Dr. Maria Lymberis

November 1, 1996

Ann R. Turkel, M.D.

Editor

The Association of Women Psychiatrists

350 Central Park West

New York, NY 10025

Re: 1997 APA Election - Candidate for APA Secretary

Dear Dr. Turkel:

I am very honored with the opportunity to address the members of the Association of Women Psychiatrists on the issues that are of major concern for all of us. The following are my responses to your questions:

1. On the question of women's involvement in organized psychiatry and especially in the APA" my track record spans 26 years of active dedicated work in my DB, Area and APA.

My own advancement to APA leadership demonstrates the benefits of having good mentors (both female and male), the importance of networking as a means of identifying critical psychiatric issues that need urgent attention and as a means of offering opportunities for participation in the group effort required for the effective confrontation of these problems.

Having been blessed by being a member of SCPS where mentoring/networking and leadership development is a decades old tradition, I have been able to pass on the tradition and have worked to facilitate, encourage and promote numerous women in my DB to leadership positions. My successes todate include at least two women DB presidents in my DB and the continued presence of women as Assembly Representatives from my DB.

I regularly nominate women for APA components. I seek out women psychiatrists at the residency and early career phases. I systematically work to promote leadership awareness and cultivate the expectation for the assumption of leadership roles in women psychiatrists whether I am involved with them in supervision, teaching, mentoring or collaborating in projects in or out of APA. Empowerment and leadership development requires persistent effort but yields major rewards.

2. On the second question of "what important issues for women" I promote and "how?". The list and the "how" are as follows:

a) Advocacy for career options and flexibility in work schedules for women psychiatrists during their child rearing years, through JCPA/JCGR and academia

b) Support for scientific research on the manifestations of the various psychiatric conditions, especially the affective spectrum in women and its implications for treatment (especially for integrated psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic treatment) through JCPA/JCGR and the academic community.

c) Encourage the participation of women psychiatrists in the APA's PRN project. Psychiatry needs clinical research outcomes in order to demonstrate our effectiveness and guide further research, through direct outreach by the PRN network and at the DB level.

d) Support scientific research on improved reproductive options for women (including contraception and abortion) and on the psychiatric dimensions of these options.

e) Advocate for strong networking/mentoring for women psychiatrists at all APA levels to facilitate their participation and advancement in the APA leadership.

f) Advocate for psychiatric research on domestic violence and study of outcomes of available treatment programs. The APA Committee on Family Violence and Child Abuse has pioneered in this area but much more needs to be done to address this public health issue which carries multiple implications for psychiatry.

g) Advocate for increased nominations for women psychiatrists for APA fellowship and improve assistance o them by their DBs in fulfilling the fellowship requirements.

h) Continue to increase awareness of the existence of "the glass ceiling" and work to openly discuss and identify impediments to further advances in leadership roles for women through education and consciousness raising.

3. On the issue of membership retention/recruitment, I have a major interest. Having served on the APA Membership Committee, I am keenly aware about the reality of financial problems that women psychiatrists who work part-time raising families have. The APA works closely with the DBs in evaluating requests for dues waivers. The process is neither uniform across the country, nor a solution to the membership problems. As I see it, the only way to improve recruitment/retention is to make the APA "member friendly" by providing real opportunities for women psychiatrists to work on issues that are vital to their professional development and central to their interests by networking/mentoring and leadership development at the grass roots level and throughout APA.

For a number of years now I have been advocating that a fee formula needs to be developed for members who belong in various psychiatry subspecialty organizations and APA.

In conclusion, I am honored with the nomination for APA Secretary. I believe I'm the right candidate for this job and I seek your active support.