Position Statement

Position Statement (2014)

Valuing diversity is what institutions and members of a community do to acknowledge the benefits of their differences and similarities. The American Board of Professional Psychology purposefully works to build sustainable relationships among people and institutions with diverse membership. As an organization that values diversity, ABPP works to ensure that it appropriately affiliates with individuals and institutions that provide equal treatment and access to resources and decisions for all community members representing all aspects of individual and cultural diversity. These aspects include, but are not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability status, and special populations.

ABPP believes that individuals and organizations that value Diversity espouse the principles above and demonstrate the following actions:

Include people and organizations representing different groups in all phases in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of any process.
  • Provide support for opportunities that allow members of groups to get to know one another as individuals and learn to respect the uniqueness and complimentary strengths of each other’s cultures and traditions.
  • Bring together people and organizations that represent different groups with different cultures and traditions, and treat them as equals.
  • Provide and support opportunities to identify similarities between groups and at the same time, appreciate each group’s history and unique characteristics.
  • Identify, use, and exchange each group’s strengths or assets (e.g., culture, language, history, relations, etc.) as part of the intergroup process.
  • Promote respect in transforming conflicts into improved capacity and relations.
  • Celebrate, share, and build on successful collective action because it improves the communities that groups live in, and strengthens their relations.
  • Support and sustain relationship building at multiple levels (between individuals, groups, and communities) to maintain the process for strengthening intergroup relations and fostering equity.
  • Advocate for institutional support in promoting intergroup relations and equity.