Psychology: Professional Groups

The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. Its some 38,800 members are mainly American but some are international.

As the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, the American Psychological Association (APA) is also the world’s largest organization of psychologists with more than 134,000 members around the globe. With membership offered to researchers, educators, clinicians, students, and consultants, the mission of the APA is to advance the creation, communication, and application of research-based knowledge in psychology to benefit society by improving lives. Psychologists who become members of the APA benefit from a Member Discounts Program on journals or books, access to online databases, subscription to “The American Psychologist,” and discounts on registration to participate in the APA Annual Convention for further learning opportunities.

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) is a professional association representing more than 25,000 school psychologists, graduate students, and related professionals throughout the United States and an additional 25 countries worldwide. As the world's largest organization of school psychologists, NASP works to advance effective practices to improve students' learning, behavior, and mental health. Our vision is that all children and youth thrive in school, at home, and throughout life.

Psi Chi is an international honor society whose purpose shall be to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of the individual members in all fields, particularly in psychology, and to advance the science of psychology.