Public Interest Draft Policy Statements

The American Psychological Association (APA) is now accepting comments on the following draft policy statements:

• Disability Inclusion: Combating the Stigma and Discrimination of Ableism
• Reconciling traditional Wisdom and Psychological Science
• Mental Health Impacts of Stigma and Discrimination for Transgender and Gender Diverse Children and Adolescents

The draft statements were developed by a Public Interest Collaborative Workgroup which includes members from the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest and several Public Interest committees.

Comments on the draft policy statements are requested by May 7, 2025, with hopes of having the draft statements reviewed and revised for submission to the August Council agenda. 

Your time and feedback is greatly appreciated. 

All comments must be submitted online by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 7, 2025.


Professional Practice Guidelines for Psychologists in the Assessment of Psychological Trauma in Adults  

The American Psychological Association is seeking member and public comments on the proposed Professional Practice Guidelines for Psychologists in the Assessment of Psychological Trauma in Adults. The public comment period closes on June 9, 2025.

The assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been elucidated in prior professional practice guidelines; however, much less attention has been given to the various consequences of traumatic events beyond the limited taxonomy of the PTSD construct. Specifically, antecedent trauma has been shown to increase risk for the development of various psychiatric and physical health conditions across DSM and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnostic categories. Unfortunately, research, education, and training in the clinical evaluation of psychological trauma rarely describes assessment methodology beyond trauma- and stressor-related disorder criteria. As a result, the additional consequences of psychological trauma are often omitted, overlooked, or underappreciated in clinical assessment. Traumatic events have pervasive and potentially enduring biopsychosocial effects. Accordingly, psychologists, researchers, and educators would benefit from becoming competent in conducting trauma-informed psychological assessments. Many psychologists conducting assessments appear unaware of how trauma exposure might manifest, and thus may misdiagnose this vulnerable population, particularly when the trauma survivor is a member of one or more other marginalized groups. There are several compelling reasons why professional practice guidelines are needed to assist clinicians, forensic experts, and researchers in acquiring competence in the assessment of trauma as well as to inform the work of psychology graduate programs in teaching assessment competence.

The purpose of the Professional Practice Guidelines for Psychologists in the Assessment of Psychological Trauma in Adults is to assist psychologists who deliver or train others to deliver psychological services or who support such delivery, regardless of the setting, in understanding how a trauma history and posttraumatic symptoms can increase the complexity of the clinical presentation, evaluation results, and course of treatment. Because training is often lacking, particularly regarding the effects of complex posttraumatic presentations, guidelines provide practicing psychologists and other professionals with information on trauma and posttraumatic distress that is directly relevant to the assessment (and, therefore, treatment) of traumatized adults. 

All comments must be submitted online by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 9, 2025.

 

Guidelines for Psychology’s Role in Pediatric to Adult Health Care Transition

The American Psychological Association is seeking member and public comments on the proposed Guidelines for Psychology’s Role in Pediatric to Adult Health Care Transition. The public comment period closes on June 6, 2025.

About 40% of children and adolescents have a chronic health condition, and most of these children will survive into adulthood. These youth face challenges assuming greater responsibility for their health and navigating the health care system, as they must transfer from pediatric to adult care through a process known as health care transition (HCT). During this process of transitioning to adult focused medical care, the goal is for the patient to develop more autonomy and maturity to manage their health and prepare for engaging in adult-oriented health care. Ideally, it involves collaboration among the patient, caregiver(s), and multidisciplinary health care team members, including psychologists, representing pediatric and adult medicine. The complexity of the HCT process calls attention to the role of psychologists, given their various areas of expertise. Psychologists have increasingly become part of HCT programs to provide assessment, intervention, and consultation/coordination, as well as to conduct research, program development, and quality improvement. Given studies demonstrating that a structured HCT process can improve health outcomes for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with medical conditions, these Professional Practice Guidelines are intended to provide psychologists working with this population with a foundation for best practices in supporting these youth and their families during the HCT process.

