Professional Practice Guidelines

This policy document is intended to assist the developers and users of “Professional Practice Guidelines” that become policy of the American Psychological Association (APA). It is a revision and integration of two earlier policy documents from APA: “Criteria for Practice Guideline Development and Evaluation” (APA, 2002c) and “Determination and Documentation of the Need for Practice Guidelines” (APA, 2005), which are better understood as unified policy. This new policy document provides updated guidance for and examples of “Professional Practice Guidelines” that have evolved over the past decade, as well as current scholarly literature specific to these guidelines. It has been drafted by the APA Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and APA Committee on Professional Practice and Standards (COPPS). This guidance is intended for professional practice guideline development groups composed entirely of psychologists and for multidisciplinary efforts in which psychologists are involved. (There may be other situations where APA is asked to endorse guidelines developed by another organization. While these documents undergo a similar review process in accordance with Association Rule 30–8 Standards and Guidelines, they are not addressed here.) The landscape is changing for the practice of professional psychology, within a climate of increasing accountability. Psychologists and other professionals have greater access than ever before to examples of best practices and formal guidelines from various sources. However, there are critical differences across guidelines in terms of terminology, content, goals, evidence, and impact. The APA Council of Representatives approved a critical terminology change in August 2012 to bring its labeling of guidelines in accord with other health care organizations. There are two types of practice guidelines in development as APA policy: “Professional Practice Guidelines” and “Clinical Practice Guidelines.” The guidance contained here pertains only to “Professional Practice Guidelines.” APA “Professional Practice Guidelines” (previously named “Practice Guidelines”) are designed to guide psychologists in practice with regards to particular roles, populations, or settings and provide them with the current scholarly literature. These guidelines reflect consensus within the field since the very process of guideline development helps to resolve areas of disagreement. In contrast, APA “Clinical Practice Guidelines” are focused on specific disorders and interventions and are recommendations founded on systematic reviews. (For further information on APA “Clinical Practice Guidelines,” please see www .apa.org/about/offices/directorates/guidelines/clinical-practice .aspx. For additional information on “Clinical Practice Guidelines” across health care, please see resources from APA, APA, 2002b; the Institute of Medicine (2011a, 2011b, www.iom.edu/reports/2011/clinical-practice-guidelines-we-cantrust.aspx and www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id 13059;