Dr. Lucas A. Klein

Dr. Klein knows a thing or two about the human condition, and he believes the principles underlying DEI initiatives are not only illogical—they’re dangerous.

“DEI activists are coming for my profession, and it’s making a mockery of it. I’m not going to give up the seriousness of my field without a fight.“

In 2020, the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA) created the Holmes Commission to find evidence of racism within the association. Three years later, it released a stunning 421-page report calling for the restructuring of the entire field of psychoanalysis.

It instructed therapists to “apply an analytic lens to the matters of race, racism, and white supremacy.” It also tasked entities associated with the field to hire a DEI ombudsman and “monitor resistance to change.”

Amazingly, the authors of the report admitted they didn’t have any data to prove systemic racism in the field, and that its findings were enhanced with the “personal experiences of commission members.”

For Dr. Klein, enough was enough. He published a pointed takedown of the report’s findings on his professional APsA listserv. It set the field ablaze for a few weeks.

“I received a torrent of private support from psychoanalysts throughout the country and throughout the world, and I’m still getting positive responses from analysts. It’s not surprising, but it is sad they felt they had to do so privately.”

Dr. Klein is working with Do No Harm to give a voice to his colleagues who are too scared to speak out, and you can read more about his story on our website here. In the meantime, he is already seeing the consequences of DEI seeping into his practice. He often meets new patients who walk in the door feeling anxious about the possible politicization of their experiences.

“I’ve had patients come to me worried I’m going to view their experiences through the lens of race. I’ve had parents of teenagers worried I’m going to trans their kids,” he says. “Each went to other therapists first who brought up concepts about race and gender when they were not applicable.”

We are grateful for those at the top of their fields like Dr. Lucas Klein who are willing to defend the integrity of their profession for patients and future generations. The stakes could not possibly be higher.