Section 4: Empower

The profession of psychology is service-oriented, with psychologists having expertise in assessing stakeholder needs and developing tailored interventions. Through our work, we can elevate the needs and voices of community members and focus on strengthening skills that foster empowerment. Please watch this video for more information.

Read this articleopens in new window illustrating how the perspectives of people living in deep poverty were amplified to more effectively represent the 13-state region of Appalachia or watch this video showing how Mexican-heritage children collaborated in a planning task and programming a computer gameopens in new window. Consider how the perspectives and strengths of people in deep poverty in your own community may be under-estimated, rendered invisible, or silenced by stereotypes or false narratives. Consider how you can center and amplify the voices of people in deep poverty in your local community in order to support them in advocating for policies that more directly address their situations.

 Consider how to advocate for and  create space for people in deep poverty in the areas of psychology that you work in.

• If you’re a clinician, read Placing the Patient Front and Center or Measuring What Matters and Capturing the Patient Voiceopens in new window.
• If you’re a researcher, read Participatory Action Research and Anti-Poverty Community Organizing: Methodological Considerations and Preliminary Findingsopens in new window.
• If you’re an educator, read Honoring Student Experiencesopens in new window.

Advocate for system change within psychology by making social class visible in our science. Consistent with APA’s Office on Socioeconomic Status “Stop Skipping Class” campaign, report participants’ socioeconomic status (SES) or social class in your research articles (even if SES is not central to your analysis) and contact the journals that you publish in or work with to request that SES/social class variables be included for all samples. (See sample letter from the APA Committee on SES [PDF, 146KB]opens in new window as an example.)

Review the following resources on persuasion and advocacy:

• Read Community Tool Box: Using Principles of Persuasionopens in new window.
• Read Community Tool Box: Advocating for Changeopens in new window.

To elevate the issue of deep poverty, contact academic journalsopens in new window to request a special section or volume dedicated to research and advocacy related to economic insecurity and deep poverty, with attention to empowering people in deep poverty.

Psychologists are well positioned to lead deep poverty interventions beyond understanding the causes and consequences of poverty. Psychological science can also be used as a catalyst for addressing and reducing deep poverty.

• Watch Utilizing Psychology to Effect Social Changeopens in new window, a presentation from APA's 2015 Public Interest Leadership Conference.
• Read Psychologist’s Toolkit for State and Local Advocacyopens in new window by the Society of Counseling Psychology.
• Watch Bridging Research and Policy in Nevadaopens in new window Bridging Research and Policy in Nevada by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), APA Div. 9. 
• Watch Strategies for Alleviating Poverty and Promoting Economic Justiceopens in new window by SPSSI.

Continue working with your partner organization from Section 3’s challenges. Learn more about the organization, administrative or other barriers to accessing services, and gaps in resources, capacity or data that the organization is eager to fill. Consider together how larger systematic issues and public policies affect the ability of the organization to meet the needs of its constituents and how you might collectively bring these concerns to local, state and national policymakers. Discuss your expertise and how you can help meet any of these needs either in the short or long-term. Offer to share your CV and/or summaries of relevant papers that you’ve written as this may help the organization better understand your skills. Be sure to ask for any materials that would help you better understand the organization and if appropriate, consider inquiring about a standing meeting to move your collaboration forward.