2022 Annual Report for the Committee for Global Psychology

• 2023 Co-chair: Sheena Walker, PhD
• 2023 Co-chair: Linda Woolf, PhD
• Mia A Bergman PhD, ABPP (2022)
• Ayşe Çiftçi, PhD (2022)
• Julie Koch, PhD (2024)
• Elizabeth Louis, PhD (2024)
• Anjhula Mya Singh Bais, PhD (2024)
• Sunita Stewart, PhD, ABPP (2022)
• Hana Suzuki, PhD (2023)

The Committee for Global Psychology enjoyed a productive 2022, including providing input to many draft policies and guidelines, selecting APA awardees, hosting a session at convention, coordinating with the United Nations (UN) team, and updating Association Rule 90.2, which governs the committee. Highlights are provided below. For more details, please contact staff liaisons Amanda Clinton, PhD or Gabe Twose, PhD.

CGP met virtually 11 times during 2022, with subgroups and other communication taking place between meetings, as well as an in-person dinner for members who attended the APA convention in Minneapolis. Over the course of the year, the committee engaged in a number of activities:

• Awarded the 2022 Outstanding Dissertation Award to Laura Minero, PhD
• Recommended that the Board of Directors:
  • Provide the 2023 Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology to Judith Butler, PhD
  • Provide the 2023 International Humanitarian Award to Garth Neufeld, MA

CGP provided input into:

• Principles for Quality Undergraduate Education in Psychology
• Professional Practice Guidelines for Operational Psychology
• Rehabilitation Psychology Specialty Petition
• International Psychology Network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Issues Statement and Commitment
• Guidelines for the Practice of Telepsychology
• Guidelines for the Practice of Parenting Coordination
• Guidelines for the Treatment of Complex PTSD in Adults
• Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Quality Continuing Education and Professional Development

CGP oversees APA’s team of representatives at the UN, which holds Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council and is associated with the Department of Global Communications. More details on APA’s activities at the UN are available in their annual report.

• Irina Feygina, PhD, APA’s lead representative to the UN, attended all CGP meetings and provided updates on the work of the UN team
• Elizabeth Louis, PhD, served as CGP liaison to the UN team. Louis attended all meetings of the UN team and provided input to their work on behalf of CGP.

CGP welcomed liaisons from across the APA governance system who were invited to attend committee meetings and participate in listserv discussion. The committee chairs sent a letter to all liaisons to guide their participation.

CGP welcomed liaisons from:

• The Board of Directors, the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students, the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, the Board of Scientific Affairs, the Membership Board, and the Policy and Planning Board
• The Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, the Committee on Early Career Psychologists, the Committee on Socioeconomic Status, the Health Equity Committee, and the Committee on Women in Psychology
• Divisions 1, 10, 12, 19, 22, 26, 29, 32, 33, 38, 39, 44, 52, 54, 55, and 56
• The Council Caucus on Promoting Global and Human Rights Perspectives

The Council of Representatives voted to:

• Change the name of the Committee on International Relations in Psychology to the Committee for Global Psychology, reflecting the broad mandate of the committee.
• Enable international affiliate members of APA to serve on the committee, expanding the pool of eligible global experts.

CGP held roundtable discussions on a global perspective at the APA convention, which provided valuable information for the committee’s future planning.  Some of the major themes from the dialogues included:

• A global perspective is central to psychology’s identity
• The world is becoming globalized—we are inextricably interconnected.
• We can’t solve big global challenges (e.g., climate change) if we don’t look beyond our borders.
• We must facilitate the membership and participation of people around the world (e.g., language accessibility, payment options).
• We must explain why a global perspective is important even in the face of other immediate challenges.
• We must use concrete projects to illustrate the benefit of a global perspective, as it is otherwise quite a diffuse concept.
• We must keep in mind issues of equity when collaborating with international colleagues and associations.

• CGP wrote to the Needs Assessment, Slating, and Campaigns Committee, suggesting that the Board of Directors seek international expertise. CGP was pleased to see that this recommendation was acted upon by the BoD, whose call for Member at Large nominees included expertise in “global, international, or peace psychology”
• A CGP member participated in the selection of the American Psychological Foundation 2022 Henry David Research Grant
• CGP selected slates and forwarded nominations for the 2023–2025 Committee members to the Elections Committee
• CGP submitted questions for APA presidential candidates about their involvement in global issues
• CGP began an internal review of APA policies relevant to human rights.  This work endeavors to identify gaps in APA policy addressing human rights and then make recommendations to develop foundational policies grounded in UN Conventions, Declarations, Resolutions, etc.  The work builds on the Final Report of the APA Task Force on Human Rights and the APA Resolution on APA, Psychology, and Human Rights. This project will be completed in 2023.
• CGP began working on a notecard to disseminate to Boards and Committees on what it means to take a global perspective. The aim is to encourage governance groups to proactively consider these issues as they are developing work products rather than reacting to feedback from CGP later in the review process. This project will be completed in 2023.