Off the Shelf and Into the Community: Advocacy and Public Scholarship

Abstract

Psychological science can be used to inform the critical social and global issues affecting communities. Advocacy has been recognized as an essential and ethical responsibility of mental health professionals, as it champions the basic human and civil rights of individuals, families, and communities. Scholar-activism encourages psychology to bridge scholarly knowledge, social justice, and advocacy to foster social change. Public scholarship aims to consider dissemination beyond our scholarly journals and to communities and decision makers who might benefit from psychological science research and practice. There are existing barriers to psychologists’ advocacy engagement, primarily centered around the need for social justice and advocacy education and training for psychology students and trainees. As the 2021 Marion Langer Award recipient, the author provides examples of how she integrated advocacy, social justice, and public scholarship into her early career work. Future directions for students, trainees, researchers, and practitioners are provided.