Division Contacts and Requirements

Francesca Folio, PhD, James A. Haley Veterns' Hospital

We are interested in receiving proposals and posters from early career psychologists (ECPs), which are individuals who have received their doctoral degree in psychology within the past 10 years. Consideration is also given to psychologists who may not be ECPs but are either co-presenting research with an ECP or submitting a proposal relevant to ECPs.

Furthermore, we are interested in topics that align with CECP priorities which include the following but are not limited to: alternative career pathways/transitions, leadership training, early career professional development as well as efforts in research, teaching, and/or practice.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Leo Wilton, PhD, State University of New York at Binghamton

Vanessa Richmond, PhD, Hampton University

We invite submissions on innovations in methodology and methods for psychology in measurement, statistics, evaluation, assessment, qualitative, mixed methods, critical participatory action research, and pedagogy for advancing the field of methodology. A key emphasis will be placed on critical methodologies as a basis to employ a critical analytic interdisciplinary framework in research. A critical analytic framework in research—including theory, methodologies, and praxis—incorporates the engagement of social justice and critical reflexive praxis that demonstrates a holistic approach to methodology and the practicality and applicability of knowledge. These dialogues are essential in cultivating collaborative interdisciplinary research, fostering methodological pluralism, enhancing pedagogical processes in psychological science and research, and strengthening communication of research methodologies to the broader public.

Accepting: Critical Conversation, Flash Talks, Skill-Building, Posters, and Symposia Sessions

Elizabeth West Niedringhaus, PhD, Rowan University

Theme: From Animal Research to Real-World Impact: Translational Perspectives in Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology

Division 6 invites submissions centered around the translation of research in behavioral neuroscience and comparative psychology into real-world applications that advance scientific knowledge and improve both human and animal well-being. Under the theme "From Animal Research to Real-World Impact," we seek contributions that highlight how research across species informs our understanding of behavior, brain function, and cognition, leading to impactful discoveries and practical applications across diverse fields.

We are particularly interested in submissions that explore:

Lab-Based Research: Studies demonstrating how animal models advance our understanding of cognition, learning, addiction, psychological and neurological disorders, and other critical areas in neuroscience and psychology, particularly research with implications for human health and behavior.

Animal Welfare and Advocacy: Innovations improving the quality of life for animals in all settings, including zoos, laboratories, farms, and homes. This could range from studies on environmental enrichment and stress reduction to broader topics of conservation, animal cognition, and ethical treatment of animals.

Bridging Animal Research with Human Applications: Projects that emphasize how research across species can inform human health, behavior, and well-being, while also improving our understanding and treatment of animals. This may include translational approaches to neurological and psychological disorders, comparative studies of cognition and behavior, or applications in farming, conservation, and therapeutic interventions.

Collaborations with Zoological and Conservation Institutions: Research linked to zoos, wildlife centers, or other animal-focused organizations that promotes conservation, education, and advances in animal care, while highlighting opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and broader societal impact.

We are excited to showcase both human and nonhuman research that underscores the reciprocal benefits of comparative approaches and advances our understanding of behavior across species. Submissions from all areas of comparative psychology and behavioral neuroscience are welcome, with special consideration for research demonstrating translational relevance, real-world applications, or interdisciplinary connections.

Accepting: Flash Talks, Posters, and Symposia Sessions

Aldo M. Barrita, PhD, Michigan State University

SPSSI invites proposals that examine the role of psychological science in addressing pressing social issues and advancing social justice. We particularly encourage submissions that explore how psychology can:

Advance equity, human rights, and justice by challenging systemic oppression, discrimination, and structural inequalities.
Promote mental health, healing, and well-being through equitable, inclusive, and transformative systems of care.
Strengthen democratic institutions and public policy through ethical leadership, scientific integrity, and evidence-informed approaches to social change.

We welcome empirical, theoretical, interdisciplinary, and community-engaged contributions that critically examine social challenges and identify pathways toward meaningful societal change.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, and Symposia Sessions

Melissa R. Jenkins, PhD, Washington State University

Andrea Bazzoli, PhD, CUNY-Baruch College

The theme for the division activities is "Working Through Uncertainty: Promoting Health, Well-Being, and Effectiveness at Work." Proposals exploring how psychological science can help individuals, organizations, and communities navigate uncertainty, respond to evolving challenges in the world of work, and promote health, well-being, and effectiveness are especially encouraged. However, the division also welcomes proposals addressing any topic within industrial-organizational psychology, broadly construed.

