Who We Are
The Coalition for an Ethical Psychology works to assure the independence of psychological ethics from government and other vested interests. To this end we combine intensive research with activism. The hallmark of the Coalition is the unmasking of policies that legitimate or provide cover for unethical psychologist involvement in the U.S. security system.
NEW: Coalition Rejects New APA "Task Force"
The Coalition has issued a statement strongly opposing the APA's new “Task Force to Reconcile Policies Related to Psychologists’ Involvement in National Security Settings." Asserting that the PENS Report offers "unique contributions to APA policy,” this group aims to deflect attention away from the urgent need to annul the PENS Report. If successful, this new "task force" will further enshrine key PENS policies by including them in its proposed “unified, comprehensive APA policy document” -- even though these policies were adopted through a fundamentally flawed process that has resulted in grievous harm and the tarnishing of our profession. Read the Statement »
A Call for Annulment of the APA’s PENS Report
The Coalition is spearheading a broad-based effort to annul and delegitimize the American Psychological Association’s deeply flawed 2005 PENS Report. The key conclusion of the Report – despite clear evidence to the contrary – is that psychologists play a critical role in keeping national security detainee interrogations “safe, legal, ethical and effective.” The PENS Report continues to be used as an authoritative document today, especially in national security contexts. Leading human rights groups and professionals from a range of fields – including psychology, medicine, law, military, and intelligence – have joined together in this annulment effort. Read & Sign the Statement »
10-Year Timeline: Psychologists, Torture, and the APA
The Coalition for an Ethical Psychology has created an interactive online Timeline detailing the roles of psychologists in the torture and unethical treatment of national security detainees over the decade since the 9/11 attacks. The Timeline also constitutes the most comprehensive record of the partnership between the American Psychological Association (APA) and the U.S. national security sector in expanding and legitimizing torture and abuse. See the Timeline »
Press Release: Coalition for an Ethical Psychology Calls for Investigation of Allegations Concerning Martin Seligman, Denounces APA Inaction
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Today, Mark Benjamin in Salon.com reports that former American Psychological Association (APA) President Martin Seligman received a no-bid, $31 million contract from the Department of Defense (DOD) for "resilience training" of soldiers.
Dr. Seligman is known to have presented his research on learned helplessness to a group of CIA interrogators and psychologists, including James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, who were developing the CIA's torture program at the time of the presentation. Mitchell and Jessen have acknowledged incorporating Seligman's ideas, including forcing at least one detainee into a "dog box" to induce helplessness.
The Coalition for an Ethical Psychology calls for an immediate independent investigation into the awarding of this contract without a standard and usually required bidding process. We are especially concerned that a psychologist who apparently instructed CIA interrogators is alleged to have received special treatment from the Defense Department. Read More »
Press Release: Coalition for an Ethical Psychology Charges APA with Complicity in Bush-Era Torture Interrogations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 12, 2010
As the American Psychological Association (APA) meets this weekend in San Diego, CA, for its annual convention, the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology today released a letter to APA President Carol Goodheart detailing the APA’s complicity and failure to act in ethics scandals involving psychologists who aided the U.S. government’s torture program. (PDF of letter to Goodheart is available HERE)
The Coalition charges that the APA has been directly complicit in supporting and empowering psychologists to develop, research, supervise and/or implement the Bush-era interrogation program with impunity. This complicity includes APA involvement in the cases of three psychologists – James Mitchell, John Leso, and Larry James – against whom ethics complaints have recently been filed with state licensing boards. APA complicity goes back to 2002 when the association amended its ethics code in a way that protected psychologists involved in government sponsored torture.Read More »