APA Division 35 Townhall Blog

With a heavy heart, we relay the passing of Dr. Jean Lau Chin from COVID-19 complications. Jean, a former Div. 35 President and leader throughout APA, lost her valiant fight on May 13, 2020, and we share in the immense loss of an extraordinary leader, mentor, and friend to many of us.  We created a memorial page for Jean and, in a way, from Jean. We include her candidacy domain because it seemed fitting to weave our messages with  her  website speaking  her  legacy.  Please join us in sending thoughts for Jean  here :   https://www.jeanlauchinforapapresident.com/in-memory

What do you know about the books in the APA Psychology of Women Book Series and the authors and editors that made them a reality? As the incoming editors of the series, Irene Frieze ( frieze@pitt.edu ) and I are impressed with the books that have been published and the important topics featured. We hope to continue this tradition and promote feminist scholarship. Take the quiz below to test your knowledge on the series and meet some great books, authors, and editors in the process.

Following Society procedures, we submitted a request for statements from  each of the five candidates for President-elect of APA, requesting them if they could send Division 35, a 500-word statement that summarizes their track record on women’s issues and their vision of how they would incorporate the mission and values of Division 35 in the office if elected. The letter also stated that the Executive Committee will review the statements and make judgments about endorsement based on a number of criteria, e.g., track record on women’s issues which may be demonstrated in a variety of ways (service to APA, Division 35, contributions to scholarships, science, practice, etc.); track record of inclusiveness and fostering the empowerment of women . This may be demonstrated by involvement in issues related to ethnic minorities, ability status, sexual orientation, and other dimensions of social identity and difference that can potentially divide women from each other and from men.  ...

The Division 35 Executive Committee voted to sign the   Joint Public Statement by Psychology Groups on U.S. Immigration Policies and Practices   authored by our colleagues in Division 45 (Helen Neville, president; J. Manuel Casas, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, Nicholas Culp, Roberto Abreu, members, Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race (APA Division 45)). The statement and supporting references are here:  http://helenneville1.wixsite.com/website-1

Following Society procedures, the chair of the governance committee, Dr. Asuncion Austria, submitted a request for statements from the five candidates for APA president-elect. (see below for a detailed report.) The five candidates and links to their general statements are at the APA web site:  http://www.apa.org/about/governance/elections/index.aspx Dr. Austria received responses from four of the five candidates: Sandra L. Shullman, PhD Jean Lau Chin, EdD Steven D. Hollon, PhD Susan K. Whitbourne, PhD Dr. Signorella then received a statement from the fifth candidate: Armand Cerbone, PhD ======================================================= Dr. Austria's governance report: As provided for in the Handbook of Society for the Psychology of Women, the Governance Committee sent a letter to each of the five candidates for President-elect of APA, requesting them if they could send Division 35, a 500-statement that summarizes their tract record on women’s issues and th...

For an overall summary of the proposed APA structure changes, you can view the presentation by APA CEO Arthur Evans. http://psyciq.apa.org/transforming-apa-new-structures-new-era/ This page also includes the slides and a transcript.. Remember to post comments or send to Div 35 Council Reps or post comments here. dkawahara@ALLIANT.EDU woolflm@webster.edu premer@email.uky.edu

From Division 35 Council Representative, Debra Kawahara: Dear Division 35 Colleagues, As you may be aware, APA has posted guidelines for the treatment of PTSD and plans to develop more guidelines for other diagnoses. A group of APA members, Council representatives, and an activist group of psychologists are voicing concerns about the issues regarding the guidelines. A major concern is that the studies used as the bases for the guidelines do not adequately consider matters of culture, race, ethnicity, SES, as well as using only a narrowly defined criteria for treatment.  Below is the link to the petition opposing the guidelines, as well as responses to some of the opposition to the petition. I urge you to read both the petition and the arguments supporting it and please consider   sign ing  before the next APA Council meeting that begins on March 9, 2018 . Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully,   Debra Kawahara Debr...