NLPA warmly congratulates Dr. Lillian Comas-Díaz on her recent APA Presidential Citation from Dr. Thema S. Bryant. The citation was awarded to Dr. Comas-Díaz on the basis of her contributions and dedication to the field of psychology and society-at-large.
Dr. Comas-Díaz is a clinical psychologist in private practice, and a clinical professor at the George Washington University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences. The former director of the Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs of the American Psychological Association, she was a faculty member of the Yale University Department of Psychiatry, where she also directed its Hispanic Clinic. As a clinician-scholar-activist, Dr. Comas-Días has participated in fact-finding delegations investigating human right abuses in Chile, the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and South Africa. The author of over 170 professional publications, Dr. Comas-Días has written extensively on the interaction of culture, gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and spirituality in mental health. Some of her books include: Liberation Psychology: Theory, Method, Practice and Social Justice (co-edited with Edil Torres Rivera), Multicultural Care: A Clinician’s Guide to Cultural Competence; Womanist and Mujerista Psychologies: Voices of Fire, Acts of Courage (co-edited with T. Bryant Davis); and, Latina Psychologists: Thriving in the Cultural Borderlands (co-edited with C. I. Vazquez). Her recent co-edited book with Hector Adames and Nayeli Chavez-Dueñas on Decolonial Psychology will be published in late 2023. Dr. Comas-Díaz is a recipient of the American Foundation Association /American Psychological Association Gold Medal Lifetime Award in the Practice of Psychology.
