This book brings together expert research on the history of psychological assessment across the continents and spanning over 50 countries.
PsySSA extends our congratulations to PsySSA Past President, Prof Sumaya Laher on the release of her book.
Panic Awareness Day 10 July 2022: By Dr. Guru Kistnasamy.
The tragedy of 21 children who died in the Enyobeni Tavern in East London on 26th of June 2022 still reverberates in our minds. The Enyobeni Tavern tragedy is similar to the incident at Throb in Chatsworth where 13 children died in a stampede two decades ago. They were trying to flee from tear gas that was released by an unscrupulous employee.
Panic can lead to death if untreated. 10 July is Panic Disorder Day.
Panic Disorders are episodes of intense fear that come without warning or apparent reason. It can occur anywhere and may prevent the individual from leaving home, going to work, or carrying out errands. Persons experiencing a panic attack may feel that they are having a heart attack, losing control, or dying.
The symptoms of panic disorder include a pounding or racing heart, sweating, chills, trembling, difficulty breathing, weakness or dizziness, numbness in the hands, being out of breath and chest pains.
Useful resources are available at most panic disorder websites including:
South African Federation of mental Health: https://www.safmh.org/
National Institute of Mental Health. US: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/
On 21 June 2022, the Maverick Citizen published a unprecedented open letter from more than 130 senior health professionals addressed to the Minister of Health and the Premier of Gauteng.
The article stated: “the health professionals include senior academics, senior specialists of major public hospitals and heads of department, a former director-general, deputy director-general, deans of university health faculties, former heads of provincial health departments, the chair and CEO of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, the president of the Medical Research Council and the CEO of the board of Healthcare Funders.
Each person signs “I am” followed by their name, as a direct challenge to authorities to discipline them if they dare.
The letter is written in solidarity with Dr Tim De Maayer, whose own open letter about the dire conditions at Rahima Moosa Mother & Child Hospital earned him the support of many – and a suspension from work. The resulting outcry saw him being reinstated, but there were reports of ongoing victimisation at work, which provoked another groundswell of support.
The “I Am” movement arose spontaneously in recent days.”
Consistent with Dr De Maayer’s assessment, many of our members working in government health care can confirm that “things are falling apart”. In this context, it is important to recognise the wider ethical duty of health professionals. They have a professional imperative to do everything possible to improve the health and wellbeing of their patients, which includes raising the alarm regarding contextual factors that militate against patient care. In other words, health care workers, including administrators, who fail to do this may be considered to be failing in their ethical duty to serve humanity and advocate for patient care.
On 25th Anniversary of UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims, Psychology and Human Rights Organizations Demand Action from APA
WASHINGTON, D.C.—June 26, 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nations International Day in Support of Torture Victims. In recognition of this milestone, the executive committee of the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence—Division 48 of the American Psychological Association (APA)—has issued a statement calling upon the APA to (1) apologize to the victims of U.S. war-on-terror prisoner abuses, and (2) make recurring financial contributions to organizations that provide support for torture survivors and their families.
The statement—“Two Steps the American Psychological Association Should Take Today”—appears below and is available online at https://www.
Over a period of years, predominantly Muslim and Arab men and boys imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, CIA black sites, and other locations were subjected to physical and psychological torment and degradation. For many of these individuals, the adverse consequences of their mistreatment are grave and potentially irreversible. These detention and interrogation operations relied significantly on the involvement of psychologists whose activities were preserved and defended, in part, by the APA.
At this time of heightened international turmoil and conflict, an apology is consistent with the APA’s recent centering of its commitment to protecting and advancing human rights. Moreover, the APA, an accredited NGO at the UN, has the financial resources to support organizations that help torture survivors and their families. These steps would represent a reparative model for other organizations that have also fallen short in their humanitarian missions.
Numerous groups within and outside the APA have endorsed the statement, with additional endorsements expected and invited. As of today, the list of endorsers includes the following organizations:
*Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence, Executive Committee (APA Division 48)
*Society for Personality and Social Psychology (APA Division 8)
*Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues-SPSSI (APA Division 9)
*Society of Counseling Psychology, Executive Board (APA Division 17)
*Psychologists in Public Service (APA Division 18)
*Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology, Executive Committee (APA Division 39)
*Divisions for Social Justice of the APA (a consortium of 22 APA divisions; the position of DSJ does not
necessarily represent or reflect the views of individual divisions)
*Coalition for an Ethical Psychology
*International Network for Peace Psychology
*International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry
*Psychologists for Social Responsibility
*Amnesty International USA
*Center for Constitutional Rights
*Center for Victims of Torture
*Physicians for Human Rights
*Veterans for Peace
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The Division 48 statement below and this press release have been shared with the APA’s Board of Directors and its Council of Representatives. Further dissemination to colleagues and contacts is appreciated. Thank you.
Note: This press release is available online at https://www.
