Our Mission:

To offer educational and networking opportunities for mental health professionals to better serve the island of Hawai’i.

 

The Hawai'i Island Psychological Association (HIPA) is the county psychological association, with members from all regions of our 4,028 square mile island/county, often called the Big Island. After meeting informally for several years, HIPA was formally established on April 10, 1994, over twenty five years ago, to provide a forum for psychologists on the island of Hawai'i to network and to participate in professional development opportunities. HIPA recognized that Hawai’i Island psychologists and psychotherapists faced formidable challenges in accessing professional development courses because of the extensive time and cost involved in traveling to the continental USA or to Honolulu.  We also recognized that the nature of living and working on a rural and geographically isolated island posed unique challenges for psychologists and psychotherapists; HIPA has provided a place for these professional issues to be discussed.   HIPA has expanded to include other mental health and medical professionals on the island, who are able to attend workshops offered by HIPA and who can become members of the organization. HIPA was created to provide opportunities for the island psychologists to participate in professional development activities in a more cost-effective and affordable manner. By providing formal learning opportunities on the island, HIPA can also allow Hawai’i Island psychotherapists more time to serve the community.

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