From: Andrew Phelps <dis_course@yahoo.com>

To: psysr-humanrights@googlegroups.com

Date: Friday, August 20, 2010, 10:41 AM

Subject: Re: [PsySR-humanrights] GRITtv Steven Reisner & Patricia Davis The Psychology of Torture: Culture and Change

I appreciate this clip. Thank you.

I know the "lived experience" psychology isn't always heard here. Do let me say though that I'm involved in a long-term project which I think also has merit in terms of changing the torture dynamic in U.S. society.

The Coalition for Justice and Accountability (CJA) in the Silicon Valley was an endorser of the Ethical APA demonstration [at S.F. APA] 2007. The direction of this group is "multicultural advocacy for police accountability" and the objective is a safe community free of discrimination dynamics. The client/survivors' issues have been engaged equitably as part of this larger agenda.

A year ago we did a pivotal program about extending our community engagement, with an expert - the Puerto Rican psychologist Mayra Cruz pointing the way for us. We built around the Mother's Day police shooting of Daniel Pham, on a "mental health incident" 911 call. Now the CJA has "blossomed" and reorganized so that [it now] includes the active involvement of the leading multicultural advocacies in the region. Thus - when the Vietnamese Americans give a rally for Daniel Pham, and then [when], along with the leader of the NAACP, the leading community organizer in the Valley, and the E.D. of the leading Asian-American nonprofit mental health provider, as well as people from the organizing group - I am one of the speakers (on behalf of the client/survivors) we have indeed a broad coalition against discrimination.

Monday our group is meeting with the San Jose City Manager; the topic we are sharing is the choice of the new Police Chief, for SJPD.

I think we are helping create a more positive culture in the Silicon Valley, and one that embraces peace with social justice.

When human rights advocates on this list talk insensitively about "primitive cultures," that should not be dismissed lightly. Like you say, "I don't agree" is an insufficient response. If you want to reach to "lived experience," I recommend to you the emeritus psychology instructor at West Valley College who now represents the Native American advocacy due to his efforts to reach past that kind of stereotyping of people. You pose as a list guideline

I would also point to Mikhail Lyubansky's Restorative Circle approach as adding additional luster for a process of engaging disagreements.

On Fri, 8/20/10, Eee wrote: