An article in the May/June issue of the National Psychologist entitled "Resign from APA while you can" reminded psychologists of the power that this voluntary member-supported organization sometimes wields. Linda Hertel Dykstra, Ph.D. is a psychologist who sometimes works with domestic violence. She reports that she was working with a couple where domestic violence had been involved, and the husband refused to attend sessions. She continued to work with the wife, and the husband (who was the perpetrator of the violence) filed a malpractice suit, an ethics complaint to the state licensing board, and a complaint to the American Psychological Association’s ethics committee. According to Dykstra the malpractice suit and the licensing board complaint were quickly dismissed.
The APA's ethics committee then pursued an investigation which required her to hire an attorney specialized in professional ethics. She was not allowed to simply resign from APA. If she did so the organization told her that they would send all 100,000 APA members a notice that she had “resigned while under an ethics investigation.” They then found her guilty of violating an APA ethics standard because she continued to work with the wife after the husband refused to attend sessions, and sanctioned her. The finding was dismissed on appeal, but not before she spent a great deal of time and money fighting an essentially frivolous complaint.
Dykstra recommends that psychologists resign from APA while they have the chance. I agree with her. I was a member of APA from 1978 until 2002. I quit paying APA dues in 2003 because I disagreed with the level of dues and they way that they spent my money. When APA paid 2.2 million dollars to “buy out” the contract of Raymond Fowler, former Executive Director of APA, I was glad that my money was not going toward this expense.
I joined the American Psychological Society in 2003, a smaller organization made-up primarily of psychologists involved in research. I feel much more comfortable there, despite the fact that I am a clinician and not a researcher. After reading Dykstra’s article I wrote the following letter to APA:
I had assumed that not paying my dues would serve to resign my membership to APA, but I keep getting dues notices. I'd like to officially resign from the American Psychological Association. I disagree with the way that APA has been spending my money, and the amount of dues that it charges. I am also concerned by the way that the APA ethics committee operates. I have no ethical, legal, or malpractice actions taken against me or pending against me - but the amount of power that this committee of a voluntary member-supported organization wields is frightening.
I have not paid dues for 2003 or 2004. I effectively resigned from APA at the end of 2002. Please consider this as my official letter of resignation if you have not already removed me from the membership roles.
If you are a psychologist should you resign from APA? I believe that you should certainly consider doing so. The APA’s Ethics Committee has no formal standing with any licensing board, but they have the power to cripple your practice and ruin your reputation. History suggests that they sometimes interpret the ethics code much more strictly than licensing boards or courts. I believe that my interests as a psychologist are now better served by my membership in the American Psychological Society and my subscription to the National Psychologist newsletter.
I realize that many psychologists will not agree with me. I'd welcome other views, either as a submission in the Your Turn section, or in the the Forum.
