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APA recently took another step forward in its efforts to use the Internet for spreading the word about mental illness and psychiatry's role in treating it. The PSYCHWISE Web site, which was unveiled by APA's Division of Public Affairs (DPA) at the Institute on Psychiatric Services on October 1, links media-savvy psychiatrists with journalists covering mental health issues.
The Web site is an offshoot of APA's Media Doctors on Call (DOC), another DPA program matching 50 journalists interested in a particular subject with appropriate psychiatrists. The new service is an interactive, password-protected Web site on which the core group of 50 psychiatrists and the 50 journalists can participate in live chats, and media reps can post inquiries. Journalists with experience in mental health reporting and DOCs given access to the site by the DPA can view the "partnership talks" between their colleagues as well.
The idea for PSYCHWISE originated with Deputy Director of Public Affairs Lynn Schultz-Writsel and her promotion of the "virtual pressroom" concept for APA. Schultz-Writsel and her staff had observed that more and more journalists were getting information online. The APA list serve dialogues also inspired the idea for PSYCHWISE.
In another related effort to establish a working relationship between journalists and psychiatrists, the DPA held the Psychiatry and the Media Consensus Conference in March. Psychiatrists and journalists explored and worked to determine consensus on controversial issues in the news, including use and misuse of psychiatric diagnoses, St. John's Wort and other herbal remedies, psychopharmaceutical advertising, and confidentiality of medical records (Psychiatric News, April 17). Psychiatrists participating in PSYCHWISE have had training and experience in how to deal with the media and have filled out a media expert questionnaire obtained from the DPA. APA provides training in how to work with the media at annual meetings. Those interested in learning more about or participating in PSYCHWISE or Media Doctors on Call should call Erin Murphy at (202) 682-6013 or send an e-mail message to Melissa Katz at mkatz@psych.org.
"We're trying to put psychiatrists in the media-to promote the image of psychiatry and awareness of mental illness," said Melissa Katz, manager of media communications. With PSYCHWISE, she said, "we're taking out the middleman."