Erin E. Andrews, PsyD, ABPP

This article posits a substantial expansion of the Foundational Principles rooted in the writings of Beatrice Wright, Tamara Dembo and Roger Baker from 1972. The current reviews the history and expansion of the Foundational Principles through the years. Noting that advocacy is also deeply rooted in rehabilitation psychology and an identified area of competency in practice. Advocacy models are promoted in psychology and internationally as noted through the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities international treaty of the United Nations. In perspective, the field of rehabilitation psychology is challenged to embrace the broader approach to advocacy impacting individuals, institutions, research, practice and policy. The authors’ analysis of our core values and competencies succinctly delineates advocacy as an organic component of the foundational principles.

— Dr. Terrie Price, PhD

This selection comes from Erin E. Andrews, Psy.D., ABPP, a rehabilitation psychologist whose scholarship and professional work have helped advance advocacy as a central responsibility of rehabilitation psychology. Dr. Andrews has contributed extensively to the understanding of disability, rehabilitation, and the role of psychologists in promoting equity and social change. Her work reflects a longstanding commitment to extending rehabilitation psychology beyond individual clinical practice to the broader systems, institutions, and policies that shape the lives of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions.

In 2023, Dr. Andrews, together with colleagues Christine R. Pilarski, Kara Ayers, and David S. Dunn, published “Advocacy: The seventh foundational principle and core competency of rehabilitation psychology” in *Rehabilitation Psychology*. The article represents an important step in the continuing evolution of the Foundational Principles of Rehabilitation Psychology, first articulated in the early 1970s through the work of Beatrice Wright, Tamara Dembo, and Roger G. Barker.

The authors argue that advocacy should be recognized not simply as an application of rehabilitation psychology, but as a seventh Foundational Principle and a core competency of the profession. Drawing on the history of rehabilitation psychology, contemporary models of advocacy, and the international recognition of disability rights—including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities—the article situates advocacy within the field’s longstanding commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities.

Their analysis expands the scope of advocacy beyond helping an individual navigate a particular challenge. Rehabilitation psychologists, the authors contend, have a role in addressing barriers at multiple levels: advocating with and for individuals, influencing institutions and organizations, advancing research, improving professional practice, and contributing to public policy. In this view, advocacy is not separate from the foundational principles of rehabilitation psychology; it is an organic expression of the values that have defined the field from its beginnings.

Dr. Andrews and her coauthors' work challenges rehabilitation psychology to embrace this broader conception of its mission. By formally identifying advocacy as the seventh Foundational Principle, their article connects the field's historical foundations with its contemporary responsibility to promote equity, participation, and meaningful change for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions.