Ten years ago the Society commenced a deliberate policy shift to become more externally focused through greater advocacy for psychological services and the application of psychological expertise to address community concerns. There is no doubt that the last decade has seen unprecedented interest in psychology by government, other professions and the public, and that enormous strides have been made, the most remarkable of which has been the extension of Medicare rebates to services provided by psychologists. Other significant achievements are the level of influence the APS now has through representing psychology on government advisory committees and other key bodies, the voice of psychology contributing expertise to major community concerns such as the trauma resulting from natural disasters and Indigenous disadvantage, and the facilitation of a high degree of media interest in psychological topics.
This shift towards a more external focus for the Society over the last decade has coincided with a substantial increase in the APS membership, and the Society’s now 20,000-strong, powerful voice has demonstrably facilitated the successful advocacy and achievements. The significant growth in the Society brings with it an increasingly diverse membership, and in order to maintain a strong and united voice it is imperative to focus on identifying and responding to the diverse needs of all categories of APS members. Therefore, although the external advocacy activities of the Society will remain a key priority, the Board has recently approved a number of changes that will refocus attention on the more immediate and practical needs of members across their diverse work contexts. This is aimed at ensuring that all members – be they specialist or non-specialist practitioners, public or private service providers, researchers or teachers of psychology, or postgraduate or fourth-year students – are benefitting from the strength of the APS.
Establishment of new Divisions to represent various member categories
As part of the governance review of the Society, the recent work of the APS Constituent Units Review Committee investigated whether alternative structures might better meet the needs of the Society to ensure the APS fulfils its primary function of serving its members. In particular the Committee considered how to give greater representation to all members, particularly non-specialist psychologists and academics and educators who do not have a particular ‘home’ within the current member group structure. The Committee also considered the growing number of student members of the APS and how to meet this group's varied needs.
The Review Committee recommended a new Divisional structure, now approved by the APS Board, that captures both the practice and discipline of psychology, caters for the growing diversity within the APS membership, and provides all members with equal representation. Three new formal Divisions will be established within the Society to ensure that all categories of members have a forum and structure with which to engage to make policy and practice recommendations, and to facilitate communication throughout the APS. A new student/trainee group will be associated with each Division to provide a forum for student members of the Society. The three new Divisions will be:
- Division of Specialist Psychological Practice
Student/trainee group: students undertaking professional postgraduate training
- Division of General Psychological Practice
Student/trainee group: psychology interns undertaking 4+2 or 5+1 training
- Division of Research, Education and Training
- Student/trainee group: students undertaking Honours and postgraduate research degrees
This new structure will ensure that there is a voice for all sections of the APS membership, and will enable tailored advocacy and policy preparation, and the development of resources and initiatives to suit their particular needs.
The functions and processes associated with the new Divisions within the Society are still being finalised, but they will have a direct conduit to the Board of Directors and National Office through regular meetings with the Executive Director and President, as currently happens with the College Chairs’ Forum. It is hoped that all APS members can find a place within one of these Divisions to have their particular needs represented and promoted, in addition to their affiliation with other member groups such as Branches, Colleges and Interest Groups.
Refining the mission statement of the APS
The APS Board has recently approved a subtle change to the mission statement of the APS, which has been: “to represent, promote and advance psychology within the context of improving community wellbeing and scientific knowledge”. The APS mission statement has been slightly revised to read: “The APS is dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of psychology for the benefit of its members and the communities they serve.”
This refinement to the mission statement ensures that members are at the centre of all of the work of the APS. While some might consider these to be merely words, the organisation’s stated mission does set an important compass point for the Society in the context of a growing and changing discipline and profession – as well as an increasingly diverse membership – and represents a refocussing on the ultimate benefits to the members who give the APS its strength.
Evolution of the APS logo
As part of the changes to ensure that all APS members benefit from the strength of the Society, an initiative to enable greater recognition of the APS postnominals (Hon FAPS, FAPS, MAPS, Assoc MAPS) that signify belonging to the peak professional organisation for psychology has commenced. This has entailed an evolution of the APS logo so that it more prominently displays the APS acronym that is used in the postnominal letters, while still retaining links to the previous logo. The ‘refreshed’ logo reflects the APS history as a learned society through the retention of the ‘tree of knowledge’, but provides a more forward-looking image and prominent APS acronym that will assist in increasing awareness of the meaning of APS members’ postnominals.
The refreshed APS logo was launched at the APS Conference and will gradually be incorporated across all APS communications materials, resources and stationery. The launch of the refreshed logo also marks the commencement of a new initiative to enable APS members (those holding the grade of Associate Member and above) to use the APS logo with their own signature or branding to indicate that they are an APS psychologist, representing the attainment and maintenance of the high standards required for membership of the Society. More information on this initiative will be available to members in the coming months.
The Board believes that the launch of the refreshed APS logo will provide the momentum to assist the APS to better promote the interests of psychologists and psychology in Australia. Coupled with the restructure to enable representative Divisions within the Society to faciliate more tailored advocacy and resources, it is hoped that these changes will lead to better promotion and representation of the diverse interests and work of all APS members, and that together we can continue to strengthen the voice for psychology that has facilitated greater community awareness of and access to psychological expertise.