The New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS) is one of the

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...

s for psychologists in New Zealand. It is the largest professional body for psychologists in New Zealand, providing for both research psychologists and practicing psychologists.

History

The society began as a branch of the British Psychological Society in 1947, becoming an independent body in 1967. The society's first annual conference was held in 1968, when the society had approximately 150 members. Originally the society was dominated by academic psychologists, but by the 1960s and 1970s, practicing psychologists, primarily

clinical psychologists Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

, became a growing voice within the society. Between 1968 and 1978, the society grew to over 600 members. In the 1970s, the society spoke out against unsafe driving practices, and submitted in support of changes to the Crimes Amendment Bill in 1974, the first parliamentary attempt at homosexual law reform in New Zealand. In 1978,

Ann Ballin Dame Reubina Ann Ballin (20 February 1932 – 2 September 2003) was a New Zealand psychologist and victims' rights advocate. In 2002, she was accorded New Zealand's highest civilian honour, membership of the Order of New Zealand. Biography Born ...

became the first woman president of the society. The society was an integral lobbying force in passing the Psychologists Act 1981, which established psychology as a registered profession in New Zealand. The society is a constituent organisation of

Royal Society Te Apārangi The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi) is an independent, statutory not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. History The R ...

Institutes and divisions

Within the society, a number of divisions exist to promote and foster specific fields of psychology. The Clinical Psychology Division was formed in the 1970s, followed by the Counselling Psychology Division in 1985 and the Community and Social Psychology Division was established in 1987. As of 2022, there are seven institutes and one special interest group: *Institute of Clinical Psychology *Institute of Community Psychology Aotearoa *Institute of Counselling Psychology *Institute of Criminal Justice and Forensic Psychology *Institute of Educational and Developmental Psychology *Institute of Health Psychology *Institute of Organisational Psychology *Special Interest Group (Coaching Psychology)

Registration

The society has a two-tier approach to membership and professional regulation: a general-scope registration, followed by a specialist scope registration, in a field such as clinical psychology or

educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in ...

Ethics

Members of the society are signatories to the Code of Ethics for Psychologists Working in Aotearoa/New Zealand, which was established in 2002 due to the

Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal of New Zealand hears and determines disciplinary proceedings brought against health practitioners. The Tribunal was created by section 84 Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 and establ ...

. Prior to the establishment of the code, each individual professional association for psychologists in New Zealand had their own code of ethics.

Presidents

The following have been Presidents of the Society.

Publications

*''New Zealand Journal of Psychology'' *''Psychology Aotearoa''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Zealand Psychological Society 1947 establishments in New Zealand Learned societies of New Zealand Mental health organisations in New Zealand Professional associations based in New Zealand Psychological societies Psychology-related professional associations Psychology organisations based in New Zealand Scientific organizations established in 1947