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Committees
Most of GAP's work is done in the following committees:
- Addictions
- The first product of this committee, was a position statement on the role of psychiatry in the assessment and treatment of substance abuse and dependence published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 1991. More recently we completed a monograph entitled “Addiction Treatment: Avoiding Pitfalls-A Case Approach” which was published in the fall of 1998. The book relies heavily on case report and case analysis to present a variety of common errors and pitfalls that occur in the treatment of alcoholics and addicts. Currently, we are in the midst of preparing a review and discussion related to the issues of responsibility and choice in addiction.
- Adolescence
- From its beginning in 1957, this committee has focused on an intensive study of the adolescent process itself, from the perspective of the three determinants universal for all ages; biology, culture, and psychology. It has produced four reports: Normal Adolescence, Power and Authority in Adolescence, Adolescent Pregnancy and Adolescent Suicide. The committee is concerned with structures that foster and those that inhibit successful adolescent development. The last two reports have been subsumed under the heading Crisis of Adolescence. This title reflects the concern of the committee that today’s adolescents are threatened by factors that impede normal development.
- Aging
- Throughout its history, the Committee on Aging has developed reports that have influenced practice and policy as they relate to older adults. For example, the decision by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology to have subspecialization in geriatric Psychiatry was influenced by the GAP Committee on Aging Guide to Curriculum Development in Mental Health and Aging. The committee also engages a diverse group of consultants ranging from congressional staff in the area of Aging to leaders of national associations relating to issues relating to older adults to computer experts in interactive educational video. We are presently at a historic moment with the longevity revolution and research and progress in Geriatric Psychiatry.
The Committee on Aging is in the process of seizing the moment to help bring the field to new heights.
- Child Psychiatry
- The Committee on Child Psychiatry discusses issues pertaining to the practice of child and adolescent psychiatry. Previous committee publications include a proposed classification of psychopathology in children, a monograph of the process of child therapy, a manuscript on the ages of rights and responsibilities of children and adolescents, and “In the Long Run . . . Longitudinal Studies of Psychopathology in Children” was published in 1999. The committee is discussing the issues of universal access to mental health in children and adolescents, with a view to perhaps producing a controversial article on the subject.
- College Student
- This committee reviews the problems of undergraduate and graduate students from a psychosocial perspective. We also bring a psychoanalytic developmental point-of-view to the understanding of this population. In addition, we explore how mental health professionals and university faculty and administration can provide appropriate support and adequate treatment resources to help students cope with emotional problems.
- Cultural
- The mission of this Committee is to explore, assess, and understand how culture and ethnic identity influence human behavior, psychiatric diagnosis, clinical manifestations, explanations, treatment, and outcome of mental disorders. Issues to be studied, include, among others, socialization experiences, values, beliefs, traditions, language, socioeconomic and political status, acculturation responses, prejudice and discrimination. Biopsychosocial parameters such as demographic and epidemiological patterns as well as access to and utilization of mental health services are also appropriate topics. Previous Committee reports have included Suicide and Ethnicity and Alcohol and Ethnicity among US minority groups. The Committee is currently working on cultural competence training issues, and the implications of race in different aspects of clinical and research practices.
- Disabilities
- The Committee on Disabilities has recently finished a monograph, Caring for People with Physical Impairment: The Journey Back. This work focuses on the psychosocial care of individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries. We are now looking at a short work on the mental care of the deaf. In the near future, we would like to examine carefully the problem of deinstitutionalization of the physically and mentally disabled.
- Disaster and Terror
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- Family
- The Committee on the Family addresses issues at the interfaces of psychiatry, the family, and the larger society. Publications have included monographs such as “The Family, The Patient and The Psychiatric Hospital” and “Divorce, Custody and The Family”, and several articles on diagnosis and rating of relational disorders. Fellows have participated actively and importantly in all stages of the Committee’s work.
- Gender Issues
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- Human Sexuallity
- The mission of this group is to study the mental health aspects of human sexuality. A monograph on anti-homosexual bias and psychotherapy, in clinical practice and in training, Homosexuality and the Mental Health Professions: The Impact of Bias, has recently been published.
- International Medical Graduates
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- International Relations
- The Committee on International Relations initiates analysis of psychological processes in international affairs. In this endeavor, the committee draws from the expertise of consultants from a broad range of disciplines, including political scientists, historians and diplomats. The Committee has so far produced two monographs entitled Self-Involvement in the Middle East Conflict (1978) and Us and Them: The Psychology of Ethno-Nationalism (1987). It is currently pursuing a psychopolitical understanding of fundamentalism.
