Division 32 Symposium Attracts More Than 500 at APA Convention

By Dave Elkins, immediate past president of Division 32

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) symposium sponsored by Division 32 at the Annual APA Convention in Orlando (Aug. 2-5, 2012) was an astounding success. The symposium, which was held the morning of Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, attracted more than 500 attendees and was one of the best-attended symposia of the APA convention.

APA filmed the session and plans to make it available for Continuing Education credit, thus ensuring that even more psychologists and other professionals will view the video.

Thanks to all the symposium participants and also to the members of the audience who spoke up to express their ongoing DSM reform effort.

Where Do We Go From Here?

For next year, Frank Farley and Jon Raskin, members of the Division 32 Open Letter Committee, are already putting together an egalitarian international meeting with representatives from professional associations around the world (including representatives from the British Psychological Society and the American Counseling Association). The representatives will discuss the feasibility of reconceptualizing psychological distress from a more psychosocial perspective. They will also explore the feasibility of developing an alternative manual to the DSM and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), both of which are based on medical model assumptions that are eschewed by hundreds of thousands of therapists who do not think of their clients, nor work with their clients, from a medical model perspective.

Thanks to all who help make the APA symposium such a huge success. I wish especially to thank members of the Division 32 Open Letter Committee who have worked tirelessly during the past year on the DSM Reform effort: Brent Robbins, Donna Rockwell, Jon Raskin, Frank Farley and Sarah Kamens.