April 16, 1999

By Rodrigo Muņoz, M.D.
APA President

No psychiatric endeavor is far removed from the issue of caring for our nation's children. The lack of care of children has a direct impact on social, occupational, and medical issues that affect the whole population. Whether the sad case is that of an old war hero who dies protecting his wife from the antisocial behavior of a young person, a hard-working breadwinner who cannot advance at work because he cannot read, or a prison researcher who shows that one-third of the inmates have learning disabilities, societal events and psychiatric concerns can often be traced back to the care of children.

The concept that we all inhabit the same village applies more than ever to children. This is particularly true at a time when many families have a single parent, when many parents have to work when they would rather be at home with their children, when some communities have almost exclusively nuclear families and fail to reach out to children living in less fortunate circumstances, and when there is an explosion of knowledge on the disastrous effects of children not cared for adequately.

If we support programs that affect children and we subscribe to the village concept, we have to accept that a key factor in our successful participation in the care of children is communication. This implies communication among, at the least, psychiatrists and other physicians, among psychiatrists and mental health professionals, among psychiatrists and school officials, among psychiatrists and community leaders, and among psychiatrists and legislators.

Now more than ever, psychiatrists should give credence to the claim that we are the experts in communications. This implies mastery of all the communication strategies available today. I want to believe we are succeeding: more psychiatrists are using more means of communication than ever before. I am encouraged to learn that 8,500 APA members have an e-mail address. I am even more encouraged to learn that psychiatry is second only to radiology in the use of telemedicine.

As we work closely with all psychiatrists who are identified with the social tenets of community psychiatry, especially with those who are protecting the most vulnerable populations, we may keep in mind that virtually all clinicians and many academicians and researchers are also community psychiatrists, if not for any other reason than because we all hope to understand our communities. This is possible if we commit ourselves to enhance communication to the point that centers for psychiatric treatment become major centers in the transmission of information.

Bert Warren, M.D., has succeeded in maintaining dialogue among APA members with M2M, the list serve started two years ago by APA to permit close exchange of ideas and information among our members. As more members sign on to this service and use it to communicate with their colleagues, we may see faster and more accurate transmission of information on clinical and other matters of common interest. At the same time, Ellen Rothchild, M.D., and her Committee on Telemedical Services are exploring ideas that will continue to expand the practice of psychiatry beyond physical limitations.

Also, with a group of committed psychiatrists, we are working on an exhibit at APA's 1999 annual meeting titled the "Office of the Future". We invite your ideas for the exhibit and your presence there next month.