Save the Date: April 15, 2023 (In-Person) Annual Business Meeting and Scientific Session

Member Ads: Flagstaff Psychiatry Services needed; Maricopa County Correctional Health Services Psychiatrist needed.

In this busy holiday season, as psychiatric physicians, we know well the challenges of maintaining balance, as we observe it in the patients we care for and the world around us. As your President, I am grateful for the dedication of each member to serve the needs of this community and to those who further contribute to leadership and advocacy for the Society and psychiatry. Member engagement in leadership is key to supporting one another and advocating for our patients and our profession. As we look to 2023, your membership, leadership, and contributions to psychiatry are needed and are to be celebrated. In this Newsletter, we invite you to join a Committee or contribute to leadership, provide updates on state and national advocacy and event information, celebrate members, and invite you to be part of recognizing the contributions of a peer or community member making a difference for psychiatry. As your President, I welcome you to reach out to me or Ashley with any questions about these opportunities to contribute.

On a more personal note, I share season's wishes from my family to yours, that these holidays might hold for you time for connection and reflection and the celebration of your favorite traditions or the creation of new ones. Wishing you all the best in the new year!

"Everything you do makes a difference. You just have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” - Jane Goodall

The Arizona Psychiatric Society invites you to make a difference in leadership! Click below to submit an interest form in serving on an APS Committee or contributing to executive leadership. For more information on the APS Committees and their Chairs and Co-Chairs, CLICK HERE. Members are invited to join the work of our Committees ongoing throughout the year. If interested in executive leadership for 2023-2024, please respond prior to January 10, 2023.  

Established in 2014, the Career Achievement in Psychiatry award has been created for the purpose of recognizing from within the Arizona Psychiatric Society a member whose career achievements have ennobled the profession of psychiatry and best exemplify the APS values of providing compassionate patient care and support of peers, leadership, community service, education, advocacy, and clinical excellence. Self-nominations are not accepted.

Past recipients of the Career Achievement in Psychiatry Award: David J. Coons, MD, DLFAPA, 2014; Barry Morenz, MD, DFAPA, 2015; Martin B. Kassell, MD, DLFAPA, 2016; and Jehangir “Jay” Boman Bastani, MD, DLFAPA, 2017; Michael Edward Brennan, MD, DLFAPA, 2018; William C. Offenkrantz, MD, DLFAPA, 2019; John C. Racy, MD, DLFAPA, 2020; and James B. McLoone, MD, DFLAPA, 2022.

Submissions may be made by e-mail to aschnock@azmed.org and will be accepted through February 20, 2023.

First awarded in 2021, the APS Mental Health Public Service Award honored the dedicated advocacy and over thirty years of service to psychiatry by attorney and public lobbyist, Joseph F. Abate, Esq. 2022 award nominations will be accepted from APS members for the purpose of recognizing a public servant who best exemplifies the following award criteria.

The nominee is a public servant who has made a significant contribution to the mental health community, such as ensuring access to quality services for individuals with mental illness in the State of Arizona.

The nominee has contributed significantly to advocacy work on behalf of consumers, the field of mental health, and the medical profession in the State of Arizona.

The nominee has played a material role in the delivery of programs or reforms promoting mental health in the State of Arizona.

The nominee has made a material impact on mental health through political action on behalf of psychiatric physicians, their patients, and the community in the State of Arizona.

Submissions may be made by e-mail to aschnock@azmed.org and will be accepted through February 20, 2023.

Prior to the deadline for 2022 Sunrise Applications, the Arizona Psychological Association submitted a new Sunrise Application seeking prescribing privileges in Arizona. Your engagement through your continued membership and participation in advocacy is important to the efforts of the Society in responding to the Sunrise Application to ensure and promote patient safety around prescribing. If you are interested in becoming more involved in the advocacy efforts of the Society, please contact Ashley or Government Affairs Chair, Dr. Don Fowls.

The Society is planning an advanced advocacy webinar for all members on January 18, 2023, at 6 pm with Az Representative Shah, MD. This event will help provide updates on the legislative horizon for 2023 and hands-on information about how you can make a difference in grassroots advocacy in Arizona. Please watch for updates regarding the event, and we hope to see you there!

The November 2022 APA Assembly was held virtually on November 5-6, 2022. Arizona was well represented at the Assembly, with Arizona Assembly Representatives (Drs. Jason Curry, Payam Sadr, and Jasleen Chhatwal present. as well as Dr. Magnolia Swanson, Area 7 RFM Assembly Rep). While the Annual Meeting APA Assembly is planned to happen in person in San Francisco, California in 2023, the November Assembly is currently projected to continue as a virtual event for budgetary reasons. Please CLICK HERE for the full Assembly report.

Since its inception in 2009, David’s Hope Arizona Mental Health Criminal Justice Coalition has made a significant impact on the efforts to reduce incarceration and promote the receiving of mental health treatment to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. Through the efforts of David’s Hope and its founder, Mary Lou Brncik, Arizona was the first state to have all of its counties join the Stepping Up Together initiative. The Stepping Up initiative, founded in partnership with the American Psychiatric Association Foundation and other organizations, supports local jurisdictions in establishing and reaching measurable goals that demonstrate the reduced prevalence of serious mental illness across the justice system. CLICK HERE to read the update letter from David’s Hope providing notice that the organization has made the difficult decision to close its nonprofit as of early 2023. The important work of David’s Hope will be continued through its partners in Arizona, and among them, the Arizona Peer and Family Coalition will be working to support the keeping the efforts of the Arizona Mental Health Criminal Justice Coalition alive in our communities. You can also keep informed of the movement nationwide by staying connected with the Stepping Up initiative. The Society sincerely thanks David’s Hope for its dedication to this work and the difference it has made in the lives of so many individuals and their families.

