xxAACP Newsletter, Volume 16, Number 4, Fall 2002
PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
Taking Stock
It is September 11th. I am in my office diligently trying to get caught up on the 600+ emails I returned to after my vacation, but my heart is not in it. The local NPR station carries the names of those who perished last year, with moments of silence to commemorate the four deadly crashes; police are guarding my daughter’s Jewish day school while the kids come dressed in red, white, and blue. A near and dear family member lies immobile in bed, too anergic from a treatment resistant depression to make much of his day. All this in the background of the ten days of teshuvah, or repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a time for contemplation about wrongs perpetrated and vows to do better.
How can I do better as a leader? I can answer emails and requests more diligently, and try to keep better track of the things necessary for the functioning of the AACP. I can learn to say no, and mean it. I can say yes to those sometimes very hard tasks I’d druther foist off on others. I can more readily extend heart-felt thanks for acts of kindness and support, and relay my kudos to those of you who are applying your energies in ways we should all emulate.
How can we as an organization do better? In reviewing my emails, I am continuously astonished and pleased with the level of energy, intellect, and commitment each participant brings. But candidly, I am also occasionally flabbergasted at the level of acrimony and energy used on issues that in the grand scheme of things don’t much matter. When confronted with these situations (and recognizing my limited resources--energy, time), I am trying to take deep breaths and let go of my frustration. We can do even better as an organization if we work together. I witnessed it in the productivity of the CMHC/AACP disaster meeting. I’ve seen it reflected in the APA’s concrete plans to intimately involve the AACP in facilitating the positive evolution of the Institute on Psychiatric Services. And I feel it at each AACP board meeting, which are far and away the most productive hours I spend every four months (please, feel free to attend!).
We have all heard how we are at a turning point as a nation; how we respond to present travails will define us for years to come. How we as an organization respond to upcoming challenges will define us as well: offering input to the Freedom Commission on Mental Health, participation with the APA, inclusion of consumers and family members as advisors to our board, involvement with other like-minded organizations and agencies, and recognition of the efforts of individuals who fight the good fight.
A tragedy of horrible proportion has led us to scrutinize many things . . . what is important, what is not, what’s worth expending energy, what we should let go. These times encourage us to cherish our loved ones, and honor the sacrifices everyone makes. Now is the moment to move forward to repair the world.
Jacqueline Maus Feldman, MD
President, AACP
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