Building Psychiatry's Future...

Last month about 400 APA members gathered in the nation's capital to participate in APA's fall component meetings. It is at these meetings that much of the foundation is laid for addressing issues and planning initiatives that are important to psychiatrists and their patients. While this work is ongoing throughout the year, the fall meetings give APA members the opportunity to meet other psychiatrists who are volunteering their time and service to their profession and to engage in cross-pollination of ideas.

Meeting participants attended a plenary session led by APA President Pedro Ruiz, M.D. (see page 2). The overarching theme of the presentations was the importance of psychiatrists' becoming involved in the political process—that is, meeting with legislators and candidates for office at both the state and national levels to educate them about mental health issues, as well as joining and contributing to APA's political action committee, APAPAC (see page 3).