2023 APA Presidential-Elect Candidates

2022 APA President-Elect Candidate – Cynthia de las Fuentes
Responses to Division 19 Questions

I appreciate the opportunity you have given me to share with you my vision for my candidacy and, should I be elected, my presidency of the APA.

1. What is your knowledge of and experience with the military and military psychology? 

My experience with members of the military began the day I was born. Before he died in 2020 (just before covid changed our lives), my father was a retired USN officer (LCDR) who served my entire childhood. (I’m a Navy “brat!”) Before I was even in kindergarten, I fondly remember making recordings of my day, on a reel-to-reel, to send to him when he was stationed in Antarctica (Operation Deep Freeze) and listening to the recordings he sent back. He followed that with a tour in Vietnam during the war and over his career, he served on the Catskill, Pickaway and Tutuila as well as a sub (I can’t recall the name right now). The military took us to California, Texas, Puerto Rico (San Juan and Roosevelt Roads), New Orleans, and Spain before he retired in 1982. In Spain, he was an attaché to the ambassador. Because of that role, he was the target of a car bomb and was one of the officers working with the Combined Military Coordination and Planning Staff when the attempted coup d’état occurred (F-23). Those events shook our lives and because my sister and I were set to graduate high school, and he had his 20 years, he and my mom decided he should retire, and she could resume her career stateside as a nurse anesthetist.

Like so many of the people who served in Vietnam and other wars (and because of the experience of the car bomb and F-23), my dad sometimes struggled with the symptoms of PTSD. To illustrate, in the last year of his life, I took my dad to a Chinese restaurant. He took notice of our waiter and whispered to me, “No es Chino [he is not Chinese].” When our waiter returned with our drinks, my dad started speaking to him in Vietnamese and the man responded and they conversed in Vietnamese for a few minutes. Up until that point, I had no idea he spoke Vietnamese. When I asked him about it, he began weeping and said, “I guess I forgot.” The experiences I gained from traveling and living in different communities in my youth exposed me to different worlds and different people and gave me a lifelong respect for the members of our military. My family, and my uncles’ families, lived with the physical and psychological sequelae of war trauma. I wanted to become a psychologist to help those people in the communities I came from and learned to care about. Over my career, I have conducted trainings as a Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Warrior Resiliency Program (US Army Southern Regional Medical Command, San Antonio, TX) and interviews/evaluations (DBQs primarily, but others as well) on behalf of the Veterans Administrations in my communities. I very much value the military and what military psychology offers and believe my personal and professional experience has given me insights I can use as APA president to work on inclusive collaborations on issues relevant to both our military and non-military members.

2. If elected, what will you do to support and help advance military psychology?

If elected, the goal for my presidency is to actualize my campaign slogan”Inclusive Psychology for All”. It is important to be inclusive of all psychologists and that includes the many members of Division 19. My personal action plan is to amplify our voices and create and support initiatives that engender belonging and inclusion within the whole of APA. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are the predominant themes in my ongoing conversations with SPTA, Division, and EPA leaders and I believe I can help with those goals. I also plan to work closely with divisions to organically develop additional initiatives that meet the needs of our members, including those in Division 19. Via our collaboration, together we can assure that concerns of military psychologists will be addressed.

3. Many Division 19 members continue to believe that APA’s leadership does not have their interests at heart; and some believe APA leadership holds antipathy towards the military and military psychologists. What do you propose to do to address these perceptions and potentially repair this perceived division between the APA and military psychology that continues to exist?

As noted above, I grew up in a military family, and members of the military and military life defined my childhood. I am bothered that members of Division 19 feel maligned. You note that some believe “APA leadership” does not have your interest at heart. APA leadership includes elected and appointed leaders and members of APA staff. I will say clearly that I am saddened by the antipathy toward our hardworking military psychologists, and I will work to ensure that Division 19 members feel respected and included in APA decisions and that the decisions of APA are inclusive of all psychologists. I am aware that there were and continue to be anti-military comments shared by members of APA on governance listservs and other venues. That is not acceptable, just as negative comments about any group are unacceptable. I hope that new positions, such as the creation of a Council Ombuds, can help to address and remedy antipathy as it occurs. I do believe that APA values the views and members of Division 19, and in my presidency, I will make sure that Division 19 voices are heard at the highest levels. I also know that ruptured relationships and betrayal of trust take time to heal. Nonetheless, repeated trials of opportunities for collaboration can lead to a gradual building of trust over time. It feels unfair to those who feel victimized that they are asked to be patient. For that, I’m sorry. I pride myself in being able to work hard and work well with both individuals and groups, to listen, understand, consider, and include multiple perspectives in making strategic, creative, practical, and consensual decisions based on data rather than opinion and reaction. I would start by creating an open dialogue between Division 19 and APA to ensure that Division 19’s voice is fully heard, and that Division 19 holds a pivotal role in the relationship repair. As President, I would humbly request that Division 19 leadership be willing collaborators in developing processes that could attempt repair. It is important to be inclusive to all psychologists and I will work to ensure that those healing conversations occur.

4. Division 19 is very professionally diverse with members across many subdisciplines of psychology who practice, research, educate and/or advocate within the military context. This includes healthcare and non-healthcare contexts and roles. Many of our non-clinician members believe they are not seen, heard and supported by APA and do not receive equivalent resourcing/benefits from their APA membership.  If elected president, what will you do to make APA more inclusive for non-clinicians and to provide more equity in support and resources to non-clinicians?

I sincerely believe that applied psychologists are one of psychology’s brightest lights and that championing them, and their work, is important to strengthening our profession, broadening the public’s perceptions of the usefulness of psychology, and attracting future psychologists into an exciting part of our field. The contributions applied psychologists in Division 19 and other divisions make to a wide range of organizations and institutions are critical to education, science,
practice, and public policy as their work informs the real-world problems. We must continue our work to expand our own and the public’s views of who a psychologist is
and what a psychologist does. Our applied colleagues have been advocating for their own “parity” within the association for some time. It is time their unique training, practice, and purviews are formally recognized within the APA governance structures. I will do my part in facilitating that process.

5. Division 19 remains deeply distressed that the Hoffman Report remains on the APA website with no indication that it has been under review since April 2016. Omitting the fact that it remains under review leads members and the general public to erroneously believe that the Hoffman Report is a credible and accurate document, despite APA leadership’s awareness that it is fundamentally flawed and contains multiple and significant inaccuracies. The Hoffman Report continues to damage the Division 19 members named in the report, Division 19, and Association itself (e.g., legal damages for which APA are potentially liability increase each day it remains up). The report conveys an uninformed and deeply stigmatizing message regarding military psychology. It is discouraging, to say the least, for psychologists who have dedicated much of their professional lives in service to their Nation to feel so unsupported by their professional organization. What actions will you pursue if elected president to repair the damage to Division 19, our members and the Division 19-APA relationship created by the fundamentally flawed Hoffman Report? Would you support the removal of the Hoffman Report from the APA website? Why or why not?

More than discouraging, it must feel demoralizing. I appreciate that the failure to correct something that is harmful to military psychologists when we have evidence it is false is disturbing. I also understand that the process to remove the Hoffman Report or to add an “under review” note on the web site has also been inadequate to many members, including those in Division 19 who have submitted APA new business items to make the changes you seek.

As you know, issues surrounding the accuracy of the Hoffman Report has been a matter of ongoing litigation against APA and that removing the report from the website may trigger other legal concerns. Evaluation of those risks involve professional legal judgment outside of my area of expertise. I know that outside counsel has been retained to represent the APA in matters related to the Hoffman Report. Although they are likely in the best position to make recommendations about risks to the APA regarding implications of removal of the Hoffman Report from the website, I acknowledge that APA could better listen to and include the views of military psychologists and Division 19 when decisions are made in this context. If I am elected, I
can do my best to ensure that the concerns of military psychologists are included in discussions
at the highest level.

I come from a military family background, and I value the contributions of military psychologists. The fact that members of Division 19 feel unsupported is discouraging to me. We must do better. I will do my part in facilitating that outcome.

Sincerely,
Cynthia de las Fuentes, PhD

P.S. www.Cynthia4APA.com has an abbreviated version of my CV and some background if you have need for additional information about me and my career.

2022 APA President-Elect Candidate – Diana Prescott
Responses to Division 19 Questions

Thank you so much for providing the opportunity to submit responses to the five important questions listed below, which should offer the members of Division 19 a good sense of my perspective on military psychology issues.

1. What is your knowledge of and experience with the military and military psychology?

Although I am not a military psychologist, I am a member of Division 19. I have learned about military psychology and the role of military psychologists through my relationships with colleagues and friends who are serving or have served as military psychologists. My father served in the Army in Japan, following the Korean War. My knowledge of the military has been largely shaped by the stories of his experiences.

2. If elected, what will you do to support and help advance military psychology?

Military psychology is an important part of our organizational umbrella, with a critical mission outside our organization assisting our service men and women and their families as well as the military itself. Division 19 “members are military psychologists who serve diverse functions in settings including research activities, management, providing mental health services, teaching, consulting, work with Congressional committees, and advising senior military commands.” Our military psychologists serve vital functions for our nation.As a Federal Advocacy Coordinator, I have trained for nearly 20 years to be able to effectively utilize my advocacy skills and experiences to address the needs of our psychologists. Advocacy is critically important to our success as psychologists and as a discipline, and Division 19 needs to inform APA’s advocacy priorities. In addition to our internal “locking arms,” we need to look externally for partners to advance our priorities. I believe we need to continue to make the case for adequate funding to provide high quality services offered by psychologists in rural and underserved areas. We need to underscore to the federal government the essential nature of services provided by military psychologists, so the role of military psychologists is supported, continued, and enhanced.I believe I would be a strong partner in advocacy for pay and benefits for military psychologists. I am very concerned about the issue of suicide and would be interested in partnering with Division 19 to further the reduction of suicide. I would work to prevent discrimination of gender diverse people in the military. I have practiced in trauma and would be an ally in the effort to address trauma in the military. I am a proponent of PsyPact and would support efforts to expand the number of participating states. Division 19 supports their students and early career psychologists, and I have encouraged the doctoral students I have trained to join APA and participate in leadership and advocacy. I am a champion for enhancing the role of the doctoral students and early career psychologists in APA governance and on Council. I will continue to do so by specifically assuring that there is representation of newly elected representatives on presidential initiatives and task forces.

3. Many Division 19 members continue to believe that APA’s leadership does not have their interests at heart; and some believe APA leadership holds antipathy towards the military and military psychologists. What do you propose to do to address these perceptions and potentially repair this perceived division between the APA and military psychology that continues to exist?

I certainly can understand the reasons Division 19 members might feel this way, given the history of the Independent Review (IR) and the impact of the IR on military psychology and psychologists. I know APA leadership has worked very hard to repair the relationship between APA and military psychology. I am a proven leader and collaborator, including, connecting, and unifying people. As President-Elect of APA, I will commit myself to working on changing these perceptions and assuring APA leadership protects and defends military psychologists.Division 19 is very professionally diverse with members across many subdisciplines of psychology who practice, research, educate and/or advocate within the military context. This includes healthcare and non-healthcare contexts and roles. Many of our non-clinician members believe they are not seen, heard and supported by APA and do not receive equivalent resourcing/benefits from their APA membership. If elected president, what will you do to make APA more inclusive for non-clinicians and to provide more equity in support and resources to non-clinicians?The breadth and depth of psychology and psychologists needs to be included at APA. Non-clinician roles in psychology need to be well-represented and taught in our educational systems to reflect the importance of the contribution of these various roles to our discipline and to provide a roadmap for the plethora of career choices that exist for our psychology students. Psychology would not exist without our scientific base on which we rely for the underpinnings of what is meaningful and important in our work as psychologists. We need to assure that our scientists have the financial support they need to conduct their critically important research. Psychologists possess a large social-behavioral knowledge base with a foundation on research in science (scientist-practitioners). Science is foundational in practice, education, and improving the public welfare. I understand the critical importance of grant funding for research to advance scientific knowledge and assist with obtaining tenure and promotion. I would advocate to assure adequate federal and state funding for applied psychological research. I would emphasize the critical importance of identifying scientists of color and promoting them in their careers to assure there is inclusion and diversity in those who study psychological science. Scientific study of human behavior plays a central role in the most challenging issues in society. Uplifting and supporting the growth of the research pipeline for diverse psychologists, along with elevating the psychological subject matter experts on diversity and health disparity, should be a priority for APA.

4. Division 19 is very professionally diverse with members across many subdisciplines of psychology who practice, research, educate and/or advocate within the military context. This includes healthcare and non-healthcare contexts and roles. Many of our non-clinician members believe they are not seen, heard and supported by APA and do not receive equivalent resourcing/benefits from their APA membership.  If elected president, what will you do to make APA more inclusive for non-clinicians and to provide more equity in support and resources to non-clinicians?

The breadth and depth of psychology and psychologists needs to be included at APA.  Non-clinician roles in psychology need to be well-represented and taught in our educational systems to reflect the importance of the contribution of these various roles to our discipline and to provide a roadmap for the plethora of career choices that exist for our psychology students.  Psychology would not exist without our scientific base on which we rely for the underpinnings of what is meaningful and important in our work as psychologists. We need to assure that our scientists have the financial support they need to conduct their critically important research.  Psychologists possess a large social-behavioral knowledge base with a foundation on research in science (scientist-practitioners).  Science is foundational in practice, education, and improving the public welfare.  I understand the critical importance of grant funding for research to advance scientific knowledge and assist with obtaining tenure and promotion. I would advocate to assure adequate federal and state funding for applied psychological research.  I would emphasize the critical importance of identifying scientists of color and promoting them in their careers to assure there is inclusion and diversity in those who study psychological science.  Scientific study of human behavior plays a central role in the most challenging issues in society. Uplifting and supporting the growth of the research pipeline for diverse psychologists, along with elevating the psychological subject matter experts on diversity and health disparity, should be a priority for APA.  

5. Division 19 remains deeply distressed that the Hoffman Report remains on the APA website with no indication that it has been under review since April 2016. Omitting the fact that it remains under review leads members and the general public to erroneously believe that the Hoffman Report is a credible and accurate document, despite APA leadership’s awareness that it is fundamentally flawed and contains multiple and significant inaccuracies. The Hoffman Report continues to damage the Division 19 members named in the report, Division 19, and Association itself (e.g., legal damages for which APA are potentially liability increase each day it remains up). The report conveys an uninformed and deeply stigmatizing message regarding military psychology. It is discouraging, to say the least, for psychologists who have dedicated much of their professional lives in service to their Nation to feel so unsupported by their professional organization. What actions will you pursue if elected president to repair the damage to Division 19, our members and the Division 19-APA relationship created by the fundamentally flawed Hoffman Report? Would you support the removal of the Hoffman Report from the APA website? Why or why not?

I believe no reparation occurs without dialogue. As APA President-Elect, I would meet with Division 19 members and relevant parties to provide opportunities to identify corrective action and assure our military psychologists who serve the Nation are provided with the respect to which they are entitled. Our APA Council has voted to leave the IR on the APA website while adding significant material that is critical of the report, including contributions from Division 19. I do support the military and value and respect military psychologists. As APA President-Elect, I am hopeful a future reconciliation process can occur which would include identifying action steps consistent with the desire of Council, while honoring the countless contributions of our military colleagues.

2022 APA President-Elect Candidate – Beth Rom Rymer

Responses to Division 19 Questions 

Thank you so much for providing the opportunity to submit responses to the five important  questions listed below, which should offer the members of Division 19 a good sense of my  perspective on military psychology issues.

1. What is your knowledge of and experience with the military and military psychology?

Because of my leadership in the national Prescriptive Authority Movement, since 2002, I have partnered with military psychologists throughout the country and around the globe. I speak nationally and internationally about the Prescriptive Authority Movement and the importance of the DOD’s groundbreaking initiative in 1992 to train military psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medications.  In my talks, I name our first military prescribers from the 1990’s; describe their achievement-filled careers; and credit them for paving the way for state legislative successes, that have awarded prescriptive authority to civilian prescribers; and I credit them for calling attention to prescribing psychologists’ prowess in meeting the needs of the most underserved members of our community.  Ultimately, I honor military prescribers for the growth of our national and international Prescriptive Authority Movements.  

I have partnered with active and retired military psychologists (including prescribing psychologists), based in the United States, as well as based in countries outside of the United States. I support Division 19 advocacy efforts and initiatives at local and congressional levels.  I do support and will explicitly support the recruitment of clinical and research psychologists in the different Services in the U.S. Military.  

I have known military psychologists:

1. In my clinical practice in Chicago. I treat military veterans (1988 – the Present).
2. As colleagues and friends in APA Division 55 (Society for Prescribing Psychology), since I joined the Division (2000) and was elected Division President (2004).
3. As colleagues and friends on the APA Council, when I was a Council member (2007 – 2012, 2017) and when I was Chair of the APA Council Leadership Team (2018 – 2020).
4. As colleagues when I was a Board member and, then, Vice Chair, of the Alliant International University Board of Trustees (2009-2014). 
5. As faculty colleagues and friends at Adler University (2010 – Present).
6. As colleagues on the Council of the Illinois Psychological Association (IPA) when I was a Council member (2007-2009) and when I was part of the IPA Chair Trio and Treasurer (2010-2017);
7. I supported, financially, organizationally, and electorally, the creation of the “Major Caraveo National Service Award” from Division 55 (initiated by Dr. Elaine LeVine) in 2010, “to honor a medical/prescribing psychologist who had made significant contributions in public service and/or with the underserved.”  Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo was serving as a prescribing military psychologist at Ft. Hood, Texas, when he was gunned down, in a mass shooting on November 5, 2009.  
8. I was a founding member of the Military Psychologist Section of the Illinois Psychological Association (2010);
9. I lend my support to the Military Psychology Master’s degree Program in the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Program at Adler University in Chicago (2010 – Present).
10. As my invited leader of an all-day pre-Convention Workshop on Military Women in Combat for my first IPA Convention, during my first term as IPA President (2011).  
11. As colleagues, when we lobbied the Illinois State legislature for statewide Prescriptive Authority, 2012-2014 and, today, as we continue lobbying, with the Illinois Association of Prescribing Psychologists, for the broadening of scope of practice of clinical psychologists. 
12. I have partnered with our venerable Dr. Pat DeLeon and Dr. Gery Rodriguez-Menendez, Chair of the Psychopharmacology Program at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, to offer training slots for Navy psychologists in the Clinical Psychopharmacology Program and I serve as a mentor to these military psychologists (2015 – Present).
13. As contributors on a book that I am completing on our national Prescriptive Authority Movement:  The Revolution in Healthcare:  How Prescribing Psychologists are Changing the Landscape of Healthcare in the United States (2016 – the Present).
14. As speakers on panels for the biannual Illinois networking dinners, that I chair (2015 – Present); 
15. As speakers on symposium panels that I have chaired; or as colleagues, when I was the sole presenter; for the Division 19 Regional Research Symposium Series and the Division 19 Military Summits, in person, at Adler University (Chicago) and at Catholic University (Washington, DC) and remotely (2017-2022).   
16. As a colleague, who is an Executive Board member of the Illinois Association of Prescribing Psychologists, of which I am the founder, President, and CEO (2018-Present);
17. As a speaker at the first international IMPAP conference on Prescriptive Authority, that I co-chaired, remotely (2021); 
18. As speakers on symposium panels that I have chaired for students at the Uniformed Services University, in Bethesda, MD (2021); 
19. As a fellow speaker on a panel of prescribing psychologists, who had done their clinical fellowship training at the Ascension (AMITA) Behavioral Healthcare Hospital in Hoffman Estates, Illinois (2021).

I have also served in multiple roles in my work with police departments and with individual police officers.  From 1976-1977, while I was on my clinical and community internship program at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, I interned with psychiatric nurse, Carol Etherington, in her training sessions at the Police Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, and in her work with one of the first sexual assault survivors’ group at the Metro Police Department in Nashville.  From 1977-1979, I served as the Director of the Victim-Witness Assistance Unit of the State Attorney’s Office, in the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida, based in Tallahassee, Florida.  In that position, I partnered with law enforcement in their work with sexual assault crime victims; I met with the police officers at each of their shift changes, training them in strategies for interviewing crime victims and talking to them about my work with crime victims and witnesses in the State Attorney’s Office; and I put myself on 24/7 call so that I would be available to officers at the crime scene or in the hospital, when they might need me to talk with a traumatized crime victim.  When Ted Bundy murdered two young women college students and violently assaulted two other young women college students, in Tallahassee, on January 15, 1978, I was called onto the case by law enforcement and worked with law enforcement as well as with the State Attorney’s Office for the next several months as we all prepared the evidence for trial.

In the ensuing 45 years of my career, I have worked with suburban police departments, throughout the Chicago and northern Illinois area, to conduct Fitness for Duty evaluations for police officers, who were involved in a shooting or were involved in incidents that might call for a mental health evaluation prior to returning to work; to do stress training programs for police officers; to train police officers: in working with children and adolescents who were substance abusing; who were suicidal; and/or who were victims of and/or perpetrators of sexual abuse.  I have also aligned with law enforcement and psychologists, in both state, city, and county jurisdictions, in my leadership of the Illinois Prescriptive Authority Movement. 

2. If elected, what will you do to support and help advance military psychology?

I am a proud member of Division 19 and will continue to work closely with Division 19 leadership and members to realize the goals for the Division and the aspirations of military psychologists within the U.S. as well as outside the U.S.  I will speak, in many venues, as I do, now, about my respect for military clinical and prescribing psychologists, as well as military psychologists in applied settings and, specifically, in their work with specialized elite forces, and the many contributions that they make to our American and global societies.  I commit to working with Division 19 leadership to advance military psychology, as I have, throughout my career.  I highly value the work of military psychologists, as demonstrated by my track record, and I will continue to demonstrate that, in my honoring military psychologists, as APA President, and in seeking to partner with Division 19 to further their goals. 

When I was Chair-elect of APA’s Council Leadership Team, in 2018, I worked hard to ensure that the military psychologists’ perspective on their clinical work with detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp was given ample voice and the full respect that it deserved.  I helped to create the forum that would provide an opportunity for respectful discussion to take place.  I will certainly continue to provide those types of forums in my presidency.

I support Division 19 advocacy efforts and initiatives at local and congressional levels.  I do support and will explicitly support the recruitment of clinical and research psychologists in the different Services in the U.S. military.  I do support and will continue to support the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) as well as psychology internships in the Air Force, Army, and Navy.

I have given clinical support to military families, throughout my career, and will continue to support military families, as they face hardship with long absences of family members; as military spouses look for their own employment; and in their helping their military family member to manage posttraumatic stress episodes.

As more and more women are integrated into combat positions in the military, I will encourage the recognition and explicit APA support of military women psychologists.

I will also ensure the recognition and support of military psychologists who are BIPOC, AAPI, LGBTQIA+, and/or have a disability, by APA. 

I will work with Division 19 in its support of the Wounded Warriors Program and discuss a partnership between APA and Wounded Warriors.

3. Many Division 19 members continue to believe that APA’s leadership does not have their interests at heart; and some believe that APA leadership holds antipathy towards the military and military psychologists.  What do you propose to do to address these perceptions and potentially repair this perceived division between the APA and military psychology that continues to exist?

I will personally support and promote the importance of military psychologists.  When I was in CLT leadership, I worked with my colleagues to ensure that the voice of military psychologists was heard and that groups, with differing points of view, could discuss difficult issues with mutual respect.  I will continue that work.  I will also talk, on an ongoing basis, with the Division 19 presidential trio and other leaders within the Division.  I will ensure that the opinions of Division 19 will be given serious attention.

4. Division 19 is very professionally diverse with members across many subdisciplines of psychology who practice, research, educate and/or advocate within the military context. This includes healthcare and non-healthcare contexts and roles. Many of our non-clinician members believe they are not seen, heard and supported by APA and do not receive equivalent resourcing/benefits from their APA membership.  If elected president, what will you do to make APA more inclusive for non-clinicians and to provide more equity in support and resources to non-clinicians?

Practicing/applied psychologists, particularly those in less traditional roles and settings often experience professional isolation.  I will strengthen APA’s recognition and support for these divergent, rich areas of military psychology:  organizational, human factors research, other types of academic research, personnel assessment and selection, forensic legal, non-forensic legal, social psychology, prescribing psychologists.  I will ensure equitable representation on APA Boards and Committees; that ECP grants are offered to all applied psychologist groups; that applied military psychologists are consulted for AMICUS brief development and on a plethora of other legal issues.  All psychologists must be represented, recognized, and respected for their important, interdisciplinary/intersectional work.  I advocate for professional diversity!

5. Division 19 remains deeply distressed that the Hoffman Report remains on the APA website with no indication that it has been under review since April 2016. Omitting the fact that it remains under review leads members and the general public to erroneously believe that the Hoffman Report is a credible and accurate document, despite APA leadership’s awareness that it is fundamentally flawed and contains multiple and significant inaccuracies. The Hoffman Report continues to damage the Division 19 members named in the report, Division 19, and Association itself (e.g., legal damages for which APA are potentially liability increase each day it remains up). The report conveys an uninformed and deeply stigmatizing message regarding military psychology. It is discouraging, to say the least, for psychologists who have dedicated much of their professional lives in service to their Nation to feel so unsupported by their professional organization. What actions will you pursue if elected president to repair the damage to Division 19, our members and the Division 19-APA relationship created by the fundamentally flawed Hoffman Report? Would you support the removal of the Hoffman Report from the APA website? Why or why not?

As I have described, above, I highly respect military psychologists and have demonstrated that respect throughout my career.  It is likely that the litigation in which the APA is currently engaged, regarding the Hoffman Report, will be completed within the next year or two.  That could coincide with my presidential term, if I will have the honor of winning this election. When the litigation will be completed and we have more latitude for discussion, I would like to create an open process by which ongoing issues with the Hoffman Report can be specifically addressed.  I firmly believe that we can productively address the issues at that time.  I do believe that the damage that has been done can begin to be repaired and I will work hard to repair that damage.

The original version of the Hoffman Report has been removed from the APA website.  APA is the only entity that owns the second version. The removal of this revised, second version, with errata, of the Hoffman Report from the APA website would foreclose any future re-publication of this Report on our website, for historical reasons or for any other reasons.  At any time, if there is a need to republish the Report on our website, that could trigger an opportunity for further litigation to be filed against APA.  That would be problematic. We would not want that to occur.

At the same time, the APA has published several criticisms of the Report on the APA page on which the Hoffman Report appears: “Professional Ethics in the Context of Interrogation and National Security.”  Those criticisms, including the document from Division 19, are piercing and well-reasoned.  

The Council has voted, twice, to keep the Hoffman Report on the website.  It seems judicious, in my opinion, to maintain the status quo with the Report, since a republishing would be inadvisable, sometime in the future, and to again address this issue with Council will probably result in a similar vote to retain the Report on the website.  

I do believe that it has been very effective for Division 19 and others to write letters critiquing and finding flaws with the Report and publishing those critiques, alongside the Report.  While psychologists and the lay public will always want to read the Report, with the revisions, as amended in September 2015, they would not have the opportunity to read the critiques and learn about the flaws of the Report but for the criticisms offered on the website to counter the Report.  So, by giving the opportunity to read the critiques of the Report, to psychologists and the general public, it would seem to be a benefit to our Division, our discipline, and to our public.

I do believe, as I noted, above, that we could engage in an open discussion about the salient issues that have harmed our members.  I will be happy to organize a discussion of these issues, beginning after my election and culminating with an open process, upon the termination of the legal cases.

Unfortunately, there are no easy fixes, but I promise you and I will commit to you, that I will work, hand-in-hand with you, to do the reparative work that needs to be done so that Division 19 members, once again, feel that they are an important part of APA and, unfettered, can discuss the issues that could bring about an increased trust in the Division 19-APA relationship.

Respectfully submitted,

Beth Rom-Rymer
Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Ph.D.
Candidate for APA President-elect 2023