Article archive / September 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 9. Source pages: 4.
Drs. Susan McDaniel and Nadine Kaslow issued a memo to members of the American Psychological Association (APA) on August 14, 2015, saying that the Council of Representatives voted to prohibit psychologists from participating in national security interrogations.
The move came at the APA annual convention last month where representatives from around the country discussed the issues in a report by Daniel Hoffman. Hoffman found what he viewed as “collusion” between some APA officials and the members who worked for the Department of Defense.
McDaniel and Kaslow noted, “During our annual convention in Toronto last week, the Council voted overwhelmingly to prohibit psychologists from participating in national security interrogations.” The measure passed by a vote of 157-1, with 6 abstentions and 1 recusal.
Dr. Darlyne Nemeth, APA Council Representative and member of the Louisiana Psychological Association, told colleagues, “… I am not surprised by the dynamics revealed in this report.” She explained that she feels that the business of APA is largely conducted by the Staff and that the Council is “granted the illusion of governance,” and that the democratic process is lacking.
The resolution amends the 2013 APA Policy Related to Psychologists' Work in National Security Settings and Reaffirmation of the APA Position Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The new Resolution points to the APA Ethics Code to “take care to do no harm,” and then notes that “psychologists shall not conduct, supervise, be in the presence of, or otherwise assist any national security interrogations for any military or intelligence entities, including private contractors working on their behalf, nor advise on conditions of confinement insofar as these might facilitate such an interrogation.”
The ban “… does not apply to domestic law enforcement interrogations or domestic detention settings where detainees are afforded all of the protections of the United States Constitution, …”
“APA will continue to serve as a supportive resource for psychologists in organizational settings,” said the Resolution’s authors, “including in military and national contexts, to assist them in abiding by APA policy and the Ethics Code, while recognizing that APA members, including military and national security psychologists, strive to achieve and are responsible to uphold the highest levels of competence and ethics in their professional work.”
The policy adopted by the Council directs that psychologists can “only provide mental health services to military personnel or work for an independent third party to protect human rights at national security detention facilities deemed by the United Nations to be in violation of international law, such as the U.N. Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions.”
The resolution “… invokes Ethical Principle A to ‘take care to do no harm,’” but they noted that it does not amend the Ethics Code at this time, and so is not enforceable.
Dr. Nemeth, said to colleagues, “… the 2002 relaxation of the APA Code of Ethics was apparently done with good intentions. In the end, the various changes, however, had unintended consequences regarding psychologists’ involvement in the interrogation process, which many considered to be unacceptable.” She told colleagues that she will have a “wait and see” position regarding meaningful changes.
The primary finding of Hoffman Report centered around a 2005 task force that Hoffman and others felt was topheavy with military psychologists. While the task force took the position, “Psychologists do not engage in, direct, support, facilitate or offer training in torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,” they also found that psychologists may serve in various national security-related roles, gave only broad guidance about ethical problems, said Hoffman.
Psychologists speaking at a meeting. L to R, Drs. Joe Tramontana, Darlyne Nemeth, and Kim VanGeffen. Dr. Nemeth voted in the APA Council of Representatives vote recently, the move that banned psychologists from working in interrogations.
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