The Council on National Affairs

Abstract

THE COUNCIL on National Affairs, Bertram Brown, M.D., chairperson, had a productive but difficult year. The tensions and dramatic events surrounding the ERA controversy either stemmed from or sharply affected the Council components, particularly minorities’ and the women’s committees. The Council took no formal actions on the ERA controversy vis-#{224}-visnonattendance at the annual meeting. However, the Council members, acting as individuals, do not plan to attend the New Orleans meeting. The Council took a leadership role regarding the plight of the mentally ill Cuban refugees and developed a statement that was distributed to other Councils and components. During the September 27-28, 1980, meeting the Board of Trustees approved this statement. It was subsequently submitted by APA to the AMA, where it was also approved. The two opposing dynamics ofconsolidation versus differentiation were much in evidence. A request for a new component of Arabic-speaking psychiatrists was carefully considered and deferred. Similarly, a request for a new Council on Ethnic Minority Affairs, proposed by Esther P. Roberts, M.D. , chairperson of the Committee of Black Psychiatrists, was received with caution and not supported at this time. DSM-III continues to evoke special concerns particularly from the Committee of Spanish-Speaking Psychiatrists, who have asked to participate in assuring language and cultural accuracy in translation. At its December 1980 meeting the Board of Trustees authorized APA staff to sign a contract with a foreign publisher to translate DSM-III into Spanish, in accordance with a preliminary proposal from Editorial El Manual Moderno. The committee will review the completed manuscript, and staff will investigate and negotiate contracts for translation into other languages, with appropriate review of the completed manuscript. The Board of Trustees, with the Council’s support, approved several changes. The Committee on Comprehensive Health Planning is to be transferred to the Council on Psychiatric Services some time in the future. The Task Force on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues was replaced by a committee with the following charge: 1) to investigate problems and issues that affect the mental health of gay, lesbian, and bisexual populations, such as stigmatization and discrimination; 2) to develop teaching programs to help correct the inadequate training of psychiatrists about homosexual issues; 3) to establish liaison with other components regarding homosexual issues; and 4) to promote the education of the APA membership and the general public about homosexuality. The Council noted that it will receive complaints and referrals from its Committee on Abuse and Misuse of Psychiatry and is concerned that adequate staff be available to handle what will be difficult issues. The Committee on Abuse and Misuse ofPsychiatry in the U.S. , chaired by Israel Zwerling, M.D. , Ph.D. , had its first meeting and clarified its complex mission as the first order of business. Input came from the World Psychiatric Association, the Council on National Affairs, and many other sources. Consensus was reached on the following statements: 1) The committee will receive complaints concerning the actual or potential abuse of psychiatry and of psychiatrists in the United States from three sources: APA components and letters sent directly to the committee; self-referrals stemming from committee members’ own experience and awareness ; and solicitation from nonpsychiatric agencies such as Amnesty International and the Mental Health Law Project. 2) All recommendations and decisions of the committee will be addressed to the Council. Arrangements were made for close collaboration with the APA Committee on Ethics through joint meetings each spring and fall and the sharing of minutes. Issues the committee will coven fall into three general categories: conflict of interest, irrational bias, and forensic psychiatry. First steps toward recommendations in these areas were made. The Committee of American Indian and Alaskan Native Psychiatrists, Johanna Clevenger, M.D., chairperson, focused on research issues concerning alcoholism and depression. To assure validity of methods and measures for the variety of tribes, the committee arranged consultation with a wide array of APA components and other organizations, including the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. Cornmittee members will meet on a Navajo reservation during a healing ceremony in the winter of 1981. The Committee on Asian-American Psychiatrists, Normund Wong, M.D. , chairperson, dealt with many difficult internal and external issues. Adequate representation and participation oflndian and Southeast-Asian psychiatrists has proven difficult. The committee has been active in dealing with ADAMHA to assure Asian psychiatric representation in several areas, such as the Minority Advisory Group. The newsletter has continued but is currently being reassessed. Plans to develop a directory and resource manual are under way. Special efforts on behalf of Indochinese refugees were made. The committee established liaison with many groups, including the APA Committee on Foreign Medical Graduates. The Committee ofBlack Psychiatrists, Esther P. Roberts, M.D., chairperson, has continued to direct its efforts toward developing strategies that would improve psychiatric services for black populations and to respond to documents