Spring 2011
Kris Hancock reported that at its February 2011 meeting, the American Psychological Association (APA) Council of Representatives voted to adopt the “Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients.”
Charles Silverstein described events at the AABT Conference in 1972 in New York City leading to the deletion of homosexuality as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association.
Douglas C. Kimmel received an Elder Award at the 2011 National Multicultural Conference and Summit. He said, “As I reflect back over my entire life, my reaction is one of enormous gratitude for remarkable good fortune, outstanding mentors and friends, serendipity, and the opportunity to make some difference.”
It is with profound sadness and a sense of urgency for action that we, the members of the American Psychological Association’s Div. 44...wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and allies of [8 youth between the ages of 13 and 19]. ... Their losses are a reminder to all of us that hatred and intolerance against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning loved ones, and their families, friends and allies who care about them, can lead to tragedy.
Spring 2001
President Terry S. Gock reported on the second Div. 44 co-sponsored Multicultural Summit in Santa Barbara. It was a hugely successful two-day meeting with more than 800 participants. Linda Garnets eloquently delivered a plenary keynote address on lesbian and gay psychology. Terry also noted that we have recaptured our third seat on the APA Council for the year of 2002.
The Reverend Mel White, PhD, author of Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America, will be the invited speaker for Div. 44 at APA’s convention.
Harold Kooden announced that the International Lesbian and Gay Association is launching the first ever global GLBT summit in San Francisco immediately prior to the APA convention in August.
The Transgender Task Force has distributed a resource and bibliography list, including a glossary of terms.
April 1991
The final report of the Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns Task Force on Bias in Psychotherapy with Lesbians and Gay Men is now available. The Task Force surveyed a large and diverse sample of psychologists to elicit information about specific instances of “biased” and “sensitive” psychotherapy practice.
SPSLGI (Div. 44) sponsors a pre-convention workshop titled: AIDS Dementia: Critical Issues in Managing the Environment.
APA President Stanley Graham wrote to the Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Cheney making clear APA’s position that the DOD Directive—“Homosexuality is incompatible with military service”—is unjustified and damaging, and that the integration of openly lesbian and gay persons into the military is as achievable as the integration of African-Americans and women. DOD’s reply was: “We have no plans to reconsider our policy. Thank you for writing.”
April 1986
Div. 44 and CLGC were successful in advocating an affirmative APA public policy position statement on AIDS that was adopted unanimously by the APA Council of Representatives on February 1, 1986.
President Kristin Hancock reported on a December 4, 1985, meeting with the American Psychiatric Association regarding the revision of the DSM-III-R and the decision to leave the diagnostic category of “Ego-Dystonic Homosexuality” in the proposed revision. Alan Malyon, PhD, chair of the Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns, presented the arguments to Robert Spitzer, PhD, chair of the Work Group to Revise DSM-III; but the category was retained by a vote of the American Psychiatric Association’s Board of Trustees.
Terry Gock, Susan Gore, Harold Kooden, and Alan Malyon were appointed to the Task Force on Future Directions.