The American Psychological Association wants you to know: For a healthy mind and body, talk to a psychologist. That sentiment is more than the title of one of APA’s most popular brochures. It’s also the idea that supports APA’s Mind/Body Health public education campaign.
The Mind/Body Health public education campaign uses national and local outreach activities to educate the public about the connection between psychological and physical health. The campaign also promotes psychologists as the best-trained health care providers to support healthy lifestyle and behavioral change. Topics include stress, heart disease and obesity.
The campaign features an annual Stress in America survey that provides a snapshot of what causes Americans stress, how they cope with stress and how stress affects their health and relationships, among other things. Much of the campaign’s success is through the volunteer work of psychologists in every state who serve as media experts and event organizers and presenters.
To further expand outreach, APA partnered with the YMCA of the USA. With more than 2, 600 YMCAs in America, serving more than 20 million people, we have a new venue through which we can directly connect psychologists to the public.
The campaign benefits the public with credible, current information about how lifestyle and behavior can affect health and wellness through brochures, tip sheets and articles on the Psychology Help Center, as well as access to the free workshops or events hosted by psychologists.
Psychologists also benefit. APA members who join the public education campaign committees in their area are often asked to do interviews for media requests. The campaign provides resources and material, much of which is in the campaign’s toolkit, that can be used in public outreach as well as venues for presentations and events through APA’s partnership with the YMCA.
