Licensed APA members who provide health or mental health services or supervise those who do pay the Practice Assessment to belong to the APA Practice Organization. The base Practice Assessment amount of $140 for 2011 is noted on the APA dues statements sent in September 2010.
Several categories of members are able to claim an "adjustment" that results in a reduced Practice Assessment or no payment due.
For example, early career psychologists licensed for 12 months or less pay $25, while those licensed for 13 to 24 months pay $75.
Members engaged in the provision of health or mental health services or clinical supervision thereof for less than five hours per week pay a Practice Assessment of $85. This adjustment may apply, for example, to an early career psychologist raising a family or to a late-career psychologist winding down his or her practice.
Licensed psychologists who are not engaged in providing any health or mental health services (including supervising those who do provide those services) can elect to pay no Practice Assessment. Such psychologists claim an adjustment on their dues statement reflecting their non-practitioner work settings. These adjustments include: employed solely as an academic administrator or faculty member (e.g., dean, professor); employed solely in a non-health-related capacity by public or private organizations (e.g., research consultant, I/O consultant); employed solely in providing education-related services in an institutional setting. Finally, APA members who qualify for Full Life Status or reduced dues as a result of hardship pay no Practice Assessment.
The list of "Practice Assessment Adjustments" and corresponding payment due for each is included annually in the APA Dues Statement Instructions.
As noted earlier, Practice Assessment monies support the work of the APA Practice Organization, a legally separate entity with a different IRS status than APA. As a result, Practice Assessment payments are not part of your APA membership dues, although they are billed on your APA dues statement.
The APA Practice Organization is housed administratively in the Practice Directorate, which also provides services for the 501(c)(3) APA on behalf of practicing psychologists and consumers of psychological services.
