Dear AGPS Community,

Many of you know that our parent organization, the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA), puts on a large, engaging, and wonderfully experiential conference every year called Connect, usually at the end of February or early March (in 2027 it will be Feb. 22 - 27 in Denver CO).

AGPA knows that this conference can be cost-prohibitive for many people, and they run a scholarship program to help. And there's a little known secret: it turns out that if you apply for a scholarship, AGPA will almost always find a way to help with the conference tuition even if you don't get one. So it's good to apply!

Also, AGPA is currently undertaking an initiative to identify and try to remove implicit bias and other barriers that affect the scholarship application process, particularly for people with marginalized identities. Since they know they won't notice everything, they are eager for feedback about any barriers that people encounter as they engage with the scholarship process.

So, my goal here is two-fold:

1) to provide information about the AGPA Connect Scholarship program and encourage you to apply, and 

2) to ask that you feel free to let me and/or the AGPS Board know about any barriers or difficulties that you experience while engaging with the scholarship application process, so that we can pass this feedback back to AGPA.

See below for more info about #1! And also I want to highlight that there is one scholarship expressly for people who live in one of these states: Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, or Arizona. That narrows the competition considerably! It's called the Southwestern Group Psychotherapy Scholarship.

Of course, don't hesitate to reach out to me or other board members if you have any questions, and please feel free to let us know about any barriers you encounter.

Thank you,

Anna

Additional info about the AGPA Connect Scholarship Program:

1. Here's a list of all the scholarships offered. These are endowed scholarships that cover tuition, travel, lodging, and a stipend. Try to list all those you qualify for in your cover letter, and know also that the AGPA office will endeavor to include you for consideration in all for which you qualify.
2. Here's a detailed FAQ with instructions about applying. Note that the deadline is Nov. 15th for the endowed scholarships, but you can still apply after that for tuition assistance.
3. If you don't qualify for any scholarships but have financial need, you can contact the AGPA office directly and ask for assistance.
4. Do you have to be an AGPA Member? Here's what the office says: "If they are a member their membership needs to be current. If they have never been a member they will get a membership as part of the scholarship."
5. Finally, some insider tips about things to mention in your cover letter:
   1. express your strong interest in group, whatever that may look like (e.g., bc you loved your group class, bc you are already leading groups and want more experience/skills, etc.)
   2. describe any barriers you face for attending Connect 
   3. if you're applying for a scholarship the assumption is made that finances are a barrier, but it doesn't hurt to say so explicitly (e.g., if I don't get financial help, I will not be able to attend...)

-- 

Anna Graybeal, PhD, CGP, SEP

Austin Group Psychotherapy Society (AGPS)

President - President@austingroups.org