Advisory Council Member Offers Voice for Psychiatry in New HIV/AIDS Strategy

Psychiatrists are crucial in the prevention of HIV/AIDS and in the integrated, comprehensive care of patients with HIV/AIDS.

That’s a message that psychiatrist Jeffrey Akman, M.D., brought to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), and it has been incorporated into the revised National Strategy on HIV/AIDS for the United States, released in July (see story on page 1). Akman, the first and only psychiatrist to serve on the council, is vice president for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) at George Washington University.

“I was able to be a voice for psychiatry and for mental health generally, and this was really important because there are multiple points in the newly released strategy that recognize the crucial role that mental health plays in HIV prevention and treatment,” Akman told Psychiatric News. “Where I was most involved was with the notion of comprehensive care and how psychiatry can play a critical role in increasing access to comprehensive care and improving health outcomes.

“This includes screening for depression and other mental illnesses and bringing to prevention and treatment an awareness of the effects of stigma, trauma, and violence in HIV,” Akman said. “The psychiatrist is an important part of the treatment team, and we bring a perspective on HIV/AIDS that reinforces the biopsychosocial model of care.”

PACHA comprises 25 individuals from diverse backgrounds with a deep involvement in the prevention and treatment of HIV. Akman was nominated by APA to fill a vacancy on the council earlier this year and became a part of discussions at a critical time in the development of the revised strategy.

He has been involved in fighting the HIV epidemic for more than 30 years. “I started seeing patients with HIV in 1983, when the epidemic was just beginning, and it has remained an important part of my identity as a psychiatrist,” he told Psychiatric News.

Akman was one of a group of physicians who created the field of HIV/AIDS psychiatry and served on APA’s Commission on AIDS. Through funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and as president of the National Lesbian and Gay Health Association, he helped lead national efforts related to HIV/AIDS education for health professionals. His efforts related to HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia are extensive and have included service on the Mayor of the District of Columbia’s Commission on HIV/AIDS and on multiple nonprofit boards including Whitman Walker Health (where he served as president). He also serves as a member of the Oversight Committee of the NIH-funded District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research and as a founding board member of the George Washington SMHS Rodham Institute, whose mission is dedicated to achieving health equity in the Washington, D.C., community.

Akman emphasized that the revised strategy is one that calls for action at every level of government, with explicit guidance reaching down to the community. “This is intended to be a national strategy, not a federal government strategy,” he said. “The federal government has a role, but so do states and local communities.”

The strategy is visionary and ambitious, but achievable, Akman said. And he emphasized that psychiatry will be essential to seeing its goals and objectives realized.

“Ultimately, our goal is an AIDS-free generation, and our perspective is that this will not be possible without psychiatry at the table,” he said. ■