Accepting: Critical Conversation, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Divya Varier, PhD, George Mason University

Alexandra Patzak, PhD, George Mason University

The presidential theme for Division 15 this year, Educational Psychology Without Boundaries: The Science of Learning Processes Wherever Learning Occurs, invites us to expand the reach and impact of our field across diverse learning settings. As we navigate a rapidly changing world shaped by emerging technologies with transformative and disruptive potential, the theme calls on us to look outward and keep human agency at the center of our work. Drawing on our collective expertise in learning, motivation, cognition, assessment, and self-regulation, we can foster interdisciplinary collaborations that address pressing societal challenges and advance learning, well-being, and human thriving across the lifespan.

We welcome proposals that address any aspect of educational psychology and encourage submissions that illuminate the core psychological processes that shape how people learn, grow, and understand their role in the world. Proposals that align with the division’s Presidential Theme are particularly encouraged.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Posters, and Symposia Sessions

Ammy Sena, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Roberto Renteria, PhD, University of Massachusetts-Boston

Theme: You Are My Other Me: Shifting Latinx Identity in the Era of Mass Deportation, A Call to Counseling Psychology

Drawing inspiration from the Mayan greeting In lak'ech ("You are my other me"), this theme recognizes the profound impact that authoritarian, oppressive actions (i.e., immigration enforcement violence, family separation, displacement, political uncertainty, and collective trauma) have on immigrant individuals, families, and communities. Recognizing that oppressive authoritarianism affects more than immigrant communities, we believe our responses must be interconnected and help us envision our shared futures. It calls upon Counseling Psychology to leverage its strengths in advocacy, prevention, intervention, research, training, and community engagement to address one of the defining social justice issues of our time.

We welcome submissions that examine the psychological, cultural, historical, and community impacts related to the migrant experience, acculturation, xenophobia, and immigration policies; promote healing and resilience among immigrant and mixed-status families; advance culturally responsive clinical and advocacy practices; and strengthen Counseling Psychology's role in confronting inequities affecting marginalized communities.

Proposals addressing the following subthemes are particularly encouraged:

Immigration, deportation, and community well-being
Collective trauma, resilience, and liberation-focused approaches
Latina leadership and the contributions of Latina scholars, practitioners, and advocates to Counseling Psychology
AfroLatinidad, anti-Blackness, and the experiences of African-descendant communities
Historical perspectives on migration, exclusion, and resistance
Community partnerships, policy advocacy, and public scholarship
The future of Counseling Psychology, including emerging challenges related to artificial intelligence and demographic shifts in higher education
Intergenerational connection, belonging, remembrance, and legacy-building within the profession

Together, we invite the field to reflect on what it means to recognize that our communities are interconnected, our futures are shared, and that, indeed, "you are my other me."

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building and Symposia Sessions

Meghna Patel, PhD, Department of Veterans Affairs

Monique Hunter, PhD, Department of Veterans Affairs

We welcome proposals that focus on psychological services delivered in public service settings, including jails, prisons, courts, Indian Health Service, the military, Department of Veterans Affairs, public university clinics, training hospitals, and state and community hospitals. Submissions that focus on hallmarks of public service psychological work that emphasize inclusivity, evidence-based approaches, enhancement of access to care, and improvements in care for

under-served populations are most welcome.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Meng Huo, PhD, University of California, Davis

Rita Xiaochen Hu, PhD, University of Chicago

We invite submissions that speak to the following themes:

Enhancing Resilience Through Transition: For example, what are the psychological, social, biological, and/or policy-level sources of strength and adaptation as older adults (and the systems that support them) navigate change, life transitions, or loss?
Innovating Design and Methods at the Intersection of Health and Aging: For example, what novel research designs, measurement, treatment, and intervention approaches, or technological, environmental, and policy innovations can advance our understanding of health and aging together?
Addressing Belonging and Meaning: For Those We Care For, and For Ourselves as a Collective: For example, how do connection, belonging, and the policies that shape access to care, including caregiving, palliative care, and end-of-life experiences, influence well-being and quality of life?

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Joe Huang, PhD, Point Park University

Sophia Sheih, PhD, Duquesne University

What does it mean to be a subject who does not know where, or when, one is? Division 24 invites proposals on the psychology of unknowing, temporal dislocation, and being caught between: between knowledge and its limits, between unraveling and remaking, between a past that will not settle and a future that will not arrive.

Psychoanalysis has long understood the subject as constituted partly by what it cannot know. Repression, disavowal, foreclosure, and Nachträglichkeit all describe a self whose relation to knowledge and time is irreducibly troubled. Phenomenology, hermeneutics, critical theory, and spiritual and transpersonal traditions have approached the same questions from their own directions. Contemporary culture has found its own figure for them in the “liminal spaces” aesthetic of empty corridors and suspended interiors. We especially welcome work that holds the clinical and the theoretical together.

