History of AISP
The American Indian Support Project (AISP) at USU was launched in the 1980s to address the need for school psychologists working within Tribal lands. Through the combined doctoral psychology training program, AISP expanded to address the national shortage of Native American mental health professionals and school psychologists. Through the success of AISP, USU has graduated approximately 10% of the American Indian and Alaska Native psychologists nationwide. In 2016, the American Psychological Association awarded the Suinn Minority Achievement Program Award to AISP. The founding director of the AISP was Dr. Damian Vraniak (McShane), Dr. Carolyn Barcus led the program for more than twenty-five years, and Dr. Melissa Tehee has served as director since 2015.
Current Need for Psychologists
American Indian and Alaska Native peoples remain one of the most underserved populations in the U.S. The population of American Indians and Alaska Natives is currently over 7 million, yet they only make up 0.13% of psychologists. In addition, most psychologists are not trained in cultural competence or responsiveness to work with American Indians and Alaska Natives. In a recent APA survey of Health Service Psychologists, almost 75% reported having little to no knowledge about ways of working with American Indian and Alaska Native clients.
The Psychology Department at USU remains committed to addressing the shortage of psychologists who can address education and health disparities of Indigenous peoples through mental health services and research. We are also committed to providing culturally responsive training and education to our students and the larger community.
Society of Indian Psychologists
For over thirty years, USU has hosted the annual convention of Indigenous psychologists and psychology graduate students. One goal of the convention is to promote the psychological well-being of American Indians and other Indigenous peoples and advance knowledge in Indigenous psychology. The Retreat and Convention are a one-of-a-kind event co-sponsored by the Society of Indian Psychologists, the national professional organization of American Indian psychologists. The retreat and convention provide graduate students with national community-building and mentoring connections.
To learn more about the convention, please visit the Convention Registration Page.