Summer, 2020 – Volume 60, Issue 2
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Table of Contents
Greetings from the Board
President’s Message
President-Elect’s Message
Secretary-General’s Message
ICP Response to COVID-19
ICP Ad-hoc COVID-19 Planning Group
Webinars – COVID and vulnerable populations
ICP voices about the COVID impact
Tributes to Jean Lau Chin
from Natalie Porter
from Josephine Tan
see additional tributes on the ICP website (click here)
ICP Activities
ICP Webinar Series
International Leadership Team – An Extraordinary Collaboration
ICP at the United Nations
ICP signs statement urging a focus on women and climate
ICP interns speak at a UN Committee of the Family event
Psychology Day at the United Nations – focus on Multilaterality
Announcements
ICP issues Statement Against Racism and Inequity
Nominations for ICP Awards Now Invited
Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights
Call for Service – Volunteer with ICP
Message from the Editor
Member’s News and Comments
Books published
Student Corner
President’s Message
Ana Guil Bozal
Desde que nos dejó Jean Lou Chin la tengo todo el tiempo en mi memoria. Su vitalidad y su energía que tan bien supo poner al servicio de la Psicología, no pudieron combatir al maldito covid-19, que en los primeros días nos parecía soplo una gripe, pero que realmente está terminando con la vida de miles de personas a la vez que modificando, en gran medida, todo nuestro mundo.
Uno de estos cambios afecta especialmente a los medios de comunicación, ya que al restringirse las relaciones interpersonales, inevitablemente aumenta la comunicación digital y con ella en muchos casos y de manera curiosa, la desinformación.
La proliferación de bulos y fake news es algo que me impresionó desde el inicio del confinamiento. En Psicología Social conocíamos muy bien el movimiento de los rumores en los pequeños grupos, como una mancha de aceite en una corriente de agua. Pero estas falsas noticias se expanden mucho más rápidamente y a mucha mayor escala, dejándonos con una sensación cuanto menos de incertidumbre y en la mayoría de los casos, con la certeza de estar siendo víctimas de intentos malintencionados de manipulación.
No obstante, quiero enviar un mensaje positivo en esta floreciente primavera, recordando los versos de un poeta de la llamada en la literatura española generación del 98, Antonio Machado -Sevilla, (España) 1875–1939 Colliure (Francia)-, quien, durante sus años en Soria, escribió su libro Campos de Castilla, en el que dedica un poema a un olmo centenario al que, “con las lluvias de abril y el sol de mayo algunas hojas verdes le han salido”. Poema que termina así: “Mi corazón espera también, hacia la luz y hacia la vida, otro milagro de la primavera”.
Since Jean Lou Chin left us, I have her all the time in my memory. Her vitality and her energy that she so well knew how to put at the service of Psychology, could not fight the damned covid-19, that in the first days seemed to us only a flu, but that really is ending with the life of thousands of people while modifying, to a great extent, all our world.
One of these changes especially affects the media, since as interpersonal relationships are restricted, digital communication inevitably increases and with it, in many cases and in a curious way, disinformation.
The proliferation of hoaxes and fake news is something that impressed me from the beginning of the confinement. In Social Psychology we knew very well the movement of rumors in small groups, like an oil stain in a stream. But this false news spreads much more quickly and on a much larger scale, leaving us with a feeling of uncertainty at the very least, and in most cases, the certainty that we are victims of malicious attempts at manipulation.
Nevertheless, I want to send a positive message in this flourishing spring, remembering the verses of a poet of the so-called generation of ’98 in Spanish literature, Antonio Machado -Sevilla, (Spain) 1875-1939 Colliure (France)-, who, during his years in Soria, wrote his book Campos de Castilla, in which he dedicates a poem to a centenary elm tree to which, “with the April rains and the May sun some green leaves have come out”. Poem that ends like this: “My heart also hopes, towards the light and towards life, another miracle of spring”.
President-Elect’s Message
We live in an uncertain and stressful time when something so small and invisible as a coronavirus can literally bring the world to a halt. It has forced all of us to change our habits and way of life, our thinking, our priorities, our relationships, to name a few. We are sad for the many we have lost to COVID-19. We hope for the recovery of many more who are afflicted with the virus. We worry for those who are still with us and appear to be healthy, and for those who are vulnerable. The pandemic has peeled back the face of humanity to reveal its prejudices, discrimination, disparity, and the instability of its political and economic systems. Yet, it has also shown us sparkling moments of human compassion and kindness, unselfishness, heroism, and humble appreciation for those who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for us. The environment seems to be clearing up, and in some places, animals are reclaiming their territory by coming into human habitat in the absence of human movement.
The International Council of Psychologists with its focus on social justice and human rights is actively working to respond to the rapid changes in our world. We have assembled an international ad hoc group working on Covid-related issues with the aim of understanding how the pandemic is affecting peoples in different geographical areas and in different segments of society, to share and develop informational resources, and to offer an avenue for individuals to tell their Covid-19 stories. The ICP is also communicating with other international organizations and lending our voice to support issues that bear on social justice and human rights. Through the Network of Psychologists for Human Rights (humanrightspsychology.org), an ICP project in collaboration with the EFPA Human Rights Board, Merry Bullock (US) and Polli Hagenaars (Netherlands) are using their substantial knowledge and links to people and organizations that work on matters of social justice and human rights to keep us well-appraised and up to date, and to create bridges to those very people and organizations. At this time, many of the sufferings brought about by Covid-19 are magnified by and understood through the lens of pre-existing disparities, prejudice, and discrimination.
While the pandemic has captured a lot of our attention, we remain focused and engaged in other non-Covid-19 aspects of our organization. The ICP conference planning committee has been hard at work to plan and develop a virtual meeting for 2020. We continue to hold our ICP webinars and make them accessible on YouTube after the event is over because the difference in international time zones makes it difficult for many to attend the webinars in real time. The ICP webinars would not exist without the considerable expertise of Andrew Simon and Merry Bullock (both in the US but in different time zones). They make a perfect team and ensure that our webinars are implemented smoothly.
Our United Nations representatives, Florence Denmark (US) and Roswith Roth (Austria) continue to represent us at UN NGO meetings and events. Our ICP Awards Coordinator, Mary Beth Kenkel (US) has sent out a call for award nominations for 2020 – I hope that you will share the call widely among your friends and colleagues, and nominate someone. There are many more individuals within the ICP organization and Board who have and continue to make significant contributions. You will see their reports and names in this issue or future issues of the newsletter. Of course, we have Ada Sinacore (Canada) who is the talented Editor of our newsletter and who has put together this issue filled with information about ICP activities and other matters of interest.