I am excited to share that Economist Impact recently published its second Janssen Neuroscience sponsored white paper in a thought leadership series about the state of mental health care in the United States. Embracing innovation in mental health examines the under-appreciated barriers to greater development, implementation and uptake of innovation across the care pathway to achieve an improved environment for mental health in the US.

This paper follows the second webinar in the series, Keeping pace: Innovating the mental health care patient journey, that explored the steps needed to foster innovation at every stage of the mental health care journey. Our very own Michelle Kramer, Global Head of Development for the Neuroscience Therapeutic Area, joined a panel to discuss the long-standing barriers to innovation in mental health care, how a comprehensive understanding of what patients need can be facilitated, and what needs to happen to ensure adequate and individualized care journeys for each and every patient. 

The first webinar in the series, The mind matters: Advancing parity in mental health care in the US, convened industry leaders for a discussion around achieving equitable access to mental health care and is available for replay. In addition, you can read more about the topic of mental health parity in our sponsored Economist white paper, Creating greater accountability within the mental healthcare ecosystem.

The last few months have seen significant movement across a broad array of issues. Learn more by reading the full November 2022 Advocacy Update. 

On October 27, APA President Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD, joined a panel hosted by the CATO Institute entitled, “Can Prescribing Psychologists Help Solve the National Mental Health Crisis?” The panel discussed whether lawmakers should expand psychologists’ scope of practice to allow them to prescribe medication. Click here to read more or view the briefing.

The following Action Alerts have been shared recently from APA Advocacy, looking for members to Act to help support policy or legislative reforms by year-end. You can help by taking action today! You can subscribe to receive APA Advocacy Alerts directly at APA Advocacy Alerts.

ACT NOW 

Congress has been working on mental health and substance use legislation all year which would reauthorize critical programs and services and provide new policies to address the ongoing mental health crisis. But none of this legislation will be enacted unless it is added to an end-of-the-year package. We need Congress to pass these proposals and provide additional resources to address the ongoing mental health crisis. Please contact your Member today! 

APAF Fellowships provide psychiatry residents the experiential learning, training and professional

development they need to be leaders in the field of psychiatry. Fellows receive mentorship from

APA member experts, get exclusive opportunities to be a part of APA leadership councils and

network with APA members from around the country. The APAF Fellowships are designed to work with a

resident's training to produce future leaders of Psychiatry. For more information Click Here!

Correctional Health Services, one of the largest county jail healthcare systems, is seeking a BE/BC Psychiatrist for an exciting opportunity to work with incarcerated individuals. As a CHS Psychiatrist, you will work within an interdisciplinary team to provide integrated health care to patients navigating the judicial system. To find out more Click Here

It is an honor to share the publishings of our Arizona Psychiatric Society members. We invite members to share their recent publications. To submit, please contact Ashley

Margaret “Margie” Balfour, MD, PhD, received the Sam Cochran Criminal Justice Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness.  Dr. Balfour recently led a panel discussion on 988 and How to Access the Arizona Crisis System. You can view a recording of this webinar on the Society’s YouTube page.

Noshene E. Ranjbar, MD, was interviewed by BBC Persian 37 Degrees and The Iran Wire to share her experience regarding the turmoil in Iran. On the same topic, she wrote a letter to the editor of the New Your Times: Psychiatrists’ Plea: End the Abuses in Iran. She was also the co-author of the article “Mindfulness has parallels to indigenous cultural practices” published by the Psychiatric News. Dr. Ranjbar was also invited to Dr. Parastoo’s podcast Let’s Clean House in her “Woman, Life, Freedom” series, and was interviewed by BBC Persian on how to improve quality of sleep when confronted by lack of sleep, insomnia, and nightmares resulting from concerns regarding the news of protests in Iran.

Kaempf A. Gender Issues Committee: Pregnancy Termination: Medico-legal and forensic implications. American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Newsletter. Vol 47, No. 3. Fall 2022.

Friedman SH, Ross N, Kaempf A, Landess J, et al. Pregnancy termination and ramifications for clinical forensic psychiatry. American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Newsletter. Vol 47, No. 3. Fall 2022.

Lane RD. Measurement of levels of emotional awareness before, during and after psychotherapy. Invited contribution to a special issue on “the assessment of emotional change” (Guest editors Antonio Pascual-Leone and Ueli Kramer). Journal of Psychotherapy Integration (in press, October 2022).

Smith R, Chuning AE, Tidwell C, Allen JJB, Lane RD. Psychopathic tendencies are selectively associated with reduced emotional awareness in the context of early adversity. Plos One (in press, October 2022).

Levenberg K, Critchley HD, Lane RD. Understanding the mechanisms of sudden cardiac death in bipolar disorder: Functional asymmetry in brain-heart interactions as a potential culprit. Medical Hypotheses (in press November 2022).

Joseph D. Bloom, MD. The Dramatic Decline of Civil Commitment in Oregon, 1972 to 2020

The paper discusses this decline in civil commitment as related to statutory and case law changes and

complex interactions including bed availability at Oregon State Hospital (OSH). Click Here to Read More.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR MEMBERSHIP AND FOR YOUR VALUED CONTRIBUTIONS TO EXCELLENCE IN PSYCHIATRY IN ARIZONA. If you have not renewed yet, please take a moment to continue your membership today.