Violence Prevention: A Call to Action

APA has been active on multiple fronts in responding to these events. These recent efforts build on many years of work applying the science and discipline of psychology to help solve the problems of racism, anti-LGBT discrimination and gun violence, as well as to advocate for more effective, unbiased policing.

In response to the most recent series of incidents, APA has:

• Offered support to state psychological associations and communities in crisis with on-the-ground assistance through our Disaster Resource and Public Education networks.
• Informed the media and the public about psychological research findings and the understanding of racial trauma in response to violence, evidence-based community policing and public responses to terrorism.
• Provided direct resources to individuals and families trying to cope with the psychological aftermath of violence, including Responding to the Tragedy in Orlando: Helpful Responses for LGBTQ People and Allies and Racial Trauma is Real: The Impact of Police Shootings on African Americans.
• Pressed for legislative responses and solutions through congressional testimony, Capitol Hill briefings and grassroots advocacy.

A selected list of our communications is listed at the end of this letter.

For many years, APA has been engaged in violence prevention initiatives. A comprehensive list is available on the website at www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/violence/index.aspx.

APA has also been engaged in prevention initiatives focusing on discrimination and racism, including this 2012 Presidential Task Force report: Dual Pathways to a Better America: Preventing Discrimination and Promoting Diversity.

Our annual Stress in America survey this year examined the impact of discrimination on mental and physical health. It found that nearly half of U.S. adults report they have experienced a major form of unfair treatment or discrimination, including being unfairly questioned or threatened by police, being fired or passed over for promotion or treated unfairly when receiving health care.

We have also provided testimony regarding the need for evidence-based policing and against the recent militarization of police departments:

• APA Written Statement of Gwendolyn Puryear Keita, PhD, for President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (Feb. 17, 2015)
• Gwendolyn Puryear Keita, PhD, Submits Testimony on Militarization of Police Forces (Sept. 9, 2014)
• Written Statement of the American Psychological Association at a Hearing “The State of Civil and Human Rights in the United States” before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights (December 9, 2014)

Call to Action

In times like these, we often wonder what we can do individually to make a difference. Please share these resources with colleagues, clients, family and friends. If you are attending the convention next week, you’ll find numerous town hall meetings, symposia, discussion hours and plenaries on racism, violence prevention, community policing and more, where you can learn how to be engaged in finding solutions.

Beyond that, I encourage you to volunteer with local charitable agencies or provide pro bono services as a way of giving back to your community. You may be aware of local groups that would welcome your help. Or you can connect with the APA Disaster Resource Network (email Elizabeth Lewan at elewan@apa.org for information) or Give an Hour (GAH), a national organization that currently matches psychologists and other mental health providers with military personnel and their families in need of treatment (www.giveanhour.org). GAH is planning to extend its mission to reach the broader community in the near future.

When all of us decide this cycle of violence must end, we can make a difference. Please join me in these efforts.

With my best regards,

Susan H McDaniel PhD
2016 President, American Psychological Association

Recent APA Communications on Violence Prevention

Blog Postings

• Racial Trauma is Real: The Impact of Police Shootings on African Americans, by Erlanger A. Turner, PhD, & Jasmine Richardson (cross-posted from BlackDoctor.org)
• Why Evidence-Based Community Policing Needs to be the Norm, Not an Exception, by Susan H. McDaniel, PhD
• How to Talk to Our Kids About the Tragic Shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota and Dallas, by Robin Gurwitch, PhD
• 7 Ways to Talk to Children and Youth About the Shootings in Orlando, by Robin Gurwitch, PhD

Twitter Chat

Dr. Earl Turner led a session entitled “Stress, Discrimination and Mental Health,” which addressed the impact of discrimination on people of color in American society and offered tips on self-care. (We reached over 986,800 accounts and made over 3.4 million impressions.)

Public Interest Blog

Our Public Interest blog, Psychology Benefits Society, has posted numerous other articles on research on discrimination, gun violence and community policing available to members, the public and the media. Here is a sampling:

• Teachable Moments About Policing from Ferguson, Missouri
• Toxic Exposure: The Impact of Racial Inequality on the Brain
• Ferguson and the Need for Effective Community Policing
• Redefining Race Relations: It Begins at Home
• Black (Women’s?) Lives Matter: Microaggression and the Erasure of Violence Against Women of Color
• Addressing Biased Policing Through Science-Based Training

In addition, here is an op-ed responding to the situation in Ferguson:
“How Psychology Can Help Ferguson Heal,” by Nadine J. Kaslow, PhD, and Norman B. Anderson, PhD, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Sept. 5, 2014)

Plus, numerous articles posted on APA’s Help Center topics on coping in the aftermath of a tragedy or disaster.