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APA Division 48 Statement: Two Steps the American Psychological Association Should Take Today
June 26, 2022 will mark the 25th anniversary of the United Nations International Day in Support of Torture Victims.[1] In recognition of this somber milestone, the Executive Committee of the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence (Division 48) calls upon the American Psychological Association (APA) to take long-delayed action in support of the direct victims of U.S. war-on-terror abuses and torture.
Over a period of years, predominantly Muslim and Arab men and boys imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, CIA black sites, and other locations were subjected to physical and psychological torment and degradation.[2] For many of these individuals, the adverse consequences of their mistreatment are grave and potentially irreversible.
Back in 2015, the APA’s leadership appropriately apologized to its membership and to psychologists worldwide for the Association’s failures to adequately defend the profession’s fundamental ethical principles.[3] However, to date no similar apology has been offered to the prisoners grievously harmed by U.S. detention and interrogation operations. These operations relied significantly on the involvement of psychologists.[4] That involvement was tragically preserved and promoted, in part, by the APA’s own misguided actions and inaction.[5]
Now more than 20 years after the first war-on-terror prisoners were taken into U.S. custody, an apology from the APA to these victims and their families is long overdue. At a time of heightened international turmoil and conflict, this belated apology is consistent with the Association’s recent centering of its commitment to protecting and advancing human rights.[6]
But the APA should also do more. Programs that provide assistance to torture victims and their families are always in need of greater funding. The Association, an accredited nongovernmental organization at the United Nations, has the resources to make regular donations to organizations that provide support to torture survivors. As examples, both the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims direct financial support to civil society groups worldwide for this purpose.[7]
Both of these actions—a public apology and recurring financial contributions—are ideal ways to honor the upcoming United Nations International Day in Support of Torture Victims. Moreover, these ameliorative steps to redress past failures would represent a model for other prestigious organizations that have similarly fallen short in honoring their humanitarian missions.
ORGANIZATIONAL ENDORSEMENTS
*Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence, Executive Committee (APA Division 48)
*Society for Personality and Social Psychology (APA Division 8)
*Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues–SPSSI (APA Division 9)
*Society of Counseling Psychology, Executive Board (APA Division 17)
*Psychologists in Public Service (APA Division 18)
*Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology, Executive Committee (APA Division 39)
*Divisions for Social Justice of the APA (a consortium of 22 APA divisions; the position of DSJ does not necessarily represent or reflect the views of individual divisions)
*Coalition for an Ethical Psychology
*Psychologists for Social Responsibility
*International Network for Peace Psychology
*International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry
*Amnesty International USA
*Center for Constitutional Rights
*Center for Victims of Torture
*Physicians for Human Rights
*Veterans for Peace
(Updated as of June 22, 2022)
[1] For more information about the day and its history, see https://www.un.org/en/
[2] See, for example, United States Senate Committee on Armed Services, Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody, 2008, https://www.armed-
[3] “Letter to APA Membership from Susan H. McDaniel and Nadine J. Kaslow,” news release, American Psychological Association, July 24, 2015, https://www.apa.org/
[4] See, for example, Institute on Medicine as a Profession, Ethics Abandoned: Medical Professionalism and Detainee Abuse in the War on Terror (New York: The Institute, 2013); Constitution Project, The Report of The Constitution Project’s Task Force on Detainee Treatment, 2013, https://
[5] David H. Hoffman, Danielle J. Carter, Cara R. Viglucci Lopez, Heather L. Benzmiller, Ava X. Guo, S. Yasir Latifi, and Daniel C. Craig, Report to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association: Independent Review Relating to APA Ethics Guidelines, National Security Interrogations, and Torture (Revised) (Chicago, IL: Sidley Austin LLP, September 4, 2015), https://www.apa.org/
[6] See, for example, the Association’s 2021 resolution on “APA, Psychology, and Human Rights” (https://www.apa.org/about/
[7] For more information , see https://www.ohchr.org/en/
Roy J. Eidelson, Ph.D.
Member, Coalition for an Ethical Psychology
www.ethicalpsychology.org
Past President, Psychologists for Social Responsibility
www.psysr.org
610-513-8685
twitter: @royeidelson
The report urges mental health decision makers and advocates to step up commitment and action to change attitudes, actions and approaches to mental health, its determinants and mental health care.
Geneva, 17 June 2022 – The World Health Organization today released its largest review of world mental health since the turn of the century. The detailed work provides a blueprint for governments, academics, health professionals, civil society and others with an ambition to support the world in transforming mental health.
In 2019, nearly a billion people – including 14% of the world’s adolescents – were living with a mental disorder. Suicide accounted for more than 1 in 100 deaths and 58% of suicides occurred before age 50. Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability, causing one in six years lived with disability. People with severe mental health conditions die on average 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population, mostly due to preventable physical diseases. Childhood sexual abuse and bullying victimization are major causes of depression. Social and economic inequalities, public health emergencies, war, and the climate crisis are among the global, structural threats to mental health. Depression and anxiety went up by more than 25% in the first year of the pandemic alone.
