Psyche, Science, and Society

Comments to a depressed colleague on the APA referendum

September 23rd, 2008

I have written this to colleagues who are depressed that the American Psychological Association is claiming that the new APA referendum is not yet in effect or enforceable as a part of the ethics code:

A couple of comments. First, please remember that we have won an ENORMOUS VICTORY! We have defeated strong forces and changed policy. The vote, at 59% was overwhelming! The headlines went out in hundreds of newspapers across the country and worldwide. the Wall Street Journal had it on its front page! I am absolutely sure that the DoD and CIA have heard us loud and clear.

While, of course, we want this in effect immediately, and believe (correctly) that it is in effect, that is secondary. Regardless of when APA sends out a few letters, WE HAVE BEEN AND ARE BEING HEARD. I believe that our actions will affect policy, though it will take a while. So PLEASE DON’T GET DEPRESSED. I’m still ecstatic! I keep on thinking “59%! We’re the overwhelming majority. We stood up to the Dark Side and triumphed.”

We have made history. This struggle will be taught for decades, like the stories of the Soviet psychiatrists who incarcerated and “treated” dissidents and the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. But this time, thanks to us, it won’t be a story just of professional malpractice, but of how a small band stood up for professional ethics and human rights and righted matters! When our children and grandchildren ask “What did you do in those dark days of the Bush administration,” we will look them in the eyes and proudly tell them.

I received an email from a long-time (many decades) activist and leader of a national progressive organization. She said that our victory had restored her fairth that, perhaps, the country could be changed. She wrote me again to make sure I understood that she meant every word of it. I have received a number of such emails from around the world. Our victory is being seen as a beacon of hope around the world. As I sent, the conservative commentator and blogger entitled his posting on our victory: “Know Hope!” I hope (pun intended) that gives a sense of what we have done and its importance.

Of course we want this enforceable. That will be a continuing battle. But, in the meantime, policy-makers have heard us. And vast portions of the public have heard us. That is far more important, especially given the secrecy at the detention centers, which will shield most people anyway. And military psychologists, like ther civilian colleagues, don’t want to be seen as going against the “ethics,” broadly defined, of their profession. That is true regardless of whether they can be sanctioned for it.

The biggest struggle we face is to clean up APA, to change the policies, structures, and in some cases, people, who are responsible for this debacle. We need to elect Steven Reisner President. We need to push unceasingly for a truth Commission for Psychology, and for the torture rehime broadly. And we need to fight for the referendum to be put into policy, and not just at the APA. So, fight the small battles, but keep your eyes on the prize. It is so much closer today than it was last week at this time.

Entry Filed under: APA, Interrogation, Law, Psychology, Torture, Uncategorized