American Psychological Association

What American Psychological Association does

The American Psychological Association (APA), founded in 1892 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional membership organization representing psychology in the United States and Canada. APA operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit governed by its members through the Council of Representatives and Board of Directors, with current leadership including Arthur Evans, Jr. (EVP and CEO) and Jerri Lynn Hogg (President). The organization serves licensed psychologists, psychology students, educators, researchers, and the general public across research, education, practice, and advocacy functions.

APA's core product portfolio is anchored by APA PsycNet, a research platform containing over 5.4 million journal articles, abstracts, and books distributed through PsycInfo, PsycArticles, PsycBooks, PsycExtra, and PsycLearn. Publishing extends to APA Style (the global citation standard), Monitor on Psychology magazine, Magination Press children's books, and the Speaking of Psychology podcast. Professional development is delivered through Continuing Education programs (priced $35-$160 per course), the APA Annual Convention (APA 2026 scheduled August 6-8 in Washington, DC), and APA Community networking. APA also runs PsycCareers, APA Academic Writer, the American Psychological Foundation, and APA Labs, which launched the Digital Badge Solutions Library in April 2026 for third-party digital mental health tool validation.

Revenue is generated through recurring membership dues, database and journal subscriptions, CE program fees (with member discounts), convention registrations, and copyright licensing via the Copyright Clearance Center. Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer through apa.org and APA PsycNet, supplemented by third-party retailers (Amazon Kindle, RedShelf, VitalSource). APA holds a structural regulatory position as the chief accreditor of U.S. professional psychology training programs, with standards affecting approximately 1,300 postgraduate programs recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Notable 2023-2026 strategic moves include a Big Health partnership leading to FDA clearance of digital therapeutics (SleepioRx, DaylightRx), a 2026 collaboration with OpenAI on ChatGPT's Trusted Contact safety feature, and multiple health advisories addressing AI in adolescent and adult mental health.

Name

American Psychological Association

Legal name

American Psychological Association

Website

https://apa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1892

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The American Psychological Association is the largest professional membership organization for psychologists in the U.S. and Canada, providing research databases, scholarly publishing, continuing education, accreditation, and practice standards. It serves licensed psychologists, students, researchers, and the general public through subscription and fee-based services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association & Academic Publishing

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Professional Organizations (81392), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Classroom Management & Behavior/Participation Engagement Tools (EDAFAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH), Autism Support Instructional Materials (Structured Teaching, Visual Supports) (EDAGAMAK), Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) Evaluation, Implementation & Training (School-Based) (EDAKAEAI)

Keywords

• Professional psychology services
• Academic journal publishing
• Continuing education programs
• Scholarly research databases
• Professional membership association

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: APA generates revenue through membership subscriptions offering benefits including access to publications, CE programs, networking, and professional resources.
2. Publications and Subscriptions: APA publishes scholarly journals, books, and databases including APA PsycInfo, APA PsycArticles, and APA PsycBooks. Revenue comes from journal subscriptions, book sales, and database access fees.
3. Continuing Education Programs: APA offers CE courses, webinars, and training programs for psychologists. Pricing ranges from $35 to $160 per program, with member discounts available.
4. Annual Convention: APA hosts an annual convention (APA 2026, August 6-8, in Washington, DC and virtual) that generates revenue through registration fees.
5. Copyright Licensing: APA licenses copyrighted content from journals and books through the Copyright Clearance Center. Fees apply for reuse of chapters, articles, pages, excerpts, and figures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels13 records

Core offering

The American Psychological Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional membership organization that publishes scholarly psychology journals, books, and research databases (APA PsycNet), sets the APA Style citation standard, accredits psychology training programs, delivers continuing education and an annual convention, and licenses copyrighted content. It also operates the APA Labs Digital Badge Solutions Library that evaluates and certifies third-party digital mental health tools, and runs APA Services, Inc. for federal advocacy and practice support.

Product overview

APA operates as a broad professional organization and publishing house offering a platform-plus-services architecture. Its core products span research databases (APA PsycNet encompassing PsycInfo, PsycArticles, PsycBooks, and PsycExtra with over 5.4 million items), scholarly publishing (APA Style standards, Monitor on Psychology magazine, Magination Press children's books, Speaking of Psychology podcast), professional development (Continuing Education programs across dozens of clinical and research topics, APA Annual Convention), and digital membership services (APA Community networking platform, MyAPA member portal, PsycCareers job board, APA Academic Writer). APA Labs launched the Digital Badge Solutions Library in 2026, a curated collection of third-party digital mental health tools (Calm Health, Kai.ai, StarStarter for Anxiety, PepperChat, BrightCanary Parental Controls) that have passed APA's evidence-based evaluation on clinical standards, regulatory compliance, and privacy. APA Services, Inc. serves as a companion advocacy organization. The portfolio collectively serves psychologists, students, researchers, clinicians, and the general public across the research, education, practice, and advocacy lifecycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• APA PsycNet Searchable research platform providing access to over 5.4 million journal articles, abstracts, and books across psychology and related disciplines, including PsycInfo, PsycArticles, PsycBooks, PsycExtra, and PsycLearn. Used by academic institutions, researchers, librarians, and practicing psychologists.
• APA PsycInfo Premier abstract and indexing database of peer-reviewed research literature in psychology and the behavioral and social sciences, accessible through APA PsycNet. Used by academic institutions, researchers, and librarians.
• APA PsycArticles Full-text database of articles from APA-published peer-reviewed psychology journals. Used by academic institutions and individual subscribers for research access.
• APA PsycBooks Digital collection of APA scholarly and professional books covering all areas of psychology. Used by students, researchers, and practicing psychologists.
• APA PsycExtra Gray literature database covering reports, conference papers, and other non-journal sources relevant to psychology research. Used by academic researchers and graduate students.
• APA PsycLearn

