Editing American Psychiatric Association

{{Short description|Professional organization of US psychiatrists}}
{{For|the general psychology organization also known as APA|American Psychological Association}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{coords|38.879713|-77.025061|display=title}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = American Psychiatric Association
| logo = American_Psychiatric_Association_logo.svg
| alt = Logo of the American Psychiatric Association
| headquarters = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| formation = {{start date and age|1844|10|16}}<ref name= thirteen>{{cite journal | last1 = Bernstein | first1 = Dorothy M. | year = 1994 | title = The Thirteen Founders | journal = [[The American Journal of Psychiatry]] | volume = 151 | issue = 1| pages = 18–19 | doi = 10.1176/ajp.151.1.18 }}</ref>
| formerly = {{ubl | [[Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane]] (1844–1891) | American Medico-Psychological Association (1892–1919)<ref name= thirteen/>}}
| founding_location = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.<ref name= progress>Montagu, M.&nbsp;F. (December 17, 1944). "Progress of the Psychiatrist". ''The New York Times''. p.&nbsp;BR12.</ref>
| founders = {{hlist | [[William Maclay Awl]] | [[Luther V. Bell]], [[Amariah Brigham]] | John S. Butler | Nehemah Cutter | [[Pliny Earle (physician)|Pliny Earle]] | John M. Galt | [[Thomas Story Kirkbride]] | [[Isaac Ray]] | [[Charles Harrison Stedman]] | Francis T. Stribling | Samuel White | [[Samuel B. Woodward]]}}
| membership = 39,200
| leader_title = [[President of the American Psychiatric Association|President]]
| leader_name = Ramaswamy Viswanathan<ref name= meet-board>"[https://www.psychiatry.org/about-apa/Meet-Our-Organization/Board-of-Trustees]". American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved April 8, 2025.</ref>
| leader_title2 = President-elect
| leader_name2 = [[Theresa Miskimen]]
| leader_name3 = Marketa M. Wills <ref>"[https://www.psychiatry.org/about-apa/meet-our-organization/board-of-trustees/executive-committee-of-the-board-of-trustees/marketa-wills]". American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved April 8, 2025.</ref>
| leader_title3 = Chief executive officer
| tax_id = 52-2168499<ref name="990-2023 p. 1">"[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522168499/202423199349301747/full 
Full text of "Full Filing" for fiscal year ending Dec. 2023
]". ''American Psychiatric Association''. [[ProPublica]]. April 8, 2025. p.&nbsp;1.</ref>
| employees = 248<ref name= 990-2023>"[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522168499/202423199349301747/full 
Full text of "Full Filing" for fiscal year ending Dec. 2023]". ''American Psychiatric Association''. [[ProPublica]]. April 8, 2025.</ref>
| employees_year = 2023
| volunteers = 650<ref name= 990-2023/>
| volunteers_year = 2023
| revenue = $64,631,488<ref name="990-2023 p. 1"/>
| revenue_year = 2023
| expenses = $62,115,499<ref name="990-2023 p. 1"/>
| expenses_year = 2023
| type = [[Professional association]]
| status = [[501(c)(6) organization]]<ref name="990-2023 p. 1"/>
| abbreviation = APA
| subsidiaries = {{ubl | American Psychiatric Association Foundation | American Psychiatric Political Action Committee | American Psychiatric Association Insurance Trust | APA Wharf Holdings LLC<ref name= 990-2023/>{{page needed|date=July 2022}}}}
| website = {{official URL}}
}}
The '''American Psychiatric Association''' ('''APA''') is the main [[professional organization]] of [[psychiatrist]]s and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest [[Psychiatry|psychiatric]] organization in the world.<ref name=membership /> It has more than 39,200<ref name="membership">{{cite web |title=About APA |url=https://www.psychiatry.org/about-apa |access-date=March 31, 2022 |website=psychiatry.org |quote=APA has more than 39,200 members involved in psychiatric practice, research, and academia representing the diversity of the patients for whom they care.}}</ref> members who are involved in psychiatric practice, research, and academia representing a diverse population of patients in more than 100 countries. The association publishes various journals and pamphlets, as well as the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition|Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]]'' (DSM). The DSM codifies psychiatric conditions and is used mostly in the United States as a guide for diagnosing mental disorders.

