The following is a selected list of national and state associations and organizations related to psychology. For a more comprehensive list of professional associations and organizations in psychology, see Psychological Societies, compiled by Dr. John Krantz, Professor of Psychology, Hanover College.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
"the leading national professional medical association dedicated to treating and improving the quality of life for children, adolescents, and families affected by these disorders." (AACAP)
American Academy of Clinical Psychology
"The American Academy of Clinical Psychology is an organization of Board Certified psychologists in the specialty of Clinical Psychology who have joined together to promote high quality services in Clinical Psychology, through encouraging high standards and ethical practice in the field." (AACP)
American Educational Research Association
" ... is concerned with improving the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and evaluation and, by promoting the dissemination and practical application of research results. AERA is the most prominent international professional organization, with the primary goal of advancing educational research and its practical application. Its 25,000 members are educators; administrators; directors of research; persons working with testing or evaluation in federal, state and local agencies; counselors; evaluators; graduate students; and behavioral scientists." (AERA)
American Psychiatric Association
"The American Psychiatric Association is an organization of psychiatrists working together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorders, including mental retardation and substance-related disorders." (APA)
American Psychological Association
"the American Psychological Association (APA) is a scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States. With 150,000 members, APA is the largest association of psychologists worldwide." (APA) For links to the 56 specialized organizations and interest groups within APA, see Divisions of the American Psychological Association.
American Psychological Association of Graduate Students
"APAGS is the largest group of organized graduate psychology students worldwide. Founded in 1988, APAGS is now over several thousand members strong making APAGS one of the largest constituency groups within the APA." (APAGS)
Association for Behavior Analysis International
"a nonprofit professional membership organization with the mission to develop, enhance, and support the growth and vitality of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice." (ABAI)
Association for Psychological Science
"The Association for Psychological Science (previously the American Psychological Society) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of scientific psychology and its representation at the national level." "The Association's mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of human welfare.""APS has over 15,000 members and includes the leading psychological scientists and academics, clinicians, researchers, teachers, and administrators." (APS)
Association of Black Psychologists
" ... to have a positive impact upon the mental health of the national Black community by means of planning, programs, services, training, and advocacy." (ABP)
Cognitive Science Society
"The Cognitive Science Society ... brings together researchers from many fields who hold a common goal: understanding the nature of the human mind. The Society promotes scientific interchange among researchers in disciplines comprising the field of Cognitive Science, including Artificial Intelligence, Linguistics, Anthropology, Psychology, Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Education." (CSS)
Midwestern Psychological Association
"The primary function of the Midwestern Psychological Association is to conduct an Annual Meeting at which scientific papers and symposia may be presented." (MPA)
National Association of School Psychologists
"The National Association of School Psychologists represents and supports school psychology through leadership to enhance the mental health and educational competence of all children." (NASP)
Society of Experimental Social Psychology
"The Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP) is a scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of social psychology." "Membership is by nomination and is open to any self-identified social psychologist, regardless of disciplinary affiliation." (SESP)
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
"The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology is a Division within APA that is also an organizational affiliate of APS. The Societys mission is to enhance human well-being and performance in organizational and work settings by promoting the science, practice, and teaching of industrial-organizational psychology. " (SIOP)
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
"the Society is the largest organization of social and personality psychologists in the world. " (SPSP)
Society for Psychophysiological Research
"The purpose of the Society is to foster research on the interrelationships between the physiological and psychological aspects of behavior. " (SPR)
Society for Research in Child Development
"The purposes of the Society are to promote multidisciplinary research in the field of human development, to foster the exchange of information among scientists and other professionals of various disciplines, and to encourage applications of research findings." (SRCD)
ILLINOIS ASSOCIATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Illinois Association for Infant Mental Health
" ... a membership organization of diverse professionals working with infants, toddlers and their families." (IAIMH)
Illinois Counseling Association
See also Divisions of ICA.
Illinois Mental Health Counselors Association
" ... to provide ... information on a variety of issues important to Illinois mental health counselors and to assist counselors to understand the licensing process." (IMHCA)
Illinois Psychiatric Society
" ... a professional organization representing approximately 1,500 physician members trained in the treatment of mental illness. As a District Branch of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the Illinois Psychiatric Society has served as the voice of psychiatry in Illinois for more than 60 years." (IPS)
Illinois Psychological Association
"The purpose of the IPA is to advance psychology as a science and a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare by the encouragement of psychology in all its branches; by the continual improvement of the qualifications of psychologists through high standards of ethics, conduct, education and achievement; and by the increase and dissemination of psychological knowledge through meetings, professional contacts, reports, papers, discussion and publications." "The IPA is the largest professional association of psychologists in Illinois." (IPA)
Illinois School Psychologists Association
"The Illinois School Psychologists Association (ISPA) is a not-for-profit professional association representing school psychologists in the state of Illinois since 1979." (ISPA)
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