Debates Promise to Be Controversial, Informative

The 53rd Institute on Psychiatric Services (IPS) will feature four clinical consultations and two debates. These two formats offer opportunities for engagement with leaders in psychiatry unique to the IPS.

The first debate, scheduled for Thursday, October 11, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., will feature the candidates for president-elect of APA debating issues of importance to APA members. This annual debate has been an excellent opportunity to take the measure of the candidates, ask them tough questions, and get to know them as they grapple with the tough issues.

The second debate is sponsored by the American Association of Community Psychiatrists. It will address the resolution that faith-based mental health and substance abuse services should have liberalized access to federal funding. This issue is currently being debated in Congress and many other forums.

Anita Everett, M.D., who will argue the affirmative position in this debate, is the inspector general for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Mental Health. Living in a state with conservative religious and political traditions, she has come to appreciate the relevance of this cultural factor to consumers of mental health services in her state. David Pollack, M.D., who will take the negative position, has recently spent a year as a Robert Wood Johnson senior policy fellow with the U. S. Congress, assigned to Senator Edward Kennedy’s staff. He became aware of a trend in legislative proposals from religiously conservative senators to push the issues of liberalized access for faith-based groups to the point of threatening quality of medical care.

This debate should be an excellent exposition of complex and compelling issues from multiple perspectives. Drs. Everett and Pollack are both Board members of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and have deep commitments to the treatment of individuals with serious and persistent mental illness.

The clinical consultations format offers a very interactive and stimulating opportunity to engage with leaders in psychiatry on issues core to our field.

Carol Bernstein, M.D., from the New York University School of Medicine, will consult on critical issues in psychiatric education on Thursday, October 11, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Dr. Bernstein, who is also the APA treasurer, recently served as APA’s representative on the Residency Review Committee.

David C. Lindy, M.D., associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and clinical director of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, will offer a consultation on using countertransference in the treatment of patients who act out. It will be held on Friday, October 12, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Dwight A. Owens, M.D., of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, will consult regarding differential diagnosis of psychosis on Friday, October 12, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Andres Pumariega, M.D., from the James H. Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University, will host a consultation on culturally competent diagnosis and treatment. It is scheduled for Saturday, October 13, between 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. and is sponsored by the American Association of Community Psychiatrists.

The Scientific Program Committee is pleased that these leaders in our field have offered such outstanding opportunities for learning and sharing ideas. We hope that APA members will find them stimulating and informative. ▪

Dr. Huffine is a member of the Scientific Program Committee for the APA Institute on Psychiatric Services.