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wax and wane and wax again in different parts of the world, we know that everyone is dealing with it the best way they can. Most if not all of you and your family are trying to protect yourselves and others through physical distancing and the employment of personal protective gears. Several of you are in the frontlines, either working directly with Covid-19 patients or supporting their families and the healthcare workers. If so, you are witnessing the full human experience of the pandemic tragedy, altruism, and hope. Inasmuch as you look after others, we hope that you will also spare some thought for yourself and undertake some self-care. To those of you who have lost someone in your network or family, the ICP extends its sincere condolences to you.
The ICP is also very saddened by the recent loss of Jean Lau Chin due to Covid-19. Jean was our ICP President in 2017-2018, and continued to serve on our Board till her passing. She was extremely well-respected and well-loved by many across the world, not only within the ICP itself but also across different organizations. There has been an outpouring of tributes to Jean on the ICP website and the websites of other organizations. Even as I write this report, other tributes in honor of her are being written for publication. The ICP Tribute and links to tributes from others, including a touching televised memorial tribute to Jean and her husband Gene, who passed away from Covid-19 several days before her can be see from the ICP website at: www.icpweb.org/jean-lau-chin.
The Covid-19 crisis can be an opportunity for all of us to make the world a fairer and more just place in service of human welfare. As members of the ICP, we can work towards those goals in our research, education and training, practice, social activism and humanitarian acts, and even in our personal lives. If we pull together in the same direction at the same time across the globe, our impact will be that much greater. In closing, I wish all of you and your loved ones safety and health, and peace of mind and peace of heart.
Report from the Secretariat
ICP’s day to day activities have not changed too much since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, although our planned and projected activities certainly have! In-person meetings have given way to zoom meetings and virtual webinars, and logistical planning has moved from consideration of hotels, catering and side trips to strategizing about how to develop innovative platforms to do what ICP does best – foster collaboration and exchange or ideas, projects and plans for action.
Many of the articles in this newsletter give details of how ICP is responding. I will give some details of the opportunities that ICP’s responses are providing for increasing engagement and involvement with ICP.
Outreach
The need to move our activities to online and virtual communication has opened new opportunities for ICP. Our webinar series during April and May was the most active ever. In five webinar sessions, we hosted 468 participants on ZOOM, and learned how to simultaneously livestream via YouTube so that even more could participate either at the time or later . In all, 968 people registered for the webinars from 35+ countries. This experience pointed out one important way for ICP to make its programs and activities widely available and to engage colleagues who, in the past, were not able to travel to participate in person.
Activism
The rapid shift in our world from COVID-19 also spurred ICP to accelerate building up the web material that support the Network of Psychologists for Human Rights. As it became increasingly clear that the pandemic was exposing long-standing inequalities, as well as raising new challenges to human rights, the Network rapidly launched pages on the human rights implications of COVID-19. These pages offer commentary, guidelines, and media reports to raise awareness about human rights issues and to pave the way for action and advocacy. Readers are encouraged to submit comments and articles for these pages, offering a new way for others to become engaged with ICP.
In addition to the Human Rights Network, ICP has supported activism at the United Nations. ICP interns provided a session to the Committee on the Family in New York on “Loss in the Family”, and ICP was a signatory on a statement from the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) to the UN Secretary-General titled “ COVID-19 Recovery: Building Back Better “(see WEB- Ada I will get you this URL).
Engagement
The ICP Board has been very active in responding to the pandemic, generating a variety of ideas and enthusiasm for projects and future meetings. I think we have begun to realize that, at least from an organizational perspective, moving to virtual meetings and online conferences allows us to envision a bigger scope and spread for ICP. We can engage colleagues more freely without constraints of long-distance travel or travel expenses, and we can envision discussions and projects to fulfill ICP’s unique focus on human rights, dignity and justice.
ICP is also engaging more directly with many psychology organizations around the world in weekly conversations about organizational responses to COVID-19 (see article this issue), and recruiting their input and participation with ICP’s focus on human rights and social justice.
The Future
We are all living through a frightening, challenging and uncertain time for individuals and organizations. It is heartening to see the enthusiasm and ingenuity of ICP members in meeting this challenge with care, creativity and renewed commitment to addressing the present and imagining the future.
Respectfully submitted,
Merry Bullock, ICP Secretary-General
Covid-19 Ad Hoc Group Report
By Josephine Tan, ICP President-Elect
The ICP recently convened a Covid-19 ad hoc group consisting of individuals with an interest in working on issues related to the pandemic. Members of the group as listed in alphabetical order are: Naoki Asazuma (Japan), Merry Bullock (US), Elaine Congress (US), Florence Denmark (US), Machiko Fukuhara (Japan), Polli Hagenaars (Netherlands), Mary Beth Kenkel (US), Amina Muazzam (Pakistan), Sandra Neil (Australia), Ann Marie O’Roark (US), Roswith Roth (Austria), Élison Santos (Brazil), and Josephine Tan (Canada).
A number of activities have been initiated. Elaine Congress is organizing Covid-19 webinars, and Élison Santos has been conducting taped interviews with ICP members. Amina Muazzam is examining the psychological, social, financial, and physical impact of Covid-19 while Sandra Neil is collecting Covid-19 stories in Australia and expanding her work to other areas of the world. Other initiatives are currently being developed by the group.
We welcome suggestions and ideas from the membership. Please contact Josephine Tan at jtan@lakeheadu.ca.
Up-coming initiatives from the COVID-19 Ad Hoc Planning Group
Webinar Series – Vulnerable Populations during the Coronavirus
By Elaine Congress, ICP Board Member, USA
Webinars are an important way that ICP communicates and educates psychologists and others around the world about important global issues. This means of communication is especially important now in the era of the coronavirus. An ICP committee is currently working on developing a webinar series on Vulnerable Populations. The first session entitled COVID 19 Responses: Challenges and Strengths of Indigenous Peoples will be held Monday, June 15, at 7 pm EST (Tuesday, June 16, 9 am in Australia). . The three speakers will be Dr. Consuelo Barred-Hanson Consultant, Educator and Private Practitioner from Australia, Dr. Fernando Pessoa, Special Secretariat on Indigenous Health of the Brazilian Department of Health from Brazil, and Dr. Hilary Weaver member of the American Indian Lakota tribe and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Professor from the University of Buffalo in the United States. The committee hopes that you will be able to attend this interesting, informative event about an often hidden population that is especially at risk during the coronavirus pandemic. Also please invite others who might be interested to attend.
There are plans to have two more webinars in this series and the second webinar on vulnerable populations will focus on refugees. More information about the program and the date and time will be sent out shortly. Please contact Dr. Congress at congress@fordham.edu with any comments, questions, or suggestions.
ICP Voices on the Pandemia
By Elisón Santos, ICP Board Member, Brazil
Facing one of the biggest challenges of the last generations, humanity unites searching for ways to overcome the pandemic. This search is expressed in different ways, as each government takes different actions and each nation behaves based on their different cultures. To understand more about this diversity, we talked to some of the ICP members from different countries and asked them to share with us about their personal experience and perspectives as psychologists.
These interviews will be available in a playlist in our Youtube Channel on June 20.
Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyB4_Gd6LXyGoeIa1P-gvOg
ICP Activities
ICP Webinars Program – a growing resource
By Andrew F. Simon
Chair, Webinar Committee
ICP’s Webinar program got off to a strong start in its first year by bringing a range of topics and presenters to viewers around the world. We’re especially grateful to Debbie Joffe Ellis for getting the program launched in March, 2019. Dr. Joffe Ellis provided a thorough overview and demonstration of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), furthering the ideas and techniques pioneered by her late husband, Albert Ellis. This webinar was offered in collaboration with Seton Hall University and brought a large, online audience, including many of our colleagues in the Caribbean, into the lecture hall to join those attending in-person. More recently, Dr. Joffe Ellis provided a three-part series on how REBT can be applied to the challenges of coping with the global Coronavirus pandemic. This was an example of ICP at its best, responding quickly to needs created by the pandemic and providing a forum in which viewers could benefit from Dr. Joffe Ellis’s counseling expertise. Several hundred participants registered for this series and found it to be both informative and useful. We were especially happy to see such notable engagement from those in Pakistan and India.
Subsequent presentations covered topics directly relevant to ICP’s mission. Michael Stevens and Patricia Perez provided a broad overview of international psychology, highlighting the importance of studying people across nations and cultures. Jean Lau Chin and Josephine Tan presented a session addressing the need for global and diverse leadership. Viewers learned how key components of identity – age, race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status – are central to understanding leadership. Uwe Gielen further explored the theme of identity through his research on the identity of Chinese-Americans. Dr. Gielen provided viewers with an in-depth look into the lives of his young adult population.
Three additional webinars addressed topics consistent with ICP’s commitment to human rights and social justice. Daniel Balva adapted a successful workshop from ICP’s conference in Cadiz last June to a webinar on disability competencies. Viewers learned of the experiences among those with disabilities and how they are often misrepresented in popular culture. We also benefitted from Cary Cherniss’s presentation on the value of emotional intelligence; this talk was based on Dr. Cherniss’s work with leaders and on his book, Leading With Feeling. Crystal Chissell then led an extremely informative webinar on climate change, diet, and human rights. Viewers learned that significant improvement to the climate is possible if we, as a global society, can collectively alter our behavior. This webinar was especially empowering as it highlighted the need for the very talent and expertise of ICP’s membership.
All webinars (with the exception of Stevens and Perez) remain available on the ICP web page and can be accessed at no cost (https://icpweb.org/icp-webinars/). In the coming weeks, look for additional presentations on the effects of the pandemic in indigenous and vulnerable populations. Beyond that, we will continue bringing you experts from around the world. As always, welcome your ideas for new presenters and topics. Please send your suggestions to: andrew.simon@shu.edu.
International Leadership Team – An Extraordinary Exchange: COVID-19 Listserv, Discussion Group and Resource Bank
By Merry Bullock, ICP Secretary-General
For the last 7 weeks, ICP has been participating in a most extraordinary collaborative event. The leaders from 58 national psychology associations, 8 regional associations and 3 international associations (ICP among them) have attended bi-weekly ZOOM meetings to share information and address COVID-19 issues. Collectively, the group has built a resource bank with more than 190 documents in 15 or more languages, and held discussions of pandemic-related issues such as mental health treatment, domestic violence, mechanisms for establishing helplines, and cultural practices, such as grieving, explanations to children, avoiding stigma, and strategies for public communication.
Most recently, the group heard from experts from WHO and Global Mental Health programs about comprehensive approaches to global mental health as it impacts on current COVID-19 issues and on future trajectories for wellbeing. These experts have included Vikram Patel, and Shekar Saxena from Harvard’s TJ Chan School of Public Health, Mark van Ommerem from the Mental Health and Substance Abuse department of WHO, and other experts from organizations around the world.
The general message from these speakers, that psychologists can and should be involved to move the needle toward greater awareness and action on socio-psychological needs and toward mental health policies to increase access for all, was not new. But what was new was their focused and direct call to psychology to step out or our traditional models and to think globally and expansively on how to address mental health wellbeing for the world’s populations.
For example, Shekhar Saxena, former director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO and now Professor at Harvard’s TJ Chan School of Public Health spoke broadly on mental wellbeing and COVID-19. Under the model of a “whole of society” approach, he urged psychologists to contribute to the goal of “building back better” for mental health policy and services of the future by adopting a broader public health approach and working to ensure wide availability of psycho-social support, and support for recovery .
For psychologists this means a shift in our training and usual practice models to adopt a more community-oriented approach. In this envisioned approach the delivery of routine and compartmentalized mental health services would be done by an array of less specialized health care workers, and more specialized care (by psychologists) would be provided only for more “complex” cases. To accomplish this, psychology would need to rethink its education models to add more socio-psychological dimensions, more public health orientation, more policy orientation. Psychology would need to increase its focus to supporting service delivery by less specialized providers, through encouraging task sharing and interprofessional practice, under the belief that there will be a greater impact of our profession if we can begin to address the enormous need to services gap by vastly increasing the number and spread of mental health care providers.
Saxena also pointed out that physical effects of COVID-19 may have a different trajectory than mental health effects, which are expected to grow and remain visible for some time to come. For example, although older and health-compromised populations may be at higher risk for physical effects, mental health risk factors may be greater in younger populations (with job loss, child- and elder-care concerns, and family issues). He also noted that attempts to model future issues predict a large increase in deaths indirectly attributable to COVID-19 from substance and alcohol abuse, and suicide. In part this is due to direct sequelae from COVID-19, and in part is due to a decrease in available mental health services because of COVID-19 effects on the health care system
There were also many ideas for how psychologists can contribute directly to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic:
Inform and advise governments and others on the content, and the form of public messages, to ensure that they are credible, consistent, and action oriented. For example, psychology needs to make the point that current language about social distancing is not helpful. The rhetoric should move away from “social distancing” to “physical distancing” for safety and “increased connectedness” for wellbeing.
Advise policy makers on the likely impact of restrictive policies and how to encourage public compliance with necessary measures
Advise policy and programs on strategies for strengthening of mental health services
Together the speakers offered some immediate next steps:
Become familiar with global advice on the pandemic: UN-related guidance: WHO guidelines on Mental Health during tines of COVID, IASC guidelines, policy briefs from the UN Secretary-General, and use these documents as the basis for advocacy and program development (see links below)
Increase psychology’s voice in the media – especially through individual stories
Join hands with other professionals (psychiatry, public health, social work, nursing) to create a larger impact in policy and messaging.
Join the “Countdown to 2020: in an initiative “United for Global Mental Health”: https://www.unitedgmh.org/countdown-to-2030
References
WHO Global mental health action plan: https://www.who.int/mental_health/action_plan_2013/en/
WHO: Mental Health and Psychosocial Considerations during the COVID-19 Outbreak – interim guidance: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/WHO-2019-nCoV-MentalHealth-2020.1
UN Policy Brief
https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/un_policy_brief-covid_and_mental_health_final.pdf
Tribute to Jean Lau Chin, ICP President 2017-2018
By Natalie Porter, ICP Past President
Two years ago, when Jean was ICP President and on a Distinguished Fulbright Fellowship in Australia, I received an urgent email from her asking for my help. She needed gift cards sent to her immediately. This request was early on in what we know now to be a common scam, and I almost fell for it. I knew she was traveling at the time and giving a talk outside of her home base of Sydney. I thought, “perhaps she forgot to bring something as thank you gifts for her hosts or assistants, and being the gracious person she is, she’d want to make that right.” The closeness of our relationship made her request to me feasible, although I did wonder why she wasn’t sending out Gene, her husband, to get what she needed. I was in New Orleans at the time and emailed questions back and forth as I tried to figure out how to implement her request. As I did so, she became increasingly insistent and her tone demanding. I remember thinking “geez, Jean, I’m trying the best I can.” And then came the aha moment, “This is a scam!” Why? Because in 30 years of friendship with Jean, I had never heard her take a tone that was angry, demanding, insistent, or impatient.
Jean was persistent, courageous, clear about her ideas and determined, but she was never demanding or insistent in the ways she implemented her ideas. She walked the talk, not only in dedicating her life to transformation around social justice and diversity, but in her leadership and relational style. She led through inclusion, warmly engaging others, involving them in her projects, mentoring countless numbers of colleagues, young professionals, and students. She practiced cultural and personal humility in the ways that she related to all of us. Jean knew where she was going; her map to a future where diversity and inclusion were truly integrated into a global psychology and societal change was drawn out in detail. She encouraged us to take this path with her, offered us ideas, opportunity, mentoring, respect, and camaraderie and valued everyone’s contributions as much as her own.
Jean’s contributions to international psychology across the health, mental health, education, leadership, and diversity domains were monumental. She was a pioneer in expanding the understanding of the intersection of gender, ethnicity and race to include immigration, cross-cultural, and international perspectives. Throughout her prodigious scholarship, the focus on international psychology is ubiquitous throughout her 15+ authored and edited books, 25+ journal articles and 20+ book chapters. Her contributions to Chinese and Chinese American psychology have expanded the knowledge base of psychology. Her advocacy embedded this knowledge into the fabric of health policy at the state and national levels. Jean’s focus on immigration and its impact on psychological identity, health, mental health, social and health disparities, and social equity factors within U.S. society constituted a core of her scholarship. Her scholarship addressing discrimination and social justice, both domestically and globally, constituted a third area of scholarship. Her legacy of articles and edited volumes are unrivaled in the U.S. for their breadth and thoroughness and for the integration of international perspectives.
Jean’s research and scholarship on the field of leadership from a gendered, multicultural, and international perspective represents some of the most innovative and important work in the field. It conceptualizes leadership from multiple standpoints that highlight how culture and context shape the development of leaders, their practices, values, and perspectives on successful leadership outcomes. This work, conducted both within diverse populations in the U.S. and on international populations, has profoundly expanded how we think about leadership and the shift to multiple origins, multiple forms, and multiple outcomes that is crucial for leaders in an increasingly global society. In Jean’s special way, she created a large network of research collaborators across the world for this leadership project. The ICP leadership interest area is an outgrowth of this network. Jean was awarded the title Senior Fulbright Specialist and consulted around leadership in Hong Kong. A few years later she went to Sydney as a Distinguished Fulbright Fellow, studying leadership among aboriginal groups as well as among other diverse Australian cultures.
Jean shaped psychology education within the U.S. to be more inclusive of international psychology, to promote the international exchanges of scholars, and to develop and shape programs outside of the U.S. Within the U.S., she has expanded the curricular offerings pertaining to cross-cultural and international psychology. She led university interdisciplinary initiatives on diversity that raised the awareness of students, faculty, and administrators and led to implementation of programs and practices that promote international knowledge, scholarship, and professional exchanges. While the Dean of the California School of Professional Psychology/Alliant, Dr. Chin founded a PsyD program offered in Hong Kong that received accreditation through the U.S. western regional accreditor of higher education (WASC) and grew two other programs, in Mexico City and Tokyo respectively, from relatively new to flourishing graduate programs. She made sure these programs reflected the cultural values, practices, and research of the countries in which they resided.
Jean has long been recognized has an expert in health and mental health service delivery pertaining to the needs of Asian Americans. She served as the Executive Director of a community health organization for Asian populations for a decade. It developed innovative and relevant services for international and immigrant populations in Boston that then influenced service delivery for these groups throughout the U.S. through Jean’s consultations and advocacy within the USDHHS Office of Minority Health, NIMH, the CDC, and SAMHSA. Her extensive contributions through several boards and committees within these branches of government included both increasing the knowledge-base and competencies of U.S. providers to meet the needs of international populations and improving the mechanisms for outreach and service delivery to reduce the health and mental health disparities of these groups.
Jean’s commitments to international service within psychology have been remarkable. She served on CIRP, where she worked on the development of the international leadership network and the integration of U.S. multicultural with international psychology. In addition to ICP, Jean was President of APA Divisions 35, 45, and 52. In all groups she increased awareness and initiatives that furthered theory and application of international perspectives of psychology. For her service to the field, Dr. Chin has received many, many awards; three particularly relevant to international psychology are the Distinguished Contribution Award of the Asian American Psychological Association, the Distinguished Elder Award, National Multicultural Conference and Summit, and the Presidential Citation, American Psychological Association as well as the Distinguished Fulbright Fellowship.
