DEI Concerns in Psychiatric Organizations

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PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

Concern for our country’s Presidential administration’s dismantling of federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related words and programs has elicited some concern in psychiatry, including for an ad Hoc group of psychiatrists concerned with public mental health that I have been involved with.

However, I had not, until now that is, heard of it being a major influence on an actual psychiatric system of care. Now I have.

One of the longest running and respected nonprofit psychiatric systems in my Milwaukee area has been Rogers Behavioral Health, composed of a variety of inpatient and outpatient programs. The news broke yesterday in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that “Rogers ended its DEI Program, but will ‘rebrand’ to focus on ‘cultural inclusivity’ in wake of Trump order,” ending its DEI program and 2 related staff positions that occurred on April 24.¹

The writer of the article, Sarah Volpenhein, concluded that this “is a local example of a health care provider yielding to pressure from the Trump administration to rein in diversity initiatives that he and his allies view as discriminatory and divisive.”¹ All references to DEI have been removed as Rogers pointed to potential loss of federal funding if it did not do so. Whatever was meant by “cultural inclusivity” was not clarified, though that inclusion refers to the “I” in DEI. Rogers emphasized its concern over recent years for gender identity and sexual orientation.

The question remains. Is Rogers still emphasizing DEI but just under different terms?

Also yesterday, there was an article “Torres warns American Psychological Association to address ‘persistent and pernicious’ antisemitism in its ranks,” published by Jewish Insider.² US Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) previously had publicly identified himself in the NBC News article on November 6, 2020, as Congress’s first gay Afro-Latino. He also had talked about growing poor with challenges of depression and substance abuse.

It was not clear what recently elicited his concern about anti-Semitism, but he voiced concern about anti-Semitism in the ranks of the American Psychological Association to their president and president-elect. He emphasized the harassment of Jewish and pro-Israel psychologists on APA-sponsored list serves, while at the same time dissenting voices were suppressed.

My own other APA, the American Psychiatric Association, was not mentioned by Torres. I have noticed intermittent intense cultural and interfaith conflict among members, but nothing like that of the Torres concern, and cultural and Interfaith cooperation seems to be improving even though what I call the Mideast War continues.

Interestingly enough, discrimination toward Jewish Americans has not generally been a focus of concern in formal DEI programs. If anything, Jews have often been lumped together with the criticized White individuals, which is often an inappropriate association. As the New York Times article of January 22, 2025, is titled: “Does D.E.I. Help or Hurt Jewish Students?”³ Some of that is being played out in the conflict between Harvard and the Trump administration. Actually, it is unclear how effective DEI programs have been at times or over time, but whatever it is called needs to be continued and enhanced.⁴

Together, these 2 developments represent problems in DEI. At stake is something essential in psychiatry, making sure that the cultural identity of patients and clinicians does not impair clinical treatment. All of us have some cultural(s) background.

Cultural differences have been one of the ongoing challenges of America since its inception. Often, each immigrant group faces challenges in adapting and being included in the so-called melting pot. In particular, Black and Native Americans have been met with resistance and a legacy of the intergenerational transmission of trauma to be overcome.

Decades ago, some multi-cultural colleagues and I developed the first model cultural psychiatry curricula for psychiatric residents.⁵ Since then, the recommendations for this variable in clinical care has been cultural competence in the sense of cultural sensitivity, concern, and humility. Representative Torres seems to be a model for doing just that.

PS: Global Parents Day!

As this column was going to press, I was reminded that Sunday, June 1, is Global Parents Day. Parents, of course, are the first major influencers about the development of tolerance and positivity, and yes, sometimes necessary courage, in their children toward others who are different. Studies about the “righteous gentiles” who helped Jews in the Holocaust suggest that teaching tolerance to their children was the variable they had most in common. In other words, the first DEI programs start at home, and home can be considered the first informal psychiatric organization of sorts!

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.

References

1. Volpenhein S. Rogers ended its DEI program, but will 'rebrand' to focus on 'cultural inclusivity,' in wake of Trump order. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. May 28, 2025. Accessed May 30, 2025. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2025/05/28/rogers-ended-its-dei-program-in-wake-of-trump-order-but-will-rebrand/83273506007/

2. Deutch G. Torres warns American Psychological Association to address ‘persistent and pernicious’ antisemitism in its ranks. Jewish Insider. May 29, 2025. Accessed May 30, 2025. https://jewishinsider.com/2025/05/ritchie-torres-american-psychological-association-antisemitism/

3. Patel V. Does D.E.I. help or hurt Jewish students? New York Times. January 22, 2025. Accessed May 30, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/us/dei-jewish-students-campus-protests.html

4. Emerson J. Continuing the work of DEI, no matter what your company calls it. Harvard Business Review. December 13, 2024. Accessed May 30, 2025. https://hbr.org/2024/12/continuing-the-work-of-dei-no-matter-what-your-company-calls-it

5. Moffic HS, Kendrick EA, Reid K, Lomax JW. Cultural psychiatry education during psychiatric residency. Journal of Psychiatric Education. 1988;12:90-101.