Our Mission
The Coalition for an Ethical Psychology formed in 2006 to mobilize diverse groups for the removal of psychologists from U.S. programs of torture and other detainee abuse. Since that time we have expanded our focus to expose and oppose psychologist involvement in any state-supported abuse with a national security rationale.
Our primary goal is 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.
In June 2005 the Board of the American Psychological Association (APA) authorized psychologist participation in detainee interrogations under the George W. Bush Administration. We are alarmed that the APA, the world’s largest mental health organization, has overlooked, and even colluded with, subversion of psychology to state power. The ethical commitment of psychology as a profession is to improve human welfare universally. Many of our efforts have therefore addressed problematic policies and actions of the APA.
Our activities, and those of the wider movement of health and behavioral sciences within which we work, have coalesced into six action domains: Professional Accountability, APA Reform, Federal Advocacy, State Legislation, Research, and Collaboration with Other Organizations.
The Coalition welcomes collaboration with professional associations, human rights organizations, national security professionals, archivists, and journalists for research or joint action toward an ethical psychology.