Division 45

Brief History

Although the formal establishment of the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (American Psychological Association Division 45) as a division within the American Psychological Association (APA) took place in 1986, the context for its formation can be traced back through the history of psychology. Early history of psychology as a science of behavior was largely based in the interest of understanding internal processes and mechanisms related to learning, motivation, development, and behavior change. Cultural, social, and environmental influences were rarely included (Pickren, 2009). Moreover, psychology maintained that science and the profession should remain objective and apolitical. A number of social justice and human rights events of the 1950s and 1960s brought about sweeping changes to American society. The involvement of Kenneth Clark in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas in 1954, for example, marked a shift in the traditional roles and perspectives of psychology (Benjamin & Crouse, 2002). Increasingly so since then, there has been a broadening view of incorporating cultural, social, and environmental factors in the science and profession of psychology. In one example, in recognizing the bias of intelligence testing instruments, The Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) in 1969 called for a moratorium on the psychological testing of children of color. The San Francisco Bay Area chapter subsequently reaffirmed this stance in a deposition in the case of Larry P. et al. v. Wilson Riles et al. (1972).

Despite these gradual changes, ethnic minorities within psychology often experienced alienation and lack of support for their work and training. An oral history of those involved in the formation of Division 45 evidenced this (Pickren, 2006). In a number of interviews, many voiced their sense of isolation during their training in universities by being the only student in the program, by having no mentors or role models of color, and by managing the institutional and interpersonal racist conflicts in order to complete the required training to achieve their career goals. The establishment of a number of ethnic minority psychological associations (Comas-Díaz, 2009; Franklin, 2009; Holliday, 2009; Jones & Austin-Dailey, 2009; Leong, 2009a, 2009b; Leong & Okazaki, 2009; McCubbin & Marsella, 2009; Padilla & Olmedo, 2009; Pickren, 2009; Sue, 2009; Trimble & Clearing-Sky, 2009) between the 1960s and early 1980s began to form scientific and professional communities in support of a growing number of ethnic minority psychologists. At the same time, however, there was growing concern that the necessity and existence of these ethnic minority psychological associations represented a marginalization of these communities and issues within the APA (Comas-Díaz, 2009; Pickren, 2006; Sue, 2009).

An invited conference of psychologists of color in 1978, now referred to as the Dulles Conference, was organized by Dalmas Taylor, who was the director of the Minority Fellowship Program of the APA with funds from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), to address the issues of diversity. From this conference, the formation of an APA division was recommended as well as the establishment of a Board of Ethnic Minority Affairs with an APA office (Comas-Díaz, 2009). As the recommendations of the Dulles Conference were being implemented, the various associations of psychologists of color deliberated about the formation of an APA division with careful consideration of how this might compromise their own organizations (Franklin, 2009). Joseph Trimble recalled that there was apprehension that this division would be where ethnic minority issues were to be referred and consequently excuse the other APA divisions from their responsibility to attend to diversity concerns (Pickren, 2006). Others questioned how an organized effort would generate the large support base needed for establishing an APA division according to the APA bylaws. After Division 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues) was formed in early 1985, the APA placed a moratorium on any new proposals for APA divisions that continued for about a 2-year period, which delayed the petition for this new division.

In 1986, a working committee to form a new APA division was developed. Sensing that the moratorium was to be lifted at the 1986 APA Convention in August, the committee held a meeting for conference attendees to announce the campaign to have an APA division on ethnic minority issues. Individuals at the conference were recruited to implement the campaign and to obtain signatures during the APA convention for presentation and petition to the APA Council at that convention for establishing Division 45. This was a time to test the support base of the membership since many psychologists of color were not members of the APA for various reasons. A strategy employed by Eduardo Morales and his recruitment partners at the convention was to approach our colleagues at the convention and ask them if they support ethnic minority psychology and, if so, to sign the petition to form a new APA division. It is interesting that the required number of signatures was obtained, and the APA Council approved the new Division 45. Although many refer to the working committee as the founders of Division 45, actually everyone who signed the petition for the APA division are technically the founding members of Division 45, which totaled about 600 APA members, exceeding the 550 required in the bylaws at that time. A steering committee was formed in 1986 to structure the new division, and in 1987, the first Executive Committee was elected by the new division’s members.

