How Your APA Works for You

How does APA’s governance structure operate? What are the responsibilities of APA members who hold governing positions? What is the difference between a committee, a council, and a commission?

The answers to these and similar questions may not be familiar to many APA members, yet they are vital to the smooth and successful functioning of the Association. The following article provides a brief description of the Association’s purpose, its organizational structure, the duties of the officers and trustees, and the role of councils and other components. It is intended to help APA members make the best possible choice among the candidates running in the 2002 election.

Purposes and Objectives of the Association

The purposes for which APA is organized are to:

•.	promote the common professional interests of its members;
•.	improve the treatment, rehabilitation, and care of the mentally ill, the mentally retarded, and the emotionally disturbed;
•.	advance the standards of all psychiatric services and facilities;
•.	promote research, professional education in psychiatry and allied fields, and the prevention of psychiatric disabilities;
•.	foster the cooperation of all who are concerned with the medical, psychological, social, and legal aspects of mental health and illness;
•.	make psychiatric knowledge available to practitioners of medicine, to scientists, and to the public;
•.	promote the best interests of patients and those actually or potentially making use of mental health services; and
•.	advocate for its members.

Organization

The key elements of APA’s governance structure are the Board of Trustees, the Assembly, and the Joint Reference Committee. Standing committees, topic councils and their components, commissions, and joint commissions carry out the Association’s work.

▪ Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees, composed of officers and trustees elected by the membership, governs the Association. These are the voting members of the Board of Trustees:

•.	President
•.	President-elect
•.	Two vice presidents
•.	Secretary
•.	Treasurer
•.	Seven Area trustees, representing each of APA’s seven geographic areas
•.	Two trustees-at-large
•.	One early career psychiatrist (ECP) trustee-at-large
•.	Member-in-training (MIT) trustee
•.	Three immediate past presidents
•.	Speaker of the Assembly

The nonvoting members of the Board are the member-in-training trustee-elect and the past presidents elected before the year 2000.

Candidates other than those for Area trustee are selected by the Nominating Committee or nominated by petition. They are elected by the entire voting membership, except for the member-in-training trustee-elect (MITTE), who is elected solely by members-in-training. The seven Area trustees are nominated by their Area Councils or by petition and elected by the members who belong to the district branches within the individual geographic regions.

In the 2002 election, voters will elect the president-elect, a vice president (one elected every year for a two-year term), the treasurer (secretary and treasurer elected in alternate years for two-year terms), a trustee-at-large (one elected every year for a three-year term, with ECP trustee elected every third year), the member-in-training trustee-elect (serves one year without voting privileges and one year as member-in-training trustee with voting privileges), and Area trustees from Areas 2 and 5.

▪ Duties of Officers and Trustees

•.	President/President-Elect — The president-elect chosen in the 2002 election will serve as president-elect through the annual meeting in 2003 and as president through the annual meeting in 2004. The president-elect chairs the Joint Reference Committee and carries out any duties assigned by the president that are specifically designed to familiarize him or her with the duties to be assumed as president. The president is the chief executive officer of the Association, preparing the agenda for and presiding at all general meetings of the Association and at all meetings of the Board and carrying out the orders and resolves of the Board and the membership. The president (after election as president-elect) appoints the personnel of nearly all components except the Joint Reference Committee.
•.	Vice President — The two vice presidents perform the duties assigned to them by the president. They may represent the president at official functions of APA, such as district branch meetings, national conferences, and other meetings. One vice president is elected each year for a two-year term; they are ineligible for re-election to the same office. If the president is unable to function because of absence or illness, the Board selects one of the vice presidents to act for the president. If the president dies or resigns, the Board selects one of the vice presidents to become president for the remainder of the term. If the position of president-elect becomes vacant, the Board selects one of the vice presidents to serve as president-elect, and he or she is installed as president at the next annual meeting.
•.	Secretary — The secretary will be elected in 2003. The secretary keeps the records of the Association; receives petitions nominating candidates or for referenda or to amend the Bylaws or for recall of officers or trustees and submits the recall ballot to the membership; assists the president in preparing the agenda for Board meetings; certifies minutes of Board meetings; certifies the editions of the bylaws; and chairs the Ethics Appeals Board.
•.	Treasurer — The treasurer will be elected in 2002. The treasurer and his or her authorized agents are bonded in an amount determined by the Board. He or she receives, disburses, accounts for, and manages all monies of APA under the general direction of the Board. The treasurer submits financial statements each year to the Board and to the Assembly at the annual meeting. He or she also submits financial statements to the auditors, sends out annual dues bills, notifies members who are in arrears, and is responsible for investment of Association funds with the help of the Investment Advisory Committee and the medical director. The treasurer, by reason of office, is a voting member of the Budget Committee and chairs the Committee on Grants and Awards.
•.	Other Trustees — Two trustees-at-large, one ECP trustee, trustees from each of the seven Area Councils, and the three immediate past presidents are members of the Board of Trustees, as are the officers. The power to make policy is vested in the Board, and the Board’s primary function is to formulate and implement the policies of the Association. The Board exercises all powers of the Association that are not otherwise assigned. Trustees are expected to attend all Board meetings and participate in the matters at hand, for they cannot delegate responsibility to govern or give a proxy vote. Area trustees are ex-officio members of their respective Area Councils.
•.	Member-in-Training Trustee and Trustee-Elect — Each year a member-in-training trustee-elect (MITTE) is elected to serve on the Board for one year without a vote and then advance to the MITT position for one year with a vote. The MITTE also attends meetings and conference calls of the Committee of Assembly MIT Representatives. The MITTE is elected by members-in-training only instead of by the membership at large.