- LGBT Issues
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- Medical Education
- The Committee on Medical Education has focused its work on issues relevant to the education and training of psychiatrists and other physicians at all stages of career development. The Committee has generated reports on such topics as surviving medical school, taking a sexual history, psychiatric ethics and cost containment.
- Mental Health Services
- We address issues related to the organization, financing, and delivery of mental health services, both public and private, with special focus on access to, practice guidelines for, and quality and cost of care. We approach this subject from the perspective of the psychiatrist as administrator as well as clinician.
- Planning and Communication
- The Committee on Planning, Marketing and Communications serves as a catalyst for change in GAP by stimulating committees to address current issues and problems through communications such as brief position statements, scientific editorials, and articles in lay journals, in addition to the traditional GAP publications.
- Preventative Psychiatry
- The committee’s mandate is to deal with the prevention of psychiatric disorder. Its previous reports have dealt with such topics as mental health promotion in the schools, mental health and primary medical care, and risk reduction through the life cycle. Currently, the committee is addressing the topics of the primary prevention of conduct disorders.
- Psychiatry and the Community
- This committee addresses a wide variety of issues affecting persons who receive mental health services in community and public sector settings. This includes persons with severe and persistent mental illness, adults with significant and complicated behavioral problems, children with serious emotional disorders, and families in distress. The issues addressed involve identifying the clinical, social, ethical, and political factors that affect patient care and the effectiveness of providers as well as systems of healthcare delivery.
- Psychiatry and the Law
- This Committee is interested in the interface of psychiatry and the law. Our current project is the preparation of a monograph on stalking with the criminal justice system and clinicians as target audiences. There will also be a special section to distribute to victims of stalking.
- Psychiatry and Religion
- The Committee studies the relationship of the two domains, and focuses on relevant topics at the interface between them. The last two reports dealt with mysticism and with cults.
- Psychopathology
- The Committee on Psychopathology has a history of producing scholarly reports on issues of broad concern to psychiatry, integrating academic, clinical and public policy aspects in the areas of deinstitutionalization, personality disorders and schizophrenia. The committee plans on spending the next few years producing shorter editorial/op-ed pieces for psychiatric and medical journals, policymakers and the public through the printed and electronic media on such issues as the impact of managed care on patients with different patterns of psychopathology, and on a variety of clinical challenges in the current treatment era.
- Psychopharmacology
- The Committee on Psychopharmacology is GAP’s newest committee. The Committee was established at the request of the Executive Committee, and had its inaugural meeting in the fall of 1998. The Committee is comprised of members with a wide range of professional expertise; including psychopharmacology, psychoanalysis, academics, private industry, private practice and the federal government.
The goal of the Committee is to examine issues related to psychopharmacology from a broad-based eclectic perspective. The initial project is a comprehensive review of the role of omega-3-fatty acids in the treatment of depression. The publication strategy is to focus on journal articles and short reports. At present, there are no plans to develop a full-length manuscript. The committee intends to maintain a “GAP perspective” in addressing issues pertaining to the ever-expanding field of psychopharmacology. - Research
- The Research Committee uses a think-tank approach to explore the scientific underpinnings of psychiatry. The specialty lacks a basic science that articulates questions of pathology as deviations from normal physiology. Guided by an evolutionary perspective, the committee proposes that all psychopathology stems from dysfunction of the “social brain,” i.e., the brain involved in social interaction. This principle serves as a framework for research, teaching and clinical work.
- Social Issues
- This committee has researched and debated a variety of emerging social issues resulting in reports such as “The Social Role of Psychiatrists”, “The Effects of Television on Children”, and a video entitled “The Psychological Aspects of the New Reproductive Technologies”. . The committee believes that psychiatrists have a vital role to play in preparing themselves to be informed commentators on social circumstances and public policy.
- Therapeutic Care
- The committee focuses on psychiatry’s work with a broad range of caregivers to improve the quality of care.
- Therapy
- The Committee on Therapy considers effectiveness and the role of various therapeutic modalities, as well as external pressures, on appropriate delivery of services, and the practice and educational implications of such pressures.
- Work Organizations
- Occupational/organizational psychiatry is the application of psychiatric principles and techniques in the workplace. The committee focuses on human behavior in the world of work, with emphasis on the interface between the individual and the organization.
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