Toward a New Normalcy

A few nights ago, I was watching C-SPAN and heard part of a speech by Vice President Richard Cheney to the Republican Governors Association. The vice president caught my attention when he addressed ways to improve homeland security. He said that the increased hassles of day-to-day routines such as travel delays, mail concerns, and a lessening of certain civil rights will enable us to improve our homeland security. He said, “Think of it as the new normalcy.”

We, as individuals and physicians living within this country, are grappling with the new realities and “new normalcy” that will affect our way of life in the near and possibly distant future. What will the “new normalcy” of psychiatric services be like for those among us with mental illness and the professionals who will do their best to treat them? Whatever we do, we must resist the “old normalcy.” In the “old normalcy,” states balanced their budgets on the backs of “nonessential services” like care for the mentally ill, mentally retarded, children, and the elderly. In the “new normalcy” time of belt tightening we must be sure that the belt is not around the throat of those who are most vulnerable and chronically disabled, our patients.

In the “new normalcy” we must work with business, labor, and government to create new treatment programs and systems that respond effectively to the profound issues affecting the mental well-being of our workforce.

In the “new normalcy,” we will not allow stigma or prejudice against the mentally ill to go unchallenged, be it from Hollywood, politicians, or mean-spirited citizens. In the “new normalcy” we cannot allow the fires under the American melting pot to be extinguished and have this great country divided.

We will work to improve our collaboration with primary care physicians, collaboration with mental health professionals, and our patients; and work to improve our patient's personal responsibility for their health maintenance.

The “new normalcy” must reaffirm our belief in the doctor-patient relationship and the resulting basic trust that is essential for therapeutic treatments.

Trust has been in short supply in our society during the last decade and even more so during the last eight weeks. Many professionals and organizations have lost much of the public’s trust. Physicians have fortunately maintained a high level of trust throughout this time. If we deserve this trust (and I think that we do), we must now demonstrate that we will use it for the good of our patients and the public’s health. In the “new normalcy,” our patients want choice, competent care, and the feeling of security from worry that their needs will not be met and that becoming chronically ill will bankrupt their families. Employers want employees who are well cared for and, in reality, want a competitive advantage by having a mentally healthy workforce.

Let us be determined that out of this great tumult the world is experiencing, and our small but important part in it, we will join with our patients in suffering and sacrificing to maintain their rights. Let us resolve that each of us will work to assure that our patients receive the same rights and resources as any other category of patient. Let us each resolve to play a role in assuring that in the “new normalcy” psychiatric patients will receive the care and respect they are due. ▪