Stigma, discrimination and human rights violations against people with mental health conditions are widespread in communities and care systems everywhere; 20 countries still criminalize attempted suicide. Across countries, it is the poorest and most disadvantaged in society who are at greatest risk of mental ill-health and who are also the least likely to receive adequate services.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, just a small fraction of people in need had access to effective, affordable and quality mental health care. For example, 71% of those with psychosis worldwide do not receive mental health services. While 70% of people with psychosis are reported to be treated in high-income countries, only 12% of people with psychosis receive mental health care in low-income countries. For depression, the gaps in service coverage are wide across all countries: even in high-income countries, only one third of people with depression receive formal mental health care and minimally-adequate treatment for depression is estimated to range from 23% in high-income countries to 3% in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
Drawing on the latest evidence available, showcasing examples of good practice, and voicing people’s lived experience, WHO’s comprehensive report highlights why and where change is most needed and how it can best be achieved. It calls on all stakeholders to work together to deepen the value and commitment given to mental health, reshape the environments that influence mental health and strengthen the systems that care for people’s mental health.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “Everyone’s life touches someone with a mental health condition. Good mental health translates to good physical health and this new report makes a compelling case for change. The inextricable links between mental health and public health, human rights and socioeconomic development mean that transforming policy and practice in mental health can deliver real, substantive benefits for individuals, communities and countries everywhere. Investment into mental health is an investment into a better life and future for all.”
All 194 WHO Member States have signed up to the Comprehensive mental health action plan 2013–2030, which commits them to global targets for transforming mental health. Pockets of progress achieved over the past decade prove that change is possible. But change is not happening fast enough, and the story of mental health remains one of need and neglect with 2 out of 3 dollars of scarce government spending on mental health allocated to stand-alone psychiatric hospitals rather than community-based mental health services where people are best served. For decades mental health has been one of the most overlooked areas of public health, receiving a tiny part of the attention and resources it needs and deserves.
Dévora Kestel, Director of WHO’s Mental Health and Substance Use Department called for change: “Every country has ample opportunity to make meaningful progress towards better mental health for its population. Whether developing stronger mental health policies and laws, covering mental health in insurance schemes, developing or strengthening community mental health services or integrating mental health into general health care, schools, and prisons, the many examples in this report show that the strategic changes can make a big difference.”
The report urges all countries to accelerate their implementation of the Comprehensive mental health action plan 2013–2030. It makes several recommendations for action, which are grouped into three ‘paths to transformation’ that focus on shifting attitudes to mental health, addressing risks to mental health and strengthening systems of care for mental health. They are:
1. Deepen the value and commitment we give to mental health. For example:
Stepping up investments in mental health, not just by securing appropriate funds and human resources across health and other sectors to meet mental health needs, but also through committed leadership, pursuing evidence-based policies and practice, and establishing robust information and monitoring systems.
Including people with mental health conditions in all aspects of society and decision-making to overcome stigma and discrimination, reduce disparities and promote social justice.
2. Reshape environments that influence mental health, including homes, communities, schools, workplaces, health care services, natural environments. For example:
Intensifying engagement across sectors, including to understand the social and structural determinants of mental health and intervening in ways that reduce risks, build resilience and dismantle barriers that stop people with mental health conditions participating fully in society.
Implementing concrete actions to improve environments for mental health such as stepping up action against intimate partner violence and abuse and neglect of children and older people; enabling nurturing care for early childhood development, making available livelihood support for people with mental health conditions, introducing social and emotional learning programmes while countering bullying in schools, shifting attitudes and strengthen rights in mental health care, increasing access to green spaces, and banning highly hazardous pesticides that are associated with one fifth of all suicides in the world.
3. Strengthen mental health care by changing where, how, and by whom mental health care is delivered and received.
Building community-based networks of interconnected services that move away from custodial care in psychiatric hospitals and cover a spectrum of care and support through a combination of mental health services that are integrated in general health care; community mental health services; and services beyond the health sector.
Diversifying and scaling up care options for common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, which has a 5 to 1 benefit – cost ratio. Such scale up includes adopting a task-sharing approach that expands the evidence-based care to be offered also by general health workers and community providers. It also includes using digital technologies to support guided and unguided self-help and to deliver remote care.
This June, the PsySSA Student Division wants to amplify youth voices for social change in our social media campaign using a multimedia approach with the hashtag #UnmutedYouth. The hashtag #UnmutedYouth speaks to the theme of raising your voice against injustice as the youth of Soweto had done 46 years ago.
Join the PsySSA Student Division Youth Day Campaign by sending a picture with a 50-100-word caption or a 30 second video describing what it means to raise your voice against injustice and tag the Student Division and use the hashtag #UnmutedYouth.
See what Youth Day means to our Student Division Leadership below!