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Advocacy on Capitol Hill: A Rewarding and Empowering Graduate Student Experience

Francis Deviney and Christine Farmer
APAGS State Advocacy Coordinators for the
APAGS Advocacy Coordinating Team (APAGS-ACT)

Advocate: "a person who pleads on behalf of another… a person who speaks or writes in support of some cause, argument or proposal" (Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1990, p. 12). Webster also reminds us that "advocacy" comes from the Latin "advocare", or "counsel" – a word more familiar to our profession. However, despite its Latin roots of care and counsel, tending to and researching the mental and behavioral health needs of individuals and communities seems a far cry from the political realm. Moreover, many graduate students find the proposition of advocacy, especially when this entails speaking with political figures, a daunting proposition.

Nevertheless, despite some initial misgivings and trepidation, hundreds of psychology students from across the nation have found advocacy experiences to be empowering ones. From letter writing to rallying our peers to speaking with senators, psychology graduate students have practiced advocacy and reaped the rewards. Many of us experienced those rewards for the first time at the APA Convention on August 4, 2000, when 25 visited with our legislators on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. And yes, we lived to tell about it.

Organized by the Advocacy Coordinating Team (ACT) of APAGS and the Public Policy Office of APA, the hill visits were an effort to educate our legislators about the contributions made by graduate students to constituencies all across our nation and to advocate for increased funding for the Federal Work Study Program which helps to support graduate students as they pursue their degrees. Not surprisingly, many psychology graduate students felt strongly in favor of these causes and agreed to set up a visit with one of their state senators. And then the fear set in. Who do I call? What do I say? Do I know enough about current, relevant legislation? These were some of the questions we asked ourselves. The answers were readily available. ACT provided phone numbers of senators, a web site where phone numbers and other contact information could be accessed, and a script of what to say when making that initial call. Easy enough, the calls were made, and this first step was itself rewarding. A senator or legislative aid agreed to meet with me! And all I had to do was ask.

The appointments were made, the dates written in our calendars, and the anticipation began. Again, anxiety crept into our consciousness as the date of our visits loomed closer. APA and APAGS were there to guide us with an advocacy workshop at the convention the night before our visits. During this workshop, we discussed the legislative process, the importance of lobbying, and the specific legislation for which we would be advocating the following day. We role played to better prepare ourselves for our hill visits, and we watched a video representing both an effective and not-so-effective meeting between a legislator and constituent. We left feeling more confident, relaxed, and inspired.

Even still, the idea of meeting with a senator or legislative aid seemed intimidating for first timers. The actual experience, however, was quite the opposite. According to Alfred Amado, a graduate student in School Psychology at Texas A & M University, "the most surprising thing about the visits was . . . the genuine concern displayed by [our representatives which] made us feel like we were really being heard." Many of us were happily surprised by the interest our representatives had in our concerns. In the words of Mr. Amado, "Visiting our Representatives' offices provided them with real life stories to the issues we presented, allowing them to better understand our situation." The beauty of lobbying and advocacy is that the members of Congress and their staffers want to hear what we have to say as a way to stay informed about the issues that are important to their constituents.

In addition to feeling respected and heard during our visits, we left feeling empowered. Michelle Rone from Wright State University School of Professional Psychology commented upon this feeling of empowerment: "I realized that I was making a huge contribution to our profession!" Indeed, by speaking to your senator or representative, you may influence thousands or millions of lives across the country by impacting one vote in Congress. One vote may be all it takes to pass a bill or amendment that will affect a large number of people. We came away from our visits knowing that we had participated in the democratic process and had thereby fulfilled an important civic duty and responsibility.

In closing, we want to encourage our peers and colleagues to become advocates of Psychology. We hope that our recent experiences have demystified the idea of a "hill visit," and inspired you to give it a try. APAGS and APA are readily available resources for you and are eager to advise new advocates. Additionally, over the course of the coming year you may hear from your APAGS State Advocacy Coordinator or Campus Representative encouraging you to engage in various advocacy opportunities. These initiatives will allow you, a knowledgeable and passionate psychologist in training, to use your skills on behalf of those who receive psychological services, as well as for the rights of psychology graduate students. We are confident that if you become involved in advocacy, you too will come away from your experience feeling empowered, responsible, and a critical component to the democratic process!

This article first appeared in the Fall 2000 Edition of the APAGS Newsletter, Vol. 12(3)

 


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