The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 146,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It has 54 divisions—interest groups for different subspecialties of psychology or topical areas. The APA has an annual budget of around $125 million.
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how individuals relate to each other and to their environments.
Applied psychology is the use of psychological methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience. Educational and organizational psychology, business management, law, health, product design, ergonomics, behavioural psychology, psychology of motivation, psychoanalysis, neuropsychology, psychiatry and mental health are just a few of the areas that have been influenced by the application of psychological principles and scientific findings. Some of the areas of applied psychology include counseling psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, engineering psychology, occupational health psychology, legal psychology, school psychology, sports psychology, community psychology, neuropsychology, medical psychology and clinical psychology, evolutionary psychology, human factors, forensic psychology and traffic psychology. In addition, a number of specialized areas in the general area of psychology have applied branches. However, the lines between sub-branch specializations and major applied psychology categories are often mixed or in some cases blurred. For example, a human factors psychologist might use a cognitive psychology theory. This could be described as human factor psychology or as applied cognitive psychology. When applied psychology is used in the treatment of behavioral disorders there are many experimental approaches to try and treat an individual. This type of psychology can be found in many of the subbranches in other fields of psychology.
Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. Central to its practice are psychological assessment, clinical formulation, and psychotherapy, although clinical psychologists also engage in research, teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration. In many countries, clinical psychology is a regulated mental health profession.
Counseling psychology is a psychological specialty that began with a focus on vocational counseling, but later moved its emphasis to adjustment counseling, and then expanded to cover all normal psychology psychotherapy. There are many subcategories for counseling psychology, such as marriage and family counseling, rehabilitation counseling, clinical mental health counseling, educational counseling, etc. In each setting, they are all required to follow the same guidelines.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom.
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) is the peak body for psychology in Australia. The APS has more than 27,000 members, making it the largest professional body representing psychologists in Australia. The Society's Code of Ethics was adopted in 2007 and became the Code of Ethics for the profession in Australia in 2010 when it was taken up by the newly formed Psychology Board of Australia. The APS also provides members with recommendations of appropriate fees to charge for their professional services.
The Institute for the Psychological Sciences (IPS) is a graduate school of psychology and an integral part of Divine Mercy University (DMU) in Sterling, Virginia. The institute was founded in 1999 with the mission of basing the scientific study of psychology on a Catholic understanding of the person, marriage, and the family, as well as being an international center for scholarship and professional training. It seeks to educate new generations of psychologists and mental health professionals, as well as open new areas of research for psychological theories that explore the relationship between psychology and the Catholic-Christian understanding of the human person.
Palo Alto University (PAU) is a private university in Palo Alto, California that focuses on psychology and counseling. It was founded in 1975 as the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology and became Palo Alto University in 2009.
The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) is a government agency of the Government of Singapore under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The service runs 14 prisons and drug rehabilitation centres in Singapore. It's responsibilities encompass the safe custody, rehabilitation and aftercare of offenders, and preventive education.
Susan Fiona Dorinthea Michie is a British academic, clinical psychologist, and professor of health psychology, director of The Centre for Behaviour Change and head of The Health Psychology Research Group, all at University College London. She is also an advisor to the British Government via the SAGE advisory group on matters concerning behavioural compliance with government regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, she was appointed Chair of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health.
The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is the largest credentialing organization for psychologists in the United States. Founded in 1974, the National Register was created to identify qualified Health Service Providers. Today, the National Register certifies 11,000 licensed psychologists as health service providers and reviews credentials for doctoral students. The National Register is a 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Washington DC.
The prescriptive authority for psychologists (RxP) movement is a movement in the United States of America among certain psychologists to give prescriptive authority to psychologists with predoctoral or postdoctoral graduate-level training in clinical psychopharmacology; successful passage of a standardized, national examination ; supervised clinical experience; or a certificate from the Department of Defense Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project; or a diploma from the Prescribing Psychologists Register to enable them, according to state law, to prescribe psychotropic medications to treat mental disorders. This approach is non-traditional medical training focused on the specialized training to prescribe for mental health disorders by a psychologist. It includes rigorous didactics and supervised clinical experience. Legislation pertaining to prescriptive authority for psychologists has been introduced over 180 times in over half of the United States. It has passed in six states, due largely to substantial lobbying efforts by the American Psychological Association (APA), the largest professional organization of psychologists in the world with over 146,000 members. Prior to RxP legislation and in American states where it has not been passed, this role has been played by psychiatrists, who possess a medical degree and thus the authority to prescribe medication, but more frequently by primary care providers who can prescribe psychotropics, but lack extensive training in psychotropic drugs and in diagnosing and treating psychological disorders. According to the APA, the movement is a reaction to the growing public need for mental health services, particularly in under-resourced areas where patients have little or no access to psychiatrists.
Adler University is a private university, with two campuses in North America. The university's flagship campus is in Chicago, Illinois, and its satellite campus is located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The university also offers online classes and degree programs online for both masters and doctoral students.
Melba Jean Trinidad Vasquez is an American psychologist who served as the 2011 president of the American Psychological Association (APA). Vasquez was the APA's first Latina president. She has authored multiple works on ethics in psychotherapy. She is in private practice in Texas.
Mental health in Singapore comprises the mental healthcare systems in Singapore and the mental health of people staying in Singapore. Singapore opened its first psychiatric hospital, the Institute of Mental Health, in 1928, and all general hospitals currently have psychiatry departments. Major depressive disorder is the most common mental illness in Singapore, with about six percent of the population suffering from it. Alcohol abuse and obsessive–compulsive disorder are the second and third most prevalent mental illnesses, with incidences of 4.2% and 3.6% respectively. 13.9% of the population in Singapore has experienced either a mood, anxiety, or alcohol abuse disorder in their lifetimes, with more than 75% never seeking professional help. Rates of mental illness have been increasing since 2010, and a large treatment gap exists for mentally ill populations.
The New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS) is one of the professional associations for psychologists in New Zealand. It is the largest professional body for psychologists in New Zealand, providing for both research psychologists and practicing psychologists.
The New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists (NZCCP) is a professional associations for clinical psychologists in New Zealand.
