Psychiatr News October 20, 2006
Volume 41, Number 20, page 3
© 2006 American Psychiatric Association
Partnering With NAMI Strengthens Our Advocacy Efforts
Pedro Ruiz, M.D.
In this column, I would like to bring you up to date on collaborative
efforts I have undertaken with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
and its president, Suzanne Vogel-Scibilia, M.D., since becoming APA president.
They got off to a running start with my attendance at NAMI's 2006 annual
convention in Washington, D.C., this past summer.
NAMI's convention attracted more than 2,000 patients, family members of
patients, and mental health professionals, who enthusiastically participated
in the meeting's scientific and social activities. I was quite impressed by
the camaraderie, fervor, and compassion I encountered in all the people I met.
Their strong commitment to NAMI's mission and vision was clearly evident in
the sessions I attended.
I was honored to have been invited to chair the plenary session on research
titled "Long-Term Studies, the FDA, and Safety." After I made my
address, Jeffrey Lieberman, M.D., Gary Sachs, M.D., and Lawrence Greenhill,
M.D., made presentations on the theme of "What Works, What Does Not
Work, and How Long We Need to Wait to Find Out." Although I learned a
lot from each of these three leading researchers, I learned even more from the
questions asked by patients and family members—they offered a
perspective on the issues being discussed that we sometimes overlook. I wished
that all the psychiatry residents with whom I work at the University of Texas
Medical School at Houston would have been there with me. Future generations of
psychiatrists could become more sensitive practitioners and greatly expand
their understanding of what it's like to have a mental illness and face
difficult treatment and access-to-care issues by viewing the experience
through the lenses of patients and their families.
Also during the convention, I attended the NAMI Scientific Council Meeting.
Again, discussions about research priorities, ethical dilemmas related to
research, and patient-oriented perspectives were discussed by mental health
investigators (mostly psychiatrists), patients, mental health advocates, and
NAMI staff, including Medical Director Kenneth Duckworth, M.D., and Director
of Policy and Legal Affairs Ron Honberg, J.D.
The time I spent outside of scientific sessions and meetings was useful as
well. While perusing exhibits and attending social events, I had plenty of
time to exchange information and views with long-time and newly made friends
and colleagues. A topic that surfaced often in these discussions was the NAMI
report titled "Grading the States 2006: A Report on America's Health
Care System for Serious Mental Illness." I was not surprised that the
nation as a whole had received a "D" grade and that no state had
received an "A" grade (Psychiatric News, April 21).
My attendance at the NAMI convention reaffirmed a decision I had made when
I became president of APA to build additional bridges and cement the
relationship between APA and NAMI. To this end, I invited Dr. Vogel-Scibilia
to address APA's Board of Trustees at its 2006 retreat, which took place in
July, and its meeting that followed immediately afterward. At the retreat, Dr.
Vogel-Scibilia focused on the need to advocate for "humane care,"
which is a component of the theme I have selected for my presidency and for
the 2007 annual meeting. (The complete theme is "Addressing Patient
Needs: Access, Parity, and Humane Care.") At the Board meeting, she
talked about NAMI's mission and potential areas for stronger collaboration
with APA based on shared objectives and common goals.
Her two presentations and the discussion that followed led to further plans
for collaboration; among them, a NAMI/APA summit of the organizations' top
leadership, which is scheduled for December 9 in Arlington, Va. The agenda is
now being developed. I am confident that the summit will lead to more
efficient and effective efforts on the part of APA and NAMI to achieve
universal access to health care, coverage of psychiatric treatments at full
parity with medical/surgical treatments, and a reformed mental health system
in which "humane care"—that is, high-quality care to which
all Americans have equal access—prevails at all times. 
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