The organization has its headquarters in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>[http://www.psychiatry.org/contact-us-for-help/contact-us "Contact Us"]. American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved on September 6, 2012.</ref>

==History==
{{see also|Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane}}
At a meeting in 1844 in [[Philadelphia]], thirteen superintendents and organizers of [[insane asylums]] and hospitals formed the [[Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane]] (AMSAII).  The group included [[Thomas Story Kirkbride|Thomas Kirkbride]], creator of the asylum model which was used throughout the United States. The group was chartered to focus "primarily on the administration of hospitals and how that affected the care of patients", as opposed to conducting research or promoting the profession.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Original Thirteen (preview)|journal=Psychiatric Services|volume=27|issue=7|pages=464–467|doi=10.1176/ps.27.7.464|year=1976|pmid=776775}}</ref>

In 1893, the organization changed its name to the American Medico-Psychological Association.{{sfn|Barton|1987|p=89}} In 1921, the association changed that name to the present American Psychiatric Association.{{sfn|Barton|1987|p=168}} The association was incorporated in 1927.{{sfn|Barton|1987|p=168}}

The cover of the publication ''Semi-Centennial Proceedings of the American Medical Psychological Association'', which the association distributed in 1894 at its 50th annual meeting in Philadelphia, contained the first depiction of the association's official [[Seal (emblem)|seal]].<ref name="Ozarin">{{cite journal |last=Ozarin |first=Lucy D. |date=1998-04-17 |title=History Notes: The Official Seal of the APA |url=http://www.psychiatricnews.org/pnews/98-04-17/hx.html |url-status=dead |journal=Psychiatric News |publisher=American Psychiatric Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829231156/http://www.psychiatricnews.org/pnews/98-04-17/hx.html |archive-date=2008-08-29 |access-date=2017-10-20 |editor=Ramchandam, Dilip}}</ref> The seal has undergone several changes since that time.<ref name=Ozarin/>

The present seal is a round medallion with a purported likeness of [[Benjamin Rush]]'s profile and 13 stars over his head to represent the 13 founders of the organization. The outer ring contains the words "American Psychiatric Association 1844." Rush's name and an MD are below the picture.<ref name=Ozarin/><ref>{{cite web |title=American Psychiatric Association Logo |url=https://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/fields/field_insert_file/blog_posts/American-Psychiatric-Association-Logo.jpeg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020182607/https://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/fields/field_insert_file/blog_posts/American-Psychiatric-Association-Logo.jpeg |archive-date=2017-10-20 |access-date=2017-10-20 |publisher=[[University of California, San Francisco]] |format=[[JPEG]]}}
</ref>

An association history of the seal states:<blockquote>The choice of Rush (1746–1813) for the seal reflects his place in history. .... Rush's practice of psychiatry was based on bleeding, purging, and the use of the tranquilizer chair and gyrator. By 1844 these practices were considered erroneous and abandoned. Rush, however, was the first American to study mental disorder in a systematic manner, and he is considered the father of American Psychiatry.<ref name=Ozarin/></blockquote>

In 2015, the association adopted a new [[logo]] that depicts the serpent-entwined [[Rod of Asclepius]] superimposed over the image of two [[Cerebral hemisphere|hemispheres of a human brain]]. The logo appears next to the words "American Psychiatric Association", with the word "Psychiatric" in bold type; the tagline "Medical leadership for mind, brain and body" appears below the logo. The association will continue to use the seal bearing Rush's profile for ceremonial purposes and for some internal documents.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Moran |first=Mike |date=2015-05-28 |title=New APA Logo Unifies Image of Psychiatry |journal=Psychiatric News |volume=50 |issue=11 |pages=1 |doi=10.1176/appi.pn.2015.6a14}}</ref>

==Organization and membership==
APA is led by the [[President of the American Psychiatric Association]] and a board of trustees with an executive committee.

