Guidelines for Girls and Women


In 1978, the Division of Counseling Psychology (Div. 17) of the American Psychological Association (APA) approved the Principles Concerning the Counseling and Psychotherapy of Women. These principles were published by Louise Fitzgerald and Roberta Nutt (1986) and have been a standard for counseling women since that time. Fitzgerald and Nutt are long-time members of SAW (formerly the Div. 17 Committee on Women).

In February, 2007, APA approved Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Girls and Women, created by a task group of Divisions 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) and 35 (Society for the Psychology of Women) and spearheaded by Joy Rice, Roberta Nutt, and Carolyn Zerbe Enns.

In 2013, SAW Chair Debra Mollen was appointed, along with Lillian Comas-Diaz and Sharon Lamb, as Co-Chairs for the revisions for the Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Girls and Women by the Presidents of Divisions 17 and 35. The revised guidelines can be accessed at https://www.apa.org/about/policy/psychological-practice-girls-women.pdf.