APA Approved Guidelines
APA has approved a variety of practice guidelines and related criteria as APA policy in such areas as multicultural practice, child custody evaluations, and treatment of gay, lesbian and bisexual clients. Prior to their adoption as APA policy, guidelines undergo extensive review and public comment. Once adopted, APA seeks to disseminate guidelines widely via both print and electronic means. APA practice guidelines and related criteria are available below.
APA Guidelines in Practice
These articles provide an overview of selected APA guidelines and offer practical information about how practitioners can incorporate the guidelines into their practices.
Record Keeping Guidelines
by Practice Research and Policy Staff
The APA Record Keeping Guidelines (RKG) have been revised to take into account changes in practice such as electronic record keeping as well as legislative and regulatory requirements including HIPAA. The new RKG provide guidance in such areas as preserving the context of records, organization and level of detail, and retention time and records disposal.
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Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults
by APA Division 12-Section II and Division 20
These guidelines are intended for use by psychologists who work clinically with older adults.
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Guidelines for Psychotherapy With Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients
by Division 44 / Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Joint Task Force on Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients
The specific goals of these guidelines are to provide practitioners with (1) a frame of reference for the treatment of lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients, and (2) basic information and further references in the areas of assessment, intervention, identity, relationships, and the education and training of psychologists.
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Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Divorce Proceedings
by APA Committee on Professional Practice and Standards
These guidelines were developed for psychologists conducting child custody evaluation, specifically within the context of parental divorce.
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Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists
by APA Divisions 17 and 45 Task Force
These Guidelines reflect the continuing evolution of the study of psychology, changes in society-at-large, and emerging data about the different needs for particular individuals and groups historically marginalized or disenfranchised.
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Guidelines for Psychological Evaluations in Child Protection Matters
by APA Committee on Professional Practice and Standards
These guidelines were developed primarily for psychologists conducting psychological evaluations in child protection matters.
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Guidelines for the Evaluation of Dementia and Age-Related Cognitive Decline
by APA Presidential Task Force on the Assessment of Age-Consistent Memory Decline and Dementia
The goal of the guidelines is to promote proficiency and expertise in assessing dementia and age-related cognitive decline in clinical practice.
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Criteria for Evaluating Treatment Guidelines
by APA Template Implementation Work Group
These guidelines present a set of criteria to be used in evaluating treatment guidelines that have been promulgated by health care organizations, government agencies, professional associations, or other entities.
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Criteria for Practice Guideline Development and Evaluation
by Committee on Professional Practice and Standards
These guidelines are designed to promote quality and consistency in practice guideline development and to describe the criteria by which practice guidelines are evaluated and reviewed.
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Determination and Documentation of the Need for Practice Guidelines
by Committee on Professional Practice and Standards
The "Determination and Documentation of the Need for Practice Guidelines" document was developed in response to a request from the APA Board of Directors that BPA develop a document expanding on Section 2.2 of the "Criteria for Practice Guideline Development and Evaluation," which indicates that practice guidelines should be written only when there is a clearly demonstrated and documented need.
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