The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is investigating the American Psychological Association over allegations of antisemitic discrimination, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law said Wednesday.

The inquiry stems from a complaint the Brandeis Center filed with HHS on Aug. 8, 2025. HHS informed the group that it is examining whether the association violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which extends Title VI to federally funded health care programs.

The complaint accused the APA of becoming “one of the worst purveyors of antisemitism and extremist ideology in healthcare.” It alleged that Jewish and Israeli current and former members reported that the association promoted “Decolonizing Therapy,” which treats Zionism as a mental illness. The association has more than 172,000 members and receives millions of dollars in federal funding each year.

Rebecca Harris, a litigation staff attorney at the Brandeis Center, welcomed the investigation and said the group wants the APA brought into compliance with federal civil rights law so that it does not discriminate against its Jewish members or promote discrimination against Jews in the broader mental health field. “We want the APA to stop promoting discriminatory and harmful psychology practices,” she told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

A representative for the APA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In response to earlier congressional inquiries from both Republicans and Democrats, the association has said that some of its Jewish members and community organizations have voiced concerns about antisemitism within the broader psychology field and within the APA’s divisions.

The HHS inquiry is the latest federal scrutiny of the APA, which sets accreditation standards for the psychology profession. In December, the House Education and Workforce Committee opened its own investigation into antisemitism at the association, which represents more than 170,000 people in the field. Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican, wrote to APA President Debra Kawahara that Jewish members had reported being harassed and ostracized by colleagues over their Jewish identity, their efforts to speak out against antisemitism, and their Zionist beliefs.

Title VI bars discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin by recipients of federal funds, and federal agencies have treated certain forms of antisemitism as falling under that protection. Section 1557 applies the same standard to health programs that receive federal money, which gives HHS leverage over groups it funds.

The Brandeis Center, a legal advocacy group that works to combat antisemitism, is chaired by Kenneth Marcus, a former head of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. Marcus has argued that because HHS funds medical practices, health care and associations such as the APA, it can address antisemitism in those settings much as the Education Department does on campuses. The case is part of a broader wave of civil rights complaints and federal investigations into how institutions have handled antisemitism since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the war that followed.

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