Principles of Socially Responsive Shared Governance: Applying an Ethics Lens to Systems of Governance in Professional Psychology Training

• Published in: Training and education in professional psychology 2023-02, Vol.17 (1), p.53-62
• Main Authors: Maranzan, K. Amanda, Maynard-Pemba, Natasha, Çiftçi, Ayşe, Fehon, Dwain C., Nikalje, Ankita, Berry, April T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accountability; Decision Making; Education; Equity; Ethics; Graduate Psychology Education; Health Care Psychology; Human; Inclusion; Ownership; Professional Ethics; Training
• ISSN: 1931-3918; 1931-3926
• DOI: 10.1037/tep0000430

Governance is at the core of education and training in health service psychology-it forms the structures, systems, and practices that training programs use when making decisions, determining who has a voice in decision-making, and who is accountable. This system has operated in a traditional hierarchy with few meaningful opportunities for all concerned parties to achieve equity, ownership, partnership, and accountability. In this article, we introduce the concept of socially responsive shared governance, and describe how such a governance model is needed for programs to begin to address inequities, injustices, racism, and privilege in education and training. We review the discipline's ethical values, additionally drawing on African, Indigenous, and Latinx/Hispanic ethical values to demonstrate that it is our ethical responsibility to implement socially responsive shared governance. We also provide examples for programs to consider to increase equity, ownership, partnership, and accountability in program governance. Public Significance Statement This article describes and critically evaluates the ethical values that relate to socially responsive shared governance. In order to address inequities, injustices, racism, and privilege we affirm that it is our ethical responsibility to implement socially responsive shared governance in health service psychology training and education.