{"id":236927,"date":"2023-06-12T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T11:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=236927"},"modified":"2023-06-09T06:07:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T05:07:45","slug":"doing-harm-how-the-worlds-largest-psychological-association-lost-its-way-in-the-war-on-terror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/06\/doing-harm-how-the-worlds-largest-psychological-association-lost-its-way-in-the-war-on-terror\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Harm: How the World’s Largest Psychological Association Lost Its Way in the War on Terror"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Source: Roy Eidelson<\/p><\/div>\n

A thought-provoking, unflinching, scrupulously documented account of one of the darkest chapters in the recent history of psychology.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Doing Harm<\/em>\u00a0pries opens the black box on a critical chapter in the recent history of psychology: the field\u2019s enmeshment in the so-called war on terror and the ensuing reckoning over do-no-harm ethics during times of threat. Focusing on developments within the American Psychological Association (APA) over two tumultuous decades, Roy Eidelson exposes the challenges that professional organizations face whenever powerful government agencies turn to them for contributions to ethically fraught endeavours.<\/p>\n

In the months after 9\/11 it became clear that the White House, the Department of Defense, and the Central Intelligence Agency were prepared to ignore well-established international law and human rights standards in prosecuting the \u201cwar on terror.\u201d It was less clear, however, that some of Eidelson\u2019s fellow psychologists would become part of the abusive and torturous operations at overseas CIA black sites and Guantanamo Bay. Nor was it initially clear that this ruthless enterprise would garner acquiescence and support from the APA\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

Doing Harm<\/em>\u00a0examines how and why the APA failed to join human rights groups in efforts to constrain the US government\u2019s unbridled pursuit of security and retribution. It recounts an ongoing struggle \u2013 one that has pitted APA leaders set on preserving strong ties to the military-intelligence establishment against dissident voices committed to prioritizing do-no-harm principles.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Doing Harm\u00a0<\/em>Endorsements<\/strong><\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u201cDoing Harm<\/em>\u00a0shows how a toxic mix of intrigue, questionable decisions, and a \u2018just following orders\u2019 mentality created a crisis still not fully resolved. A monumentally important work, it should be required reading in all psychology programs.\u201d \u2014 Kenneth S. Pope, recipient of APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Service<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u201cIn\u00a0Doing Harm<\/em>\u00a0Roy Eidelson exposes a dark chapter in the history of American psychology. Some practitioners\u2019 complicity with government authorities in abetting torture violated the highest ethical standards. The story must be told if it is not to be repeated.\u201d \u2014 Brigadier General (Ret.) Stephen N. Xenakis<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u201cThe APA\u2019s collusion with the Bush administration\u2019s torture program was unique among medical associations. Eidelson and a group of colleagues, tellingly called \u2018the dissidents,\u2019 fought to end psychologists\u2019 involvement and forced the APA to clean house.\u00a0Doing Harm<\/em>\u00a0shows why, despite their tireless advocacy, key lessons have yet to be learned.\u201d \u2014 Lisa Hajjar, author of\u00a0The War in Court<\/em><\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u201cThe post-9\/11 torture program was sustained by a web of enablers that wrapped brutality in a veneer of legitimacy.\u00a0Doing Harm<\/em>\u00a0chronicles the courageous campaign to disrupt that web, providing vital insights for all who hope to root out systemic injustice.\u201d \u2014 Elisa Massimino, former President and CEO, Human Rights First<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u201cDoing Harm<\/em>\u00a0lifts the cloak of invisibility on the opportunists and profiteers who have survived, evaded, resisted, and escaped accountability for the\u00a0US government\u2019s post-9\/11 torture program. Eidelson refused to learn helplessness, exposing the calibration of cruelty within black sites, dark prisons, and the Guantanamo Battle Lab.\u201d \u2014 Mark Fallon, author of\u00a0Unjustifiable Means<\/em><\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u201cRoy Eidelson\u2019s searing and important book deserves a wide readership. It tells a sordid chapter in the APA\u2019s history, offering a cautionary tale about how professional organizations can stray to the \u2018dark side\u2019 in a climate of fear and conformity.\u201d \u2014 Eyal Press, author of\u00a0Dirty Work<\/em><\/p>\n

Now available for pre-order:\u00a0<\/em>Doing Harm: How the World’s Largest Psychological Association Lost Its Way in the War on Terror<\/a> (McGill-Queen’s University Press)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

_______________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Roy Eidelson is a member of the <\/i><\/span>TRANSCEND Network<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span> and <\/i><\/span>was a member of the American Psychological Association for over 25 years, prior to his resignation.<\/i><\/span><\/span> He is a clinical psychologist and the president of <\/i><\/span>Eidelson Consulting<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span>, where he studies, writes about, and consults on the role of psychological issues in political, organizational, and group conflict settings. He is a past president of <\/i><\/span>Psychologists for Social Responsibility<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span>, former executive director of the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict, and a member of the <\/i><\/span>Coalition for an Ethical Psychology<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span>. Roy is the author of <\/i><\/span>Political Mind Games: How the 1% Manipulate Our Understanding of What\u2019s Happening, What\u2019s Right, and What\u2019s Possible<\/span><\/a><\/span> and can be reached at <\/i><\/span>reidelson@eidelsonconsulting.com<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Roy Eidelson\u2019s searing and important book tells a sordid chapter in the APA\u2019s history, offering a cautionary tale about how professional organizations can stray to the \u2018dark side\u2019 in a climate of fear and conformity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":236928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1052,2755,417,133,1810,1464,1126,1050,112,870,572,95,70,965],"class_list":["post-236927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transcend-members","tag-abu-ghraib","tag-american-psychological-association-apa","tag-bullying","tag-cia","tag-enhanced-interrogation","tag-guantanamo","tag-hegemony","tag-imperialism","tag-pentagon","tag-reviews","tag-torture","tag-us-military","tag-usa","tag-war-crimes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236927"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236932,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236927\/revisions\/236932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}