The two psychologists, James Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen, settled a federal lawsuit in 2024 after pocketing over $80 million from the CIA for designing and running enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding.
What happened to Abu Zubaydah?
Abu Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan in March 2002, locked up in CIA black sites for four and a half years, and is still being held at Guantanamo Bay as of 2026.
Those interrogations became so infamous they were recorded on videotape—then the CIA shredded the tapes in 2005. Funny enough, he’s never faced a single charge, and a Polish court even made him a protected witness in 2023. Yet here he still is, stuck in custody.
Who were the psychologists in the report?
The psychologists called out in the Senate report were John “Bruce” Jessen and James Mitchell, who worked under the banner Mitchell, Jessen & Associates.
NBC News dug into their pasts and discovered they weren’t just random hires—they were the architects of the CIA’s interrogation playbook. Both started as Air Force psychologists teaching Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) techniques. According to Britannica, SERE was originally cooked up to prep U.S. troops for the nightmare of enemy capture and interrogation.
Who were the contractors in the report?
Contractors John “Bruce” Jessen and James Mitchell ran Mitchell, Jessen & Associates, a Spokane-based outfit the CIA hired to dream up interrogation methods.
Between 2005 and 2009, their little firm hauled in $81 million from the CIA—all for tricks like waterboarding that most folks now call torture. Honestly, this ranks among the most controversial payouts in recent memory. To put that in perspective, $81 million in 2009 dollars is roughly $120 million today once you adjust for inflation U.S. Inflation Calculator.
Who developed waterboarding?
James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen adapted and weaponized waterboarding as a CIA interrogation tactic in the mid-2000s.
Waterboarding isn’t some modern invention—it’s been around for centuries, even popping up under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. But Mitchell and Jessen took SERE training and flipped it into something far uglier. Later, courts slapped their methods with illegal labels under U.S. and international law. The CIA’s own declassified documents back this up, showing how they repurposed SERE drills for interrogation use.
Who are the two psychologists?
The two psychologists widely credited as founders of modern psychology are Wilhelm Wundt and William James.
Wundt opened the first psychology lab in Leipzig way back in 1879. James followed in 1890 with his landmark book Principles of Psychology. Neither had so much as a whisper of connection to the CIA’s dark experiments, thank goodness. Fun detail: Wundt’s lab is often called the birthplace of experimental psychology, and James’ work still shows up in intro psych courses across the globe.
Where was waterboarding invented?
Waterboarding was used by the Khmer Rouge at Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, between 1975 and 1979.
Survivor Vann Nath later painted chilling scenes of the torture, which now hang in the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Two prison officials, Mam Nai and Tang Sin Hean, became notorious for perfecting the method. The museum’s archives hold detailed records of how the technique was used during those years Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
Can you breathe while being waterboarded?
You can catch a quick breath when a dry cloth covers your face, but once it’s wet, it turns into a one-way valve.
Once soaked, water gets forced in but can’t escape, which is why victims describe it as drowning. That’s why most countries slap it with a torture label. According to the World Health Organization, waterboarding triggers extreme physical and psychological agony, often leaving long-term scars.
How many people are left in Gitmo?
As of December 2025, 30 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay.
Since 2002, nearly 800 detainees have cycled through the prison. Most walked free without charges, but transfers have slowed to a trickle under the Biden administration. The whole mess keeps sparking political fireworks. The United Nations has called for Gitmo’s closure repeatedly, citing serious human-rights worries.
Is the film The Report based on a true story?
Yes, The Report is based on real events laid out in a Senate Intelligence Committee report and a Vanity Fair piece titled “Rorschach and Awe”.
The film follows Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones as he uncovers the CIA’s torture programs over a decade. It’s dramatized, but the core facts are all real. The Senate Intelligence Committee report is public and packed with details on the agency’s enhanced interrogation playbook.
Who is James Mitchell?
James Elmer Mitchell is a psychologist and ex–Air Force officer who co-founded Mitchell, Jessen & Associates and cooked up CIA interrogation methods.
Born in 1952, Mitchell earned his PhD in clinical psychology. He’s stayed eerily quiet since the 2024 lawsuit settlement—probably for the best. His old LinkedIn profile (now archived) once called him a “specialist in resistance to interrogation,” a title that aged about as well as you’d expect once tied to CIA ops.
How many times KSM waterboarded?
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times during August 2003 at a CIA black site in Poland.
Yep, 183 times in a single month. He’s the alleged mastermind behind 9/11, and the technique was eventually scrapped and condemned by U.S. officials. The New York Times reported that KSM’s interrogations were among the most intense in the CIA’s program, with some sessions stretching up to two hours.
Does the US still use enhanced interrogation techniques?
No, the United States officially scrapped enhanced interrogation techniques in 2009 and hasn’t used them since.
President Obama signed Executive Order 13491 on his second day in office, banning torture and shuttering secret prisons. A 2026 UN report still demanded accountability, proving the issue refuses to fade away. The U.S. State Department’s 2026 Human Rights Report confirms no federal agency is running these methods today.
How do you become a CIA psychologist?
To land a CIA psychologist gig, you need a PhD or PsyD, an active state license, five years of postdoctoral experience, and specialized skills like forensic evaluation.
The CIA wants clinical chops and absolute secrecy. Oh, and you’ll need to ace a grueling background check and polygraph. If you’re curious, openings live at cia.gov/careers. For comparison, the American Psychological Association lists similar requirements for clinical psychologists, though the CIA’s process is far more intense.
Who is the greatest psychologist of all time?
Most historians crown Sigmund Freud as the most influential psychologist thanks to his theories on the unconscious, personality, and psychoanalysis.
Freud’s ideas dominated 20th-century psychology, even if some have been walked back. Love him or loathe him, his work still shapes therapy and research today. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy offers a deep dive into Freud’s contributions and the critiques that followed.
Who is the best psychologist in the world?
There’s no official ranking, but B.F. Skinner, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud routinely show up among the most influential psychologists ever.
Skinner’s behaviorism flipped how we think about learning. Piaget’s child-development work reshaped education. And Freud? He’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room—whether you buy his theories or not. The Verywell Mind site ranks these three among the top 10 most influential psychologists based on their field impact.
