The UPA and our Members

Without our members, the UPA does not exist. Without the UPA, our members have no collective voice. You may have already seen in our “About” and “Advocacy” sections, the needs and benefits that psychiatry and the UPA meet and provide.

Because the UPA is a district branch of the American Psychiatric Association, membership in the UPA is a joint membership with the American Psychiatric Association. Psychiatrists in Utah (as well as Residents and Fellows) get the best of two great worlds.

In the UPA, they have an organization dedicated to local issues affecting Psychiatric practice and the well-being of our patients. In the APA, they have one of the largest professional organizations in the world with enormous resources to bring to bear on vital issues including advocacy, education with both live and online learning, practice tools, career development, members only liability insurance, up to the minute research news on every aspect impacting psychiatric illness, and well-being from COVID-19 to climate change.

The UPA hosts a semiannual meeting for members and the local community with speakers addressing topics relevant to current practice. Recent meeting topics have included psychedelics in psychiatric practice and the psychiatry of climate change.

There are several categories of joint membership in the UPA and APA.

General Members are practicing psychiatrists who have completed an acceptable residency training program in psychiatry, and hold either a valid license to practice medicine or an academic, research, or governmental position that does not require licensure. Click HERE for more information on General Membership.

Early Career Psychiatrists (ECPs) are General Members of the APA who are within their first seven years after completion of training (ACGME accredited residency/fellowship). Dues are reduced for the first six years of General Membership to ease the financial burdens of early career psychiatrists. Click HERE for more information about Early Career Membership.

Resident-Fellow Members are physicians who have been accepted into a psychiatric residency training program that is approved by the ACGME, RCPS(C), or AOA and remain enrolled therein. Residents enrolled in a one-year primary care training program to be followed by an approved psychiatric residency are eligible for Resident-Fellow Member status. Click HERE for more information about Resident-Fellow Membership.

Medical students enrolled in a school of medicine, in the U.S. or abroad, including osteopathic medicine are eligible to join the APA as a Medical Student Member.

Joint Membership Requirement: Please note that there is a joint membership requirement with the American Psychiatric Association. All applications for membership and changes in membership status must be approved by both organizations. Each organization has its own dues structure and benefits. For information on the APA dues structure, call 202-559-3900 or check their website.

Information about the benefits of membership can be found here for the various types of membership.

Frequently Asked Questions about Membership are answered here.

Membership in the Utah Psychiatric Association and American Psychiatric Association is annual. While all members are strongly encouraged to renew by January 1st each year, it is vital that you renew prior to the end of the 90-day grace period to avoid losing your membership benefits.

Members may renew in one of the following four ways:

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have specific questions regarding your member benefits.