Formation 1962. Membership over 5,000 | Founder Alan O. Ross President-Elect Steve Lee, UCLA | |
President Mitch Prinstein, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Past-President Eric Youngstrom, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | ||
The Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP) is an academic and professional society that was established to encourage the development and advancement of clinical child and adolescent psychology through integration of its scientific and professional aspects. The division promotes scientific inquiry, training, professional practice, and public policy in clinical child and adolescent psychology as a means of improving the welfare and mental health of children, youth, and families.
Contents
- Mission
- History
- Membership
- Fellowship status
- News and publications
- Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
- Newsletter
- Project involvement
- Presidents
- References
In the service of these goals, the Society promotes the general objectives of the American Psychological Association, and is listed as Division 53.
Mission
The mission of the SCCAP is to serve children, adolescents and families with the best possible clinical care based on psychological science. SCCAP strives to integrate scientific and professional aspects of clinical child and adolescent psychology, in that it promotes scientific inquiry, training, and clinical practice related to serving children and their families.
History
The society first appeared in the American Psychological Association as a section under the division of clinical psychology (Division 12) in 1962. As research in child development and behavior analysis progressed, the need for specialized training for clinical psychology students became more urgent. Conferences were held in the mid-1980s onward to discuss the material needed to treat children. By the next decade, Division 12 considered the possibility of clinical child psychology becoming its own division; and after a vote of the section members, the APA Council created the Division of Clinical Child Psychology (Division 53) in 1999. John Weisz became the first Division President the following year and the division went through a name change the year after that and maintains that title to the present day.
Membership
There are several types of membership in the society, depending on career stage.
Fellowship status
Fellow status in the American Psychological Association is formal recognition by professional peers that an individual has achieved great distinction in his or her field. In order to demonstrate outstanding contributions or performance in clinical child and adolescent psychology, the applicant must be able to provide:
These contributions include strong, long term impact of publication on the area of clinical child and adolescent psychology, impact through community service, cited work by others, presentation of papers, conducted workshops, holding office in psychological organizations, influencing legislation, receiving awards or grants or documented innovations in clinical child and adolescent psychology
News and publications
The Division currently publishes a couple of journals, newsletters and editorials. They are listed below.
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
The Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology publishes original contributions on the following topics:
The current editor of the journal is Andres De Los Reyes, Ph.D.
Newsletter
The SCCAP newsletter, InBalance, facilitates formal and informal communication among all society members, to share ideas, to provide an update on society activities, and to publish articles relevant to clinical child psychologists. The newsletter is published three times per year.
Project involvement
In an effort to promote evidence-based assessment and healthy development in children, the SCCAP and six other APA divisions relating to child and family development are currently involved in creating an organized database of science-based online resources. This resource center would be translated to Spanish and readily accessible to parents, caregivers, educators, and health professionals.
Presidents
Presidents who are elected to the SCCAP serve a three-year term as president-elect, as president, and as past president. The purpose of a three-year term is to ensure that the president receives mentorship from the previous president for a year before performing his duties as a president. Finally, the president will serve as a mentor to the next president.
Presidents of the society include: