Before I came to APA, I worked for nearly seven years as a psychologist in the department of pediatrics at MetroHealth Medical Center, the main public hospital in Cleveland. One of my favorite metaphors to use in therapy with adolescents was a bridge
when talking about trust, an issue that many adolescents and parents struggled with.
"Trust is a bridge between you and your parents," I would say. "Everything that either side does either adds to or takes away from the bridge's stability." I'd use Legos to build a bridge and demonstrate how removing one brick from the central support could make the bridge substantially weaker. Then I would talk with my patients about how their actions either strengthened or weakened the bridge.
By now, many of you have heard about the Hoffman report, the independent review APA commissioned to explore its involvement in interrogations with the Department of Defense. The report concluded that some APA officials worked with DOD officials to have APA issue loose ethical guidelines for military psychologists participating in interrogations in national security settings. (To read more about the report and the reaction to it, see the September Monitor.)
I'm sure many of you have had a variety of reactions, possibly including anger, disappointment, frustration and sadness. I had many of those reactions as I read the report. As written by Dr. Susan McDaniel and Dr. Nadine Kaslow, members of the Special Committee for the Independent Review, "What happened never should have."
What the Hoffman report revealed has certainly damaged the trust that members have in APA. So the question remains, how do we move forward?
Simply put, we need to rebuild the bridge. We need to earn your trust again.
The staff who serve APAGS (Eddy Ameen, Heather Dade and I) are passionate about our office's mission to "build a better future for psychology by serving as a united voice to enrich and advocate for graduate student development." We believe wholeheartedly in this mission, and aim to continue to support the needs of our graduate student members. Our work remains focused on the issues that are most important to students:
The internship crisis
We are continuing to work on projects that will increase the number of accredited internships. Our biggest project right now is advocating on reimbursement for health-care services provided by interns, which is a state-by-state effort. If hospitals and health centers can be reimbursed for services that interns provide, this can result in sustainable funding for internship sites.
The new APAGS journal
Translational Issues in Psychological Science, launched last spring, provides many important opportunities for students to be involved in the editorial process. Students may serve as reviewers, associate editors and on the editorial board — excellent opportunities for science-oriented APAGS members.
Leadership opportunities
APAGS provides numerous opportunities for its members to develop leadership skills, through participating on the full committee (deadline to apply is early January), on our five subcommittees, through our Campus Representative network, and through the new Psychology Student Leader Network, a Listserv to support psychology students in leadership both within and beyond APA.
Grants for students
APAGS continues to support graduate student research and professional development through our numerous grants, including the Basic Psychological Science Research Grant (deadline for applying is Dec. 2). View a listing of all APAGS grants.
Right now, the bridge of trust between APA and members has been damaged. Our goal is to rebuild that bridge by continuing to provide the critical services that psychology graduate students need. Our vision is to create the highest quality graduate training experience for you. We look forward not only to repairing that bridge, but to working with you to build an even stronger APA to secure psychology's future.