H. Steven Moffic, MD

For some, creating art may be a displacement of issues and conflicts that we encounter in our work and personal lives. It can express things that can't be formulated in verbal content, as has been shown in art therapy with patients.

Just imagine. If you are not a transgender individual, what must it feel like to always think, as far back as you may remember, that you should have the body of the opposite gender? That you were “born in the wrong body”.

It is easy to claim the presumed high ethical ground when one is not involved in the real life situation at hand. It is also easy to project and proclaim strong positions in order to cover our own inadequacies and anxiety.

It is probably self-evident that to be a celebrity doctor requires at the minimum certain characteristics. The doctor needs to be comfortable being an authority figure and, at the same time, convey humanistic concerns. Being telegenic helps if you are on television a lot.

A quarter of a century ago, E. Mansell Pattison provided the invocation for the opening of the 1985 annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. It was called “A Prayer for Psychiatrists” and was so well received, that it was reprinted in [Pastoral Psychology (1987;35:187-188,), a now defunct journal. Dr Pattison, both a psychiatrist and a minister, died shortly thereafter, in 1989.

Today, May 5, I'll be turning 64. Normally, that would not seem to be a birthday of particular distinction. Why is it for me?

My first exposure to electronic medical records (EMRs) was when I saw my own primary care physician about 3 years ago. I didn't like it. Neither did he. For me, it seemed like he had to pay as much attention to the computer as to me. We spent less time talking. He laughed as he typed, joking that once everything was in the computer, it should save time and make for better care. I responded that we heard the same promise with managed care.

“I just threw him in the lake and expected him to die. . . My only regret is that he lived.”

I have been a member of our American Psychiatric Association (APA) for over 30 years. I've also been a Fellow for many years, served on the Assembly 3 different times, served on the Managed Care Committee twice, and was once asked if I would consider running for President. On the other hand, I did resign from a request to run for District Branch President because of some unexpected (and what I and some others thought was unethical) collegial conflict.

Posted on February 3, I asked the question, CAUTION! Who Should Be the DSM5 Diagnostician? I suggested that we needed to pay as much attention to who would be designated as the diagnostician as on the revised diagnostic criteria.

It‘s not often that a writer gets such unexpected, and-I‘m quite sure-unintended credibility for an article. Whether by serendipity, synchronicity, or the collective unconscious, that seemed to occur with my January 6 Psychiatric Times blog on “Why Psychiatrists Should Go Green.”

“The proper use of these criteria requires specialized clinical training that provides both a body of knowledge and clinical skills.” How many of us psychiatrists recognize this statement? Or, is it like the fine print that we often gloss over in our everyday contracts and hope it doesn’t cause us trouble at some later time?

I don’t know how many psychiatrists paid much attention to the climate-change conference in Copenhagen last month, but I came away convinced they need our help. Here’s why.

This introduction article elucidates how the various contributions to this special report help make psychiatry such a rich and varied field.

How is cultural psychiatry defined? What is its history in the United States and how will it continue to influence mental health care in the future? What do mental health care professionals need to know to provide culturally sensitive care?

How has the emphasis on economics and mental health care affected the quality of care? Has it improved under managed care? Implementing prevention strategies and improved quality, although initially costly, may save money in the long term.

The advent of the new millennium has stimulated many discussions about what changes can-and should-occur in the world. For social psychiatry, there could not be a more fortuitous time to review and reaffirm our role in this country's health care.