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Psychology and Counseling: Professional Associations

How to engage with professional associations

Professional associations provide many services: conferences, communications, networking, and information. These are all opportunities to for scholarship and research, and can help students and researchers go further in their careers. 

How to browse through these organizations:

  • Some are organized by focus, such as school psychology, or developmental psychology.
  • Others are arranged by peer group or location, or other interest.
  • Browse through for information about upcoming conferences, which might have student divisions for paper or poster sessions. 
  • Look for items like task force statements or newsletters--these often address the specific positions of an organization, especially on topics that might be in the news or of current scholarly focus. 
  • Search specifically for student resources--this could include scholarships, internships, information about choosing a graduate program, and related information. Nearly all organizations have reduced fees for student memberships. 

What makes a good organization?

It is not necessary to join every professional organization, but it might be useful to join at least one. Try to find a good fit: what comes with the membership dues? Do they have a publication, or a conference? How long has it been around? What is the mission statement of this organization?

Professional Associations for Psychology Students