APA reports<ref>{{cite web |title=About APA |url=http://www.psych.org/about_apa/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206002615/http://www.psych.org/about_apa/ |archive-date=2006-12-06 |access-date=2006-12-07 |publisher=American Psychiatric Association}}</ref> that its membership is primarily medical specialists who are qualified, or in the process of becoming qualified, as psychiatrists. The basic eligibility requirement is completion of a residency program in psychiatry accredited by the Residency Review Committee for Psychiatry of the [[Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education]] (ACGME), the [[Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada]] (RCPS[C]), or the [[American Osteopathic Association]] (AOA). Applicants for membership must also hold a valid medical license (with the exception of medical students and residents) and provide one reference who is an APA member.{{cn|date=December 2022}}

APA holds an annual conference attended by an American and international audience.{{cn|date=December 2022}}

APA is made up of some 76 district associations throughout the country.<ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=DB Listing |url=http://www.psych.org/dblisting/ |access-date=2012-03-05 |publisher=American Psychiatric Association}}</ref>

=== Foundation ===
APA operates a non-profit subsidiary called the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF), offering community-based programs and research initiatives intended to better understand and support issues of mental health.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the APA Foundation |url=https://apafdn.org/about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724171100/https://apafdn.org/about |archive-date=2022-07-24 |access-date=2022-10-16 |website=APA Foundation}}</ref> Its strategic partners include the [[Council of State Governments]] (CSG) Justice Center, [[Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration]] (SAMHSA) and the [[National Association of Counties]] (NACo).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strategic Partnerships |url=https://apafdn.org/about/strategic-partners |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221016203015/https://apafdn.org/about/strategic-partners |archive-date=2022-10-16 |access-date=2022-10-16 |website=APA Foundation}}</ref>

==== Corporate Alliance ====
APAF partners with industry organizations to collaborate on mental health [[research and development]] through its Corporate Alliance. Current and recent members of the alliance include:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Levin |first1=Saul |last2=Porfiri |first2=Amy |title=Impact Report 2019 |url=https://apafdn.org/getmedia/1c232b5e-1849-4f17-b807-90b06204ec99/2019-APAF-Annual-Report |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215161312/https://apafdn.org/getmedia/1c232b5e-1849-4f17-b807-90b06204ec99/2019-APAF-Annual-Report |archive-date=2021-12-15 |access-date=2022-10-16 |website=APA Foundation}}</ref>

{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[AbbVie]]
* [[Acadia Pharmaceuticals]]
* [[Alkermes (company)|Alkermes]]
* [[Allergan]]
* [[Bausch Health]]
* [[Boehringer Ingelheim]]
* [[Eisai (company)|Eisai]]
* [[Indivior]]
* [[Janssen Pharmaceuticals]]
* [[Jazz Pharmaceuticals]]
* [[Lundbeck]]
* [[Myriad Genetics]]
* [[Neurocrine Biosciences]]
* [[Otsuka Pharmaceutical]]
* [[Pfizer]]
* [[Sunovion]]
* [[Takeda Pharmaceutical Company]]
}}Donors to the foundation in 2019 include the [[Austen Riggs Center]], [[BB&T]], [[Cenveo]], [[McLean Hospital]], [[Menninger Foundation]], [[NeuroStar]], [[Newport Academy]], [[NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital]], [[Sheppard Pratt]], and [[Silver Hill Hospital]].<ref name=":1" />

==Publications and campaigns==
APA position statements,<ref>[http://library.psych.org/dbtw-wpd/textbase/PolicyFinder.htm APA Policy Finder] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125133244/http://library.psych.org/dbtw-wpd/textbase/PolicyFinder.htm|date=2015-11-25}}</ref> clinical practice guidelines,<ref name="connect-with">{{cite web |title=Connect with us! |url=http://psychiatryonline.org/guidelines.aspx |access-date=2016-05-15 |work=psychiatryonline.org}}</ref> and descriptions of its core diagnostic manual (the DSM) are published.

