Dear Division 28 colleagues,
Apologies for cross-posting. Please forward the following announcement to your networks.
Thank you,
Psychologist sought for position on APA clinical practice guideline advisory steering committee
Deadline for nominations is April 1, 2022
Nominations are invited for one position on the Advisory Steering Committee for Development of Clinical Practice Guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA). The Advisory Steering Committee (ASC) oversees APA's process for clinical practice guideline development, including selection of topics for guidelines, recommendation of members for guideline development panels, and planning and assessment of guideline development processes. The term for the new position will begin in spring 2022, and the deadline for submitting nominations is April 1, 2022. Individuals are asked to self-nominate.
It is preferred, though not required, that the psychologist filling the open position have substantial background in at least one of the following areas:
- Direct provision of psychological care in diverse practice settings or with diverse populations.
- Child and/or family-focused clinical or research expertise.
- Older adult-focused clinical or research expertise.
- Direct provision of clinical treatment or services in the areas of mental health, physical health or health behaviors.
- Behavioral medicine.
- Health care financing.
- Use of guidelines within systems or by direct providers.
- Dissemination or implementation research.
- Primary care work experience.
- Expertise in intervention research (including efficacy and change processes).
- Expertise in quantitative research methods (especially, clinical trials and other methods for causal inference).
- Expertise in qualitative (including mixed) research methods and synthesis of qualitative findings.
Psychologists from a variety of perspectives and orientations (e.g., psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, family systems, humanistic) are encouraged to apply. Psychologists with experience providing interventions to, conducting research with, or implementing clinical practice guidelines with diverse populations are especially encouraged to apply.
Work of the Advisory Steering Committee
So far, APA has developed and adopted three clinical practice guidelines in the areas of treatment of PTSD in adults (2017), obesity and overweight in children and adolescents (2018), and depression across the lifespan (2019). There are currently two active guideline development panels: one on the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain and another on updating APA’s (2017) clinical practice guideline for treatment of PTSD in adults.
With assistance from APA staff, the work of the Advisory Steering Committee (ASC) includes:
- Design and assessment of the policies and procedures by which APA develops clinical practice guidelines.
- Selection of topics for development of clinical practice guidelines.
- Recommendations to the APA Board of Directors of individuals to serve on clinical practice guideline development panels.
- Formulation of policies for commissioning and utilizing independent systematic reviews of empirical research to inform the development of clinical practice guidelines.
- Planning the structure and format of guideline documents and related products.
- Designing strategies for enhancing the dissemination and implementation of clinical practice guidelines.
- Evaluation of the effectiveness and impacts of clinical practice guidelines.
- Provision of progress reports to the Board of Directors and other APA governance groups.
Over the next several years, the ASC will select new topics for guideline development and recommend members of guideline development panels for those topics. The ASC will also design strategies for disseminating APA guidelines, encouraging their implementation by health care providers and organizations, and evaluating their impact. Further, the ASC aims to build relationships with other organizations to collaborate in developing and disseminating clinical practice guidelines. The ASC provides direction to APA's overall efforts in clinical practice guideline development but does not itself engage in the writing of guidelines or the conduct of systematic reviews.
The ASC reports to the Board of Directors, with additional oversight by the Board of Professional Affairs and Board of Scientific Affairs. Staff from the APA Practice Directorate and Science Directorate support the ASC's activities.
As currently authorized, the ASC has positions for ten individuals. Each member serves for a term of three years, with the possibility of renewal for a second term. All future work of the ASC is contingent on APA policy and funding.
During their tenure, ASC members are expected to:
- Attend up to three extended meetings (with each meeting being either two full days in person in Washington, D.C. or a series of half-day virtual meetings) per year. These may include meetings of the ASC and/or meetings of guideline development panels. Travel expenses for any in-person meetings are paid by APA.
- Participate in monthly 1.5-hour conference calls and review materials between calls.
- Engage in communication with ASC colleagues and APA staff via email.
- Serve on at least one sub-group of the ASC (e.g., topic selection sub-committee, dissemination and implementation sub-committee).
Current Membership
The current members of the ASC are:
Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital – Plano
Texas Children’s Hospital – Houston
New York University
Veterans Affairs Central Office
Butler Hospital
American University
Indiana University – Bloomington
Adelphi University
University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
Oakland Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center
Nomination Process and Review
All nominees should have 5 or more years of professional experience in clinical practice or clinical research (or combination thereof) and documented expertise in the general arena of evidence-based treatment development or implementation. Additionally, nominees should be nationally recognized via publications, professional awards, advanced credentials, involvement in professional organizations, and the like. Nominations of individuals who will enhance the diversity of the ASC are encouraged. Nominees should be members of the APA. However, current members of the Board of Directors, Board of Professional Affairs, and Board of Scientific Affairs are not eligible to serve on the ASC.
Nominees' materials will be reviewed initially by the ASC and by the Board of Professional Affairs and Board of Scientific Affairs. A list of candidates will be submitted to the Board of Directors for it to make final selections and appointments.
Review will include attention to nominees' areas of expertise, as well as their experience working with diverse patient populations (across race, ethnicity, language, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, class status, education, religious/spiritual orientation, and other cultural dimensions, as well as adult, adolescent and child patient populations) and within various clinical settings.
Nomination materials should include:
- Letter from the nominee indicating willingness to serve a three-year term.
- Brief statement (up to three pages) of the nominee's expertise and qualifications related to the criteria described above.
- Nominee’s current curriculum vitae.
Nomination materials should be submitted by the nominees themselves. Endorsements from other individuals or groups are not expected.
Nomination materials should be sent via email (cpg@apa.org) by April 1, 2022. In the event of questions or difficulties regarding email transmissions, please contact Project Manager for APA’s Clinical Practice Guidelines, Jacob Marzalik, MA, by email (jmarzalik@apa.org).
Questions about the call and about APA's development of clinical practice guidelines can be directed to Raquel Halfond, PhD, Senior Director, Evidence Based Practice & Health Equity, via email (rhalfond@apa.org).
Jacob S. Marzalik, MA (he/him/his)
Project Manager, Clinical Practice Guidelines
Practice Transformation and Quality, Practice Directorate
American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE, Washington DC 20002-4242
202-336-5872
All APA staff are teleworking until further notice and are experiencing a high volume of inquiries related to COVID-19. For immediate information and resources, visit APA's COVID-19 page for psychologists, health-care workers, and the public.
