Women vs. women
In response to the April cover story "Renewing the Push for Equality," I have to say after 20 years as a practicing psychologist, I have experienced the most harassment, bullying, discrimination and biases in the field of psychology by other women, not men. I have never been treated so badly, inappropriately or bullied as I have by women in my field, not men. No one seems to be addressing the issue of women-to-women harassment. As an employee assistance program senior psychologist, I must say, anecdotally, that I hear more stories of women-on-women "workplace violence" than I do about men-on-women "violence." From my perspective, rather than teaching and training men, we need to help, encourage, train and urge women to be respectful and kind to other women, rather than seeing each other as threats or easy targets of bullying. I am tired of people ignoring the mistreatment of women by other women. I have not once had a female mentor or even a woman who helped me advance in my own career. I have received more encouragement, support and mentoring by men in the field. Until we stop the women-on-women violence that continues to exist, only then can we get out of our own way, support each other and make the advancements that we are blaming men for keeping us from making.
Beth-Anne Blue, PhD
Gainesville, Florida
A need to separate health and weight
After reading the April article "Family-Based Interventions for Addressing Childhood Obesity," I am disappointed that APA would support such guidelines:
- Weight stigma is a more salient issue than weight itself. The medicalization of "obesity" and such attempts to "treat" it pathologize those who naturally have larger bodies.
- Attempts to control children's weight contribute to difficulties with food, including chronic dieting, guilt and obsessiveness over food and weight, and eating disorders.
- The article cites weight loss at 12-months as a "success." Intentional weight loss is unlikely to be sustainable after 24 months and weight cycling is associated with increased risk for depression and other negative health outcomes.
- The suggestion that families lack education on nutrition and exercise is paternalistic and shortsighted. Rather than intervening at the family level, systemic primary interventions are more likely to address barriers to health behaviors.
Culturally, we need to separate health and weight. In working from a HAES perspective, we can address systemic barriers to health, address weight stigma, and allow children to self-regulate with interoceptive cues.
Catharine Devlin, PsyD
Chicago
Losing and autism diagnosis
As a clinical psychologist who focuses on the treatment and assessment of individuals with autism across the life span, I'd like to make two points regarding the news feature on "Losing an Autism Diagnosis" (April).
First, I believe that there is a substantial lack of training in the assessment of individuals with autism, particularly as they age into puberty and adulthood. I think that the lack of oversight at a broader health-care level explains some of the variations in having and then later losing an autism spectrum diagnosis. I would refer readers to Cathy Lord's clinical research for a better understanding of the evidence base and training for autism assessment. Second, the consequences of losing an autism diagnosis in adolescence or adulthood can be quite dire and drastic in terms of service eligibility and access. State offices for people with disabilities often require further substantiation of an autism diagnosis later in childhood, and a person losing their autism diagnosis can quite literally "flip the table" on what services a person and their family can access. I think there needs to be more cross-talk between health care and government systems to understand the consequences of losing an autism diagnosis.
Bryan R. Harrison, PhD
Pittsford, N.Y.
Our favorite tweets
Re: "Leading the Way" (April)
@LatinaRAS We spot two @LatinaRAS academic madrinas and members of our advisory council, Dra. Hortensia Amaro & Dra. Glorisa Canino Thank you @APA_Monitor for sharing all these trailblazer stories!
Re: "Renewing the Push for Equality" (April)
@STEPSPsych At the end of the day, we are humans first, psychologists second. So we have to become better humans! #EqualPay @APA @APA_Monitor
Re: "How to Mentor Ethically" (April)
@Russwarne Excellent article from @APA_Monitor about ethical mentoring in #psychology. @APA
Re: "Jogging Happy Memories" (March)
@jonmsutton Who knew? The person leading the 'Memories' feature on @Facebook is a psychologist, Dr Artie Konrad. Fascinating @APA interview on being a 'sensible steward of memories' ■
We’d love your feedback. Please send letters to Monitor Editor Sara Martin at smartin@apa.org.