Publications
APS Bulletin • Volume 13, Number 2, 2003
Web Site Reviews
Michael E. Clark, PhD, Department Editor
Organization: American Psychological Association
Reviewed by Kris Werner, PhD
Site Audience
This site is the home of the American Psychological Association (APA). It provides extensive resources related to mental health and human behavior. APA’s stated mission is to advocate for the advancement of psychology as a science, profession, and a means of promoting human welfare. Founded in 1892, comprising divisions in 53 subspecialties, and affiliated with state psychological associations, APA has a membership exceeding 155,000 and is the largest association of psychologists worldwide. The APA Web site, along with APA’s extensive publishing program (more than 40 periodicals), strives to disseminate scientific and professional information to meet the needs of specialized groups within the field of psychology. The Web site may be useful for pain professionals, educators, and consumers of pain services who are interested in a wide range of pain-related topics.
Content Appraisal
A search under “pain” resulted in a display of more than 240 documents addressing legislation and regulation, pain assessment and relief, clinical care, dual-diagnosis, interdisciplinary treatment approaches, drug-related concerns, end-of-life care, suicide, alternative therapies, and advocacy for overcoming barriers to pain relief. Clinical information presented in articles addresses current advances in pain assessment and management. It is geared toward psychological issues related to pain, illness, or end-of-life, and promotes improved understanding of patients’ perceptions and expressions of pain, psychosocial variables that mediate the pain experience, and the impact of pain on quality of life. Articles about legislative changes in pain management, ethics, ongoing research, training, advocacy, and specific patient populations are clearly presented. Other home page content headings link to information about continuing education, conventions, programs and offices, products, journals, books, and other psychology-related resources. Membership is not required to access the majority of the “Members Only” information.
Navigation/Ease of Use
The APA Web site includes an alphabetized site map, help, and a search engine. The search engine includes a “search within results” option.
Recommendations
Although the APA Web site’s content is not pain-specific, it features a variety of pain-related documents and topics that should be of interest to APS members involved with the psychosocial, legislative, and regulatory issues pertinent to our field.
Review content represents the opinion of the reviewer, not APS.
Please submit your suggestions for future Web site reviews to Michael E. Clark, PhD, Web Site Review Department Editor, michaeleclark@highstream.net.