The American Psychological Association (APA) — one of the world’s largest organizations of healthcare clinicians, researchers, and educators — contends that it “prioritizes human rights advocacy” and “encourages psychologists to support and advocate for populations at risk of human rights violations, including marginalized populations both domestically and globally.” But if APA leaders want to truly honor that commitment, …
Tag Archives: American Psychological Association
Ceasefire: Thank You, APA Council
I’m not known for congratulating the American Psychological Association very often. I’ve harshly criticized the APA’s leadership for failing to adequately prioritize our profession’s Do-No-Harm ethics during the so-called War on Terror. I’ve expressed serious reservations about the APA’s overly close ties to the military-intelligence establishment. And I’ve raised significant concerns about the fact that politicians whose views diverge sharply from …
Why I Support Wendi Williams for APA President-Elect
Several years ago, I resigned from the American Psychological Association after being a dues-paying member for over a quarter-century. Like others who’ve made this same choice, my resignation reflected an accumulation of both frustration and a sense of alienation. Too often, APA’s leadership seemingly came up short when it was important to challenge government policies …
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A Call for Retraction: The Recent American Psychologist Article on Antisemitism
It is disappointing and distressing to see that the American Psychologist — the flagship journal of the American Psychological Association (APA) — has published an article[1] titled “The American Psychological Association and Antisemitism: Toward Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” The authors are six board members of the new “Association of Jewish Psychologists” (AJP): Lenore Walker, Ester Cole, Sarah Friedman, Beth …
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My Concerns about the “Association of Jewish Psychologists”
The new non-profit “Association of Jewish Psychologists” (AJP) has described its primary purpose as combating antisemitism, and I wholeheartedly support this important commitment to eradicating hate and discrimination. But a closer look at this organization reveals that, despite its broad-brush name, AJP has shown itself equally committed to a specific political ideology, one that’s inconsistent …
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Jean Maria Arrigo: A Remembrance
Dear Friends and Colleagues, With great sadness, I am writing to let you know that Jean Maria Arrigo has passed away, peacefully and painlessly while in hospice care at her home, with her husband John at her side. Many of you undoubtedly knew Jean Maria personally and were familiar with and benefited from her work …
How Can Peace Psychologists Not Call for a Humanitarian Ceasefire?
NOTE: This is an update on events I’ve previously described, first HERE and then HERE. On October 7, 2023, over 1,000 Israelis died at the hands of Hamas militants and 200 more were taken hostage. Immediately thereafter, Israel began an unrelenting bombardment and siege of Gaza in a military campaign that’s been condemned—almost universally—as disproportionate and indiscriminate. At …
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Guantanamo: An Enduring Stain
The infamous U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay turns 22 this month. Its ugly history now spans an entire generation. For those who might not remember, on January 11, 2002, General Richard Myers described Guantanamo’s first arrivals as “people that would gnaw hydraulic lines in the back of a C-17 to bring it down” and Secretary …
Will the American Psychological Association Ever Join the Ceasefire Call?
The shocking numbers of Palestinian civilians, many of them children, subjected to unimaginable horrors in Gaza—death, displacement, disease, starvation, and more—grow larger every day. And yet it seems that urgent calls for a humanitarian ceasefire still can’t be heard inside the headquarters of the American Psychological Association (APA), an organization that for years infamously failed to forcefully oppose the …
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APA Peace Psychologists Are Rebuffed in Their Call for a Humanitarian Ceasefire
As a longtime member of the American Psychological Association’s Society for Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence (Division 48: Peace Psychology), I was heartened when the division’s leadership— following a special meeting and vote on November 1st—issued this brief statement in support of a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza (emphasis in original): We, as peace psychologists, join …
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