Interest Groups provide SPA members an opportunity to interact with other members who are engaged in personality assessment in similar venues. Interest Groups support the mission of SPA by fostering participation around similar interests and facilitating member networking and mutual support. Please see below for additional information by topic. For more information on each group, feel free to contact the Interest Group leaders listed below. Email links are included for your convenience. Consider joining a group today to stay informed of the latest developments in the field!
Increase exposure to personality assessment throughout the psychology education lifespan!
(Learn More)The mission of this interest group is to improve the quality of assessment training and supervision in the field of psychology, through improving and disseminating resources, promoting best practices, and advocating for rigor. Members of this interest group include academic and field-based trainers, supervisors, students, and clinicians. Topics addressed include bridging the gap between what is being taught in graduate programs and expectations for internship, licensure, and future practice; how to best assess competency during training; and how to best support those teaching and supervising assessment given the similarities and differences of graduate programs. Finally, the group will also make an effort to increase exposure to personality assessment throughout the psychology education lifespan, from undergraduate through postgraduate settings.
A collaborative community of assessors, promoting connections and friendships!
(Learn More)The Collaborative/Therapeutic Assessment (CTA) interest group offers the opportunity to meet with assessors thinking about, working to develop, and practicing this approach to psychological assessment and intervention. Developments, training and learning opportunities, ideas, research efforts and findings, and marketing issues involving CTA, as well as the successes and challenges our members experience, are central topics of discussion. This interest group offers support to those on the cutting edge as well as those just learning CTA and it fosters a collaborative community of assessors, promoting connections and friendships. Everyone is welcome! Students and assessors new to CTA are especially valued.
Hale Martin, Ph.D.
Clinical Professor
Graduate School of Professional Psychology
University of Denver
A focused opportunity to discuss their interests in psychoanalytic approaches to personality assessment!
(Learn More)The mission of the Psychoanalytic Interest Group is to provide SPA members with a focused opportunity to discuss their interests in psychoanalytic approaches to personality assessment and to create a network of professionals to support each other's education, writing, and research. The group supports the mission of the SPA Board of Trustees by fostering membership interest in these topics, and by providing resources to support direct clinical service, supervision, teaching, and research. Recent initiatives have included collating a biannual summary of members' interests and initiatives and developing a list of significant publications that one might consult to learn and teach about this approach to assessment. We have also been piloting a mentorship program matching students and early-career clinicians with more senior assessors. The group also encourages scientific presentations, posters, continuing education workshops, and publications that integrate psychoanalytic theory with personality assessment. We welcome all colleagues to join us, particularly graduate students and early career psychologists seeking support in integrating their psychoanalytic and assessment interests.
Anthony Bram, PhD, ABAP
Private Practice, Lexington, MA
Lecturer in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Part-time, Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School
Faculty, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute
Share health psychology assessment experiences and the role of personality assessment in medical settings!
(Learn More)The mission of the Health Psychology interest group is to provide SPA members (including students) with an opportunity to discuss their interests and experiences (direct service, supervisory, and research) of psychological and personality assessment in medical settings. These settings include general hospitals, primary care clinics (family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics, and pediatrics), and specialty clinics (cardiology, surgery, physical medicine & rehab, neurology, oncology, etc.). The interest group will discuss the role of personality assessment in medical settings, share health psychology assessment experiences, distribute a list of health psychology references, and plan for future SPA symposiums focusing on assessment in medical settings.
John H. Porcerelli, PhD, ABPP
Director, UDM Psychology Clinic
Department of Psychology
University of Detroit Mercy
Developing interest and momentum for the implementation of forensic psychology and personality assessment!
(Learn More)The mission of the Forensic Interest Group is to develop interest in and momentum for the implementation of forensic psychology and personality assessment within the scope of SPA’s overall mission and to disseminate findings to the membership and SPA Board, to develop membership and Board interests and resources, and to support forensically-relevant publications in JPA, forensic psychology presentations at Annual Conventions, and continuing education workshops.
The link for our group is:https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13587551
Membership in SPA offers many benefits - Subscription to the Journal of Personality Assessment, Research, Advocacy, Interest Groups, Exchange Newsletter, Annual Convention and more!
Receive 6 Issues of the prestigious JPA Journal each year.
Would you like to be more involved? Join an SPA Interest Group today - six groups to choose from!
Ask your favorite personality assessor what the biggest personality assessment convention is, and he/she will tell you it's the Annual Convention of the Society for Personality Assessment. Ask them what the best personality assessment convention is, and they will tell you it's the Annual Convention of the Society for Personality Assessment. In 2021, the convention is being brought to you. Make sure to register today!.
Each April, candidates statements and a Ballot for electing new members to the Board of Trustees is made available to Members, Fellows, Life Members or Life Fellows by the Nominations and Elections Committee. The persons elected to the Board take office in September.
Membership in SPA offers a great many benefits including a subscription to Journal of Personality Assessment, discounts to an energetic and information-rich Annual Convention, professional advocacy efforts, outstanding research efforts and the ability to demonstrate credibility. Pay your Annual Dues prior to December 31st.
The Society for Personality Assessment YouTube channel offers full-length lectures from past annual conventions and expert speakers in the field of personality assessment. A great resource to expand your knowledge.