Live From APA: Inside the Room Where Psychology Becomes Policy | E105

Do you work with domestic violence or intimate partner violence survivors? Then what just happened at the APA Council could eventually impact you and your clients. I sat down live at APA 2026 with Dr. Shannon Goecke-Watson, PsyD, LP, Minnesota’s representative to the APA Council of Representatives and Chair of the APA Rural Health Caucus, to find out what actually happens inside APA Council. And honestly? I didn’t realize how much influence these psychologists have. Think of APA Council representatives almost like the state representatives of psychology. They debate and vote on policy, work with APA’s advocacy office, and even go to Capitol Hill to meet with members of the House and Senate. Shannon just helped move forward an APA resolution addressing intimate partner violence and gender-based violence, created in collaboration with APA advocacy to support work around the Violence Against Women Act. You’ll hear: What actually happens at APA Council How APA resolutions can make their way from psychologists to Capitol Hill What Shannon and other APA representatives discuss with members of Congress The new IPV and gender-based violence resolution Shannon helped advance Why therapists may have more power to influence public policy than we realize What clinicians still need to understand about domestic violence, IPV, and competent care This is how psychology moves beyond the therapy room and starts changing systems. Xoxo, Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby Growing Self  If you or someone you’re working with needs immediate support: National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.