Possible threads (suggestions, not limits):

The subject who does not know: motivated unknowing, agnotology, bad faith, the epistemology of the unconscious, Freud on telepathy
Liminal time: Nachträglichkeit, lived time from Bergson to Ricoeur, clinical stuckness, temporal precarity and the suspended present
Threshold and the uncanny: liminality and rites of passage, the unheimlich, transitional space, hauntology, the history of psychical research
Unknowing in the clinic: the body as the place where things register before they can be spoken, negative capability, the ethics of interpretation under uncertainty
Sacred ruptures and ontological shock: mysticism and apophatic theology, conversion, spiritual emergency, psychedelic and anomalous experience, integration
Historical and collective dimensions: collective memory and historical trauma, Fanon and colonial dislocation, psychology as a threshold discipline

Proposals from any theoretical orientation in the human sciences are welcome, and we warmly encourage submissions from graduate students.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, and Symposia Sessions

Heather J. Muir, PhD, The Felton Insistute

Avery Gaines, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

The Unspoken and the Unseen: Psychotherapy for Stigmatized, Silenced, and Disenfranchised Experiences

Some of life’s most painful experiences are also those least understood or acknowledged by others. Shame, stigma, cultural expectations, and fear of judgment can leave people feeling misunderstood and isolated as they struggle with experiences that are hidden, minimized, or difficult to share. These may include traumatic experiences, disenfranchised losses, taboo thoughts, complicated relationships, and circumstances that challenge social or cultural expectations.

How can psychotherapy help people feel understood in experiences they have struggled to disclose or have recognized by others? How do therapeutic relationships create space for painful feelings, conflicting emotions, and realities that may be difficult for clients—and therapists—to approach?

This conference invites empirical, theoretical, conceptual, and clinical submissions examining how psychotherapy can address stigmatized, silenced, traumatic, and disenfranchised experiences. Topics may include reproductive experiences and family-building; grief and loss; shame, secrecy, and taboo thoughts; relational and family difficulties; trauma, identity, and belonging; and therapists’ own difficult-to-acknowledge reactions.

We particularly welcome research and scholarship examining psychotherapy process and outcomes, including how therapists’ avoidance, discomfort, or unexamined assumptions may limit engagement with clients’ experiences, and how therapeutic relationships can foster recognition, disclosure, emotional expression, and meaningful change. Relevant topics include therapeutic alliance and responsiveness, empathy and clinical interventions, countertransference, ruptures and repairs, mechanisms of change, and therapist training and supervision.

We welcome empirical studies, theoretical and conceptual papers, clinical case presentations, and contributions across theoretical orientations and methodological approaches.

We invite researchers, clinicians, and educators to explore how psychotherapy can address what remains unspoken or unseen, helping people feel understood, less alone, and better able to work through painful experiences.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Nancy A. Piotrowski, PhD, Independent Practice

We are excited to invite submissions that will spark TRANSLATING KNOWLEDGE INTO ACTION. We are particularly interested in topics related to CLIMATE CHANGE and VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, as well as the built environment and systems thinking. Submissions appealing to clinicians, researchers, applied psychology professionals, and global audiences are encouraged. Collaborations across divisional and/or interdisciplinary interests are also encouraged. We are particularly interested in collaborative symposia that showcase novel methods across qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods designs. Proposals for symposia, skill-building sessions, and critical conversations are welcome. Student posters are especially encouraged. We strongly encourage proposals for CE credits, though it is not mandatory. Follow APA guidelines for posters. Please contact the program chair with questions. Please note: If presentations are accepted, authors must commit to attending the convention in person at their own expense and, if unforeseen circumstances arise, must ensure that a colleague will staff the submitted presentation. Session hours are limited, and no-shows are not acceptable.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Cerynn Desjarlais, PhD, The University of North Dakota

Shiza Shahid, PhD, Texas A&M University-Central Texas

We are excited to invite proposals focused on the following themes:

Black Maternal Health: Maternal mortality, reproductive trauma, postpartum mental health, medical bias, and chronic stress.
Work & Economic Security: Employment losses, public-sector disruption, financial strain, career interruption, and caregiving demands.
Mental Health & Advocacy: Use psychological science to inform practice, public education, policy, and community partnerships.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Esther Kim, MA, University of South Alabama

Leihua Edstrom, PhD, ABSNP, George Fox University

Utility of Religion for Each and Every Division

This year’s theme for Division 36 focuses on bridging the gap between religion & spirituality (R/S) research and the broader psychological community. We invite proposals that demonstrate how existing and emerging R/S theories, measures, and methodologies can help answer core questions across all divisions of APA. By highlighting salient R/S concepts and actionable research tools, Division 36’s programming for the APA 2027 Convention will be designed to equip colleagues from every specialty to integrate these vital factors into their own clinical praxis and research priorities and advance the field as a whole.

