Documents on Brainwashing Controversies and the APA

CESNUR publishes here a list of relevant documents of the U.S. brainwashing controversies, particularly with respect to events of 1987 involving the American Psychological Association (APA). For a history of these controversies, and a discussion of the relevance of each document, see the paper by Massimo Introvigne "Liar, Liar": Brainwashing, CESNUR and APA. The documents we reproduce are part of non-sealed records of court cases and have been publicly available for years. As far as we know, however, they are not currently available on the Web, although one of them (the DIMPAC draft report) recently surfaced on a Web site (with a rather anti-cult comment).

Documents include:

1. Brief of amici curiae, in the version originally signed by APA and dated February 10, 1987, in the case David Molko and Tracy Leal vs Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, et al.

2. Motion of APA to withdraw as amicus curiae in the Molko case (March 27, 1987).

3. APA Memorandum on APA activities regarding the Molko case (July 11, 1989).

4. Last draft of the DIMPAC report.

5. APA's Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology (BSERP) Memorandum of May 11, 1987, with two enclosures.

6. Order by the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Alameda in the case Margaret Singer et al. vs American Psychological Association et al. (June 17, 1994).