Jean made her mark not only through her scholarship and advocacy but on the hearts and minds of sister and fellow travelers seeking social equity and social justice. She never raised her voice but taught us all to listen. She was a powerful voice for change and gave voice to innumerable others. Jean was truly a psychologist of the world.
Tribute to Jean Chin
by Josephine Tan, ICP President-Elect
Dr. Jean Lau Chin was an extraordinary researcher, writer, academic, and leader. She was also a much-loved colleague and friend to many who know her. Since her passing on May 13, 2020, many have written tributes to share what they remember and cherish about her, and more are still coming in. Collectively, all these messages reveal the multi-faceted sides to Jean, and bear evidence to her incredible accomplishments and the positive influence she had on many people.
I had the privilege of working with Jean on the Board of the International Council of Psychologists (ICP), and on her global and diverse leadership program of research. The project was designed to examine alternate models of leadership that diverge from the stereotyped notion of a white male leader, and of leadership as a vertical top-down process. She was interested in the intersectionality of gender and culture in our understanding of leadership, and had a special interest in women leaders and Indigenous leaders. She strongly felt that leaders can be found in all segments of the population – irrespective of gender and ethnicity – and that lived experiences and social identities of peoples guide their leadership style and the way they interact with those they lead. She set up the ICP special interest Global and Diverse Leadership (GDL) group which consisted of many researchers from the United States and across the world. Under her leadership, the group worked in unison collecting interview and quantitative data from different countries. The findings would be written for an edited book that would offer new leadership paradigms informed by the intersection of gender and culture.
Dinner with the Chins at ICP2017
Jean’s interest in leadership was not confined solely to the management sector or to academic questions. With the rising of authoritarianism and nationalistic leadership in different parts of the world, Jean and I became interested in the reasons for the change in political leadership style throughout the word. We noted that countries were becoming more restrictive with their borders and expressing more xenophobic sentiments, and were concerned about the erosion of democracy and individual liberties. Yet, we believed that the changes were not taking place in a vacuum, and that there were reasons for why people seem to be supporting more nationalistic leaders. Together with Amina Muazzam from Pakistan and Élison Santos from Brazil, we developed a research project to look at the role that age, gender, and ethnicity play in determining peoples’ preferences for different leadership styles and how those preferences might be shaped by the individuals’ social identities and lived experiences.
When the Covid-19 became a global pandemic, anger against China was channelled into threats and actual acts of violence towards individuals of Chinese descent living outside of China. No distinction was made as to whether the targets were born in those other countries, naturalized citizens or visitors. In some cases, the anger was also expressed towards other minorities who looked like Chinese but were in fact from a different ethnic group. Jean understood the anger but worried that when national leaders engage in inflammatory remarks that reinforce division and resentment between groups, the country would suffer through in-fighting when the more urgent crisis was the coronavirus and about saving lives. She presented her views in an APA leadership blog calling for national leaders to not engage in behaviours that would encourage violence; the feedback she received was that she was pro-China. I had the opportunity to discuss with her the feedback. She stated that she was not expressing pro-China political views but rather, she was addressing the responsibility of leaders to heal and not divide through their words and actions. She felt that she needed to clarify her points in her blog to avoid misunderstanding. Unfortunately, before she could do that, she was admitted to the hospital where she passed away.
Jean was passionate about her research, and was very generous in sharing her knowledge and expertise. She was very inclusive and accessible to others, which made her a natural mentor to both early career and experienced psychologists. She readily shared her ideas and listened with great interest what others had to say, and treated everyone as equals. She was open to opposing views. She had a gift for keeping her head about her even in uncomfortable situations with heightened negative emotions. She listened, tried to identify the problems and source of difficulties, and kept her focus on balance and solutions. Jean and I had on several occasions discussed the concept of “glass cliff” where women leaders are brought in to handle situations where there is a crisis with a high likelihood of failure. She had been in such situations and came through successfully because of her leadership skills.
Last year, I helped out in Jean’s campaign for APA President. Although she did not win, she had several endorsements and many individuals came up to personally express their support for her. She received the election outcome with grace, and said that she would still be able to make contributions to psychology and society in many other ways, and she was right. She continued to work on her research, her publications, teaching, student mentoring, professional service and much more. Oftentimes, it was hard to fathom how she was able to make headway with so many projects on the go, and when she would find time to rest. I would joke with her that perhaps she had clones of herself running around.
With Jean in her Presidential Campaign
Jean was more than a psychology colleague to me; she was also a friend and a mentor. Our shared cultural heritage meant that I had an easier time explaining myself because of nuances in our cultural psyche that is sometimes difficult to express but that will influence decision-making and reactions to specific situations. When I volunteered to help out on Jean’s APA presidential campaign, I told her that I could assist by sharing her campaign messages with others at the APA convention in Chicago. She looked at me and nodded, and said “well, it is difficult for Asian women, you know”. I knew exactly what she meant by that because that was precisely the reason why I offered to help. What Jean meant is that many Asian women leaders find it difficult to promote themselves. So, they focus on their campaign message about how things can change for the better, but even so, it is usually not delivered in an emphatic manner that would drive the message home.
In Jean I saw an Asian woman who had accomplished so much and yet never forgot her roots. She retained her humility, made many friends, was ever helpful and accessible, and never turned people away. She was never too important for anyone even though she had mingled with top politicians and world-renowned individuals. She had a high sense of duty and responsibility to society and to the promotion of social justice. She did not shy away from difficult topics and situations even though she knew there might be backlash – such was her courage, the strength of her character and moral convictions that everyone had equal rights and equal access to opportunities, even as diversity was to be understood and accepted. She was a role model and an inspiration to many. Hers was a life very well lived!
When we lost Jean, we lost an exceptional leader and an exceptional human being. Yet, she remains with us in her work and our memory of her. The GDL group is extremely shocked and saddened by her passing; some of us are still processing what happened. Even so, we will continue her work and honor her. Our plan is to complete the research and the book in collaboration with Joseph Trimble who is the co-editor.
Jean remains in our lives when we talk about her, laugh when we recall the good times, and when our actions serve to change the world for the better. I take comfort in the thought that she is in a good place together with her husband, Gene, who also contracted Covid-19 and passed away several days before she did. Gene was an accomplished and well-liked individual in his own right. He travelled with Jean and many of us came to know him well. He was an exceptional photographer and I would tell him that if he were to ever put on a gallery exhibition, I would be there. The last time my partner, Michael Wesner, and I saw Jean and Gene, we were having fun in Manhattan Chinatown in in November 2019. Gene gave us a gift –a photo that he had taken and framed himself of a metal sculpture outside the convention centre in San Diego.
