Blog archive

APA’s goal is to be more strategic and innovative in both who we talk to and how we talk about the value of psychology in addressing critical issues.

The association’s work is coalescing around our strategic priorities and taking APA and psychology to the next level. Three initiatives address climate change, Stress in America, and equity.

Our field offers a truly unique strength: No matter the problem, psychologists’ expertise can usually help solve it. We have the evidence base, knowledge, and skills to make our world a better place on so many fronts, whether it’s addressing behavioral health challenges, helping people manage pain, or guiding industry to develop more user-friendly products and services.

As we advance APA’s strategic plan, some of our most exciting work is building our connections to other groups, which accrue numerous benefits to the association and the field of psychology. That’s why a top priority has been reaching out to organizations to discuss mutual goals.

We are strategically and proactively identifying opportunities to raise the visibility of APA and psychology in the media—and it’s paying off. In August 2019 alone, nearly 3,700 news articles mentioned APA or our journals, with a total potential reach of more than 6.8 billion people. Through our social media posts on press releases and APA in the news, we reached more than an estimated 2.3 million online viewers.

Last week at APA 2019 in Chicago, we witnessed firsthand the new momentum that is driving our organization forward, guided by our new strategic priorities. As so many of our members have told us, there was a palpable excitement at this year’s meeting, which brought together 12,000 scientists, educators, health service psychologists, applied psychologists, and students.

The world's psychologists are looking to APA’s example. That’s the realization that struck me as I accompanied APA President Rosie Phillips Davis, PhD, to the 16th European Congress of Psychology in Moscow earlier this month.

In keeping with our strategic priorities, one of our goals is to help policymakers understand the important role psychology must play in addressing this critical societal issue. To that end, APA continues to weigh in on the separation of immigrant families in the United States.

APA continues its efforts to elevate and advance the strategic priorities that the Council of Representatives adopted earlier this year. One of the priorities is using psychology to make a positive impact on critical societal issues.

As we move forward with the implementation of our strategic priorities, we are being more intentional about tapping into our members’ knowledge and expertise across a broad range of issues. I witnessed firsthand how successful that can be on a recent call with our new Change Management Advisory Group.

APA’s Diversity and Inclusion staff working group has been highly engaged with the strategic planning process to help ensure that diversity and inclusion are well integrated into the new strategic plan.

APA has named its first-ever Chief of Strategic Implementation and Membership. Ian D. King, currently APA’s Chief of Membership Officer, is now charged with overseeing the implementation of our new strategic plan.