APA Fellows to Explore Issues in Public Psychiatry

At each APA Institute on Psychiatric Services (IPS), the workshops led by APA/Bristol-Myers Squibb Public Psychiatry Fellows are highly anticipated. And this year is no different as the fellows will present one symposium and two workshops on the topics of their choice. Fellows are selected based on their leadership potential in public systems of care, as well as their interest in psychiatric services for the seriously ill and underserved populations.

These are the 2006-2008 fellows: Ryan Bell, M.D., J.D., University of Washington; Elissa Blankstein Miller, M.D., M.P.H., St. Luke's-Roosevelt; Anthony Carino, M.D., Albert Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center; Trina Chang, M.D., MPH, MGH/McLean; Marcy Forgey, M.D., M.P.H., Semel Institute of Neuroscience, UCLA; Sarah Guzofski, M.D., University of Massachusetts; Allison Nitsche, M.D., Emory University; Ilana Nossel, M.D., Columbia University; Patrick Runnels, M.D., Columbia University; and Sonali Sharma, M.D., Cornell University/New York Presbyterian Hospital.

In the symposium “International Mental Health and Conflict” on Friday, October 12, at 8 a.m., Forgey, Chang, Nossel, and Sharma will describe the mental health outcomes of and needs resulting from conflicts in the 20th and 21st centuries. They will also define the issues in developing interventions and evaluate the application of these interventions in the conflict areas. An example is the case of Darfur and how mental health professionals may serve as advocates to end the conflict. They will also list strategies for community reconciliation and health and identify means by which mental health professionals may operate in a postwar context.

Are psychiatric services for homeless persons really recovery oriented? Are recovery-oriented services indicated for this population? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in the workshop “Resilience and the Streets: Recovery-Oriented Services for Homeless Persons With Mental Illness.” At this workshop, which will be held on Friday, October 12 at 1:30 p.m., Carino, Guzofski, Bell, and Nitsche will discuss the recovery movement and different treatment services and look at ways the movement is influencing treatments for those with homelessness and mental illness to answer these questions. The Housing First model will be presented in particular and policy implications discussed.

The third presentation is the workshop “The Public Perception of Psychiatry: Why It Matters, What's Being Done, and Future Implications for Our Practice,” to be held Friday, October 12, at 3 p.m. Runnels and Miller will review data about the public perception of mental illness, highlight several initiatives (both local and national) aimed at addressing and reducing stigma, and explore the effectiveness of such campaigns. The discussion will cover the impact of positive and negative media portrayals of psychiatry, as well as a working knowledge of current APA media initiatives and data supporting these campaigns.

Increasingly, the public is bombarded by an almost constant barrage of negative images and stereotypes about mental illness in major media—from Dr. Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs” to Matt Lauer's infamous interview with Tom Cruise on the “Today” show in 2005. Recent studies demonstrate that this attention has indeed had a negative impact. In response, multiple organizations, including APA, have initiated campaigns targeting stigma. ▪