APA Recruitment Video Wins Prestigious Industry Award

A documentary video developed by APA's Department of Minority and National Affairs that follows the lives and psychiatric practices of four community psychiatrists has won plaudits—and a prestigious award—from the film and video industry.

“Real Psychiatry: Doctors in Action” won the CINE Spring 2005 Golden Eagle Award in the Science and Technology category.

CINE is an organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to fostering excellence in documentary film and video production through its semi-annual awards. This year's awardees will be honored in a ceremony in April 2006 in Washington, D.C.

Juries of CINE “media specialists” review thousands of entries to decide the winners of the CINE Golden Eagle Award and other awards.

“Real Psychiatry” provides a glimpse into the day-to-day practices of Curtis Adams, M.D., Mary Roessel, M.D., Mercedes Martinez, M.D., and Lowell Tong, M.D. Each of the psychiatrists treats racial and ethnic minority patients in a variety of settings (Psychiatric News, November 19, 2004).

The aim of the video is to encourage minorities to choose psychiatry as a career path, thereby leading to a reduction in mental health care disparities for minority patients.

“We're delighted that `Real Psychiatry' has won the CINE award,” said Annelle Primm, M.D., M.P.H., director of APA's Department of Minority and National Affairs. “Clearly, the video appeals not just to aspiring psychiatrists, but to the world at large.”

The idea for the video was conceived by Marilyn King, the department's senior program manager, who noted that with the CINE award, “response to the video exceeded our expectations.” She also credited her APA colleagues with “pulling together as a team to make the video a success.”

Primm and King praised the creative mastery brought to the project by filmmaker and producer Ginny Durrin, of Durrin Productions, a Washington, D.C.-based film and video company.

Durrin commented that before making the video, she didn't realize“ how community oriented the role of a psychiatrist can be,” and, like many, conjured up an image of the stereotypical couch when she thought about psychiatry.

“Each of the stars of the video took me on a fascinating journey in the course of their daily lives, whether it was doing a radio talk show, going into family health clinics in Chicago, practicing on Indian reservations in the Southwest, or teaching classes in San Francisco,” she said.

A free copy of “Real Psychiatry: Doctors in Action” may be requested by phone at (888) 35-PSYCH or by e-mail at [email protected]. Each additional copy of the video costs $10 for VHS and $15 for DVD. APA members can also view the video on APA's Web site at<www.psych.org/members/omna/diavideo.cfm?>.▪