Photo by Gene Chin
With his keen eye, he could perceive the splitting of the morning light into different fantastic colours on the metal and he quickly captured the moment with his camera before it was gone. The beautiful photo now sits in a quiet peaceful place in our home, and whenever we look at it, we fondly remember Jean and Gene.
*****
ICP joins other NGOs Calling for UN Member States to focus on Women and Climate in Agenda 2030
ICP joined other NGOs in issuing a statement from the Committee on the Status of Women, Vienna. Stating that “the time is now for human rights, dignity, peace and justice for women and girls, men and boys, and protection of all life on our shared planet,” the statement called on UN Member States to:
Finally and fully implement the Beijing Platform for Action; the Women, Peace and Security Agenda; and CEDAW;
Support women’s initiatives for gender equality and climate justice;
Ensure meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention and peacebuilding;
Protect women and children displaced by climate and conflict, as well as women human rights and environment defenders;
Commit to balanced participation of women and men in the implementation of Agenda 2030;
Reallocate world military spending to meet human needs and achieve major progress on key Sustainable Development Goals.
The complete statement is available here: https://icpweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CSW64StatementVienna2020.pdf
ICP signs statement for the UN 75th Anniversary
ICP joined other NGOs in issuing the CoNGO Declaration on the Occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations. The statement calls for strengthening the UN and calling more heavily on civil society as part of the UN process. It states “As the United Nations celebrates its first 75 years, we have an opportunity to revisit the past, define the present, and shape a new future. Humanity cannot wait. Peace, justice and development depend on people- centred approaches to transforming our economy, society and environment. We must increase momentum to ensure that no one is left behind.”
The statement is available in English, French and Spanish here: http://ngocongo.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/CoNGO-Declaration-UN75-English.pdf. CoNGO is the Council of NGOs at the United Nations.
ICP interns present a program at the UN NGO Committee on the family
Student Interns present the program at the UN NGO Committee on the Family
by Florence Denmark, ICP Main Representative to the UN:
Introduction
The students below represented ICP at a virtual presentation for the Family Committee on April 23rd 2020. Three of the students were either past or present interns for ICP. One student was an intern for ATOP, and all of the students were in the class I co-teach with Richard Velayo, “Psychology at the UN”. They did a wonderful job and the Executive Committee of the Family really felt that the program was a big success. For those who are interested in watching the presentation, the entire meeting can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClF5qwVaVFgBg11eV0tnAxQ
Summary of their presentations
Anna Stauber: Separation due to Military Deployment
Three of every five deployed service members leave behind families (i.e., a spouse and children). The military family lifestyle comes with unique stressors such as frequent relocations and fear for a loved one’s safety, often leading to high levels of stress and dysfunction within the family unit. The most resilient military families are able to make meaning of the situation, communicate well, and work together to solve problems. Consistent, sensitive, and responsive parenting helps children of military families maintain feelings of safety and support. And partners and spouses of a military member maintain the support of friends and family can improve their ability to manage the many stresses of life that are experienced as a military family. Resilient military families able to psychologically maintain their hierarchy structures and are able to lean on each other as well as utilize the external resources available.
Whitney Smith: Parental Incarceration
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and a substantial amount of inmates are parents. Recent research finds that more than 5 million minor children, accounting for 7% of the U.S. population under age 18, have experienced incarceration of a parent. A major research question is whether the effects of parental incarceration are directly due to the separation from and unavailability of the incarcerated parent or more generally to the phenomena of parental incarceration itself. Notable conclusions have been made that the emotional, social, and economic effects of parental imprisonment are unique from the separation itself and so it is not simply the parental absence that leads to problems for children and families, but absence in combination with imprisonment. Parental incarceration can be thought of as an ambiguous loss in which there is disenfranchised grief. Ambiguous loss differs from ordinary loss, as it results from the uncertainty in understanding if the person is absent or present, permanently lost or coming back. Disenfranchised grief can occur when a loss is not socially validated, and instead generates feelings of shame and embarrassment. Incarceration often does not draw the same level of sympathy and support that typically comes with loss. The family themselves may even be blamed and subject to social stigma.
Natalie Pederson: Children in Institutional Care and Orphanages
Children in institutionalized care or orphanages are deprived of a proper family structure. This family separation leaves children with delays in crucial aspects of physical, hormonal, cognitive, and emotional development. Without the nurturing and stimulating environment of a family, children suffer in their physical and psychological development. Even in decent orphanages, caregivers’ training is primarily health-focused, and duties are often performed in a business-like manner. Proper and universal training focused on socio-emotional needs of the children can help prevent developmental delays. Community resources such as schools, health care, services for families, among others, can also help prevent this family separation before children are placed in orphanages. These preventative measures are essential, and it is cheaper to support families on social services than to provide for children in institutional care, making these services beneficial for governments and the greater community. With an estimated 153 million orphans worldwide, it is crucial to raise awareness about how substantial of an issue this is.
Every child deserves a healthy family setting to develop and flourish in life.
Cheyenne Clardy: Nannies Abroad – Children Left Behind
There are a lot of studies about the family dynamic that includes the nannies as the caretaker of the children. However, there is little research on the family and children that nannies are leaving behind. The negative psychological effects towards children left behind due to one or both parents migrating to other countries in order to provide for their children in their native land is prevalent. Some vary from having depression and separation anxiety, to struggles with their social development. Even though this is a common phenomenon, it is imperative to pay closer attention to the overall effects of the children that are left under the care of their relatives. The recommendations that UNICEF provided are the following: 1) more research on the family 2) Ensure education, healthcare, and social protection providers are sensitive to the needs of the children left behind 3) Including children “left behind” as a factor when assessing the child’s needs for social services 4) Providing channels and alternatives that allow the parent(s) to reconnect with their children (i.e. visiting).
Diane Loegel: Separation in the Family During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Covid-19 was declared a “public health emergency of international concern” and a pandemic – regardless of gender, race or social standing; this virus has affected many and certainly does not discriminate. The novelty and uncertainty of Covid-19 shook up the world; not only affecting the population’s physical health, but especially the mental state of most individuals suddenly trapped in quarantine. Families are ripped apart, not knowing when they will get to see each other again; older persons are advised to stay in place as they are the most vulnerable population in this pandemic; children are stuck inside, not allowed to play with their friends anymore; and parents are trying to handle home schooling and home office all at once. Even though essential workers may want to socialize after a long and tiring day at work, they selflessly have to put their own needs aside and make the health and safety of their loved ones a priority by accepting the loneliness that they eventually come to experience in their own home. There are many ways to take care of our mental health, but most importantly; keep in touch with your friends and family. The support of your loved ones, even if from far, can make the ultimate difference.