We eagerly invite proposals related to the psychology of religion and spirituality (PRS) toward this aim. We are especially interested in submissions from students and scholars of diverse backgrounds of PRS, including researchers, clinicians, and educators.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Casie Morgan , PhD, Medical University of South Carolina
Lindsay Stager , PhD, Brown University

We invite proposals examining the evolving role of technology in the lives and well-being of children, youth, and families. We are especially interested in submissions that address artificial intelligence, social media, digital media, and other emerging technologies in relation to child and family mental health, resilience, trauma, adversity, and contemporary stressors. Proposals that consider implications for policy, advocacy, equity, research, and practice are particularly encouraged, as are forward-looking submissions that examine emerging challenges, opportunities, and directions for supporting children and families in a rapidly changing digital world.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, and Symposia Sessions

Nicholas DiCarlo, LCSW, Independent Practice

Jordan Dunn, PhD,

This year our theme is “Freedom of Speech.” We invite submissions that explore dimensions of censorship, defamation, suppression, surveillance, confidentiality and privacy. How do we respond to threats that impinge on clinical process and the containment necessary to foster free association? These include what is written on to people through racialization, as well as what is disappeared through erasure. We will highlight presentations that demonstrate the importance of fostering solidarity in working towards collective liberation.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Marisa Menchola, PhD, Midwestern University

Lindsay Rotblatt, PhD, San Francisco VA Health Care System

We encourage submissions related to the theme, “Innovation and Inclusivity: Bridges to the Future of Clinical Neuropsychology.” More broadly, we are particularly interested in submissions that focus on one or more of the following:

Advocacy: Strategies for facilitating access to neuropsychological services and broadening our reach to a variety of populations.
Science: Examples of clinical and technological innovations in assessment and treatment of neuropsychological conditions across the lifespan.
Training: Creative approaches to training future neuropsychologists to work in rapidly changing clinical and academic settings.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Amor A. Correa, PhD, University of Texas Southwestern

Rebecca Fix

We welcome submissions in all areas of psychology-law. However, we particularly encourage proposals that align with the following theme: “From Evidence to Impact: Translating Psychology-Law Science and Expertise to Advance Justice and Human Rights.”

Special consideration will be given to proposals focused on

Settings, issues, and populations particularly vulnerable to human and civil rights violations, such as immigration detention and immigration courts, juvenile justice, false confessions/pleas, and correctional settings
research that strengthens and advances forensic assessment and treatment practices, particularly with culturally diverse populations
innovative approaches to effectively communicating and translating psychology-law science and expertise to legal professionals, policymakers, practitioners, and the public.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Michelle M. McAlarnen, PhD, Minnesota State University - Mankato

Olivia Wyatt, PhD, Aviva Psychology Servicesc

We welcome submissions related to:

psychological skills training for athletes and performers
diversity, equity, inclusion, athlete activism, and social justice based initiatives
enhancement of psychological care and well-being for athletes, coaches, performers, and sport organizations
exercise psychology (including physical activity engagement and adherence and behavior change)
psychological skills utilized in performance environments (e.g., firefighting, circus, dance, military, etc.)

We also encourage presentations related to, and aligned with, our presidential initiatives. Original research, case studies, discussion-based presentations, and intervention work sessions are all welcome.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Ana Figueiredo, PhD, Universidad de O’Higgins (Chile)

Rudy Younes, MA, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik

The division welcomes proposals addressing the broad range of peace psychology research, including violence, conflict, peace, social justice, collective action, repression and resistance, and human flourishing amid threats to our ecological and social foundations. In keeping with the Society’s 2027 Presidential Theme, “Confronting the 'Post-Truth' Order, Building Inclusive Solidarity and Challenging Power,” proposals examining how power shapes or distorts perceptions of reality, how people with differing perspectives can find common ground, and how solidarity, inclusivity, and pluralism can challenge violence, oppression, and ecological catastrophe are particularly encouraged.

Proposals from all global regions and contexts, particularly those underrepresented in peace psychological research, are welcome. We encourage diverse methodological approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, action research, and archival research.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Kodee Walls, PhD, Indiana University

The division's theme is "From Connection to Liberation: The Transformative Power of Groups." We encourage proposals related to the following description: Groups can be more than spaces for individual healing; they can catalyze critical consciousness, collective empowerment, and social transformation. Grounded in liberation psychology and the relational power of groups, this year's theme invites us to examine how our identities, relationships, and lived experiences are shaped by broader systems of power, privilege, and oppression. Through dialogue, shared reflection, and collective action, we can challenge narratives that perpetuate marginalization and colonial thought and practices, reclaim silenced voices, and cultivate solidarity across differences. Together, we will explore how group processes/dynamics, group psychotherapy, intergroup dialogue, community building and engagement, and other collective practices can foster belonging, disrupt oppressive systems, and create possibilities for more just, humane, and liberatory ways of living and relating.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Mariel Bello, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina

Samuel F. Acuff, PhD, Recovery Research Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

We welcome proposals that align with Division 50's theme for APA 2027, "Toward Change: Advancing Addiction Science Through Stigma Reduction and Community Engagement." Submissions addressing innovative research, evidence-based interventions, community-engaged research and practice, and advocacy efforts aimed at reducing addiction-related stigma, addressing health disparities, and improving substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery outcomes are especially encouraged.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Alyssa Neveau, MS, University of Kansas

Any submission relevant to male-identified individuals is welcome, but we will prioritize proposals concerning the following:

Prevention, intervention, and clinical applications for boys, men, and masculinities across the lifespan.
Work that bridges research and practice, particularly work developed in partnership with community organizations (e.g., domestic or global), practitioners, and advocates serving boys, men, and masculine-identifying individuals outside of traditional academic and clinical settings.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Samantha Gregus Slade, PhD, Wichita State University

Josh Golt, PhD, Children's Nationwide Hospital

As clinical child and adolescent psychologists increasingly balance demands across research, training, and practice settings, the need for accessible, evidence-based tools has never been greater. Our 2027 convention theme, "From Lab to Real Life: Practical Tools for Enhancing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Care," highlights innovative approaches that translate scientific advances into practical applications for children, adolescents, and families. Programming that equips psychologists with tangible resources for use across clinical, educational, community, and research settings is especially encouraged. We also encourage programming that upholds the vision of SCCAP: to improve the mental health and resilient development of children, adolescents, and families with a full commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Jill Plevinsky, PhD, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Sukpreet Tamana, PhD, CPsych, Shared Health

We welcome proposals that advance the science and practice of pediatric psychology and promote the health and well-being of all children, youth, and families.

SPP's theme, Advancing Pediatric Psychology: Integration and Impact Across Systems of Care, highlights the vital role of pediatric psychologists in improving health outcomes across healthcare, educational, community, and policy settings. As pediatric psychology continues to evolve, the field is uniquely positioned to foster meaningful integration of behavioral health services and generate measurable impact for children, adolescents, and families.

We encourage submissions that address innovative models of integrated care, interdisciplinary collaboration, implementation and dissemination science, health equity, prevention and early intervention, workforce development, advocacy, digital health, and family-centered approaches to care. We particularly welcome proposals that demonstrate how pediatric psychology can bridge systems, translate evidence into practice, and improve access, quality, and outcomes for diverse populations.

Collaborations with other APA Divisions, Sections, and interdisciplinary partners are strongly encouraged.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Patrick Bartos, PhD, Idaho State University

Melissa Jones, PhD, Idaho State University

"The Future of Prescribing Psychology: Innovation, Integration, and Impact"

We invite proposals that advance the science, education, practice, and future of prescribing psychology. We particularly encourage submissions that address innovation in psychopharmacology education and training; integrated and collaborative models of care; clinical practice and patient outcomes; emerging research; professional development and workforce issues; health equity and access to care; advocacy and expansion of prescriptive authority; and emerging technologies affecting prescribing psychology. Submissions that qualify for continuing education (CE) credit are particularly sought and will receive priority consideration in the review and selection process. Submissions from students, trainees, and early career psychologists are welcomed.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Flash Talks, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Angela L. Richardson, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio

Division 56 is excited to announce its theme, Trauma Psychology: Preserving Foundations, Advancing the Future. We are seeking submissions that address the evolution and growth of trauma psychology over the past 45 years. Submissions related to augmentation of established trauma-focused treatment, efficacy and safety of technological and pharmaceutical innovations in trauma treatment, posttraumatic growth and resilience, and impact of trauma across the lifespan are especially welcome. We hope you will join us in creating a program that considers the growing interest in using what we know about trauma in service, science, and practice to influence how we move forward in trauma psychology.

Accepting: Critical Conversations, Posters, Skill-Building, and Symposia Sessions

Division-specific Information and Program Chairpersons

49 — Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy﻿

Turn your insight into impact—present at APA 2026.

49 — Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy