The APA has recently offered its most detailed description of its position on the issue of psychologists and abusive interrogations, in a document placed prominently on the APA Website, entitled “Frequently Asked Questions Regarding APA’s Policies and Positions on the Use of Torture or Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment During Interrogations” (FAQ).We at the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology see the FAQ as a unique opportunity for us to provide, in a single document, a thorough refutation of the APA’s position. Through the following link, you will find an extensively referenced Commentary on the FAQ. 

Bernice Lott’s piece from the Providence Journal has been picked up by Common Dreams

By Bernice Lott,
Faculty members of the Psychology Department at the University of Rhode Island, by majority vote, have signed a resolution stating that “direct or indirect participation by psychologists in interrogations of prisoners incarcerated in foreign detention centers that do not afford prisoners internationally recognized due process of law is unethical.”

URI’s resolution is part of a growing grassroots effort to urge the American Psychological Association to move beyond its current position, which allows psychologists working in foreign prisons to assist teams in certain kinds of interrogations.

The association’s failure to rule out all participation has been the subject of protest among some of its members, some of whom are withholding dues while others are resigning. Psychologists at six colleges and universities, URI among them, have passed resolutions in hopes that the APA will reconsider its stance.
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APA 2007 Convention: Ethics and Interrogations

This program series explores an issue that has challenged our community: The role of psychologists in interrogations. Many groups within our Association will come together in these programs to explore aspects of this issue from clinical, legal, and ethical perspectives. Experts from outside the Association will collaborate on program panels with some of the profession’s foremost experts, to reinforce our Association’s commitment to human rights and our mandate to enhance human welfare.