This is a guest post which highlights the documentary video “Interrogation Psychologists: The Making of a Professional Crisis” directed by colleague and friend Martha Davis PhD. Dr. Davis is a Clinical Psychologist and a Visiting Scholar at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. She is an expert in the detection of deception, and has published numerous articles and books on non-verbal communication research. The “Interrogation Psychologists: The Making of a Professional Crisis” premiered at the conference entitled “The Interrogation and Torture Controversy: Crisis in Psychology” held at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Center on Terrorism in New York City on September 12, 2008.
Quoting from Dr. Davis:
“In 2005 the American Psychological Association endorsed the participation of military psychologists in detainee interrogations. This policy incited a firestorm of protest within the profession and around the world, but APA officials held fast, contending that the involvement of psychologists insured that interrogations were safe, ethical and effective. With interviews of experts and documentation of communications between APA and government officials, “Interrogation Psychologists” traces the origins of the policy and why the APA risked massive defections for it. The search leads to the emerging field of national security psychology, which has far-reaching implications for intelligence gathering operations and U.S. treatment of prisoners of war.”
