American Psychiatric Association

American Psychiatric Association
Founded	Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane October 1844
Founder	Samuel B. Woodward Isaac Ray Luther V. Bell Charles H. Stedman John S. Butler Amariah Brigham Pliny Earle T.S. Kirkbride William M. Awl F.T. Stribling John M. Galt Nehemiah Cutter Samuel White
Headquarters	750 First Street, NE, Washington, D.C, United States
Website
www.psychiatry.org

American Psychiatric Association is a U.S-based organization that specializes in psychiatry. The APA publishes the American Journal of Psychiatry newspaper and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual series.

History

The APA was first founded as the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane in October 1844. The Superintendents' Association claimed objectives were "to communicate their experiences to each other, cooperate in collecting statistical information relating to insanity, and assist each other in improving the treatment of the insane."

The name of the organization was changed in 1892 to the American Medico-Psychological Association to allow assistant physicians working in mental hospitals to become members.

In 1921, the American Medico-Psychological Association changed their name to the American Psychiatric Association.

Controversies

Ties to the Pharmaceutical Industry

The APA president in 2005, Steven Sharfstein, praised the pharmaceutical industry but argued that American psychiatry had "allowed the biopsychosocial model to become the bio-bio-bio model" and accepted "kickbacks and bribes" from pharmaceutical companies leading to the over-use of medication and neglect of other approaches.

In 2008 APA was the focus of congressional investigations on how pharmaceutical industry money shapes the practices of nonprofit organizations that purport to be independent. The drug industry accounted in 2006 for about 30 percent of the association's $62.5 million in financing, half through drug advertisements in its journals and meeting exhibits, and the other half sponsoring fellowships, conferences and industry symposiums at its annual meeting. The APA came under increasing scrutiny and questions about conflicts of interest.