American Psychological Association Division 50
Hello friends and colleagues,
Over the past few weeks since the APA convention, I have followed Executive Orders as they continue to pile up; decisions overturned; purges at the CDC. I have found no studies to date that statistically model the long-term repercussions of these moves. However, many tracking these federal actions, our colleagues, and mainstream news outlets predict they will have generational impacts on science and public health, as they currently disrupt the trajectories of our students and colleagues and our scientific day-to-day.
But even before the convention, I was just not feeling the APA theme this year. “Perspectives, Power, Possibilities” felt hollow, and in the current political climate, even ominous. I had been fielding so many concerns from members, colleagues, students, and patients over the past few months. What helpful “perspectives,” access to “power,” or realistic “possibilities” did we even have that could be satisfying in such a challenging time?
APA had an unexpected answer for me. I walked into the Denver Convention Center on the first day of the APA Convention to the surprising strains of Nine Inch Nails’ “Head Like a Hole” blasting through the Convention Center’s coffee shop speakers. As a 90s industrial music fan, I initially giggled, looking around in disbelief. But as I waited for my coffee, the lyrics sank in as a lens through which I could see “Perspectives, Power, Possibilities.” Even more, I heard a call to action. In the face of greed, corruption, and subjugation, we can stand -- unbowed -- for what is just and compassionate in serving participants, students, patients, communities.
Addiction psychologists can work with communities to illuminate, minimize the risks of technology and even harness it for good.
Speaking of greed, corruption, and subjugation: The APA convention highlighted the very real harms of technology -- the ways digital platforms can widen inequities, compromise our ethics, worsen mental health, and erode trust. Fortunately, our Division 50 sessions also showed how we can work with communities to manage those risks, positively use technology, and pass these lessons along in our teaching, research, and clinical work.
This was central to our APA 2025 theme, Bridging the Gap: Digital Innovation in Addiction Psychology. For example, the Rumbo mobile app connected Latino/e community members with culturally responsive substance use and behavioral health services in their home countries. As presenters explored factors involved in smartphone overdependence, like impulsivity and negative affect (Jun and colleagues); others brought community perspectives to better shape the design of digital therapy platforms (Frohe and colleagues). Our members offered practical insights into how digital tools can bridge divides, reduce inequities, and bring people the support they need, wherever they are.
Division 50 elevated recovery and lived experience in our 2025 programming.
As requested by members, we created space for recovery at both D50 conferences – in Providence at the Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction conference and in Denver at the APA Convention. Our very own D50 leadership, including Corey Monley, Noah Emery and Bruce Liese, facilitated SMART Recovery and chaired All-Recovery 12-step Meetings. As a D50 member in recovery myself, these meetings were vital spaces of care, connection, and inclusivity. I am deeply grateful to our student leaders and members who advocated for them.
Our members led programming that centered lived experience in clinical and counseling practice, such as Tao and colleagues’ presentation on Story Circles to support perinatal care and Osilla & Lord’s skill-building work on supporting families impacted by drug-related grief. In addition to exploring more state- and provider-driven approaches, as in Tsoi and colleagues’ presentation on California’s statewide contingency management program, we also featured programming from Kristin Dempsey that expanded beyond abstinence-only treatment to embrace clients’ own goals in harm-reduction psychotherapy.
Leadership strove to uphold our long-standing commitments.
Even with this year’s shocks to our systems of education, research and clinical care, we strove to uphold our values and commitments. Specifically, here’s progress we made on my proposed presidential platform.
We learned from each other how to navigate this difficult time.
I had the honor of repurposing the traditional Presidential Address into a Presidential Panel called Navigating a Fraught Political Landscape as Addiction Psychologists. Since spring, we’ve seen colleagues lose grants, institutions and labs shaken by uncertainty, and patients and students facing instability and fear. Executive Orders and policy shifts have threatened not only our funding, but also the very communities we serve. Yet the panel reminded me that even in fraught times, our community responds with clarity and resilience. Please read the full set of panel takeaways in this issue, linked here.
We stand unbowed. You can’t take that from us.
This is a humbling time. People are afraid, and our collective fear is well-founded. We have seen negative impacts of executive orders ripple through our universities, our funding, and onto our streets. We worry about the 2026 reconciliation budget’s impact on education, science and healthcare. Outside of addiction psychology, the current administration is launching ever larger strikes against pillars of our democracy—strikes that are harming our families, our neighbors, and the wider world we share.
And I have also seen D50 members standing unbowed—grounded in advocacy, science, recovery, and compassion. I encourage you to renew your D50 membership when you renew your APA membership. Feel free to reach out to leadership, including our new Membership Chair, David Lardier, to stay connected, get involved, and find community. Call your senators and representatives in Congress and talk about your work and how you, your students, your patients and your participants are being impacted. Advocate through APA’s advocacy arm.
And if you falter, reach out to your D50 colleagues. A couple days ago, I worried aloud, and my D50 colleague shared, “We’re not going to let them get inside our heads. We’re going to keep doing the work as long as we can.” That’s the power of community to keep us strong and moving forward. And we will continue to move forward, toward recovery and justice, together, unbowed and serving the greater good.
With gratitude,
Susan Collins, PhD
Past-President, APA Division 50
Resources are available for those struggling with addiction and numerous effective treatments exist. Whether you are looking for help for yourself or a loved one, we encourage you to seek out help.