These guidelines are primarily intended to educate and inform health and pediatric psychologists who would benefit from guidelines on how to successfully serve on multidisciplinary teams when working with AYAs with medical conditions to facilitate patients’ access to services, promote health equity, and support positive health outcomes during the HCT process. These guidelines may also assist psychologists and others in leadership roles who are advocating for expanded roles for psychologists within healthcare systems and in systematic changes to support this work. Lastly, other non-psychologist health care professionals may use these guidelines to understand and include the role of psychologists in the process of transitioning from pediatric to adult-oriented care more adequately. While specific components of these guidelines may be more or less relevant for each of the aforementioned groups, we believe that the guidelines overall are essential for all groups to understand in the context of the psychologist’s role in HCT.

All comments must be submitted online by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 9, 2025.


Guidelines for Psychologists’ Involvement in Pharmacological Issues

The American Psychological Association is seeking member and public comments on the proposed APA Guidelines for Psychologists’ Involvement in Pharmacological Issues. The public comment period closes on June 9, 2025.

Since the Practice Guidelines Regarding Psychologists’ Involvement in Pharmacological Issues were first published in 2011, psychologists’ involvement in pharmacological issues has expanded markedly. Informal estimates are that psychologists licensed or credentialed to prescribe psychotropic medication in 2011 was in the dozens compared to over 300 today. Moreover, approximately 1500 psychologists have completed the master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology, which is required to gain prescriptive authority at the state level. The expansion of prescriptive authority for psychologists, as well as the increasing recognition of non-prescribing psychologists’ role in psychopharmacologic consultation, has led to a corresponding growth in research and practice articles on prescriptive authority for psychologists. The developing literature base provides evidence that suggests psychologists practicing clinical pharmacotherapy have a comparable safety record to other prescribers, improve access to underserved and general populations, and have adequate training to provide these services.

These guidelines are intended to provide a resource for psychologists interested in factors related to optimal practice in pharmacotherapy. Some of the guidelines presented in this document are targeted specifically to the population of psychologists with prescriptive authority. Others are considered relevant in any case where the psychologist is actively involved in decision making, whether as a prescriber or collaborator. Still others are considered applicable any time a psychologist is involved in the practice of pharmacotherapy, whether as a prescriber, collaborator, or information provider. Given the unique elements of the population of psychologists who can prescribe on the one hand, and the frequency with which psychologists participate in collaborative and information-providing activities on the other, it was considered important to provide guidelines appropriate to each set of activities.

All comments must be submitted online by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 9, 2025.

Professional Practice Guidelines: Diagnosis of Intellectual Disability in Forensic Settings

The American Psychological Association is seeking member and public comments on the proposed Professional Practice Guidelines: Diagnosis of Intellectual Disability in Forensic Settings. The public comment period closes on June 10, 2025.

The diagnosis of intellectual disability (ID) involves a comprehensive evaluation, most often carried out by a psychologist, to determine if an individual’s intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior are significantly subaverage and, if so, whether these deficits originated during the developmental period (i.e., before the age of 22 years). In forensic settings, these three core diagnostic criteria of intellectual disability have come to be known as the three diagnostic "prongs" of intellectual disability. Given that these evaluations are retrospective, heavily scrutinized and require psychologists to be facile in both forensic assessment and intellectual disability, recommendations regarding how to carry out this evaluation in such a unique context is important. In addition, some of the methods of evaluation that are typically employed in a community setting cannot always be employed in the context of a forensic case.

The purpose of these Professional Practice Guidelines is to provide guidance to evaluators who are conducting evaluations of ID in forensic settings. Specifically, these professional practice guidelines identify the current national consensus on the diagnostic criteria defining intellectual disability, the clinical approach to assessing for significant deficits in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior as well as the age of onset of these significant deficits, and important factors to consider when conducting a determination of intellectual disability in a forensic context.

All comments must be submitted online by 11:59 pm Eastern Time, June 10, 2025.