Status: U

Subject: Your email

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 11:24:13 -0400

Thread-Topic: Your email

From: "Farberman, Rhea K." rfarberman@apa.org

To: (Deleted)

Thank you for you recent email to our "Ask the President" email feature. APA President, Dr. Diane Halpern, asked that I reply to you directly concerning Dr. Lois Holzman's participation in our upcoming convention. As you point out in your email, concerns about Dr. Holzman's participation in our 2003 convention in Toronto were brought to our attention last year. Because of these concerns, members of APA's senior staff researched Dr. Holzman's work and her participation in earlier APA meetings.

Senior staff also attended each of her 2003 presentations. While it is fair to say that some of the content of these presentations was unorthodox it was not, in the judgment of our senior staff, offensive or inappropriate for the APA convention. The APA convention is designed to present a wide array of topics. Dr. Holzman was invited to speak by an APA Division. We have not found any basis upon which to override that invitation.

We have also visited the "former patients" website you mentioned and are familiar with the accusations of anti-Semitism against Fred Newman. Fred Newman is not a participant in the APA convention. While APA in no way endorses boundary violations with patients or anti-Semitism, we have seen no evidence that Dr. Holzman espouses either. We therefore must support Dr. Holzman's opportunity to participate in our convention

Thank you for contacting APA about your concerns.

Rhea Farberman

Rhea K. Farberman, APR

Executive Director, Public and Member Communications

American Psychological Association

(202) 336-5709

RFarberman@apa.org

www.apa.org