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% of surveyed psychologists report patients discussing AI chatbots during therapy sessions (2026 survey)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OpenAIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026APA collaborated with OpenAI to provide guidance on the development of the Trusted Contact feature in ChatGPT, a safety feature that notifies designated contacts when users discuss self-harm. APA's mental health expertise informed the feature's design including human review protocols before notifications are sent.
• National Academy of MedicineminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2026APA participated as an expert representative in a National Academy of Medicine hosted discussion on AI chatbots for mental health, alongside The Jed Foundation, Columbia University, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
• Big HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023APA partnered with Big Health in 2023 to support digital mental health therapies. This partnership contributed to FDA clearance for Big Health's SleepioRx and DaylightRx in August 2024, setting a precedent for psychologist-accessible digital therapeutics.
• Digital Health Tool Providers (Featured in Digital Badge Library)minorOthersAPA features validated digital mental health tools in its Digital Badge Solutions Library including Calm Health, Calm: Sleep and Meditation, Kai.ai, StarStarter for Anxiety, PepperChat, and BrightCanary Parental Controls. Products are evaluated on clinical standards alignment, regulatory compliance, and privacy protections.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Chemical Society: ACS is a peer professional/scientific society that runs a comparable operating model at larger scale — membership dues, scholarly publishing (JACS and the ACS journal portfolio), Chemical Abstracts Service (Scifinder), CAS registry, and accreditation. Often cited as a benchmark for the publishing-led professional association model APA also operates.
• American Academy of Pediatrics: AAP is a larger, broader professional membership organization in healthcare that overlaps with APA in pediatric mental health (e.g., APA's AI advisory on adolescents is adjacent to AAP's policy work). Operates Pediatrics journal, membership, CE, and advocacy under a similar model but for a much larger medical specialty.

Direct peers

• American Medical Association: The AMA is the largest U.S. professional membership organization for physicians and operates the same model as APA: membership dues, scholarly publishing (JAMA, JAMA Network), continuing education, advocacy, and ethics standards-setting. Both organizations anchor the regulatory and professional identity of their respective fields in the U.S.
• American Psychiatric Association: APA's closest professional peer — the APA for psychiatrists. Operates the same combination of membership, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), scholarly publishing (American Journal of Psychiatry), continuing education, and advocacy. Targets overlapping but distinct professional segments within the mental health field.
• American Occupational Therapy Association: AOTA operates the same membership-publication-CE-advocacy model for occupational therapists, including specialty sections (analogous to APA's 56+ divisions), an accreditation function recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and journals such as the American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
• Association for Psychological Science: The APS is a scientific and professional organization for psychology researchers, overlapping with APA on the science side but focused primarily on research psychologists rather than practitioners. Comparable in publishing (Psychological Science), membership, and conferences.
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: ASHA serves audiologists and speech-language pathologists with a comparable model: membership organization, scholarly journals, continuing education, ethics standards, and a recognized credentialing/accreditation function. ASHA's CCC (Certificate of Clinical Competence) is the closest analogue to APA's accreditation authority.
• American Counseling Association: ACA is the largest U.S. professional membership organization for counselors, with a parallel operating model: membership dues, scholarly journals (Journal of Counseling & Development), continuing education, ethics codes, and advocacy. Targets an adjacent mental health profession with similar publishing and CE monetization.

Others

• Wiley (publisher): Wiley is a major commercial scholarly publisher that competes with APA Publishing in psychology and adjacent behavioral science journals (e.g., through partnerships). It is a competitor in journal subscriptions and books but a commercial publisher rather than a membership organization.

Emerging players

• American Counseling Association Foundation / NBCC: National Board for Certified Counselors operates the principal national certification for counselors, analogous to APA's accreditation role for psychology training programs. Smaller and more focused than APA but plays a comparable gatekeeping function in an adjacent profession.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/apa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/theapavideo
• Facebookfacebook.com/AmericanPsychologicalAssociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-psychological-association
• Instagraminstagram.com/apa_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about American Psychological Association