Work

Clinical Psychology in the Post- Dobbs Era: Navigating Clinical Practice, Research, and Advocacy in a Changing Sexual- and Reproductive-Health Landscape

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: decision by the United States Supreme Court, abortion restrictions have increased throughout the country. This represents the most recent phase of decades of political and legal restrictions on abortion access, including the 1976 Hyde Amendment restricting federal funds for abortion services. Limiting access to legal abortion and safe reproductive healthcare has serious implications for the mental health of people who can become pregnant, and thus for clinical psychology. However, there are gaps in competence around sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for clinical psychologists in research and practice. In this paper, we 1) review empirical evidence regarding abortion and mental health, 2) discuss barriers to SRH competence for clinical psychology, and 3) present guiding principles for psychologists and institutions/training programs to address these competence gaps across research, clinical practice, and advocacy. We focus on clinical psychology, but the content is applicable to behavioral health disciplines broadly.

Source: Clinical Psychological Science

DOI: 10.1177/21677026251346150

Authors: Alexandra R. Tabachnick, Christine C. Call, Irene Tung, Stefanie L. Sequeira, Orma Ravindranath, Cassandra L. Boness, Lindsay Sortor, Lucy Ogbu-Nwobodo, David Ley, Kristen Eckstrand, Debora J. Bell

Institutions: Northwestern University, University of Pittsburgh, California State University, Dominguez Hills, University of Virginia, University of New Mexico, University of Pennsylvania, University of California, San Francisco, University of Missouri

Language: English

Topic: Reproductive Health and Contraception

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Diabetes Research Center, Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Awards: G6132776122, Measurement and Multimethod Validation of Alcohol Use Disorder Etiologic Mechanisms, Maternal Stress Resilience During Pregnancy and Offspring Emotion Regulation, Longitudinal and Momentary Associations Underlying the Relation of Food Insecurity and Gestational Weight Gain: Toward Obesity Risk Prevention, Clinical Research Training for Psychologists, Neural circuitry underlying emotional abuse and depression in sexual minority youth, Precision Lifestyle Medicine and Translation Research (PREMIER)

OpenAlex ID: W4411744093

FWCI: 0.743

Cites: 117

Cited by: 1

Related to: 10