Psychology Day at the United Nations
Psychology Day at the United Nations was attended by an unprecedented number of people. Two panels of speakers and moderators engaged the 1000 participants, focusing on multiculturalism, multilateralism, and current events.
The event can be viewed on the Psychology Day website: https://www.unpsychologyday.com
Announcements
ICP issues Statement Against Racism and Inequity
The International Council of Psychologists (ICP) stands strong with the world community against racism, inequity, and social injustice.
The death of Mr. George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, USA has sparked worldwide protests where people of all walks of life are united in expressing their grievous pain and outrage. The demonstrators in the USA are exercising their democratic right to be heard and to demand criminal justice and institutional reforms that would make the country safer and more equal for all.
Racism and discrimination have been around for a very long time not only in the USA but around the world. Inequity is reflected in systems that favour one group above others. It is reflected in opportunities and privileges that are available to some segments of the population and denied to others. In the current global pandemic, it is seen in the disproportional burden of illness in ethnic minorities and disenfranchised groups.
The ICP believes that much greater effort must be made to address racism. The roots of racial inequity have to be recognized. This means acknowledging historical injustices against marginalized groups and becoming educated and aware about how these injustices are perpetuated today through the political, social, legal, financial, and educational structures of societies. Leaders and organizations can actively promote social equality by ensuring that their policies and actions guarantee equal opportunities for all groups; and respect fundamental rights and human rights principles. At a personal level, each of us needs to explore our own explicit and implicit stereotypes and reflect on how these are expressed in action or inaction. We need to be willing to challenge our views, be open to learning together from each other, and treat everyone with respect, understanding and empathy.
The ICP is an international association committed to human rights and social justice. We believe that all voices need to be heard. We encourage speaking out against injustice and being mindful of the needs of the vulnerable. We welcome others to join in a collective effort to speak with a common voice and work toward a common objective to create a just future for all.
Nominations for ICP Awards Invited – Deadline June 30, 2020
Who do you know whose psychology research has increased international understanding? Who do you know whose service has help build a more stable, peaceful and cooperative world? Whether those individuals have long meritorious records or are just starting out, ICP wants to recognize and honor their work.
ICP has established four major awards which are presented annually at the ICP conference.
The Fukuhara Advanced International Research and Service Award, http://icpweb.org/awards/icp-awards-information/fukuhara-award.html, the most prestigious of the awards, recognizes a mid-career or senior level psychologist who has made distinguished research and service contributions to international psychology
The Seisoh Sukemune/Bruce Bain Award http://icpweb.org/awards/icp-awards-information/sukemune-bain-award.html was established to encourage and recognize early career contributions to international understanding.
Psychologists working to improve the well-being of women in the world are honored by the Denmark-Gunvald Award for Feminist Research and Service http://icpweb.org/awards/icp-awards-information/denmark-gunvald-award.html
The Frances Mullen Award http://icpweb.org/awards/frances-mullen-award/ specifically recognizes an ICP member who has a long history of distinguished international research or service.
The 2020 Awards will be presented at the ICP Annual Conference in December. Conference attendees will have the outstanding opportunity to learn more about the awardees and their work when the awardees give invited award talks at the conference. If like past years, the talks are sure to be both enlightening and inspiring.
The Nominations submission deadline for all awards is June 30, 2020.
The nomination process is simple. It is all done online (see links above). Nominations material is forwarded to selection committees for each award. Questions about a specific award can be referred to the awards chair or to the chair of the specific award’s selection committee (listed below).
Do not let this opportunity to honor international researchers slip away!
This is an important way to both recognize and learn about the valuable research and services being done by psychologists to promote international understanding and collaboration.
Dr. Mary Beth Kenkel, ICP Awards Committee Chair, mkenkel@fit.edu
Dr. Naoki Asazuma, Fukuhara Award Chair, vn.naoki.oxford@icloud.com
Dr. Roswith Roth, Demark-Grunvald Award Chair, roswith.roth@uni-graz.at
Dr. Mary Beth Kenkel, Frances Mullen Award Chair, mkenkel@fit.edu
Prof. Cecilia Cheng, Sukemune/Bain Award Chair, ceci-cheng@hku.hk
Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights
Psychology matters in Human Rights – Human Rights matter in Psychology
A new independent global network for psychologists interested in the intersection of psychology and human rights is being launched. The Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights (GNPHR) aims to unite psychologists committed to human rights, and to work together toward a human rights based and inclusive psychology.
The International Council of Psychologists (ICP) and the Board Human Rights & Psychology of the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA ) are collaborating to establish the GNPHR.
The website of the GNPHR (http://humanrightspsychology.org/) contains articles and information about human rights violations as well as good practices, events and blogs. So far, the following topics are developing: Covid 19, Climate Change, Human Rights Education in Psychology, LGBTQI+, Migration/ Displacement, Personal Data and Data Rights, Youth and Events. All are related to psychology and human rights.
The ICP hosts the Network website, with editorial oversight from a small international steering committee, co-chaired by the ICP and the EFPA Board Human Rights and Psychology and assisted by an advisory council with broad global representation. . The Steering and Advisory Council will work to provide information and knowledge about diverse aspects of human rights and psychology and their applications, stimulate discussions and opinions, and promote the active engagement of psychologists in human rights protection.
The Network plans to affiliate with relevant professional associations, both human rights-oriented as well as psychological, and individual colleagues to exchange information, support colleagues working in difficult situations or under threat, and to raise awareness about human rights under pressure and violations in relation to psychology or psychologists. With its global perspectives, the GNPHR gives an opportunity for the exchange of multiple perspectives on research findings and good practices.
Network members are encourage to help build the network by contributing relevant academic or media-related articles, or by contributing an opinion piece or commentary.
To join the Network: http://humanrightspsychology.org/subscribe-to-gnphr/
To contribute with an article or a commentary: http://humanrightspsychology.org/contact/
CALL FOR SERVICE – VOLUNTEER WITH ICP!
Are you interested in being more involved with ICP and contributing to its mission and activities? Please volunteer for one of the open positions below:
Member, Finance Committee. Requirements: ICP member with some experience in financial forecasting or investment. Duties are to serve with the Treasurer (chair), President and Past President to review the ICP budget and monthly statements, make recommendations regarding investments outside the annual budget, and develop and review an investment plan.
Chair, Publications and Communication Committee
This is a re-constituted committee for ICP. The duties of the chair are to review current publications (newsletter, website, social media, occasional books), constitute a committee that will include the editors of present media outlets, and include others to develop a consistent outreach and information profile for ICP.