APA publishes several journals<ref name= connect-with /> focused on different areas of psychiatry, for example, academic, clinical practice, or news.

===Top five Choosing Wisely recommendations===
{{see also|Choosing Wisely}}
In coordination with the [[American Board of Internal Medicine]], the APA proposes five recommendations for physicians and patients. The list was compiled by members of the Council on Research and Quality Care.<ref name="recommendations">{{cite press release |author= |title=APA Releases List of Common Uses of Psychiatric Medications to Question |url=http://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Advocacy%20and%20Newsroom/Press%20Releases/2013%20Releases/13-58-Choosing-Wisely-announcement.pdf |location=Arlington, VA |publisher=American Psychiatric Association |date=2013-09-20 |access-date=2014-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203020727/http://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Advocacy%20and%20Newsroom/Press%20Releases/2013%20Releases/13-58-Choosing-Wisely-announcement.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> The APA places a primary focus on [[antipsychotic]] medications due to a rapid increase in sales, from $9.6&nbsp;billion in 2004 to $18.5&nbsp;billion in 2011.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Kuehn | first1 = B. M. | title = APA Targets Unnecessary Antipsychotic Use | doi = 10.1001/jama.2013.281140 | journal = JAMA | volume = 310 | issue = 18 | pages = 1909–1910 | year = 2013 | pmid = 24219927 }}</ref>
# Do not prescribe antipsychotic medications to patients for any indication without appropriate initial evaluation and appropriate ongoing monitoring.
# Do not routinely prescribe 2 or more antipsychotic medications concurrently.
# Do not prescribe antipsychotic medications as a first-line intervention to treat behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.
# Do not routinely prescribe antipsychotic medications as a first-line intervention for insomnia in adults.
# Do not routinely prescribe antipsychotic medications as a first-line intervention for children or adolescents for any diagnosis other than psychotic disorders.<ref name=recommendations />

