xxAACP Newsletter, Volume 11,
Number 1, Winter 1997
Board of Directors'Report
This autumn's Board of Directors Meeting took place this year in Chicago on October 17th and 18th at the Chicago Mariott Hotel. As usual, the meeting was held in conjunction with the APA's Institute for Psychiatric Services. Chicago, which was once considered a prime location for national meetings due to its central location, had not recently been favored as a venue for such gatherings. Since the Democratic Convention of 1968, the city's reputation suffered, and it was not until this summer that the Democrats returned for their national meeting. It has also been sometime since the APA has held a meeting in Chicago, but this recent return seemed to indicate that Chicago is ready to reclaim its position among the top convention cities. It is a rejuvenated city that is blossoming with new activity and resources. It's lakefront skyline is one of extraordinary beauty.
So it was an appropriate site for a recently rejuvenated AACP to hold
its fall meeting. The Board welcomed several newly elected members and
was attended by several previous members as well. It was perhaps the
largest gathering for a Board meeting in our history and was injected
with lively discussions of new and old issues. The Membership Forum held
on October 20th was likewese spirited and very well attended. A summary
of some of the major issues discussed in these meetings is provided
below.
Strengthening AACP Role in Public Mental Health Policy
Several discussions took place concerning the AACP's expertise in
the formulation of policy concerning public sector clients of mental
health services and how that expertise might be more widely recognized
and utilized by agencies and organizations which are influential in
this area. It was noted that the APA had often been ineffective in
representing these issues in their dealings with federal agencies
such as the
Center for Mental Health Services. The AACP has increased its
influence in the APA over the past several years and has been
successful in persuading the APA to adopt many of its initiatives.
We have also been active with the APA Assembly and will continue
in that role, but greater influence in all issues that concern
community psychiatry which the APA involved with would be desirable.
Greater representation could also be achieved through more direct
contacts with SAMHSA officials
and cultivating their understanding of the role that our organization
can play in their efforts to establish revevant policy. Several ideas
were discussed to facilitate our increased interaction with both of
these organizations, and these will be pursued over the next
several months. An invitation will be extended to
Bernard Arons, MD, to attend one of our future meetings to
strengthen our relationship with him and SAMHSA.
Training in Community Psychiatry
The interaction between the AACP and the AADRTP (American Academy
of Directors of Residency Training Programs) was furthered this
meeting throught a visit to the Board by Ron Crasner, MD who
represents that agency. The AACP will be making a presentation at
the January meeting of the AADRTP and we are well represented on
that organization's committee of community psychiatry. That
committeee is promoting the guidelines for training in community
psychiatry and will advocate for their use by the RRC. Innovative
ways to fund training in this area were discussed as well as how the
new emphasis on community competence brought about by greater
penetration of care and resource management systems could be used
to advantage. Further interaction with the AADRTP was seen as
potentially beneficial and
Bob Goisman of the AACP was appointed as liaison to that
organization.
Diversity
The Diversity Committee reconvened after a brief hiatus in its
activities during the period of the elections. Despite a diverse
slate of candidates, the election results did not produce a new
Board which was any more diverse than those of the past. Several
ideas were discussed to address this situation, and the debate
resembled those occurring in many other locales around the country.
Many Board members favored aggressive measures to ensure greater
participation by and recruitment of minority members both on the
Board and in the organization. Others felt that diversity should
not be an end in itself, but rather and aid to our effectiveness
as an organization. There was some concern that too much
manipulation of our organizational structure to achieve diversity
in the absence of other benefits would not ultimately advance
our goals. All seemed to agree, however, that representing the
interests of the diverse populations that we serve was an important
part of the AACP's mission. Althought there was some disagreement
over whether the problem should be addresses by concentrating on
membership composition or Board composition, the idea that the
AACP will be most effective in attracting minority members if it
can consistently demonstrate its commitment to address culturally
influenced issues in community psychiatry. The Board made a
commitment to continue to prioritize these matters in the near
future.
Membership Forum
The turnout for the Membership Forum meeting in Chicago was such
that it was difficult to make space for everyone to sit. One of
the many issues discussed was the possiblity of developing more
active participation by the membership through the use of e-mail.
Many committee meetings and actions by the Board and now carried
out by this media, and there are plans to expand this capability
even more in the near future (see the Website article in the
Brief Notes of this issue). Managed care and its impact
on the practice of public sector and
community psychiatry was an issue brought up by many of the members.
Some of the products and instruments already developed by the AACP
were discussed in the context of their utility in enhancing
members' ability to meet the challenges introduced by public
sector managed care. The need for access to information systems
and common date bases was seen as a necessity in the years ahead.
A possible role for the AACP in systems consultations was again
raised with special reference to quality improvement and
psychopharmacology standards. The conversation was spirited and
ended reluctantly when the hour was up, but a clear interest in
continuing the organization's activities in the areas of systems
management and consultation had emerged.
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