The American Psychological Association is under fire from some of its members and other professionals for declaring that it is permissible for psychologists to assist in military interrogations.
An online petition against the group’s policy has garnered more than 1,300 signatures from members and other psychologists. Protest forums are being planned for the APA’s convention next month in New Orleans, Louisiana. And some members have threatened to withhold dues or quit.
The unrest stems from an APA policy, issued last year, that says that while psychologists should not get involved in torture or other degrading treatment, it is ethical for them to act as consultants to interrogation and information-gathering for national security purposes.
That stand troubles some members of the organization in light of the reported abuses at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.
Salon.com reported Wednesday that six of the 10 people on the APA task force that drafted the psychologists’ policy have close military ties, including four who have worked at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib or Afghanistan.
Gerald Koocher, APA’s president, said that none of the task force members were involved in torture and that their military ties were not a conflict of interest.
No doubt, we all have feelings and opinions about whether or not medical professionals should establish priorities dividing their responsibilities to human beings — and nations. And why?
Psychologists have been a bit of Teflon® profession, IMHO.
Psychologists played a HUGE role in the old Soviet mental hospitals for political suppression. Then there was that absurd “recovered memory syndrome” debacle and now this
But it is a very rare psychologist who seems to reflect on the failure of these things, an more.
Out of anyone, I would hope we would use Psychologists and Physiatrists to do this sort of thing. We don’t use physical abuse to “torture” and interrogate. We use things like sleep deprivation and light sensitivity. Physicality/torture (i.e. breaking the knees or pulling out fingers) doesn’t lead to productive results. The key is to get inside the head and to do that you have to break through the mental barriers. That’s what psychologists and psychiatrists do.
If you don’t agree, then don’t participate. sheesh!! What is the point in protesting a decision that doesn’t actually make anybody do anything?
“Physicality/torture (i.e. breaking the knees or pulling out fingers) doesn’t lead to productive results.”
While I wouldn’t call it torture, waterboarding is a VERY effect way to extract information from a person who wouldn’t otherwise give it up.
Just because you don’t believe something doesn’t make it false. There is nothing bogus about supressed memories.
However, there seemed to be a large number of highly suspect and highly debatable cases made public by exploitative infotainment such as Oprah, and there seemed to be a number of unethical doctors who exploited the craze. Couple that with people who because of whatever real or imagined trauma they are or think they are experiencing, are suseptable to suggestions of these memories… but whatever, that was a media fiasco, not a fake medical issue.
The fewer and legit cases rarely get subjected to the harsh glare of Montel’s studio lights.
The policy was researched and written by a committee of 10 psychologists. Six of them had close ties to the military, the very ones assissting with the techniques. Four psychologists had worked for the military in Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
It is no wonder the majority of psychologists have severe reservations about this policy.
you want to know what is horrible? the interrogators there actually give social security numbers, family names, and adresses of the guards to the detainees in return for information. i have many friends stationed there (i myself am in the military) and there was one instance where a detainee knew the guards social security number, where his home of residence is, and what time his daughter went to school every morning. Apparently this is an accepted thing to do eh? god have mercy on all of our souls.
#7 – Mike –
Forgive me for saying this, but, I absolutely don’t believe anything you wrote in that post. Its a preposterous claim that needs to be backed up with something along the lines of evidence or a credible citation.
#7, thank you for the joke of the day.
Just wandered back to see if anyone noticed my “impartial” illo.
The photo heading this post is of that distinguished physician, Dr. Joseph Mengele.