Competency models for modern health service psychology education, training, and practice

Nearly 25 years into the competence movement in professional psychology, advancements in science and theory, American Psychological Association (APA) policy, and public health needs necessitate advancements in health service psychology competencies, benchmarks, and standards of accreditation.Despite substantial work to foster such advancements-such as the Process-Oriented Competency Framework (Wright et al., 2025)-there remains no codified, updated competence model nor standards of accreditation.A particularly pernicious gap is the absence of attention to structural determinants and antioppressive perspectives, despite research demonstrating their importance and APA's (e.g., 2021a, 2021b, 2021c, 2022) adoption of numerous policies emphasizing the role of psychologists in addressing systemic and structural oppression in the service of population health.As a joint initiative from our presidencies of APA Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) and APA Division 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology), we (Melanie M. Wilcox and A. Jordan Wright, respectively) developed this joint special issue of Training and Education in Professional Psychology and Professional Psychology: Research and Practice to elevate the work of scholars who are advancing our understanding of health service psychology competencies, particularly from an antioppressive perspective.There are 14 articles across both issues which offer critiques of existing models, applications of the Process-Oriented Competency Framework, and highlight the need for updated accreditation standards.Herein, we discuss the context of the special issues, summarize in detail the seven articles in Training and Education in Professional Psychology, and briefly summarize the seven Professional Psychology: Research and Practice articles.We conclude with a renewed call for formal adoption of an appropriate updated competency model and updated standards of accreditation. Public Significance StatementThe 14 articles across this joint special issue offer critiques of current health service psychology competence models, applications of the new Process-Oriented Competency Framework, and highlight the detriments to the field and to population health if psychologists are not prepared for modern, antioppressive practice.The authors offer paths forward at multiple levels to help strengthen education and training as well as practice while calling for structural changes within psychology itself. Keywords: competencies,