Colleague Assistance and Self-care

The following documents were developed by APA’s Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance to help individual psychologists and state, provincial and territorial associations to address the needs of psychologists within their jurisdictions.

This monograph with appendices, developed by APA's Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance (ACCA) with contributions from the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB), is intended to alert psychologists; state, provincial and territorial psychological associations (SPTAs); and licensing boards to the range of difficulties a psychologist might face and identify strategies to address concerns before they impair professional practice. ACCA and ASPPB collaborated on the monograph to encourage more SPTAs to develop colleague assistance programs.  

• Monograph (PDF, 312 KB)

• Appendices (PDF, 1.3 MB)

• 2008: Psychologists’ Pursuit of Wellness Across the Life Span — Benefits and Barriers to Self-care Practices (PDF, 412 KB)
• 2009: Who Cares? Barriers, Benefits and Resources in Colleague Assistance and Self-care (PDF, 375 KB)
• 2010: Listening to our colleagues: 2009 Practice Survey - Worries, Wellness, & Wisdom (PDF, 9 MB)

These documents describe some of the stressors faced by psychologists, ideas for how to take care of oneself and how to talk to a colleague who might need some help.

• Stress — Distress — Impairment      

• Occupational Vulnerability for Psychologists

• Professional Health and Well-being for Psychologists 

• Intervening with an Impaired Colleague

• Tips for Self-are