Assembly

The Assembly is composed of representatives from the Association’s 74 district branches, minority/underrepresented groups, MITs, ECPs, and allied organizations. The Board and its components often refer issues to the Assembly for consideration and study. The Assembly elects its own officers each May.

Joint Reference Committee

The Joint Reference Committee is a standing committee that acts as a liaison and screening mechanism for the Board, the Assembly, and the Association’s supportive components. It refers issues for study to various components and coordinates their recommendations for further consideration by the Board or the Assembly. The president-elect serves as chair and the speaker-elect of the Assembly as vice chair.

Other Components

▪ Standing Committees

The bylaws establish an Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees and eight committees to assist in conducting the business affairs of the Association: Ethics, Membership, Nominating, Bylaws, Budget, Tellers, Elections, and Joint Reference.

▪ Councils and Components

There are currently 10 councils: Addiction Psychiatry; Aging; Children, Adolescents, and Their Families; Health Care Systems and Financing; Medical Education and Career Development; National Affairs; Psychiatric Services; Psychiatry and Law; Quality Assurance; and Research. Each council, composed of voting members, has authority to create supporting committees, subcommittees, and task forces, but must obtain funding from the Joint Reference Committee and the Board.

▪ Ad Hoc Committees, Special Boards, Commissions, Joint Commissions

Ad hoc committees are created by the president, with the approval of the Board, to study specific, and usually time-limited, urgent issues. Ad hoc committees are renewed or terminated annually. They often include representation from the Assembly.

Several boards and special committees report directly to the Board, such as the editorial boards of APA’s newspaper and journals.

Joint commissions perform specific functions that relate to psychiatry and psychiatrists in general. There are two joint commissions: Government Relations and Public Affairs. The president and speaker annually appoint the chairpersons, the president appoints five members-at-large, and each of the seven Area Councils chooses one member.

Commissions are established to focus on a specific issue. Currently there are five: Judicial Action; AIDS; Psychotherapy by Psychiatrists; Public Policy, Litigation, and Advocacy; and Global Psychiatry.

▪ Area Councils

The seven Area Councils are regional links between the Assembly and the district branches. They consist of representatives from each of the district branches within the Area, an Area representative and deputy representative, an Area ECP representative and deputy representative, an Area MIT representative and deputy representative, elected by the council itself, the Area trustee, and the Area public affairs and legislative representatives. They promote relationships between organized psychiatry and state governments, coordinate a range of branch activities, hold scientific meetings and other programs in continuing education, and provide a forum for discussion of national and regional issues.

▪ District Branches

Constituent parts of the Association, district branches work locally to foster the science of psychiatry, promote its progress as a healing profession, and maintain high professional standards. Most correspond to state or metropolitan areas. Each district branch collects dues from its members, elects its own officers, and arranges and funds its own programs. Each district branch elects its own representatives to the Assembly. An effective way for members to bring an issue to national attention is through their district branch representative to the Assembly.