Our influence
The British Psychological Society works to increase the influence of psychology in society. We work with the UK Parliaments and Assemblies, non-governmental organisations and international bodies to ensure we have an effective voice.
We keep our members informed of the Society’s work in this area
UK Parliaments and Assemblies
The Society promotes the understanding of psychology and contributes psychological expertise to the decision-making process. We have the evidence-based knowledge and expertise to support policymakers who want to learn more about how psychology can help shape society.
Consultations
We contribute scientific, evidence-based submissions to consultations from governments and other organisations on policy and fact-finding initiatives.
Non-government organisations
In addition to consultations, we have close working links with a number of organisations to help raise awareness of psychology and ensure high standards of education for our discipline.
International links
We are a member of the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations and have links with many other psychology organisations around the world.
DSM-5
On 13 December 2011 the Society released a statement expressing concerns regarding the proposed revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association, which is one the main internationally-used classification systems for diagnosis of people with mental health problems in clinical settings and for research trials.
For further information on the Society statement read our news story.
The full Society statement is also available online.
The Society for Humanistic Psychology (Division 32) of the American Psychological Association (APA) have published an open letter, which includes an online petition.
On 10 October the Society joined five other professional organisations to call for mental health funding to be maintained despite the economic down turn in a letter sent to a number of national newspapers.
Find out 10 things you might not know about psychology, other ways we share our science, promote psychology in the news and about our services for journalists and media.
