The editorial staff for Psychological Services, the official journal of APA Division 18 (Psychologists in Public Service), would like to invite you to submit articles for a special issue, “Advocacy in Public Service Settings,” that will be edited by Nadine J. Kaslow, PhD, Lucy Allbaugh, PhD, and Jacqueline Gray PhD.
Details
There is growing recognition that psychologists have a collective responsibility to be advocates and that doing so is a key aspect of their social contract with the public. To this end, mounting attention has been paid to the needs and opportunities for advocacy for the science, education, and practice of psychology. In addition, efforts have been devoted to articulating models and strategies for training psychologists in the advocacy competency. Further, there are newly emerging empirical studies on advocacy for psychology and by psychologists. However, there has been a relative dearth of attention paid specifically to advocacy within public service settings and on behalf of individuals who are embedded in these contexts. Therefore, this special issue is focused specifically on advocacy in the context of public service settings at the level of the individual, institution or organization, community, and/or regionally/nationally.
Considering the nature of the journal, papers should focus on advocacy in this context of public service settings such as community mental health and health centers, community and state hospitals, academic health centers, rehabilitation units, schools and child guidance clinics, university clinics, criminal justice sites (jails, prisons, courts, probation departments), police and public safety entities, VA healthcare systems, Indian Country, and local community agencies, etc. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies; systematic reviews and meta-analyses; and theory-driven models and calls to action are welcome.
This special issue will be devoted to papers addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:
- Advocacy on behalf of underserved and marginalized populations (e.g., racial and ethnic minorities, people with minority sexual orientations, transgender and gender-diverse individuals, people with disabilities, etc.)
- Best practices for public service-related advocacy at various levels (e.g., individual, institution or organization, community, and/or regionally/nationally)
- Models for training psychology trainees in public service advocacy and their implementation and impact
- Models for the continuing professional development training of psychologists in public service advocacy and their implementation and impact
- Strategies for overcoming barriers to implementing an advocacy agenda in public service settings
- The intersection of social justice and public service psychology advocacy
- Rehabilitation and recovery and advocacy in the public sector
- Interprofessional advocacy collaborations and coalitions in public service settings
- Strategies for fostering an advocacy orientation and identity among psychology trainees and established professionals
- Approaches for scholarship and empirical studies on public service-related advocacy
- Decision processes associated with determining advocacy priorities
- Ethical issues that emerge in the context of public service-related advocacy
Manuscript Submission
The deadline for receipt of papers is July 1, 2018.
Please follow the Manuscript Submission information located on the Psychological Services homepage. Manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the Manuscript Submission web Portal.
Please specify in your cover letter that the submission is intended for the special section on advocacy in the public sector and address your submission cover letter to Dr. Nadine J. Kaslow at nkaslow@emory.edu
All papers submitted will be initially screened by the editorial board. If evaluated as appropriate for the journal, papers will then be sent out for blind peer review.
For further questions related to this special section, please contact Dr. Kaslow.