Washtenaw Psychology Society

Washtenaw Psychology Society (WPS) is a regional group of the Michigan Psychological Association (MPA) that was founded in November 2015 with the goal of bringing together psychologists who live or work within a half hour drive of Ann Arbor.  We hoped to revitalize our state association by providing more accessible and relevant services. Here’s a thumbnail sketch of what we’ve accomplished.  

What is the Washtenaw Psychology Society?

Our recruiting area consists of Washtenaw (Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Ypsilanti) and Livingston Counties (Brighton, Howell), as well as western Wayne County (Canton, Northville, Plymouth).

We are now over 400 members strong, the size of an average state psychological association.  Half of our members have attended at least one of our monthly meetings.  We are a diverse group of independent practitioners, academics, and owners of group practices. Our monthly meetings consist of a business/networking session followed by a one-hour talk from one of the members, with free CE credits. In November of 2020 we had our 50th educational presentation, now in a virtual format, with an hour of free CE credit for attendees who are MPA members.

We have realized several of the goals of WPS.  Many members are using our internal mail list and our database for referrals and queries. We have free peer consultation groups on a range of topics and a fledgling mentoring program for members who are new to independent practice. We have a Google Drive site for our members where photos, minutes, slide presentations from speakers, resource lists and other materials are archived. Many of our members have leadership roles in the MPA board or committees. We have unpaid undergrad interns from the University of Michigan who are updating our databases and helping to keep our meetings run smoothly.

Anyone who wishes to start their own regional group is welcome to reach out to our founder, Dr. Lawrence Perlman, for advice.