Son of "PSYCHOLOGISTS, withhold APA dues..."

[RobertDevereaux]

Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Opehia, returns her APA award over the torture issue:

http://counterpunch.org/soldz08252007.html

Opener:

For several years, psychologist members of the American Psychological Association (APA) have been fighting to change the APA's policies allowing psychologists to participate in interrogations widely reported to be abusive. As the association's 2007 Convention opened last week, the American Civil Liberties Union called upon the APA to stop psychologists' participating in abusive interrogations:

"The history of torture is inexorably linked to the misuse of scientific and medical knowledge. As we move fully into the 21st century, it is no longer enough to denounce or to speak out against torture; rather, we must sever the connection between healers and tormentors once and for all. As guardians of the mind, psychologists are duty bound to promote the humane treatment of all people. We strongly urge the APA to adopt the strongest possible stance and issue a moratorium on the participation of its members in abusive treatment."

At the convention the APA decisively rejected this call, as well as that of hundreds of APA members at a rally and in numerous debates on the issue. The APA's Council of Representatives rejected, by an approximately 85% to 15% vote, the simple statement that:

"Be it resolved that the roles of psychologists in settings in which detainees are deprived of adequate protection of their human rights, should be limited as health personnel to the provision of psychological treatment."

As an alternative, the association passed a resolution, proposed initially by the Board of Directors, declaring use of some of the most egregious techniques to be unethical. While the Board resolution constituted progress for the APA, the resolution unfortunately contained enough caveats and loopholes, many added at the last minute without discussion with moratorium supporters, that observers were uncertain whether it condemned the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" techniques, as Physicians for Human Rights has argued, or whether, in fact, it continued abetting the CIA's torture, as Salon's Mark Benjamin wondered....

[RobertDevereaux]

1. And more...

More on Mary Pipher's action:

http://journalstar.com/articles/2007/08/23/news/local/doc46ccf4d458103603645050.txt

Lincoln author and psychologist Mary Pipher says she didn’t act impulsively when deciding to protest the actions taken by her professional organization.

She thought about it for more than a year. She listened to what others had to say, read articles and reports.

On Tuesday, she sent a three-page letter to the president of the American Psychological Association, Sharon Stephens Brehm, to say she is returning her 2006 Presidential Citation, given to recognize her work in helping to resettle refugees.
“I have struggled for many months with this decision and I make it with pain and sorrow,” she said in the letter. “I do not want an award from an organization that sanctions its members’ participation in the enhanced interrogations at CIA ‘black sites’ and at Guantanamo.”...

[donsu]

2. big gold star for Mary Pipher

and a thank you