In December 2019, the Division 44 Public Policy Committee (PPC) held a conversation hour at the APA Convention in Chicago centered around supporting trans people in the military services. The conversation hour was arranged by Nick Grant, PhD, ABPP. The focus of the meeting was on how Division 44 can continue to build its relationship and collaboration with Division 19, the Society for Military Psychology.
The PPC disseminated a “Conversion Therapy” fact sheet (PDF, 199KB)opens in new window developed by Kim Skerven, PhD, ABPP highlighting warnings and advocacy against change efforts.
At the 2019 APA convention, the Bisexual Issues Committee held two well-attended symposium sessions and a conversation hour facilitated by the student representatives.
Bryan McNutt reviewed LGBTQ-Inclusive Hospice and Palliative Care: A Practical Guide to Transforming Professional Practice by Kimberly D. Acquaviva. The book presents an affirmative discussion about various aspects of LGBTQ-inclusive hospice and palliative care that is intended for multiple disciplines and is written in an accessible and practical manner, while also retaining scholarly and academic undertones.
In his presidential address in October 2014, Michael Hendricks noted that our division and other “identity” divisions are psychologists who not only have a professional interest in the mission of the division, but also this is our home as well. “This means that the errors we make have more than just professional consequences—they have personal consequences. I am not talking about bruised egos; I am talking about errors that can lead members of our own community to feel less at home, less safe, and less respected.”
The Bisexual Issues Committee held two events during APA convention this year including a Bisexual Issues Conversation Hour in the Div. 44 Hospitality Suite and a symposium entitled “Current Research in Bisexuality: Individual and Systems Intervention.”
The Science Committee has been working on the final phases of a longstanding and exciting project: the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Researcher Directory. This online directory will allow researchers to create their own online profiles.
President Bonnie R. Strickland reflected in Fall 2009 on the celebratory year in terms of more states adopting “right to marry” legislation and other affirmative support. “In spite of our gains, however, as we know, we must be continually vigilant. Nowhere is this more evident than in California where voters passed Proposition 8, denying gay and lesbian people the right to marry.”
Charles Silverstein, President-Elect of Division 44, has announced his resignation because of health problems typical for persons of his cohort—the pioneers of LGBT psychology. A similar situation occured when Alan Malyon had to resign as president shortly before he was to take office because of lung cancer. Then the current president, Laura Brown, continued in office for an additional six months and the newly elected president-elect, Adrienne Smith, took office six months early.
The APA Council of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to adopt the “Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts.” This resolution reaffirms APA’s long-standing position that “homosexuality per se is not a mental disorder and opposes the portrayals of sexual minority youths and adults as mentally ill due to their sexual orientation.” It also “concludes that there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation.” Moreover, it “encourages mental health professionals to avoid misrepresenting the efficacy of sexual orientation change efforts by promoting or promising change in sexual orientation when providing assistance to individuals distressed by their own or others’ sexual orientation.”
In Fall 2004opens in new window President Michael R. Stevenson wrote: “I am convinced that future historians will consider the 2005 APA convention a watershed event. It was a defining moment in the history of LGB psychology because the Council of Representatives passed three important resolutions central to the work of LGBT psychologists and LGBT communities across the country (if not around the globe). APA's Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Marriage and its Resolution on Sexual Orientation, Parents, and Children set a new standard for both speed and quality.”
President Judith M. Glassgold, in her Presidential Address at the 2004 Convention, said: “I went into psychology, like many of you. because I wanted to make a difference in the world. In wanting to make a difference, we imagine other versions of this world and other possibilities for society. We have dreams of a more just and equitable society.”
D.R. Yonkin wrote a letter to the editor: The elevation of the Transgender Taskforce to committee status is indeed exciting. Thanks to those who have helped bring this about. Also thanks to Randall Ehrbar for his article “Cross-Cultural Examples of Gender Variance (Summer, 2004opens in new window).”
For the Fall 1999 issueopens in new window, President Esther Rothblum noted that in 1974 the APA adopted its resolution that “Homosexuality per se implies no impairment in judgment, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities.” Twenty-five years later, the 1999 convention program included sessions of current research on bisexuality, lesbian health, cross-cultural examinations of sexual orientation, integrating transgender and gender identity issues in LGB psychology, lesbian Latina graduate students, and LGBT youth.
The Presidential Address by Steven E. James, “Keeping a Seat for Elijah: Addressing the Unfinished Business of Division 44,” ended with his discussion of the role of Division 44 with regard to transgender communities: “If our table has no empty seat for our transgender sisters and brothers, then what are we doing sitting there? Elijah is watching and waiting.”
A report on the Tongzhi Conference in Hong Kong on August 22, 1999, was written by Roddy Shaw, Lucy Friedland, Amie Perry, and Reggie Ho. It included 140 Chinese tongzhi (lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons) and supporters from more than ten countries and regions.
Julie Konik wrote an article about the need for Division 44 to forge alliances with other APA divisions.
Doug Deville, Membership Co-Chair, announced the creation of the Division 44 listserv.
Armand Cerbone, President, noted that Division 44 compares favorably with other APA divisions in the Autumn 1994 issueopens in new window. One of our members, Steve Morin, has been on the APA Board of Directors and another, Catherine Acuff, is running for a seat on the Board.
Bill Bailey, who worked for APA on AIDS and LGBT issues died April 23 of complications from AIDS. In one recent speech he said: “It is a battle for the hearts and minds of the great middle of this country. ... While this battle will be fought in the Halls of Congress and the state legislatures, in the school boards and through states in local referenda, it is ultimately a battle over the way society views and accepts diversity. We are an American family – a family threatened by a virus. That virus is intolerance to diversity, specifically sexual diversity and, sadly, it is a virus that is spreading.”
Marty Rocklin recalled the Division's origins in a 1975 meeting at Steve Morin's home.
The Presidential address by Oliva Espin, “Crossing Borders and Boundaries: The Life Narratives of Immigrant Lesbians,” was printed in full.
The December 1989 issueopens in new window highlighted Convention programming in New Orleans, which reflected parity in the coverage of lesbian and gay issues, presented current updates on AIDS, and explored the unique needs and contributions of gay men and women living in diverse regions of the country. April Martinopens in new window and Karen Thompsonopens in new window gave invited addresses.
The hour devoted to the Presidential Address was set aside as a memorial for who was remembered for his vital work that led to the removal of homosexuality as a classification of pathology in DSM III-R; his tireless efforts to see SPSLGI established as an APA division; his laudatory work as a researcher, clinician, and a seminal thinker on gay and lesbian issues; and his invaluable presence as a warm, caring person.
Jan Schippers, a Dutch psychologist, reported on his impressions of Division 44 programs at the convention and invited exchange of information and international cooperation between lesbian and gay psychologists.