Torture

[MCParent]

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Anyone else following the news stories about psychologists' involvement in torture, and the APA's complicity in torture?

Some relevant links:

http://www.securitylawbrief.com/main/2011/02/texas-board-wont-discipline-cia-psychologist.html

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...-kaslow-i-too-am-outraged-saddened-and-pained

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/13/opinion/the-torture-report-voices-of-outrage.html?_r=0

 

[smalltownpsych]

It seems to me that the APA stance on psychologists being involved in interrogation has been fluid over the last ten years. Also, the definition of what is torture or not has changed. I don't know how the APA can act so outraged now when ten years ago they were pretty lukewarm. In any event, I would rather the APA try to stay out of hot-button political issues and focus more on protecting and advancing our professions status and viability as a profession.

 

[CaliMac]

Anyone else following the news stories about psychologists' involvement in torture, and the APA's complicity in torture?

Thank you for posting! I've been waiting to read this discussion here 🙂

 

[WisNeuro]

There were several prominent psychologists who resigned from the APA due to their stance on Interrogations/torture. Ken Pope being one. The APA does what is good for the business of the APA. This year, it just so happens to be "applauding" the release of the recent reports. This organization still has a long way to go to regain my trust, I'm with Ken Pope.

 

[MCParent]

There were several prominent psychologists who resigned from the APA due to their stance on Interrogations/torture. Ken Pope being one. The APA does what is good for the business of the APA. This year, it just so happens to be "applauding" the release of the recent reports. This organization still has a long way to go to regain my trust, I'm with Ken Pope.

The level of doublethink and extent of memory holes on this issue and others is insane. Being involved in APA affords an opportunity to see doublethink unlike anything I'd witnessed before.

I am with Ken too. I thought hard about resigning but I'd committed to division stuff I like to do. I'll stay a member and try to continue to be a PITA for a while at least. 😉

 

[ela]

http://ethicalpsychology.org/

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I am with Ken too. I thought hard about resigning but I'd committed to division stuff I like to do. I'll stay a member and try to continue to be a PITA for a while at least. 😉

There is an opportunity to try and do some good from the inside. I too plan on continuing my division memberships, but the APA membership…meh. I'll probably re-up for next yr so I can vote in the presidential election.

ps. Everyone should vote for Tony Puente in the next election cycle….as he could bring some much needed correction of APA's professional path and strengthen APA's contributions to society.

 

[PsyDr]

the Texas board couldn't go after these guys because the evidence was classified. I imagine APA had some similar difficulties.

Everyone: "hey, show us that you violated ethical and legal requirements of your profession. And if you do and go out of the country, you can wind up in the Hague."

Psychologists: "That is classified and the CIA gave me 1% of the entire APA budget to fight you guys before I have to start dipping into my $81 million dollar income. "

 

[cara susanna]

The listservs are all abuzz about this. Some people are saying that they are very upset with APA and other organizations that made political statements about torture on their behalf without consent or agreement (ABCT just made one as well). They believe that making such political statements risks creating the public perception that they are are not scientific professional organizations.

 

[Icculus8]

Interesting sharing of opinions on the ABCT listserv, I don't know enough about the role of the professional organizations to have an opinion one way or the other but I am curious to see how this plays out

 

[Featheredwyngs]

I know; reading the back and forth on the ABCT list serve is fascinatinggggggg. Personally, I think a compromise could have been reached with a little more patience (i.e., dropping the last sentence of the statement and making the statement focus wholly on what current research shows, so to make it seem less like a political stance/opinion and more of an informative statement by a scientific organization).

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

Anyone else following the news stories about psychologists' involvement in torture, and the APA's complicity in torture?

Some relevant links:

http://www.securitylawbrief.com/main/2011/02/texas-board-wont-discipline-cia-psychologist.html

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...-kaslow-i-too-am-outraged-saddened-and-pained

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/13/opinion/the-torture-report-voices-of-outrage.html?_r=0

Torture...yeah. This is a no-brainer for anyone with a passing familiarity with history (remember the good ole Spanish Inquisition or Stalin's Russia?) and who isn't exclusively driven by their limbic system in reasoning out morality. Torture is bad/wrong/sick and never justified. It's also, sadly, a symptom of society's increasingly tolerant (glorifying?) view towards 'ends justifies the means' moral reasoning. Protip for life: when encountering people in life at work or in your private dealings who either explicity or implicitly habitually follow an 'ends justifies the means' (or, my favorite euphemism: I'm all about the greater good' [read--so it's okay for me to do some evil today in pursuit of that end...which I can of course see because I'm God or whatever🙂]. Run...don't walk.

 

[ela]

Relevant:


VICE interview with Dr. James Mitchell

 

[ela]

Bump - back in the news, with a longform feature on mental health "care" in Guantanamo.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/world/guantanamo-bay-doctors-abuse.html?smid=fb-share

 

[DynamicDidactic]

Looks like this just wont go away:

Settlement sought in Hoffman Report suit | The National Psychologist

American Psychological Association (APA) officials are “hopeful” a lawsuit sparked by the Hoffman Report can be settled soon but declined further comment. “Because the case is still in litigation, it would not be appropriate for us to comment at this time,” Kim Mills, APA’s interim senior...

nationalpsychologist.com

Hoffman Report’s flaws should be acknowledged | The National Psychologist

For the past decade, members of Division 48 (Peace) and Division 39 (Psychoanalysis) of the APA have filed and/or supported licensure and ethics complaints and attempted to instigate criminal investigations against military psychologists for abusing detainees. None of these accusations has been...

nationalpsychologist.com

 

[WisNeuro]

While there is still significant money to be had, nothing goes away.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Reading this thread is really interesting in light of the recent threads about protesting and the broader question of what’s political and what’s not (which, imo, is a bit of a false dichotomy).

 

[R. Matey]

Reading this thread is really interesting in light of the recent threads about protesting and the broader question of what’s political and what’s not (which, imo, is a bit of a false dichotomy).

Curious, what's the false dichotomy?

 

[futureapppsy2]

Curious, what's the false dichotomy?

Political versus non-political. Like, human rights are a social topic and also have strong connections to politics. Same with healthcare access, public health, etc.

 

[deleted480308]

Political versus non-political. Like, human rights are a social topic and also have strong connections to politics. Same with healthcare access, public health, etc.

You don’t see “torture isn’t medical care, so no, we won’t supervise it for you” as slightly different than “hey politicians, Let us tell you how to fund a medical system”?

 

[WisNeuro]

You don’t see “torture isn’t medical care, so no, we won’t supervise it for you” as slightly different than “hey politicians, Let us tell you how to fund a medical system”?

I don't believe that was anywhere near what @futureapppsy2 was conveying with those posts.

 

[deleted480308]

I don't believe that was anywhere near what @futureapppsy2 was conveying with those posts.

Fair enough, maybe I didn’t get the full context of the conversation