Current Status and Resources

The division has seen a growth in membership since its founding, and most recent data show that membership stands at slightly more than 1,000 members (APA, 2009b). Membership count has been relatively stable since 2000 with more than 61% of the membership identifying as either counseling or clinical psychologists, and about 20% is made up of student affiliates. The division’s roots of valuing the contributions of diverse members and more collectivistic worldviews are evident in the administrative structure of the society. A unique executive structure of the division is the member-at-large and presidency positions that are slated for representatives from each of the ethnic minority groups that the division represents. For the member-at-large positions, one member from each ethnic minority group—Latina/o, Asian American/Pacific Islander, African American, and Native American—occupies a slate on the Executive Committee. Similarly, the division ensures that at least one president from each of these minority groups is represented in a given 5-year period. In 1999, the division added a fifth at-large position for a non-ethnic minority psychologist to broaden the diverse representation of members on the Executive Committee. Various traditions within the division have been adopted from a number of indigenous practices and again reflect the unique cultural influences of the ethnic minority members. Recognition and celebration of the wisdom and accomplishments of elders and the use of a traditional Native American Talking Stick during important division meetings are examples of this (Comas-Díaz, 2009).

As a consequence of the efforts of the division’s 1996–1997 president, Guillermo Bernal, a divisional journal was established in 1998 with Lillian Comas-Díaz as the inaugural editor. Through a negotiated contract with the APA, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology (CDEMP; originally Cultural Diversity and Mental Health) has been under the ownership of the division while having the association and recognition of being an APA journal. This was a strategic critical factor that enhances the careers of the contributing authors of this journal. Based on circulation, reprint requests, online hits, and extent of distribution, CDEMP is considered the number one APA journal for its size and is widely recognized as one of the important journals publishing on multicultural topics (Lau, Cisco, & Delgado-Romero, 2008). This was accomplished within 7 years of being the divisional journal. After a decade of effort by a number of editors, CDEMP’s journal impact factor will be available through the Institute for Scientific Information beginning in late 2011. Under the new editorship of Michael Zarate, the journal is also increasing its contracted pages by 50%. To enhance communication among members, the division also publishes Focus, a divisional newsletter, and maintains a number of active electronic mailing lists, including one specifically for student affiliates of the division.

Consistent with the mission of the division to recognize scholarly work and service in ethnic minority psychology, a number of professional awards are sponsored by Division 45 every year. Several target achievements by senior professionals (e.g., The Lifetime Achievement Award) and junior professionals (e.g., Emerging Professional Award). Professional contributions in research (e.g., Distinguished Career Contribution to Research Award), service (e.g., Distinguished Career Contribution through Service Award), and training/mentoring (e.g., Charles and Shirley Thomas Award) are also recognized.

As a division formed to provide greater support for ethnic minority psychologists, Division 45 is dedicated to the training and mentoring of students. After the establishment of a non-ethnic minority member-at-large position in 1999, the division supported the creation of a student committee and the establishment of a voting student position on the Executive Board. A longstanding and successful mentoring program, Links and Shoulders has been in place since 1993 and is another way that the division has been committed to training a new generation of ethnic minority psychologists. In 2011, the Links and Shoulders program was awarded the Richard M. Suinn Minority Achievement Award by the APA’s Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training Task Force (CEMRRAT2). Another venue of mentoring and training occurs in the Psi Alpha Omega, a national honor society for students of color and students interested in the study of ethnic minority issues.

The division has been the host of a number of professional and scientific conferences, many of which were hosted collaboratively with other peer organizations. There was a conference on immigration led by Toy Caldwell-Colbert, then-president of the division, and Cynthia de las Fuentes, then-president of Division 35. In 2006, a conference on evidence-based practices with ethnic minorities was led by Eduardo Morales, a past president of the division, and co-led by Nolan Zane with an unprecedented 25 APA divisions co-sponsoring and supporting the conference, the largest number of collaborating APA divisions ever aside from the annual APA convention (Morales & Zane, 2008). In 2010, the division hosted its first convention independent of the APA convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan, under the guidance of President Robert Sellers. To encourage, attract, and nurture future members of the division, all attendees at the conference were given free memberships to the division.