For more information or to volunteer, please contact the ICP Secretariat at icpincinfo@gmail.com
Message from the Editor
Dear Colleagues,
This message has been difficult to write as many of us are grieving the loss Jean Lau Chin. As well, some of us may be dealing with losses due to COVID-19 or other circumstances. That said, I hope you are all coping well during these unprecedented times and you and your families are safe.
As you are aware, there have been many changes within ICP since the onset of COVID-19 and I have tried to communicate those changes throughout this Newsletter (e.g. changes to the convention). However, it is also important to highlight the exciting and important work that ICP continues to do – despite the current challenges. Human rights remains at the center of ICP’s mission and that commitment is reflected throughout this newsletter. I certainly believe we need to remain optimistic and celebrate the important work done by ICP members.
I hope you find the new format of the newsletter accessible. If you have any comments or feedback please do not hesitate to contact me. I will continue to develop the Newsletter to meet the needs of the ICP membership. If you would like to submit something to the Fall Newsletter please send it to me by September 30- Submissions should be 500 words or less.
In the meantime, I hope you are well and have a wonderful summer.
All the Best,
Ada L. Sinacore
Newsletter Editor
Member News and Comments
Human rights education for psychologists
Polli Hagenaars, ICP Board Member
We are happy to announce that the book Human Rights Education for Psychologists, edited by Polli Hagenaars, Marlena Plavšić, Nora Sveaass, Ulrich Wagner, and Tony Wainwright is now published, and for the moment available as an e-book. Because of the present COVID-19 situation, the distribution of print copies will be a bit delayed. We regret this of course, but we know that Routledge will dispatch the orders as soon as possible.
This book aims at raising awareness of human rights implications in psychology and offers insight and understanding into the principles of human rights as well as tools to enable psychologists to put these perspectives into practice. We hope that the book will represent an important contribution to human rights education and training as part of the regular teaching programs for psychologists and students of psychology as well for CPD (continuous professional development).
The editors wish not only to raise awareness and present knowledge about human rights and human rights systems to ensure that these are respected, but also to encourage psychologists to include human rights obligations as part of their professional work and objectives. The protection and promotion of human rights, and ensuring that rights and obligations are complied with in practice, represent, as we see it, important challenges for psychologists. Psychologists have much to offer to the realization of human rights. A human rights based-and-oriented psychology serves all of humanity.
In particular, the situation today, where basic rights that we all take for granted are set aside in the interest of public health and the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to be aware and attentive to human rights is of the essence. The risk that temporary measures become permanent strategies, or where necessary measures may be carried out in ways that violate rights, or even that violations may be falsely attributed to the health situations, is present and must be monitored. Psychologists also have a role here.
We address you with the wish to present the book and our strong motivation behind this work; we hope that information will be disseminated, and the book become useful to our colleagues.
Please let us know if you would need some support from our side for events or initiatives to discuss the issues raised in the book, on human rights, psychology and the important role of psychologists in this context.
from the publisher:
Human Rights Education for Psychologists
1st Edition
Edited by Polli Hagenaars, Marlena Plavšić, Nora Sveaass, Ulrich Wagner, Tony Wainwright Routledge 286 pages | 38 B/W Illus.
Description
This ground-breaking book is designed to raise awareness of human rights implications in psychology, and provide knowledge and tools enabling psychologists to put a human rights perspective into practice.
Psychologists have always been deeply engaged in alleviating the harmful consequences human rights violations have on individuals. However, despite the fundamental role that human rights play for professional psychology and psychologists, human rights education is underdeveloped in psychologists’ academic and vocational training. This book, the first of its kind, looks to change this, by:
raising awareness among professional psychologists, university teachers and psychology students about their role as human rights promoters and protectors providing knowledge and tools enabling them to put a human rights perspective into practice
providing texts and methods for teaching human rights.
Featuring chapters from leading scholars in the field, spanning 18 countries and six continents, the book identifies how psychologists can ensure they are practising in a responsible way, as well as contributing to wider society with a clear knowledge of human rights issues in relation to culture, gender, organizations and more.
Including hands-on recommendations, case studies and discussion points, this is essential reading for professional psychologists as part of continuing professional development and those in training and taking psychology courses.
For relevant information for ordering the book, see hps://www.routledge.com/Human-Rights-Educaon-for-Psychologists-1st-Edion/Hagenaars-Plavsic-Sveaass-Wagner-Wainwright/p/book/9780367222963 Review copies can be requested here: hps://m.email.taylorandfrancis.com/Review_copy_request
From the cover: hps://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/acvity/src=8999880;type=girls001;cat=girls0;dc_lat=;dc_rdid=;tag_for_child_directed_treatment=;ua=;npa=;ord=4830362370056.
Two recent books
Elaine Congress, ICP board member
Behavioral Science in the Global Arena: Addressing Timely Issues at the United Nations and Beyond
Co-edited with Dr. Harold Takooshian (psychology professor at Fordham University and main representative for IMCES at the United Nations) and Abigail Asper.
Dr. Florence Denmark, ICP main representative at the United Nations and former APA president contributed the foreword and former ICP president Dr. Uwe Gielen contributed a chapter. This book is unique because it (1) provides current information about important UN issues and the SDGs; (2) is inter-professional because psychologists, social workers, UN officials, NGO leaders, and a medical doctor contributed chapters; and (3) includes chapters coauthored by graduate students as an important part of their professional development. This book is part of the APA Division 52 Book Series. More information: https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Behavioral-Science-in-the-Global-Arena.
Multicultural Perspectives in Working with Families: A Handbook for the Helping Professions
Edited by Elaine Congress.
This book uses an intersectional approach to understand and work with clients and their families from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Chapters in this book are written by clinical, counseling, and social psychologists, as well as social workers engaged in macro, mezzo, or micro practice.
If you would like more information about these books or to discuss the topics they cover please contact Dr. Congress at congress@fordham.edu.
ICP Student Report
ICP is a fabulous platform for students across the globe to connect with each other as well as gain invaluable professional support from psychologists and those from related professions. Annual ICP conferences and its affiliate conferences provide opportunity to students to showcase their research to a global audience as well as to learn from cutting-edge research and other endeavors to address various local and global challenges, especially in the fields of human rights, dignity, and justice. Currently we have over 30 student members from several countries.
Students have also opportunities to participate as ICP interns at the United Nations, in addition to volunteer in several committees and activities of the ICP. Finally, there are several research-related grants available to students through ICP, such as ICP travel grant and ICP student poster award.