To our Staff, Interns, Supervisors, Training Directors, and Site Administrators:

We are writing to provide information regarding NPTC’s plan of action in light of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). As members of the healthcare system, our sites serve a crucial role in the wellbeing of our communities. For this reason, we generally follow similar precautions to other healthcare systems rather than closing services entirely. In most cases, it is NPTC’s practice to follow the cues from our partner agencies related to reporting to work and any applicable travel. Except with regard to travel for didactics, we will not require interns or employees of NPTC to travel out of state or to large gatherings.

We do not have current plans to take any additional precautions above and beyond that of our individual partner sites. In the event that any agency makes changes that could affect accumulation of hours either clinical or general, we are committed to helping everyone attain the hours required to successfully complete the program. In these cases, any decisions regarding plans of action for hour accrual will be coordinated between NPTC, the site, the intern and their school, APPIC and APA.

NPTC will also follow recommendations made by APA in a statement released March 11, 2020. These guidelines allow support for agencies choosing to temporarily change their training procedures and protocols to include more tele-services and tele-supervision to reduce travel requirements. Programs are allowed to change their previously stated protocols for tele-services so long as they still adhere to the CoA’s Implementing Regulations for the Standards of Accreditation. APA also reported they are postponing all future site visits until further notice. APA will review the situation again in mid-April to determine whether the postponement will continue. More information regarding guidelines and recommendations are provided from the World Health Organization and the US Center for Disease Control.

NPTC remains committed to providing the training and experiences necessary for interns to successfully complete their programs, while also mindfully monitoring the situation to keep everyone’s health and safety as a top priority during this time. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns related to this event.

Best Regards,

Adam Andreassen, Psy.D.
President/CEO
National Psychology Training Consortium

Also see attachment for our NPTC Diversity Committee COVID-19 Statement reflecting on ways in which COVID-19 is expected to impact populations our sites serve and some things we can do in response.

Dear Educators, Students, Members, and Staff of NPTC:

We are deeply troubled by recent events that have continued to shed light on racist tendencies among police and White Americans. Video footage documentation has helped expose institutional racism and appropriately shocked our nation. We are concerned about violence erupting in our cities and resources for disadvantaged people eroding further. We are outraged about recent events and moved to act with compassion, humility, respect and competence toward healing our communities, our patients, and ourselves.

The APA notes on its website 5/31/2020:
“We are living in a racism pandemic, which is taking a heavy psychological toll on our African American citizens. The health consequences are dire.” (American Psychological Association President Sandra L. Shullman, PhD.) Racism is associated with a host of psychological consequences, including depression, anxiety and other severe, sometimes debilitating conditions, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and substance use disorders. Moreover, the stress caused by racism can contribute to the development of cardiovascular and other physical diseases.”

Many individuals experiencing racism have additional intersectional target group memberships, such as disabilities, or identifying as LGBTQ+. June is Pride month, a time when our LGBTQ+ communities celebrate openly. These events began as a protest. To celebrate openly was to oppose silence and shame. Anti-racism protests take a similar form today. Because the COVID 19 pandemic is limiting selfexpression and gatherings, it is doubly important we find new ways to highlight these realities.

As an organization training psychologists and dedicated to honor diversity, we strive to promote values of tolerance and human dignity for all. This means that we denounce racist and other acts of oppression and violence. We consider ourselves allies of target groups and publicly and personally defend the rights of colleagues, team affiliates, interns, students, patients and clients who are being threatened, harassed and/or discriminated against.

Given the current compounding crises, our clinics and training sites have the opportunity to model adaptability and new ways of providing care. Our commitment to promote justice and health for vulnerable populations is ever stronger.

More than ever, there is a need to train Psychologists to serve diverse urban and rural communities experiencing unprecedented stress from a deadly pandemic, despair from economic losses, and flareups of hatred revealing long-standing discrimination. NPTC is committed to social justice and to acting as allies to groups that are being treated unfairly. We are committed to continue teaching how to integrate medical and behavioral health care, to facilitate communication within and across organizations and communities, and to maintain all possible conditions of safety for our staff and students.

Best Regards,

Adam Andreassen, Psy.D.
President/CEO
National Psychology Training Consortium

Dear NPTC Community,

It is with heavy hearts we write to acknowledge recent events of violence and threat impacting our personal, local, and national communities.  This weekend’s horrific violence against patrons at Club Q in Colorado Springs was on the eve of the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.  It echoes violence against LGBTQ+ people historically, recently, and daily.  Members of our community are also reeling from the violence against African American students at the University of Virginia and mourning the lives of three men cut tragically short.  These events occur in a context in which members of marginalized communities face increased threat from harm in simply living their lives. FBI-reported hate crimes (the majority of which target people based on race, but also include targeting due to ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity) are at a 12-year high, and reported Antisemitic hate crimes in the US are currently at an all-time high.  NPTC’s thoughts are with staff, interns, and all in our community grieving these losses as we endeavor to join our voices with all those against hatred, bigotry, and violence.  May the memories of those lost be a blessing.

As Directors of DEI for NPTC, Dr. Asay (pasay@psychologyinterns.org) and Dr. Sconyers (tsconyers@psychologyinterns.org) are here to hold space and offer support for any members of our community.  Please do not hesitate to reach out.

Some additional resources:

American Counseling Association:   Coping in the aftermath of a shooting https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/coping-in-the-aftermath-of-a-shooting

National Alliance on Mental Health  has compiled resources, information about how to take action and more at https://www.naminh.org/bipoc-aapi/