Connections to Counseling Psychology

Division 45 and counseling psychology have a deep connection, and their history and activities are intertwined on a number of levels. This is not surprising given that the historical mission and values of the two divisions share important qualities. The mission of Division 45 is threefold (Comas-Díaz, 2009):

A number of scholars have reviewed the core historical values of counseling psychology and these reveal the connection that binds Division 17 to 45. Common to these reviews (Gelso & Fretz, 1991; Howard, 1992; Packard, 2009) is the recognition of counseling psychology’s commitment to diversity and support of ethnic minority issues in training, research, and practice. It is this common vision for the work of psychologists that is the basis for the numerous connections between the two divisions.

Second, counseling psychologists have been consistently involved with the division from its inception. Melba Vasquez, a counseling psychologist, was one of the founding members of the division (Comas-Díaz, 2009). The second most common professional identification of Division 45 members is in counseling psychology (19% of members; APA, 2009b). Moreover, simultaneous involvement of psychologists in both divisions appears to be quite significant. Of all the APA divisions that Division 45 members are also members of, Division 17 ranked number one, with 22.6% of Division 45 members also being members of Division 17. The data are similar on the side of Division 17. Of all the APA divisions that Division 17 members are also members of, Division 45 ranked number two (behind Division 35), with 10.5% of Division 17 members also being members of Division 45 (APA, 2009a). This all points to the deep involvement of members in both organizations and suggests sharing of common visions and values of the profession of psychology.

Finally, Divisions 17 and 45 have been collaborators on a number of impactful professional activities over the years. An important and recurring event is the biennial National Multicultural Conference and Summit (NMCS; Sue, Bingham, Porche-Burke, & Vasquez, 1999) in which the members of Division 17 were cofounders along with Divisions 35, 44, and 45. The conference has been a resounding success in bringing together researchers, scholars, and practitioners interested in multicultural issues. Most recent, the 7th NMCS took place in 2011 in Seattle, Washington. Under the presidency of Eduardo Morales, collaborations with the president of Division 17 along with Divisions 12, 37, and 42, allowed for launching the first evidenced-based conference on ethnic minorities entitled “Culturally Informed Evidence Based Practices: Translating Research and Policy for the Real World” that was held on March 13 and 14, 2008. Funding and collaborations were from SAMSHA and NIMH, 25 APA Divisions of APA, together with the National Latino Psychological Association and the Asian American Psychological Association. This was unprecedented in the history of APA (www.reisman-white.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=23). The approval of the Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists as official APA policy in 2002 (APA, 2003) was another effort brought forth by Divisions 17 and 45. A draft of the document was first created by a joint task force formed by the two divisions and later led by the efforts of two members of Divisions 17 and 45, Patricia Arredondo and Nadya Fouad (both counseling psychologists).

Prominent Counseling Psychologists Within Division 45

Connections between Divisions 17 and 45 are maintained by scholars and leaders active in both organizations. Recently, Lydia Buki was named associate editor for CDEMP by the current editor, Michael Zarate. A number of past presidents in Division 45 were counseling psychologists: Teresa LaFromboise, Lisa Porche-Burke, Derald Wing Sue, Eduardo Morales, Manuel Casas, Patricia Arredondo, and Frederick Leong. Counseling psychologists such as Lisa Porche-Burke, Melba Vasquez, and Teresa LaFromboise were APA Council representatives on behalf of Division 45. Furthermore, many division awards have been given to counseling psychologists: Lifetime Achievement Award to Derald Wing Sue in 2008; Distinguished Contributions to Research to Janet Helms in 1999, Donald R. Atkinson in 2001, and Teresa LaFromboise in 2002; Distinguished Contributions to Service to Eduardo Morales in 2002 and Lisa Porche-Burke in 2006; Charles and Shirley Thomas Award for Mentoring to Derald Wing Sue in 1994, Thomas A. Parham in 2000, and Alberta Gloria in 2007; and the Emerging Professional Award to Cynthia de las Fuentes in 2001, Alberta Gloria in 2002, Edward Delgado-Romero in 2005, William Liu in 2006, and Bryan Kim in 2008.

