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COMMITTEE ON LESBIAN, GAY, & BISEXUAL CONCERNS
2005 Annual Report
2005 Members: Gary W. Harper, PhD, MPH, Chair (2003-2005); Glenda Russell, PhD, Chair-Elect (2004-2006); Randy J. Georgemiller, PhD, (2004-2006); Beverly Greene, PhD, ABPP (2003-2005); Patricia D. Hawkins, PhD (2005-2007); Nathan Grant Smith, PhD (2005-2007).
Members to begin their term of office on January 1, 2006 are Bianca D. M. Wilson, PhD, and Randall D. Ehrbar, PsyD
Diversity Report. Currently, the Committee consists of three gay men and three lesbian women. Four of the members are European American, one is African American, and one is Native American. The new members, joining the Committee for 2006-2008, are African American and transgender. CLGBC neither provided nor received diversity training in 2005.
2005 Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient. This year the committee presented two Outstanding Achievement Awards. The 2005 award recipients were Armand R. Cerbone, PhD, ABPP, and Ruth E. Fassinger, PhD.
Armand Cerbone, PhD, ABPP, was recognized for his leadership and professional service toward making psychology a safe place for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people at local, state, national, and international levels. Dr. Cerbone contributed crucially to the development, adoption, and implementation of the Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients. He was one of the organizers and chairs of the 2001 international conference Sexual Orientation and Mental Health: Toward Global Perspectives on Practice and Policy. He has been a tireless and hopeful leader in the gay community of Chicago, in the Illinois Psychological Association, in regional and national associations for lesbian and gay psychologists, in APA's Division 44, Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns, Council of Representatives, and as APA's representative to the International Network for Sexual Orientation Concerns in Psychology. For more than 20 years, Dr. Cerbone has been a cheerleader to enliven our spirits, a task master to ensure we got the work done, and a diplomat to see our projects through to success.
Ruth E. Fassinger, PhD, was recognized for her contributions to research, scholarship, and education. Dr. Fassinger's innovative research on lesbian and gay identity development differentiated the individual and the group levels and provided psychometrically sound measures for the field. She was a pioneer in applying feminist theories to lesbian, gay, and bisexual vocational issues and in conducting research on career development among lesbian women that elucidated their workplace issues. Her prolific and broad-ranging scholarship has fostered complex understandings of lesbian, gay, and bisexual lives, careers, identities, relationships, and erotic intimacies. People leave her presentations thinking and laughing. With her strong commitment to educating future generations of psychologists, she has worked diligently to mentor to the highest level of excellence both lesbian, gay, and bisexual students as they integrate their identities and heterosexual students as they embrace their potential as allies. Dr. Fassinger's generous spirit, keen intellect, and terrific sense have enhanced her ability to inform and humanize the issues about which she cares so deeply.
2005 APA Annual Convention Activities. Members of the Committee created a one page (front and back) flier titled "Same-Sex Marriage and Anti-Gay Politics" that was distributed at the APA Annual Convention. This information sheet included the following sections: a) What is happening in the U.S. related to the rights of LGB people and same-sex marriage?, b) What is APA's stance on same-sex marriage?, c) What are the mental health impacts of this anti-gay legislation?, and d) What can you do to assist in the fight against anti-gay legislation related to same-sex marriage? Under each of these sections, information was offered about current and past research, community/social action, and policy efforts related to same-sex marriage and anti-gay politics, and contact information was offered for those wishing to get involved in future efforts.
Members of the Committee were also involved in several programs at the 2005 APA Annual Convention, both as part of CLGB activities and Division 44 activities. The Committee took primary responsibility in two different sessions. The first was a symposium entitled "Psychologists Involved in LGBT Health Public Policy and Advocacy." This was co-chaired by CLGBC and the Office on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Concerns and the panelists in the symposium included several CLGBC members discussing ways in which psychologists who work in different settings can get involved in LGBT-related public policy and advocacy work focused on health issues. The second was a symposium chaired by the 2004 CLGBC chair entitled "LGB Political Advocacy: Psychologists fight Anti-Gay Legislation." This panel included several current CLGBC members who discussed their experiences meeting with U.S. Senators and Representatives around anti-gay legislation (particularly the Federal Marriage Amendment) as part of the coordinated advocacy campaign sponsored by the APA Public Policy Office. In addition to these formal symposia, the Committee held a meeting focused on improving communication with APA division and with state, provincial, and territorial psychological associations. This will be detailed in the following section. Return to top
Communication with State, Provincial, and Territorial Psychological Associations. The Committee has been working to coordinate lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-related activities and information exchanges with state, provincial, and territorial psychological associations and APA divisions. The Committee created a list serve (STATELGBC) for these groups so that they (and members of the Committee) could share information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-related topics and concerns. In addition, the Committee held a meeting for psychological association representatives during the 2005 Annual Convention. This meeting was attended by members of the Committee, members from seven state associations, and APA staff from the Public Policy Office and the Public Interest Directorate. Attendees summarized lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues in their home states and opportunities and barriers facing state associations. With 51 current subscribers to the STATELGBC list serve, there was discussion of how the list serve represents an under-utilized mechanism for disseminating information between the federal and state level and among states. Each attendee was asked to dedicate to using the list serve on a more routine basis to share information and increase its activity. There was a general discussion of how professional guild and public interest issues can intersect and promote both sides of the equation.
Identification of Problems in and Potential Goals for Recruitment, Retention, and Training of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologists.The Committee has been participating in several activities aimed at decreasing barriers to the recruitment, retention, and training of lesbian, gay, and bisexual psychologists. The Committee worked this year along with the Office on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns to make revisions to the survey of graduate faculty interested in lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues. This national survey provides information on faculty within graduate psychology programs who are participating in research, teaching, training, clinical work, and community work related to lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues. The survey had not been administered since 1999, and after the Committee worked with the Office to make the changes, the survey was once again administered in 2005. The results of this survey and potential comparisons with data from 1996 and 1999 will be conducted in 2006.
Another activity in this area has been the creation of a resource list for lesbian, gay, and bisexual university/college-affiliated faculty and staff, and their allies, that includes information/resources for addressing homophobia and heterosexism in academic settings. This resource list will be published on the Office on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns website and in the Division 44 newsletter. The Committee also has been working on a process for the development of brief "tip sheets" designed to assist individuals in academic settings (including faculty, staff, and students) when addressing discriminatory and prejudicial attitudes and actions that are directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender persons. Our goal is to create a series of tip sheets that will offer direct and succinct guidance, suggestions, and resources for anyone, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, who has witnessed such discrimination/prejudice and would like to take action. We would like these "tip sheets" to address a range of issues related to prejudice and discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. Some preliminary tip sheet content areas include: addressing religious-based heterosexism, combating heterosexist scientific arguments, and promoting "self care" in a heterosexist environment. A solicitation for authors to write "tip sheets" has been created and during 2006 the Committee will work to acquire and disseminate the sheets.
The committee has also been working on an article related to heterosexism and homophobia in academic settings, in which specific scenarios/vignettes will be presented, followed by recommendations for responses to those situations. This project is being undertaken in coordination with a member of the Division 44 Executive Committee, and will continue into 2006. Another activity of the Committee in this area has been to identify potential venues for the submission of journal articles and special issues/special sections on issue relevant to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, and then to participate in the writing/editing of these articles/special issues. The Committee will continue these activities into 2006.
Updating the Lesbian and Gay Parenting Publication. The Committee worked with Committee on Children, Youth and Families and the Committee on Women in Psychology to update the publication, "Lesbian and Gay Parenting." The primary author of this document, Charlotte Patterson, made revisions to her literature review and then the Committees worked together to finalize the entire document. CLGBC and the Office on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns took the lead on this process. Several updates and changes were made to the document. The title (Lesbian and Gay Parenting) was changed from its previous title to be more inclusive of both Lesbian and Gay parenting and to not restrict it to a document used for those in the legal system. A major change was the creation of new categories for the annotated bibliography, and then the classification of all references into these categories. In addition, the Committee had to work to obtain copyright permission so that all references would include an abstract describing the resource. The collaborating Committees and Office also wrote a preface to the new edition, outlining the changes to the document and offering thanks to those who worked on the publication. All changes to the publication were completed and the resource will soon be published. Return to top
Oversight of APA Participation in the International Network. The Committee has been providing oversight to the APA's involvement in an international network of national, multinational, and international psychological organizations focused on lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns and gender identity issues in psychology, which was formed following the 2001 international meeting: Sexual Orientation and Mental Health: Toward Global Perspectives on Practice and Policy. The Committee has attended meetings of the Executive Committee and reviewed the report from the APA International Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Activities Oversight Group. The mission statement that was developed by the International Network Executive Committee was also approved by CLGBC and the Oversight Group on behalf of APA. The mission statement follows:
The International Network for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns and Gender Identity Issues in Psychology is composed of national, multinational, and international psychological associations that are cooperating to achieve the following aims:
- To increase cross-cultural collaboration among psychological researchers and practitioners who are concerned about the mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations;
- To increase knowledge among psychologists and other mental health practitioners about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations;
- To apply psychological research and mental health practice guidelines focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations to international health policy;
- To increase the number of national, multinational, and international psychological associations that formally reject the mental disorder conception of homosexuality and that promote mental health practice that is affirmative of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
Response to Virginia Affirmation of Marriage Act. The Committee has initiated a number of meetings and activities related to Virginia's Affirmation of Marriage Act, especially since most APA consolidated meetings are held in Virginia and this new legislation has the potential to negatively impact lesbian, gay and bisexual APA members attending meetings in Virginia. In July 2004 the Virginia Marriage Affirmation Act became law. This legislation prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions, and threatens to overturn private contractual agreements made between gay and lesbian couples. During 2004 the Committee met the APA President and several APA Officials to discuss the Association's potential response to the Marriage Affirmation Act since this legislation is clearly in opposition to APA's non-discrimination policy related to gay, lesbian, and bisexual people and its more recent policies in support of same-sex marriage; and since the legislation has the potential to put lesbian, gay, and bisexual APA members in danger if they are in Virginia for a meeting and their healthcare related contractual agreements that involve same-sex partners are not granted. In 2005 the Committee continued to hold meetings with the following individuals to discuss the APA response: Ronald Levant, Ed.D., APA President, Gerald P. Koocher, PhD, APA President-Elect, Sandra Shullman, PhD, Public Interest Directorate Liaison from the Board of Directors, Henry Tomes, PhD, Executive Director, Public Interest Directorate, Nathalie Gilfoyle, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, Judith Strassburger, Executive Director, Governance Affairs, and Paul Donnelly, Director, Board and Committee Operations. Based on several different meetings, the following actions were taken.
The Committee held an Educational Session and Open Discussion at the Spring Consolidated Meeting. The panelist included CLGGC members, Director of the APA Office on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns, Gay Gandy (Outreach Committee Chair for Equality Virginia), and John Gruszkos (Chair of the Committee on Social Issues for the Virginia Psychological Association. The areas covered in the meeting included the following: a history of the APA's response to the Affirmation of Marriage Act, State Psychological Association's involvement in same-sex marriage ballot initiatives, the mental health impact of anti-gay politics, actions being taken in Virginia to oppose this legislation, actions being taken by the VA Psychological Association to oppose this legislation, actions that APA members can take related to this legislation. This meeting was very well attended and created much discussion and ideas for action among members of other APA Committees and Boards.
The Committee also requested that the APA not plan any future meetings in Virginia because of the Affirmation of Marriage Act, and this issue was discussed in detail at the Fall Consolidated meeting with Sandra Shullman, PhD, Henry Tomes, PhD, Nathalie Gilfoyle, Esq., Judith Strassburger, and Paul Donnelly. Ms. Strassburger reported to the Committee that she had recently been given responsibility for the Consolidated Meetings and had decided that she would not pursue future meeting contracts in Virginia. Mr. Donnelly reported that if APA were to break the Spring 2006 and Spring 2007 contracts to hold meetings in Virginia, APA would incur cancellation fees and that the 2006 meeting would have to be canceled because finding an alternative site would be impossible on such short notice. He also pointed out that he had consulted with the hotel with which the APA has the contract and the hotel agreed that they would only call ambulances from the District for any APA member who required emergency medical care during their stay in the hotel.
Based on the work the Committee has conducted from 2004 until the present time related to Virginia's Affirmation of Marriage Act, CLGBC has decided to broaden its focus and has written a new resolution entitled "Resolution on Opposing Discriminatory Legislation and Initiatives." This resolution urges the APA to reaffirm its opposition to discrimination against lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people and to take a leadership role in actively opposing the adoption of discriminatory legislation and initiatives. It further recommends that APA: a) convene a meeting of representatives of national health and mental health organizations to encourage a concerted response to discriminatory legislation and initiatives; b) make deliberate efforts to avoid holding meetings in states and other jurisdictions that put members of the organization at physical, emotional, or social risk; c) make deliberate efforts to avoid entering into contractual agreements with entities located in such states or jurisdictions; d) when meeting in such a state or jurisdiction, will take steps to ensure the physical and psychological safety of its members and will offer specific and concrete measures to counter the hostile environment. The committee will seek BAPPI's approval for submitting the resolution to the spring 2005 cross cutting agenda. Return to top
Revisions to Answers to your questions about sexual orientation and homosexuality. The Committee has been working on revising the APA public information brochure, Answers to your questions about sexual orientation and homosexuality. The current version is being shared with key informants who use the brochure in order to obtain information and ideas from them regarding additions or updates that should be made to the document to increase its utility. Updates will be completed in 2006 so that the new document can be disseminated.
Revision of a Selected Bibliography of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns in Psychology: An Affirmative Perspective. The Committee has decided to update the publication A Selected Bibliography of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns in Psychology: An Affirmative Perspective, which had its last periodic update in 1998. Information is being solicited from Committee members and other psychologist who work on lesbian, gay and bisexual issues in order to conduct a comprehensive update of the publication. Revisions will be completed in 2006 so that the new document can be disseminated.
Possible Revision of the Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients. At the Spring 2005 Consolidated meeting, the Committee received a request from then-Division 44 President Michael R. Stevenson, PhD, that the Committee consider what role it wished to play in a revision process for the Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients, which Division 44 had decided to undertake during its 2005 mid-winter meeting. CLGBC has decided to collaborate with Division 44 in the guidelines revision process, and will submit an item to BAPPI's agenda, asking BAPPI to approve the Committee's intentions.
Request for APA Endorsement of Resolution on Sexual Orientation as a Demographic Variable in Survey Research. The Committee was asked by Lee Badgett of the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) to propose that APA adopt the Resolution on Sexual Orientation Research that has been developed by the IGLSS Data Project Working Group with funding from the Ford Foundation. The Committee decided to propose an original resolution for APA's consideration and to include gender identity in consultation with the Task Force on Gender Identity, Gender Variance, and Intersex Conditions. The Committee will draft a resolution for the Committee to consider at the Spring 2006 meeting.
Updating Resolution on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. The Committee was asked to review the APA Resolution on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation, which was adopted in 1997, and consider whether revisions might be appropriate in light of the continuing attention to the issue within the association and resolutions adopted by other professional associations subsequent to 1997. Ron Schlittler, Deputy Executive Director, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), contacted APA to seek ways that APA and PFLAG might cooperate on this issue and met with the Committee to inform them of his concerns and recommendations for how APA might respond. Jason Cianciotto, Research Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute (NGLTF), who had also contacted APA to seek ways to work together, submitted a written summary of the concerns of NGLTF and some recommendations for APA. APA member Douglas C. Haldeman, PhD, also offered support to the Committee in undertaking to revise the resolution.
The Committee decided that it would pursue a revision of the resolution, but that considerable consultation and investigation would be needed in order to identify what the revisions would be. The Committee agreed to convene a meeting of national organizations to consider common actions, and submit a proposal for an APA convention symposium on this topic.
High School Psychology Unit on Sexual Orientation. The Committee is working with Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPPS) to create a high school psychology unit lesson plan on sexual orientation. Members of the Committee have been working with TOPPS on the initial plans for this curriculum, and then a working session was conducted with the follow members to make progress on this project: Amy Fineburg, Chair, Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPPS), Hilary Rosenthal, Member, Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools, Jeannie Blakeslee, and Emily Leary, Precollege Psychology Program Officer. It was decided that the lesson plan would be titled "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Issues in Psychology" and cover the following six content areas: 1) introduction to the study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning issues in high school, 2) historical perspectives on sexual orientation and gender identity, 3) lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identity development, 4) lesbian and gay relationships and same-gender marriage, 5) lesbian mothers, gay fathers, and their families, and 6) mental and behavioral health implications for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning populations. In addition to the curriculum content related to sexual orientation just described, the group decided to include information and guidance to teachers on infusing the curriculum content into other parts of a high school psychology curriculum, and to provide an extensive resource section, including a list of professional organizations' statements regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues.
The group has decided that early 2007 would be their target date for publication of this lesson plan. They also decided to submit an article about the unit lesson plan for the Fall or Winter 2006 issue of the TOPSS newsletter Psychology Teacher Network, and to submit a proposal for the 2006 APA Annual Convention on this work. Return to top
NCSPP GLB Committee Proposal for the Development of Standards for Graduate Professional Education and Training on LGB Issues. The Committee was asked by the National Council of Schools and Programs in Professional Psychology Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues Committee to form a joint task force to develop a model curriculum for training graduate students in professional psychology about psychological issues related to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and transgender people. The Committee has agreed to participate in this joint task force, and will convene meetings in 2006.
Task Force on Gender Identity, Gender Variance, and Intersex Conditions. The Committee was originally involved in reviewing nomination for the Task Force on Gender Identity, Gender Variance, and Intersex Conditions and has been keeping abreast of the actions of this group. Members have worked with the Task Force to complete the Task Force's needs assessment survey. CLGBC also has been supportive of the Task Force's efforts to related to clarification from the Committee on Accreditation regarding gender identity as an aspect of diversity with the definition of cultural and individual diversity in the Guidelines & Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology. The Committee on Accreditation responded by committing to explicitly adding gender identity.
Respectfully submitted
Gary W. Harper, PhD, MPH
Chair, CLGBC
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