appropriate title, as distinguished from doctoral-level practice and not to include “psychologist.”
• Develop recommendations for an appropriate scope of practice for master’s-level practitioners, to be distinguished from doctoral psychologists who practice and supervise with a scope of greatest breadth and depth.