Carol Williams-Nickelson, PsyD
Associate Executive Director, APAGS
One of the most valuable experiences a graduate student can
acquire as an emerging professional is a sense of connection and belonging.
While APAGS provides students with the necessary and vital link to the larger
world of psychology, State
and Provincial Psychological Associations (SPPAs) can offer opportunities
for more individualized and focused professional embellishment within a smaller
community of psychologists. Membership in both associations optimizes leadership
development through complimentary objectives. In fact, joint membership may be
key in a student’s evolving professional identity. Finding a comfortable home
within SPPAs bridges the gap between the individual and the global professional
affiliation that students gain through APAGS. I would like to highlight some
barriers and benefits students may encounter in SPPAs that impact professional
development. Hopefully this will prompt students to think about how career
progression incorporates both SPPA and APAGS involvement.
SPPAs are fundamental to a psychologist’s professional network
and student participation in state activities builds longstanding, collaborative
and rewarding alliances. In talking with and surveying students, I learned that
the level of student involvement in SPPAs is dichotomously split between
complete uninvolvement and extensive involvement. Reasons provided for
uninvolvement include: a lack of student-specific opportunities, marginal
inclusion, lacking knowledge about the advantages and need to link with SPPAs,
feeling unwelcome, feeling ambivalent about how receptive SPPAs will be to
student ideas and requests, and perceiving that the SPPA is not invested in
being helpful or open to students. Conversely, reasons offered for high levels
of involvement include: feeling warmly welcomed and valued as a member, being
treated respectfully as a colleague, availability of mentoring programs,
providing legislative fellowships for students, including a student / new
professionals track of programming at SPPA conferences, and creating student
positions on boards and committees. Thus, the involved versus uninvolved
distinctions seem to be traceable to SPPAs that give students a voice and those
that do not. Learning how to effectively promote a constituency voice is one
rudimentary step toward professional and leadership skill development.
Students who are visible and participatory in SPPA functions are
demonstrating interest in having their professional growth supported and in
offering important student perspectives. In return, they are usually highly
regarded and their involvement is encouraged and nurtured. This interdependent
pattern of activity constitutes professional development within the context of
SPPAs. I have formulated some fundamental premises about successful professional
development, admittedly based on my beliefs and values. I offer this
conceptualization, which infers an on-going and ever-changing progression:
WHO is it for? Professional development is a continuous
process for both novice and accomplished psychologists.
WHAT is it? Professional development has two crucial
pieces. First, it is the process by which we are socialized into the culture of
psychology. As with any culture, there are unique group characteristics that
include formal and informal rules, rituals, expected behaviors, a common or
unified purpose, and shared values, beliefs and goals. Second, it is any
activity that presents the opportunity to refine or expand present skills.
WHERE does it occur? Professional development can take
place in a variety of contexts and settings. But some environments, such as
SPPAs and APAGS, provide greater accessibility to the types of experiences that
foster professional growth.
WHEN does it happen? It happens when we are interacting
with others, when we have the opportunity to discuss our ideas, to learn about
the musings of others, and to contemplate the meanings and effects of what we do
and how well we do it.
WHY is it important? Personally, this answer is simple.
If we stop believing that we have something more to learn or understand, we
become stagnant and ineffective.
HOW do we do it? For students, we begin to develop
professionally as we build our confidence. In order to build our confidence, it
is helpful to practice behaving ‘as if’ professional status has already been
attained, but in a supervised setting. After all, this is the philosophy of
practicum and internship experiences. This principle can also apply to the guided
practice opportunities students receive in SPPAs.
There are several activities, or guided practice opportunities,
that can benefit students and SPPAs. Some of these activities and opportunities
can be jointly organized. These may include: membership drives, SPPA and
university co-sponsored workshops, convention volunteering in exchange for free
student admission, permitting students to chair and present convention programs,
including student representation on SPPA subcommittees, sponsoring employment
and networking fairs, writing for newsletters, assisting with research,
spearheading or assisting with legislative advocacy efforts, attending board
meetings, retreats and socials, and providing recognition through awards and
scholarships. This list of suggestions is certainly not comprehensive, but it
can be used as a launching point for conversations between students and SPPAs.
Students in SPPAs can profit from the learned wisdom of senior
members and create tailored experiences to address specific professional
development needs. APAGS is a strong, unique and influential force in
psychology, and students enjoy innumerable membership benefits. APAGS is
unquestionably the best avenue for giving a voice to the needs, opinions and
desires of students at the broad national level. This far-reaching impact is
crucial and necessary. At the same time, SPPA membership compliments what APAGS
offers by fostering a sense of local community and serving as training ground
for future leaders in psychology.
This article first appeared in the Summer 2000 Edition of the
APAGS Newsletter, Vol. 12(2)
