AACP Newsletter, Volume 14,
Number 1, Winter 2000
Board of Directors' Report
A highlight of the meeting was the AACP's 15th Anniversary. In celebration, the AACP hosted "Da Blues in Da Big Easy", a concert featuring Odetta and Dave Van Ronk. A memorable moment in the evening was the room full of mental health professionals joined together in singing "Amazing Grace". Many thanks go to David Cutler for taking the lead in organizing this wonderful event.
The busy agenda of the Board showed that 15 years had only heightened the organization's sense of mission. Some highlights of the Board's activities include:
Membership
As of October 1999, the AACP had 650 members, and 173 others pending membership
renewal. The Membership Committee, under the leadership of
Linda Gochfeld, has been tackling ways to solidify the membership
renewal policy. Keep your eyes open for renewal policy. Keep your eyes open for renewal notices or email reminders, which
are being sent out the beginning of this year. All members are needed to meet
the "1000 in 2000" goal.
The Membership Committee was pleased to report the Laurie Flynn, Executive Director of NAMI, accepted the invitation for honorary membership to the AACP.
As membership and activities grow, there has been increasing activity on the listserv. As a result, several subspecialty lists are being developed, including a child and adolescent listserv and a medical directors' listserv.
AACP Liaison to the APA
Clif Tennison continues to represent the AACP to the
APA Assembly. The AACP is now one of 14 member organizations represented on an official committee of the Assembly, the Assembly Allied Organization Liaisons Committee. The work
of the AACP continues to be recognized by the APA Assembly and therefore may influence APA positions.
The AACP Position Statement on Mentally Ill Behind Bars was slated to be presented to the Assembly as an Action Paper at their November meeting. The Action Paper asks that the Assembly endorse the AACP position statement as an APA Resource Document for consideration in further APA work in this area and as a reference for an eventual position statement by the APA.
The AACP document on
Psychosocial Rehabilitation written by
Hunter McQuistion was used as the basis for the final report of the
APA Special Presidential Commission on Psychosocial Rehabilitation.
The Chairperson of this Commission, Troy Thompson, has asked the AACP to
speak on this topic at the 2000 APA Annual Meeting.
Liaison With Advocacy Organizations
The AACP has been asked to join the Mental Health Coalition,
an effective lobbying group in Washington that includes groups such as
NMHA,
NAMI,
NASMHPD,
the National Council and the
Bazelon Center.
A task force was appointed to address the potential role of the AACP in the Mental Health Coalition. The Board discussed the importance of AACP's balanced involvement with advocacy organizations.
Hospital Discharge - Continuity of Care
NAMI has requested that the AACP collaborate in addressing policies
on hospital discharge planning. Nael Kilziehcreviewed survey results
of state hospital discharge policies, noting
tremendous variation from state to state. The Board agreed that the interface between
hospital and community needs to be emphasized, and that community liaison and follow-up is an important core issue. Board members also felt that it is important to identify quality indicators that are especially relevant to community psychiatry. The group generally felt that the AACP has the expertise to develop a policy in the area of continuity of care. Members of the Quality Management Committee and the Jails and Prisons Committee will collaborate to develop a statement.
Surgeon General's Mental Health Reports
The Board discussed the Surgeon General's recent
report on suicide prevention, the first of a series of federal mental health initiatives. The Board feels this is an important public health issue and will see how the AACP can assist in implementing it.
Ken Thompson will work on a proposal for the AACP to collaborate in relation to the mental health report.
Jackie Feldman
and Ken Thompson agreed to attend the
Carter Symposium, which will focus on the Surgeon General's mental health report.
Debbie Carter,
one of the newest Board members, agreed to spearhead the Child and Adolescent Committee's effort to review the topic of youth suicide and potentially to develop a document on this topic.
LOCUS and CALOCUS
There continues to be a great deal of activity on
LOCUS and
CALOCUS.
The LOCUS Committee is addressing ways to increase the visibility of the instrument.
LOCUS is being presented to a number of different organizations, including
NAMI and the
Bazelon Center, for comment and hopefully
endorsement. In addition, the Staffing Committee has proposed using LOCUS to
help determine the number of psychiatrists and intensity of involvement needed in various practice settings.
The AACP, in partnership with the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists (AACAP) signed a contract with Deerfield for CALOCUS. The workgroup has also voted to proceed with development of BabyLOCUS for infants and toddlers. This venture will also be done in conjunction with the AACAP.
The group adjourned until the Winter Meeting to be held in Portland, Oregon in February 2000. The meeting will be held in association with the Oregon Psychiatric Association's annual meeting, "The Millennium Mental Health Bug".
For more information on AACP Committees, visit http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/aacp/Committees/default.htm
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