Call for Public Comments: COPPS Professional Practice Guidelines: Framework for Developers and Users

 APA is seeking feedback from health service psychologists, regulators, guideline development groups, patients and the wider community on its revised Framework for Professional Practice Guidelines Developers and Users. The framework was revised by APA’s Committee on Professional Practice and Standards (COPPS), which is responsible for development and providing guidance on the development of guidelines for providers of psychological services. The revised Framework for Developers and Users serves as a guide to professional practice guideline developers and will replace American Psychological Association. (2015b). Professional practice guidelines: Guidance for developers and users. American Psychologist, 70(9), 823–831.  
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039644 once finalized. 

The current update is being undertaken to ensure that professional practice guidelines reflect contemporary legal, regulatory, ethical, and technological developments, align with current professional practice standards, and address emerging issues. It is hoped that any new guidance regarding guideline development will be relevant for at least the next 10 years so please be forward thinking in your comments.  

 In addition, PPGs are intended to be aspirational recommendations for professional behavior, unlike standards, which are mandatory and enforceable under the APA Ethics Code. However, concerns arise when guidelines are mistakenly treated as enforceable standards, when the Ethics Code is not properly cited, or when aspirational language in PPGs obscures the distinction between recommended and required conduct. This framework aims to reduce such confusion by describing how PPG developers can clearly separate non-mandatory guidance from ethical requirements. However, most PPGs are likely to continue to only include guideline statements and no PPG should establish any new standards. To ensure that PPGs will not inadvertently create new standards but instead only reflect established ethical standards, PPGs undergo a structured review process in which COPPS, the Ethics Committee, and legal counsel will all review draft documents before any document is finalized. 

 By gathering broad input on the proposed framework, APA aims to ensure that the updated guidance reflects current laws and the diverse needs of communities that psychologists serve. When commenting on an existing component of the APA Professional Practice Guidelines: Framework for Developers and Users, please reference that section in your comment. All submitted feedback will be shared with COPPS. 

 The public comment period will be open until Monday, July 20th, 2026. Submit all comments through the APA public comment portal at https://commentinggov.apa.org/.