April 2025 | ANA Equity & Advocacy Bulletin by Ananya Ruth Samuel
Dear ANA Community,
Please see the April 2025 Equity & Advocacy Bulletin below. Find more information about our current members, their backgrounds, and positions here.
ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES TO TRACK
From APASI (APA)
This year has begun with a lot of drastic policy changes and political divide, which are creating significant roadblocks for psychologists on all the various arenas of research, training, and clinical practice. During this, the American Psychological Association (APA) has provided multiple resources for members of the larger psychology community to help navigate this confusing time on all regards. One of these resources includes a portal that is geared towards hearing directly from those who are being affected by these ongoing policy changes. APA is committed to using this information to educate policymakers, in reflecting back the real-life impact of the policies, while advocating for a helpful and positive impact on the workforce. You can access this resource by accessing this link: Tell us how you are being impacted.
CONGRESS UPDATES IN 2025
Congress has finalized the fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations, resulting in overall reduced funding with major cuts in key health and education programs, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. The American Psychological Association (APA) has expressed concern over these cuts, emphasizing their potential negative impact on psychological research and public health initiatives. The APA continues to advocate for sustained or increased funding to support critical health and research programs. Now more than ever, it is essential for psychologists to speak up about the urgent challenges facing the field. Over 40,000 messages were sent by psychologists to federal lawmakers, urging them to prevent funding reductions at the NIH—cuts that could harm the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities nationwide who depend on research to enhance their quality of life. Please respond to the call to action and follow this link for more updates on this front:
https://updates.apaservices.org/
Further, use this link to propose access to education –
https://www.votervoice.net/APAAdvocacy/Campaigns/123889/Respond
RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES:
Bordes Edgar, V., MacDonald, B., Thames, A. D., & McClintock, S. M. (2025). The time has come: discussing the clinical neuropsychology provider’s role in cultural respect and inclusion. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 1-18.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13803395.2025.2455126
Fox-Fuller, J. T., Wisinger, A. M., Koudys, J. W., DesRuisseaux, L. A., Cerny, B., Schmitt, T. R., … & Clinical Neuropsychology Trainee Forum. (2025). Challenges and opportunities for a new era of neuropsychology training: a trainee survey study. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 1-14. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13803395.2025.2464654
INITIATIVES:
The Society for Clinical Neuropsychology Education Advisory Committee has a Neuropsychology Training Consultation program that helps demystify all aspects of neuropsychological training, including but not limited to education, clinical training, research opportunities, and professional development. This is a free-of-cost 45-minute consultation from experienced trainees and neuropsychologists, and is available for trainees of all levels. You can access this resource through https://scn40.org/eac/neuropsychology-training-consultation-program/
The Trust Practice and Risk Management Association (TrustPARMA) has put together resources for professionals and trainees, which include:
o Risk Management Training Curriculum – A refresher on risk management for psychologists and trainees
o Professional Development Toolkit – A comprehensive guide covering licensure, credentialing, career planning, and ethical practice, tailored for students and early career psychologists.
o Business of Practice Webinar Series – Developed in part due to feedback from educators highlighting the lack of time in graduate curricula to cover essential business and private practice topics, this series offers practical insights into launching and managing a successful practice. Importantly, these webinars offer continuing education (CE) credits.
For those not able to attend at the time of the live webinar, recordings will be made available in our on-demand library 7-10 days following the air date.
Upcoming Free Live Webinars in the Series (please visit their site https://parma.trustinsurance.com/ to access):
● Part 2: Guidelines and Pitfalls Regarding Professional Wills and Practice Executors: How to Meet Your Ethical Obligations to Plan for the Unexpected
Date & Time: March 27, 2025 | 2:00–4:00 PM ET
Duration: 2 hours | CE Credits: 2
● Part 3: An Applied Overview of the 2024 American Psychological Association Guidelines for the Practice of Telepsychology: Updates and Implications for Practice
Date & Time: April 28, 2025 | 2:00–5:00 PM ET
Duration: 3 hours | CE Credits: 3
● Part 4: Harnessing AI for Good: Clinical Innovations and Ethical Practice in Mental Health
Date & Time: May 5, 2025 | 5:00–6:00 PM ET
Duration: 1 hour | CE Credits: 1
● Part 5: Creating a Firm Foundation for Your Practice: Basic Strategies and Principles for Individual and Group Practices
Date & Time: August 11, 2025 | 5:00–6:30 PM ET
Duration: 1.5 hours | CE Credits: 1.5
Join Taquitos de Sesos, a cross-cultural neuropsychology didactic program based out of Baylor College of Medicine, for the next installment in their continuing education series. Future talks also include Test Security (Feb 21st), Hearing Loss & Cognition (March 28th), and Sociocultural Considerations when Investigating OCD and Anxiety in the Black Community (April 25th), and Beyond the Test: How Psychometrists Specialize and Adapt to Provide Individualized Neuropsychological Evaluations (May 23rd).
IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE RESOURCES:
The American Psychological Association (APA) Immigration and Refugee Toolkit is a collection of resources aimed at helping psychologists work with immigrant and refugee populations. It includes guidelines for providing culturally competent care, policy advocacy tools, and information for psychologists navigating immigration-related challenges.
The APA Immigration and Refugee Toolkit targets:
- Clinical & Ethical Guidelines for Working with Immigrants and Refugees
● Best practices for treating immigrant clients, including trauma-informed care.
● Considerations for working with undocumented individuals and asylum seekers.
● Ethical guidelines when addressing immigration-related mental health concerns. - Mental Health Resources for Immigrants
● Information on the psychological impact of migration, deportation fears, and family separation.
● Strategies for supporting immigrants facing discrimination and acculturation stress.
● Trauma-informed approaches for working with refugee populations. - Immigration Policy & Advocacy
● APA’s stance on immigration-related issues affecting psychologists and their clients.
● Tools for psychologists to engage in advocacy, including supporting policies that protect immigrant mental health.
● Guidance on testifying in asylum cases and writing psychological evaluations for immigration proceedings. - Support for Foreign-Trained Psychologists
● Guidance on licensure and credentialing for psychologists trained outside the U.S.
● Resources for international psychologists navigating work visas and employment options.
● Recommendations for organizations offering mentorship and networking opportunities.
Where to Access the Toolkit?
You can find the APA Immigration and Refugee Toolkit here:
APA Immigration Resources
This Google drive has an extensive amount of resources for immigrants and refugees.
In Solidarity,
Ananya Ruth Samuel on behalf of the ANA Advocacy Committee
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Chair: Julia Chen, PhD
Members: Jay Patel, PhD; Sofia Lesica, PhD, Ananya Ruth Samuel, MA, Aya Haneda, PsyD, Alison Chung, MSc
Email: advocacy@the-ana.org
Website: https://www.the-ana.org/advocacy-committee
Our committee will be sending out regular bulletins highlighting recent events and advocacy efforts that we have been tracking. You can also find our updated resourcesas well as past Equity Bulletins on the ANA website. Feel free to email us at advocacy@the-ana.org with ideas/suggestions for future bulletins.