Military-to-Civilian Transition Office Research (MCTO) Forums: 01-15-2026

Next Thursday, January 15 at 11:00 AM ET, the Military-to-Civilian Transition Office Research Forum will host a teleconference. These forums highlight the work of and create a platform to share information, data, and best practices to improve the military-civilian transition process and the lives of our service members and veterans

Topic: Professional Practice Guidelines for Operational Psychology – An Executive Summary with Dr. Mark Staal

Meeting Information:

Date: Thursday, January 15 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET

Link to the meeting:

Password for the meeting: Forum

Audio dial-in information is below.

Meeting ID: 161 2167 0761

One tap mobile

+1 669 254 5252,16121670761# US (San Jose)

+1 646 828 7666,16121670761# US (New York)

Program Description:

Dr. Staal will present on operational psychology and the development of the APA’s Professional Practice Guidelines for Operational Psychology. He will provide a brief overview of the practice domain, the process employed to develop professional practice guidelines, the scope of these guidelines, and the various challenges and friction points experienced during their development. Time will be reserved toward the end for questions and answers regarding operational psychology and related controversies.

Presenter: Dr. Mark Staal

Dr. Staal is a retired military operational psychologist who is board certified in clinical psychology and post-doc fellowship trained in Human Factors Engineering at NASA. Mark spent most of his career serving within the special operations community and currently serves as a consultant to the National Academy of Sciences. He previously served as President of the Society for Military Psychology and is also a member of APA’s Council of Representatives. He was the lead author of the APA’s Professional Practice Guidelines for Operational Psychology and his most recent book, Operational Psychology and National Security: An Ethics Casebook was just released.

Research Links:

For more information contact me or Dr. Nathan D. Ainspan, Senior Research Psychologist, DoD MCTO, at nathan.d.ainspan.civ@mail.mil or (571) 372 – 0742.