==Notable figures==
* [[Donald Ewen Cameron|Donald Cameron]], was president of the American Psychiatric Association in 1952–53.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1952-10-01|title=Notes and Comments|url=https://psychotherapy.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1952.6.4.740|journal=American Journal of Psychotherapy|volume=6|issue=4|pages=740–762|doi=10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1952.6.4.740|issn=0002-9564}}</ref> He conducted coercive experiments widely denounced as unethical, including involuntary electroshock therapy, drug administration, and prolonged confinement and sensory deprivation funded as part of the Central Intelligence Agency [[Project MKUltra]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-03-28 |title=The Dark History of Psychological Coercion at McGill |language=en |work=The Maple |url=https://www.readthemaple.com/the-dark-history-of-psychological-coercion-at-mcgill/ |access-date=2023-04-03}}</ref>
* [[Enoch Callaway]], psychiatrist, pioneer in [[biological psychiatry]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Halliday |first1=Roy A. |last2=Ford |first2=Judith M. |date=2015 |title=Enoch Callaway, III, (1924–2014): a pioneer in biological psychiatry |journal=Psychophysiology |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=6–7 |doi=10.1111/psyp.12377 |issn=1540-5958 |pmid=25537621|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* [[Mark S. Komrad]], served on the APA Ethics Committee and member of the APA Assembly for eight years.<ref name="PsychNews-Arehart-Treichel-2013">{{cite web|url=http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176%2Fappi.pn.2013.8a1|title=Challenges Arise as Psychiatry’s Ethics Landscape Changes|publisher=Psychnews.psychiatryonline.org|accessdate=30 December 2014}}</ref> 
* [[Adolf Meyer (psychiatrist)|Adolf Meyer]], former psychiatrist-in-chief at the [[Johns Hopkins Hospital]], was the president of the American Psychiatric Association from 1927 to 1928 and was one of the most influential figures in psychiatry in the first half of the twentieth century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Levin |first=Aaron |date=2013-03-15 |title=Despite Critics, Adolf Meyer's Influence Very Much Alive |url=http://psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.pn.2013.3b5 |journal=Psychiatric News |language=en |volume=48 |issue=6 |pages=17–29 |doi=10.1176/appi.pn.2013.3b5 |issn=0033-2704}}</ref>
* [[Mark Ragins]]: American [[psychiatrist]] in the recovery movement, founding member of the Village ISA. He won the 1995 van Ameringen Award for his outstanding contribution to the field of psychiatric rehabilitation and was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-05-25 |title=It Can Take a Village to Help the Mentally Ill |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-may-25-me-lopez25-story.html |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sentinel |first=Santa Cruz |date=2010-03-09 |title=Book in Common talk tonight at Enloe Conference Center |url=https://www.unknown.com/20100309/book-in-common-talk-tonight-at-enloe-conference-center |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=Santa Cruz Sentinel}}</ref>
* [[Herb Pardes]] past president and noted figure in American psychiatry.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-17 |title=Health Care Hall of Fame - Dr. Herbert Pardes |url=https://www.modernhealthcare.com/awards/2023-health-care-hall-fame-dr-herbert-pardes |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=Modern Healthcare |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Eitan Schwarz]], Distinguished Life Fellow<ref name="familyfocus">{{cite news
 |url=http://www.family-focus.org/forms/talkback/DrSchwartz.htm 
 |title=About Dr Schwartz 
 |date=2008-06-27 
 |publisher=Family Focus 
 |accessdate=2010-07-03 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726045523/http://www.family-focus.org/forms/talkback/DrSchwartz.htm 
 |archivedate=2011-07-26 
}}</ref>
* [[Robert Spitzer (psychiatrist)|Robert Spitzer]] was the chair of the task force of the third edition of the DSM.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moran |first=Mark |date=2016-02-05 |title=Robert Spitzer, M.D., Dies at Age 83, Hailed as Pioneering Diagnostician |url=http://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2016.2a5 |journal=Psychiatric News |language=en |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=1 |doi=10.1176/appi.pn.2016.2a5 |issn=0033-2704}}</ref>

==Drug company ties==
In his book ''[[Anatomy of an Epidemic]]'' (2010), [[Robert Whitaker (author)|Robert Whitaker]] described the partnership that has developed between the APA and pharmaceutical companies since the 1980s.<ref name=Anatomy>{{cite book|author=Whitaker, Robert|title=Anatomy of an Epidemic|pages=[https://archive.org/details/anatomyofepidemi00whit/page/276 276–278]|year=2010|publisher=Random House (Crown)|isbn=978-0-307-45241-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/anatomyofepidemi00whit/page/276}}</ref> APA has come to depend on pharmaceutical money.<ref name=Anatomy /> The drug companies endowed continuing education and psychiatric "grand rounds" at hospitals. They funded a [[political action committee]] in 1982 to lobby Congress.<ref name=Anatomy /> The industry helped to pay for the APA's [[media training]] workshops.<ref name=Anatomy /> It was able to turn psychiatrists at top schools into speakers, and although the doctors felt they were independents, they rehearsed their speeches and likely would not be invited back if they discussed drug side effects.<ref name=Anatomy /> "Thought leaders" became the experts quoted in the media.<ref name=Anatomy /> As Marcia Angell wrote in ''[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]'' (2000), "thought leaders" could agree to be listed as an author of [[ghostwriter|ghostwritten]] articles,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Angell, Marcia |date=2000-05-18 |title=Is Academic Medicine for Sale? |url=http://raco.cat/index.php/QuadernsFDAE/article/view/279860 |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |volume=342 |issue=20 |pages=1516–1518 |doi=10.1056/NEJM200005183422009 |pmid=10816191}}</ref> and she cites Thomas Bodenheimer and David Rothman who describe the extent of the drug industry's involvement with doctors.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bodenheimer, Thomas |date=2000-05-18 |title=Uneasy Alliance: Clinical Investigators and the Pharmaceutical Industry |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=342 |issue=20 |pages=1539–1544 |doi=10.1056/NEJM200005183422024 |pmid=10816196}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Rothman |first=David |date=2000-04-27 |title=Medical Professionalism — Focusing on the Real Issues |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=342 |issue=17 |pages=1284–1286 |doi=10.1056/NEJM200004273421711 |pmid=10787328 |s2cid=44497390}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' published a summary about antipsychotic medications in October 2010.<ref>{{cite news |author=Duff |first=Wilson |date=2010-10-02 |title=Side Effects May Include Lawsuits |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/business/03psych.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425033212/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/business/03psych.html |archive-date=2011-04-25 |access-date=2010-10-10 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

