Multicultural Concerns Committee

The Multicultural Concerns Committee aims to increase awareness and understanding of issues of race and ethnicity and their influence on intrapsychic and interpersonal development. The committee promotes dialogue on the discussion of social justice issues related to race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual identities, religion, immigration status, social class, and physical disability. We are committed to providing a forum for the discussion of clinical practice, training, and research that is centered on psychoanalytic perspectives on multicultural issues both within Division 39 and through collaboration with other APA divisions. We also make recommendations to the Board of Division 39 regarding the integration of diversity issues across programming, newsletter, and general membership.

Committee Members


  • Leilani Crane (co-chair)
  • Sanjay Nath (co-chair)
  • Daphny Ainslie 
  • Ankhesenamun Ball
  • Patricia Harney
  • Melissa Heinemann
  • Nancy Hollander
  • Diya Kallivayalil
  • Shamaila Khan
  • Ruth Lijtmaer
  • Norka Malberg
  • Niha Patel
  • David Ramirez
  • Diana Robins
  • Shelley Savage
  • Frank Summers
  • Cidna Valentin

Previous Committee Events

Division 39 Spring Meeting 2007

Theme: Psychoanalytic perspectives on prejudice and conflict: A model for applied psychoanalysis for the 21 Century

National Multicultural Summit and Conference 2007

Theme: Bridging the impasse: A dialogue between multicultural psychology and psychoanalysis

APA Convention 2006

Theme: Race on the outside: Implications of racial features in psychotherapy

Division 39 Spring Meeting 2006

Theme: The trauma of geographical dislocation