SPSSI Report from APA Council Representative

Sonji Jones-Manson, SPSSI APA Council Representative

This report is submitted to the SPSSI membership and covers APA activity at the August 2024 Council of Representatives (COR) meeting. 

APA’s COR, the legislative body of APA, is composed of division representative (SPSSI is Division 9), representatives of state, provincial and territorial psychological associations (SPTA), and APA’s Board of Directors.  I appreciate your election of me as the APA Division 9 COR representative and look forward to my continued service in 2025 alongside the  newly elected Division 9 COR member, Ryan Pickering, Ph.D., who will join me on the council floor in 2025.

APA COR passed Individual, Collective, and Intergenerational  Trauma Recovery: Considering the Restorative Roles  of Restitution and Reparations, APA’s first resolution on reparations and restitutions to address intergenerational and collective trauma, with 66.8% of Council’s support. It defines the types of trauma covered and calls on APA “to convene a task force to initiate, support and disseminate a report based on psychological science examining the benefits of collective reparations”.  The resolution acknowledges APA’s limitations in determining the appropriate type of restitution, stating it is best left to collective determination “by victims and (federal and/or state) governmental and/or human rights officials and entities.”.  COR members who crafted this item acknowledged the limited research under the terms “reparations” or “restitution” while asserting that our psychological science demonstrates their impact in healing, recovery, and post-traumatic growth.

Council passed APA statement: Calling for an Immediate, Permanent,  and Comprehensive Ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza Conflict with 63.8% of Council’s support.  The statement is intended to help the public understand psychology's relevance to human rights. This resolution gives voice to the world’s largest psychological association in calling for a ceasefire. COR members crafted a resolution that a diverse legislative body could support, uses psychological science, and focuses on a solution to the conflict rather than advocating for or criticizing the parties involved in the conflict.  

The Association of Jewish Psychologists (AJP) withdrew their motion for APA Affiliate status with a designated seat on COR along with other associations for minoritized populations.

Other approved council actions will be available on the APA website including: 

• Unanimous support for the report and the resolution by APA President Dr. Cynthia de las Fuentes’ presidential task force which addressed critical issues related to immigration and health, updating the 2012 APA report, Crossroads: The Psychology of Immigration in the New Century. 
• Adoption as policy of  APA’s AI statement about psychology’s impact on artificial intelligence and vice versa, laying the groundwork for additional psychological research and analysis. 
• A statement on the human rights of girls and women, a call to action for APA and psychologists to enhance awareness of violations of girls’ and women’s rights.
• Clinical practice guidelines on:  Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Adults*, Adults with Complex Trauma Histories* and PTSD and Traumatic Stress Disorder*, Telepsychology, Child Protection Matters, K-12 Behavioral Projects with Nonhuman Animals.

*Not on APA website at the time of this report.

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