In 2008, for the first time, Senator [[Charles Grassley]] asked the APA to disclose how much of its annual budget came from drug industry funds. The APA said that industry contributed 28 percent of its budget ($14 million at that time), mainly through paid advertising in APA journals and funds for continuing medical education.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kirk |first1=Stuart A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ydro0gSAJMC |title=Mad Science: Psychiatric Coercion, Diagnosis, and Drugs |last2=Gomory |first2=Tomi |last3=Cohen |first3=David |date=2013-04-04 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-1-4128-4976-0 |page=2017 |language=en}}</ref>

The APA receives additional funding from the pharmaceutical industry through its American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF), including [[Boehringer Ingelheim]], [[Janssen Pharmaceuticals]], and [[Takeda Pharmaceutical Company]], among others.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Corporate Alliance |url=https://apafdn.org/about/corporate-alliance |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015094541/https://apafdn.org/about/corporate-alliance |archive-date=2021-10-15 |access-date=2022-10-16 |website=APA Foundation}}</ref>

==Controversies==
In the 1964 election, ''[[Fact (US magazine)|Fact]]'' magazine polled American Psychiatric Association members on whether [[Barry Goldwater]] was fit to be president and published "The Unconscious of a Conservative: A Special Issue on the Mind of Barry Goldwater". This led to a ban on the diagnosis of a public figure by psychiatrists who have not performed an examination or been authorized to release information by the patient. This became the [[Goldwater rule]].<ref name="tele">{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Richard A. |author-link=Richard A. Friedman |date=2011-05-23 |title=How a Telescopic Lens Muddles Psychiatric Insights |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/health/views/24mind.html?ref=science |access-date=2011-05-24 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=LBJ Fit to Serve |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D24hAAAAIBAJ&pg=882,4721408&dq=ralph+ginzburg&hl=en |quote=Publisher Ralph Ginzburg, defendant in a libel suit for an article on a poll of psychiatrists on Barry Goldwater that he conducted in 1964 says ... |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=May 23, 1968 |access-date=May 24, 2011 |via=Google News }}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Supported by various funding sources, the APA and its members have played major roles in examining points of contention in the field and addressing uncertainties about psychiatric illness and its treatment,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-22 |title=Neurodevelopmental disorders: definition, types, causes, symptoms, and treatments |url=https://diamondrehabthailand.com/what-are-neurodevelopmental-disorders/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=epa}}</ref> as well as the relationship of individual mental health concerns to those of the community. Controversies have related to [[anti-psychiatry]] and [[disability rights]] campaigners, who regularly protest at American Psychiatric Association offices or meetings. In 1970, members of the [[Gay Liberation Front]] organization [[LGBT protests against the American Psychiatric Association|protested]] the APA conference in San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-06 |title=The Gay Activists Who Fought the American Psychiatric Establishment |url=https://lithub.com/the-gay-activists-who-fought-the-american-psychiatric-establishment/ |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2003 activists from [[MindFreedom International]] staged a 21-day hunger strike, protesting at a perceived unjustified biomedical focus and challenging APA to provide evidence of the widespread claim that mental disorders are due to chemical imbalances in the brain. APA published a position statement in response<ref>{{cite press release |title=APA Statement on Diagnosis and Treatment Of Mental Disorders |publisher=American Psychiatric Association |date=2003-09-25 |url=http://www.psych.org/news_room/press_releases/mentaldisorders0339.pdf |access-date=2008-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614091656/http://www.psych.org/news_room/press_releases/mentaldisorders0339.pdf |archive-date=2007-06-14}}
</ref> and the two organizations exchanged views on the evidence.

