Electronic Spring 2024 | Issue 58

My APA Assembly Origin Story

By: Joshua Nathan, MD, DFAPA

I have just always wanted to help, to use my talents to make a difference in people’s lives.  For many years, I have also desired to improve the world I live in, to use my days on earth to move the needle a little for humanity.  And maybe along the way inspire others to do the same.  So, here, I give you the story of how I became a representative for Illinois at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Assembly.

Let me give a little background, for those not familiar with the Assembly, about its structure, role, and function. As part of the governance of the APA, it is comprised of representatives of each state and district branch and led by the Assembly Executive Committee (AEC).  At its biannual meetings, the Assembly discusses and votes on policies, positions, and other actions they would like from the APA Board of Trustees and its Councils. This is done mainly through consideration of action papers, which can be submitted by representatives or any APA member.  Also, state and district branches are divided into geographic regions, called Area Councils, to set regional priorities, create educational opportunities, and share legislative and other membership activities. Area Councils typically meet 4 times per year, including around the full Assembly meetings. Illinois Psychiatric Society (IPS) is part of Area 4, and we have four representatives in the Assembly. In addition, a couple of IPS members serve on the AEC. I was elected as representative for IPS beginning a three-year term in 2023.

So, then, how did I get here?  How did I get to be in this position? And why would I even want to do something like this?  Of course, it all really started with just wanting to help people, and figuring out how I could best do that. Though I have never had many talents, it felt good to use the one I had. I have long recognized my ability to help people by actively listening to them and hearing the emotions they communicated. In addition, even before college, I appreciated emotions as a normal brain function, and was easily able to empathize with and accept people’s emotions. It felt good help people that way, which naturally led to a career in psychiatry, treating people with emotional and other mental illnesses, one person at a time. Early in my career, I also discovered the satisfaction of teaching - paying forward what I had learned from mentors and teachers, seeing students respond positively, and knowing that I would vicariously expand my therapeutic reach when my students helped their own patients. And for a time, I thought my career would be just that, treating patients and teaching. Then I learned I had more ways I could make a difference.

About 10 years ago, I was introduced to the wonderful IPS executive director Meryl Sosa, who enthusiastically supported all psychiatrists in Illinois, who helped me and encouraged me when I was frustrated with an insurance company and the state of practicing mental health in Illinois, and who finally convinced me to join the Government Affairs Committee. Around the same time, colleagues and leaders at University of Illinois at Chicago seemed to believe I had some leadership skills and created directorship roles for me. Through various university leadership roles and my involvement in IPS, I learned that I could make a difference in other ways. As a leader, I could create the supportive environment my physician and allied health professional colleagues need to take care of people with mental illness, thereby helping all their patients.  Through IPS and APA, I could work on improving access to mental health care for patients through work on the statutory and regulatory environment we practice in, thereby helping all the people who need mental health care. And the best part of discovering these skills was that I could do those things while still treating patients and teaching. So, by several years ago, I had a new appreciation for how I could help - I could use my psychiatry knowledge and skills in psychiatry to reduce the suffering of people living with mental illness and make a difference in their lives, and I could use my voice to at least try to improve the world we live in, and maybe move the needle just a bit. Then, while being fortunate to serve a term as President of IPS, I learned about the APA Assembly and yet another way to make a difference.

After a couple years recovering from being President, while engaging in new leadership experiences and practicing in some new environments and settings, it was time to get more involved again. Fortunately, one of our Illinois Assembly representatives was stepping down, and encouraging me to step into the role. I accepted the nomination and was elected, joining our three other representatives. In preparing for the role, I sat and observed some of the Assembly activity in the months before my term started. I saw our colleagues discussing, debating, and advocating for change at a whole new level.  Representatives represented their branches, our profession, and our field in excited ways. They proposed action papers related to APA service to its members, positions and policies they would like the APA to take, and federal laws supporting mental health and our profession they wanted APA to propose and work on. I had found a new home for making a difference, and on a grander scale. Since observing my first Assembly, I have begun hearing my colleagues and their needs in a whole new way, listening for how I can do to make a difference in their lives, too. I have been thrilled and feel very fortunate to have this new chance at making the world we live and work in a little better. For my first meeting in May 2023, I submitted four action papers.

Practice, teaching, leadership, advocacy, and governance. Through IPS, APA, and the Assembly, I am using my skills and knowledge in a whole new way. I continue helping patients directly, I continue sharing what I have learned with the next generation, and I continue to support my colleagues as a leader. But now, with the help and encouragement of my colleagues at IPS and APA, I am listening to those I represent, and using my voice to make a difference. It has been exciting, joyful, and rewarding. I am truly grateful to be where I am, grateful to all who have allowed me and even encouraged me in representing them. And pressing my luck a little bit, I hope I have inspired someone reading my APA Assembly origin story.