Council Policy Manual

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The Council Policy Manual is a collection of policy actions taken by the APA Council of Representatives from 1960* to the present.

Policies

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Education Policies

Policies regarding accreditation, continuing education, competencies, curricula, doctoral and postdoctoral studies, evaluation of students and programs, Master's issues, Pre-K to 12 education, specialties and proficiencies, students, teachers and associate-baccalaureate education.
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Ethics Policies

Policies regarding assisted dying, code/conduct, informed consent, torture/abuse and privacy.
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Governance, Operations and Administration Policies

Policies regarding Council of Representatives, awards/distinctions, Board of Directors/committee operations, business model, central office, convention, divisions, elections, finance/dues, finances/economics/projections, human resources, internal operations/controls, interorganizational relations, meetings/convention, members/fellows, mission/vision/goals, organization of APA, policies/procedures, policy and planning, publications, publishing and communications and SPTAs.
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Health Policies

Policies regarding access to care, autism, dementia/Alzheimer's, health care, health disparities, health service provider, HIV/AIDS, illness/disorder, integrated/primary care, managed care, medicine, obesity, PTSD, sports/exercise and substance abuse.
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International Policies

Policies regarding international psychology, U.N./International law and war/terrorism.
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Legal Issues Policies

Policies regarding advocacy, capital punishment, child custody, defendants/detainees rights, families/marriage, hate crimes, law enforcement/crimes, laws/legislation and interrogations.
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Professional Practice Policies

Policies regarding applied psychology, classification: DSM/ICD, coaching, correctional health, counseling psychology, disaster preparedness/response, guidelines: clinical practice, guidelines: education, guidelines: miscellaneous, guidelines: professional practice, guidelines: public interest, guidelines: science, health information technology (HIT), health promotion/wellness/prevention, outcomes measurement, privileges, psychological assessment/evaluation, psychological interventions (includes methods e.g., therapy, CBT), public education/consumer affairs, recovery, reimbursement, rural health, school psychology, scope of practice/licensure, specialties/proficiencies, standards, and telehealth/telepsychology/remote practice.
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Science Policies

Policies regarding applied psychology, caregiving, climate change, empirical evidence, human-computer interactions, industrial/organizational psychology, psychological science applications, science of testing & assessment, scientific education, scientific integrity and technology.
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Social Issues Policies

Policies regarding abortion, bullying, community policing, cultural sensitivity, discrimination, diversity, end-of-life, environment, gun violence, homelessness, human rights, immigration, media, political dissent, race, religion, schools, sexual harassment, sexual orientation and gender, socioeconomic status, violence/trauma/abuse and workplace issues.
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Special Populations Policies

Policies regarding aging, boys and men, children/adolescents, ethnic minorities, girls and women, LGBTQ, military veterans, persons with disabilities and serious mental illness (SMI).
Date created: July 2019

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Policy Review

All policies that are not standards or guidelines are reviewed every 5 years, per Association Rule 30-9.2:

Association Rule 30-9.2
Policies that are standards and guidelines shall be reviewed pursuant to Association Rule 30-8.4. With regards to all other policies, every five years the Policy and Planning Board will notify the responsible reviewing body or entity of its obligation to review all of the policies recorded in its section of the Council Policy Manual. All such policies shall remain active unless the responsible reviewing body recommends to amend (with proposed revisions), rescind or place the policy in the APA archives. Such recommendations must be approved by Council.

Approved Standards and Guidelines

APA policy includes several standards and guidelines for the education and training, professional practice and science of psychology.

Past Policies

*In 1960, Council voted that "All previous actions of Council that are of a continuing nature be repealed except for those statements of policy that are contained by reference in the proposed Rules of Council." Because of this, no Council policy decisions dated prior to 1960 are included in the Manual.

Visit the Council Policy Manual Archive for past policies that are no longer active.

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