The APA's DSM came under criticism from autism specialists [[Tony Attwood]] and [[Simon Baron-Cohen]] for proposing the elimination of [[Asperger's syndrome]] as a disorder and replacing it with an [[autism spectrum]] severity scale. [[Roy Richard Grinker]] wrote a controversial editorial for ''The New York Times'' expressing support for the proposal.

The APA president in 2005, [[Steven Sharfstein]],  praised the pharmaceutical industry but argued that American psychiatry had "allowed the biopsychosocial model to become the bio-bio-bio model" and accepted "kickbacks and bribes" from pharmaceutical companies leading to the over-use of medication and neglect of other approaches.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sharfstein |first=Steven S. |date=2005-08-19 |title=Big Pharma and American Psychiatry: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly |url=http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/40/16/3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621233417/http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/40/16/3 |archive-date=2006-06-21 |access-date=2017-07-18 |work=Psychiatric News |publisher=American Psychiatric Association |page=3 |volume=40 |number=16}}</ref>

In 2008 APA was the focus of congressional investigations on how pharmaceutical industry money shapes the practices of nonprofit organizations that purport to be independent. The drug industry accounted in 2006 for about 30 percent of the association's $62.5 million in financing, half through drug advertisements in its journals and meeting exhibits, and the other half sponsoring fellowships, conferences and industry symposiums at its annual meeting. The APA came under increasing scrutiny and questions about conflicts of interest.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/washington/12psych.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all | title= Psychiatric Group Faces Scrutiny Over Drug Industry Ties| work= The New York Times| first1= Benedict | last1= Carey| first2= Gardiner| last2= Harris| date= July 12, 2008}}</ref>

The APA president in 2009–10, [[Alan Schatzberg]], was identified as the principal investigator on a federal study into the drug [[mifepristone]] for use as an [[antidepressant]] being developed by Corcept Therapeutics, a company Schatzberg had created and in which he had several million dollars' equity.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://chronicle.com/article/Stanford-Researcher-Accused/41395 |first= Maria José | last= Viñas |title= Stanford Researcher, Accused of Conflicts, Steps Down as NIH Principal Investigator| work= [[The Chronicle of Higher Education]]| date= January 8, 2008}}</ref>

In 2021, the APA issued an apology for its historical role in perpetuating racism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=APA's Apology to Black, Indigenous and People of Color for Its Support of Structural Racism in Psychiatry |url=https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/apa-apology-for-its-support-of-structural-racism-in-psychiatry |website=psychiatry.org}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Psychiatry}}
* [[Presidents of the American Psychiatric Association]]
* [[American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology]]
* [[American Group Psychotherapy Association]]
* ''[[American Journal of Psychiatry]]''
* [[American Psychoanalytic Association]]
* [[Royal College of Psychiatrists]]

==References==
===Footnotes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1U0tVByXLNkC|title=The History and Influence of the American Psychiatric Association|last=Barton|first=Walter|publisher=American Psychiatric Press|location=Washington|year=1987|isbn=978-0880482318|access-date=October 20, 2017|via=[[Google Books]]}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* JAMA (The [[Academic journal|Journal]] of the [[American Medical Association]]) Psychiatry [https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry JAMA Psychiatry – The Science of Mental Health and The Brain]
* [https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/UPENN_RBML_PUSP.MS.COLL.635 Paul Lowinger papers], Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania. Paul Lowinger was a psychiatrist and founder of the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health, and his papers are largely concerned with his work as a psychiatrist and activist, with significant portions devoted to his work with the American Psychiatric Association.

{{American Psychiatric Association Presidents}}
{{Psychiatry}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American Psychiatric Association| ]]