Advocacy
Using Psychology to Make a Difference
Advocacy is at the heart of protecting and advancing psychology in Louisiana. We work to ensure that psychologists' voices are heard—shaping policies, protecting our profession, and promoting access to quality mental health care for all.
Advocacy 101 for Louisiana Psychological Association Members
Advocacy is a powerful way to protect and advance our profession, and it starts with staying informed. By following LPA updates through our listserv, newsletters, and calls to action, you can keep up with key legislative and professional issues. Collective action matters, and our strength comes from engaged members—encourage fellow psychologists to join LPA and help amplify our voice. When our legislative committee or national organizations like APA call for action, answering the call to contact legislators can make a real impact on policies affecting psychology. Building relationships with your district’s legislators and offering to educate them on mental health legislation ensures psychology has a seat at the table. Want to do more? Join our legislative committee, serve on an LPA committee, or run for an officer position to directly influence our state’s policies and the future of our profession. You can even consider service on the state licensing board to help uphold ethical standards and protect the public. No matter your level of involvement, every action strengthens psychology in Louisiana—and we need you!
Ways To Get Involved
Explore Essential Resources for Psychologists
Contact LPA Advocacy Committee
Your voice matters in shaping psychology's future. Join the LPA Advocacy Committee to advance our profession through legislative action and community outreach across Louisiana.
LPA & the Legislative Process
LPA is committed to strengthening our political outreach and advocating for the interests of Louisiana psychologists and mental health issues that are important to the public. Through our Legislative & Governmental Affairs Committee, LPA has been instrumental in maintaining standards of psychological practice in Louisiana, protecting patients’ rights, and supporting public policy through psychological science. The current chair of the Legislative and Governmental Affairs committee is Jesse Lambert, Psy.D., MP.
Every year the Louisiana State Legislature introduces hundreds of bills, some of which affect the practice of psychology. The LPA legislative and governmental affairs committee reviews every bill relevant to psychology to determine the potential impact on psychologists, the patients we serve, and social issues that can be informed by psychological science. The committee, together with the LPA executive council, determines LPA’s position on each bill. We then actively work with legislators throughout the legislative process to advocate for the interests of psychologists and to ensure that policy and legislation is informed by psychological science. To learn more about how a bill becomes law, please visit the Louisiana Legislature.
As an affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA), LPA is involved in federal advocacy initiatives and regularly lobbies for federal issues that affect psychology. For a list of APA’s current advocacy initiatives, please visit APA’s federal advocacy page. The current Federal Advocacy Coordinator is Lacey Seymour, Ph.D. To learn more about how to impact both local and federal advocacy initiatives, please refer to the APA advocacy guide.
