Candidates for Area 4 Trustee: Tanya R. Anderson M.D.

Director, Comprehensive Assessment and Response Training System (CARTS), University of Illinois at Chicago

General Member (Member Since 1991)

Early Career Psychiatrist Trustee-at-Large, APA Board of Trustees, 2003-

Executive Council, Illinois Psychiatric Society, 2001-03

Area 4 ECP Deputy Representative, APA Assembly, 1999-2002

APA Scientific Program Committee, 2001-

Delegate From American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, AMA Young Physicians Section, 2001-

I am proud to have participated in and represented you for nearly three years on the Board of Trustees as early career psychiatrist trustee-at-large. I have seen a lot of progress toward a stronger, leaner, more representative APA. We are stronger fiscally and are making small gains in member recruitment and retention. However, as we know, the road to recovery is never smooth, and extreme diligence is required to sustain gains and build on areas of success. These continue to be our most vulnerable areas:

We can address these areas only if the policy and plans we make accurately and adequately reflect the needs of today's practicing psychiatrist. Area 4 encompasses a wide range of geography, practices, and priorities. My current position is director of the Comprehensive Assessment and Response Training System (CARTS). CARTS is a program that works with the state of Illinois to develop and implement programs for wards, with special emphasis on those who are severely ill. Under my direction, there is an inpatient program, an outpatient consultation team, and a policy/program component. I use all my psychotherapeutic skills and psychopharmacologic knowledge to navigate multiple systems and incorporate a variety of professional value systems in order to provide leadership to this complex group. I specialize in coalition and consensus building. The result is a highly valued and sought-after product in our state.

I would bring these same skills to the position of Area 4 trustee. Your needs, your problems, and your dilemmas are similar to mine. I understand there will be a variety of perspectives, but I will use them to assist the Board in setting policy that we can all comfortably embrace. But I need your support. Leadership is a two-way street. I need to hear from you in order to represent you. I will communicate with you via e-mail and in person when needed. I want you to know that APA is our APA, and we need each other to make it stronger. Neither of us can do it alone.

I will continue to work with other organizations to build alliances that facilitate our goals. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association in Illinois, I routinely assert that we, patients and physicians, are in this challenge together. At the AMA, as a representative from the child and adolescent society, I assert our needs and those of our patients and their families to others in the house of medicine. Wherever our voice and our input are needed and should be heard, I will be there to represent us.

We are like our patients. We are getting better, and the prognosis is better than it has been, but our recovery and success are still not guaranteed. Our progress depends on our ability to stay focused and adhere to our plan, priorities, and goals. We've got to build on our accomplishments and keep pushing forward. The road ahead is brighter than the road we have just traveled, but we must continue to strive for more. I am in the struggle with you and for you. I ask for your support for Area 4 trustee.