Finally, attainment of Fellow status within the division signifies major contributions to ethnic minority psychology consistent with the division’s mission. Counseling psychologists again constitute a representative group in the list of Division 45 fellows that includes Patricia Arredondo, Lydia Buki, Robert Carter, Y. Barry Chung, Edward Delgado-Romero, Nadya Fouad, Alberta Gloria, Janet Helms, Allen Ivey, Frederick Leong, Marie Miville, Eduardo Morales, Thomas Parham, Joseph Ponterotto, Donald Pope-Davis, Gargi Roysircar, Azara Santiago-Rivera, Derald Wing Sue, Richard M. Suinn, Chalmer Thompson, Melba Vasquez, and Bruce Wampold. The presence of prominent counseling psychologists within Division 45 is clear evidence of the deep and intertwined relationship between counseling psychology and the division.

Implications for Counseling Psychology

Although not considered an ethnic minority psychological association in the same way as other organizations in this major contribution, Division 45 is another division within APA that significantly contributes to ethnic minority psychology and whose relationship and accomplishments run deep with Division 17. Our overview of Division 45 and its connection with counseling psychology reveals a vibrant and intertwined history. Division 17 and counseling psychologists are active members of the Division 45 community. Both historically and in their mission, Divisions 17 and 45 share core values that continue to bind them in close relationship. As we have pointed out, such a collaborative relationship has left an indelible mark on the field of ethnic minority psychology. The work of the joint task force of the two divisions that resulted in the Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists, adopted by the APA in 2002, is a prime example. The strong overlap of the membership of the two divisions and the shared common values are a strong foundation for future collaborative work. We encourage the leadership and membership of both divisions to identify common areas of needs and work that may benefit from joining efforts and resources. Joseph Trimble recalled (Pickren, 2006) during the 20th anniversary of Division 45 the concern at the time of its formation that the existence of such a division would mean that ethnic minority psychology issues could be marginalized by excusing the other APA divisions from their responsibility to attend to diversity concerns. By sustaining and building on strong collaborative relationships between the two divisions, such a relationship provides a strong model for other specialties and divisions within the APA to incorporate and address ethnic minority and diversity issues into their work.

One of the risks of developing a strong working relationship is the potential of losing one’s own identity in the process. Division 17 has over the years become known for its strong advocacy for the values and mission held by Division 45. Through efforts like the Multicultural Guidelines, and the Multicultural Summit and Conference, Division 17 has become synonymous with multicultural counseling and related issues. Is one of the potential consequences that Division 17 is known only for these things or can the division and specialty retain some independent identity? This is a valid concern in addition to potential worries that those in Division 17 may believe that the division is too identified with Division 45 and their values. Like others (e.g., Franklin, 2009), we believe that potential tensions and the need for recognizing differences need not be a negative force. The difficult conversations and decisions that occurred in the Dulles Conference (Sue, 2009) are an example of how the common and disparate interests of the four ethnic minority psychology organizations can be negotiated in light of shared fundamental values. We believe that the future of Divisions 17 and 45 will not necessarily be seamless, despite current strong ties. Nevertheless, it is imperative and possible for the two organizations to retain their own identities and unique perspectives and at the same time form collaborative and fruitful relationships with each other. An example for scholarly and professional collaboration may be a focus on the emergent knowledge base and needs of biracial and multiracial individuals (Edwards & Pedrotti, 2008), given the common institutional interests of both divisions to advance scholarly work on multiple racial and ethnic groups.

Finally, in light of the substantial involvement of members in both divisions, we acknowledge the practical and financial obstacles that such members may face in maintaining simultaneous membership. Maintaining multiple divisional memberships can be a strain on both time and finances. In fostering the natural and existing bond between Divisions 17 and 45, we encourage more support for members maintaining simultaneous memberships. Many divisions are aware of the financial burden to psychologists in joining professional associations. Both the APA and Division 17, for example, provide discounts to those joining as early career professionals. Both financial support and recognition (e.g., joint awards) are ways that the two organizations can nurture and support the work of members that benefits both divisions, especially with early career professionals and student affiliates. Also, encouraging joint efforts in areas outside of the more visibly accomplished areas of research and policy (e.g., training and mentoring) would further deepen the relationship and enrich the field of psychology. As Division 45 marked its 25th anniversary in 2011, the division has much to celebrate and its effect on and relationship with Division 17 is one to be acknowledged and nurtured.